Phil Gyford’s website

I'm going to drama school

Straight to the point: at the end of October I’m going to be starting an almost-full-time acting course at LISPA. Woo! Yay! Eek! Scary! Blimey! etc.

To be honest, it was a rather hurried decision and I’m the first to admit I should probably know a bit more about the place and its methods (based on the teachings of Jacques Lecoq) at this stage, but it does feel like the right decision, which is a relief after too long of wondering what to do next. I thought about doing the Access course at the City Lit, which follows on from the Foundation course I’ve just finished, but while a year ago that seemed a distant and desirable goal, it no longer inspires me at all unfortunately. I felt obliged to audition for it, rather than wanting to. Another option would be to do some separate classes at the City Lit or elsewhere and maybe even try to do something, you know, put on a show or something.

Then I heard about LISPA and, because I’ve been enjoying the Mask and Commedia dell’Arte classes so much, its emphasis on physical theatre, and creating work from scratch, sounded appealing. I also realised that the theatre I like most is more physical and, hmm, “unreal,” for want of a more precise word, than some people standing round a sofa talking. Stuff like The Black Rider or Shockheaded Peter or what little I know about Complicite’s work. LISPA might lead me in that kind of direction. (Conversely, I like films to involve as much standing around talking as possible.)

So I applied just before spaces were filled, and I’m in, no auditions required; after the first term they let a percentage of people go, like some fame-less thespian reality show, as a way of winnowing the chaff. Equally, if I hate it, I’ll only have spent one term’s worth of fees and can leave.

So, then, in a few months I’ll be a Drama Student most of the week, which will be very strange. Hell, it’ll be strange not to be at a computer all day every day, never mind what I’ll be doing. My bare minimum expectation is that I can stop my head thinking about websites all the time. I need to be creative in some different way, one that involves more than tapping my fingers and staring into a screen, wrestling CSS and assembling PHP. I can’t wait, and can’t imagine what it’ll do to me. All good, I hope.

Which isn’t to say I’m stopping all this web stuff. I hope to squeeze in as much work as possible between now and the end of October, and fit in some work after classes (being a student layabout, I’ll be finishing at 3.30), and yet more work in the holidays. So do get in touch, before I run away with the circus.

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Monday 10 July 2006, 11:37pm

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