Acting requires a wide range of skill, from the ability to control your voice to adopting physical attributes. A stage actor will often be required to research a period of history or particular topic to bring a character to life. This collection aims to give an insight into what it is like to be an actor at the National Theatre. Featuring Simon Russell Beale, Zoë Wanamaker, Lesley Manville, Rory Kinnear, Fiona Shaw, Ben Whishaw and Roger Allam.
Watch a video diary from One Man, Two Guvnors to see improvisation within the rehearsal room.
Director Howard Davies and actors Charity Wakefield, Mark Bonnar and Zoe Wanamaker talk about method and processes of acting for Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard.
Improvisation is a useful tool in the rehearsal room. Daniel Rigby takes us into the rehearsal room for One Man Two Gunvors.
In one of Katie Mitchell's multimedia productions, one actor may find itself representing the voice of one character, the head of a second and the arm of a third. Meanwhile, a fourth actor might be manipulating lights and a video camera to relay the image to projection screens.
Each script is unique, like an Elizabethan cue script
Deconstructing the Friar's speech in Much Ado About Nothing
Embodying prose from Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan
Voice coach Jeannette Nelson works on Hamlet speech with actor Ferdinand Kingsley.
Rory Kinnear is interviewed by Matt Wolf. They discuss Kinnear's approach to playing the historic part.
Director Nicholas Hytner and actor Lesley Manville talk about the job of the stage actor.
Simon Russell Beale, Lesley Manville and Roger Allam talk describe performing on the Olivier stage.
Simon Russell Beale, Lesley Manville and Roger Allam talk about acting on the Lyttelton stage - a traditional proscenium arch theatre.
Simon Russell Beale and Roger Allam talk about acting on the Cottesloe stage - small intimate theatre.
Simon Russell Beale talks about why actors rehearse for the length of time that they do and what happens during that process.
Simon Russell Beale talks about the benefits of working as part of a company.
Lesley Manville talks about the dressing rooms at the National.
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