
News & Advice


A Guide to Being an Actor Outside of London
A Guide to Being an Actor Outside of London by Katie Burchett. One of the biggest questions for anyone outside of the city who wants to act is this: Do I need to be in London? I trained as an actor at the Birmingham School of Acting and moved to London after graduating.

What Are Drama Schools Looking For? With Lise Olson.
There’s no denying that getting into drama school can be an arduous affair. I often tell students that there are a myriad of reasons why a school could ultimately decide not to offer them a place and many of those reasons may have absolutely nothing to do with ability.

Andrei Costin on Life After Drama School
For an actor, life after drama school can be many things - turbulent, emotional and occasionally glorious are a few words that come to my mind. I recently got the chance to catch up with my good friend and actor Andrei Costin and he described life after drama school as ‘challenging’.

MA Acting at the Birmingham School of Acting
After interviewing acting coach and director Lise Olson for my article 'What are Drama Schools Looking For?', several people were interested to find out more about the MA course at the Birmingham School of Acting, of which Lise is the course director. For anyone considering...

Free 12-Month Membership to Backstage
Win a free membership to one of the biggest casting websites in the US now rapidly growing in the UK. All you have to do is share your story. Send in an interesting tale from that rehearsal, audition or drama school class. The best entries will have a valuable lesson behind them.

Free Trial Workshop (16-21s)
Urban Young Actors are opening a brand new class on Wednesdays at Quad Studios in Leicester. This class will be for 16-21 year olds and opens in May. I will be leading the weekly sessions that will focus on acting technique and training. To kick things off, we'll be running a free trial workshop to give new members a taster of the work we do at Urban.

Tales of an Actor
It is the nature of the beast that an actor, over their career, will accrue a solid collection of anecdotes from training, auditions and rehearsals. Over the past week I asked people to send in their tales of struggle, revelation and hilarity and the response was overwhelming.

#WAKEUP
At the end of last year, I posted on Facebook after witnessing a young girl being sexually assaulted in Leicester. A friend commented and said why don't I use music to do something about it. Six months later and I'd like to share this...Two stories about real people I've encountered in my life which have had a profound effect on the way I see things. One is the victim of sexual assault and the other of homophobia.

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Audition Panel
In April I joined the panel at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire during initial and recall auditions, and in January 2019 I became an official member of the panel. It's extremely rewarding being present at the start of an actor's journey when they have bags of potential and their whole career ahead of them.

‘Shooting Truth’ by Molly Davies
Deep in the woods of an abandoned village, the present is haunted by the past as a group of students embark on a film project about a 17th century witch, Freya. The time periods bleed into one another as the shoot unfolds and we learn the truth behind Freya’s troubled past.

Curve Young Company: ACT
After a hugely successful taster session, the branches of Curve Young Company have now formed their companies for the coming year. I'll be leading workshops with the advanced CYC Act company and directing the production projects which will be presented at Curve next year.

Acting Classes @ LCPA
I am delighted to announce I'll be running acting classes at the Leicester College of Performing Arts (LCPA) from September 2017. LCPA has a long list of alumni performing in the West End and in productions nationally and internationally. I'll be working with the performers on acting technique, leading up to their final production next year.

Curve Young Musical Theatre Company present: Oklahoma!
"Our 40-strong cast from Curve’s Young Musical Theatre Company take you on a journey of love and heartache, friendship and conflict through this timeless musical! The year is 1906 in the town of Claremore. There are open skies and endless possibilities, in the birth of a new era and a brand new state. Welcome to OKLAHOMA!"

Central School of Speech & Drama: Write Yourself In
Write Yourself is a new project from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama that encourages young people around the UK to get involved with writing for performance. The project offers schools, colleges and youth theatres in London, Leicester, Oldham and Stoke free writing workshops.

Breakin’ Convention – International Hip Hop Festival
On 23rd and 24th May, Breakin' Convention (the international festival of hip-hop dance theatre) came to Curve, Leicester for the first time. Breakin' Convention is an award-winning and critically acclaimed organisation that represents the origins and evolution of hip hop culture from around the world and around the corner.

‘Consequences’, a Film by Strictly Arts
As part of Strictly Arts, I've spent the last week shooting an anti-knife crime film in and around Birmingham. The project is funded by Derby City Council and the film will be released later this year.

How to Utilise Social Media: A Guide for Actors and Creatives
The performing arts industry is changing. More and more casting directors, directors, agents and theatres use social media as a vehicle for their latest project, and I’m not just talking about student films and profit shares. Major castings are regularly opened up to the twittersphere. It’s never been more important for actors to have an online presence and if utilised correctly, social media can be an incredibly powerful tool. But where to start?

“To Be Seen” by Kieran Vyas and Katie Burchett
This week we'll be performing an extract from our brand new solo show at Nottingham Playhouse for their Amp Night. In a bleak, futuristic world, people rely on their online presence in order to survive. As daily news vlogger Luna fails to engage an audience the pressure to be good enough, pretty enough, funny enough, begins to take its toll and distorts her perception of reality...

Riad Richie on His Season with the RSC
Riad Richie debuted at the RSC for their 2018-19 season, performing in Tamburlaine (Michael Boyd), Timon of Athens (Simon Godwin) and Tartuffe (Iqbal Khan). As he now enters the final week of the season and looks ahead to the future, he is certainly an actor I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of. I sat down with him to reflect on his time with the RSC.

BA (Hons) Acting – Leicester College & ALRA
Being born and bred in Leicester, I was delighted to hear that ALRA was collaborating with Leicester College and De Montfort University to bring a new BA (Hons) Acting course to my home town. The school invited me in to deliver acting classes to the first year of students as part of the curriculum...

BBC Radio Leicester’s Asian Life Festival
Celebrating five decades of Asian life in Leicester through food, arts and culture, BBC Radio Leicester’s Asian Life Festival explored all aspects of the journey so far that have made Leicester the incredible city it is today. Part of the festival was 'The Good Companion', a skit written by Divya Ghelani, which I had the pleasure of directing.

‘King Richard’s Cyber Horse’ by Sara Bodinar
This autumn I'll be directing 'King Richard's Cyber Horse', a brand new play by award-winning writer Sara Bodinar. The play was commissioned by Urban Young Actors especially for their end of year show and centres around a virtual reality game in an apocalyptic future. Rehearsals begin in September and the production goes up on 23rd November.

#WAKEUP
At the end of last year, I posted on Facebook after witnessing a young girl being sexually assaulted in Leicester. A friend commented and said why don't I use music to do something about it. Six months later and I'd like to share this...Two stories about real people I've encountered in my life which have had a profound effect on the way I see things. One is the victim of sexual assault and the other of homophobia.

A Modern Guide to Auditioning for Drama School
When I auditioned for drama school I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Retrospectively, I can identify the choices I made that led to me being accepted, however, I can't quite remember which of those choices were intentional, instinctual, or just good luck. Since then I've spent many years working as an actor, director and coach, and now have experience on both sides of the panel. What I've realised is...

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Audition Panel
In April I joined the panel at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire during initial and recall auditions, and in January 2019 I became an official member of the panel. It's extremely rewarding being present at the start of an actor's journey when they have bags of potential and their whole career ahead of them.
RESOURCES FOR ACTORS

Shekinah McFarlane on Her Life, Career and Six The Musical
Shekinah's previous credits include American Idiot (UK Tour), Hair & Hair50 (Hope Mill Theatre - Vaults Theatre), The Lion King (Disney Theatrical, UK and International Tour) and most recently, her West End run of the smash-hit musical Six which she's currently taking on its UK tour. Despite her jam-packed schedule, she made time to chat and answer a few of my questions.

How to Utilise Social Media: A Guide for Actors and Creatives
The performing arts industry is changing. More and more casting directors, directors, agents and theatres use social media as a vehicle for their latest project, and I’m not just talking about student films and profit shares. Major castings are regularly opened up to the twittersphere. It’s never been more important for actors to have an online presence and if utilised correctly, social media can be an incredibly powerful tool. But where to start?

Riad Richie on His Season with the RSC
Riad Richie debuted at the RSC for their 2018-19 season, performing in Tamburlaine (Michael Boyd), Timon of Athens (Simon Godwin) and Tartuffe (Iqbal Khan). As he now enters the final week of the season and looks ahead to the future, he is certainly an actor I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of. I sat down with him to reflect on his time with the RSC.

A Modern Guide to Auditioning for Drama School
When I auditioned for drama school I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Retrospectively, I can identify the choices I made that led to me being accepted, however, I can't quite remember which of those choices were intentional, instinctual, or just good luck. Since then I've spent many years working as an actor, director and coach, and now have experience on both sides of the panel. What I've realised is...
RECENT WORK

ALRA North – Acting for Camera
It's easy to become passionate about people when you begin to study human behaviour. There's a fire in the eyes, radiance in the smile and an energy that fills the room when we, as humans, are truly at ease and impassioned. We all have these qualities; they are natural, effortless and beautiful, but they also have a habit of evaporating the moment we start to act or sense the camera.

“To Be Seen” by Kieran Vyas and Katie Burchett
This week we'll be performing an extract from our brand new solo show at Nottingham Playhouse for their Amp Night. In a bleak, futuristic world, people rely on their online presence in order to survive. As daily news vlogger Luna fails to engage an audience the pressure to be good enough, pretty enough, funny enough, begins to take its toll and distorts her perception of reality...

BA (Hons) Acting – Leicester College & ALRA
Being born and bred in Leicester, I was delighted to hear that ALRA was collaborating with Leicester College and De Montfort University to bring a new BA (Hons) Acting course to my home town. The school invited me in to deliver acting classes to the first year of students as part of the curriculum...

BBC Radio Leicester’s Asian Life Festival
Celebrating five decades of Asian life in Leicester through food, arts and culture, BBC Radio Leicester’s Asian Life Festival explored all aspects of the journey so far that have made Leicester the incredible city it is today. Part of the festival was 'The Good Companion', a skit written by Divya Ghelani, which I had the pleasure of directing.