Workshop with Kate Ellis at the Wheeler Centre/ Writers Victoria

Sun 13 October 2024 – 10:00 AM to Sun 13 October 2024 – 4:00 PM

Character Development Through an Actors Lens

Great characters lift off the page and come to life. We empathise, champion and sometimes even despise them; but they always become a part of our daily lives when the writing urges us to invest.

Details

In this workshop, you’ll use an actor’s lens to breathe life into your characters, literally. Drawing from a variety of acting practices, you’ll finish the day with an extensive toolkit for the creation of full-bodied, nuanced characters, learning to capture the vulnerabilities and complexities of individual characters through speech, body language and adjective selection. 

You Will Learn:

  • ‘The world of the word’ – finding robust and nuanced ways to describe your characters 

  • Stillness and silence – honoring beats and intimacy between characters  

  • Empathy – coming to understand and empathise with your characters   

  • Full-bodied characters – knowing your characters in a full-bodied way  

  • Writing on your feet…literally (a phrasing borrowed from theatre director, Anne Bogart)

  • FUN – approaching the written word in a fun, playful, experimental way as to reinvigorate your own body and creativity alongside all those days by the computer. 

About the Tutor:

Kate Ellis is first and foremost an acting coach. Kate has taught actors in Wicked, Rent, Hamilton, Godfather of Harlem, That’s Not Me and Safe Home. She has taught at acting schools such as 16th Street Actors studio as well as the University of Melbourne, TAFTA and schools all over Victoria through initiatives by Drama Victoria and the DET. She has hosted panel discussions for MPavilion, the Victorian Arts Learning Festival and Abbotsford Convent’s Open Spaces. 

WHY TAKE UP COACHING?

Why take up Coaching? 

In America, actors seem keen as to talk to ‘class’ and thank their acting coaches in acceptance speeches. 

Here in Australia, there is a little more reticence…perhaps a feeling that if you need coaching you’re not good enough???

There are many reasons to take up class or coaching, 

Firstly, as eastern martial arts practices would suggest, THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS MASTERY. Ie you can always learn more. Get excited about this prospect. Learning can be fun and it means growth, expansion and experience. You’re truly alive when you’re growing!  

Secondly: 

ACTING IS FUN right? 

Why wouldn’t you want to do it as often as you can? Fun also cultivates a feeling of aliveness…and tops up the tank when other areas of your life might not be as playful, creative, expressive or imaginative. 

Come play! Contact me via my contact tab.

COME PLAY at TAFTA!

We take our passions seriously. But we also act because it's fun, right? Research suggests that the more we play, the deeper connections we make between the learning and our entire bodies. In other words, through play we have a full-bodied experience. This is of course excellent for the field of acting.


Join Kate Ellis for three evenings at TAFTA to find nuance and colour in your audition pieces and work, through experimentation and play. Through Kate’s unique approach to scene work you will open up a multiverse of choices for any one scene, proffer unique auditions and have fun while doing it.

Kate has worked with international artists such as Lucy Fry, Aisha Dee and Connor Jessup as well as on International programs and with International
Production Companies such as ‘The Saddle Club’ and Temple Films (Anupam Sharma). She has worked on Australian Features such as ‘Judy and Punch’ and ‘That’s Not Me’ and with actors in such stage productions as Hamilton. She teaches at acting schools such as 16th Street Actors Studio & TAFTA in Melbourne/Naarm, Australia. She further supports artists and the broader community through her writing, participation in Q and A’s and through government initiatives with Drama Victoria. She recently spoke at the World Drama Education Congress in Iceland.

Q & A with TAFTA

During the May/June 2021 lockdown in Melbourne I sat down with TAFTA to talk about about acting, how we can learn more about humanity through acting, celebrating your successes in times of uncertainty and finding your creativity in your voice, your body and the text.

A recording of the full Q&A is below:

https://www.tafta.com.au/blog/qakateellis

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