Experienced local actor and director Bridget Haylock is set to pass her skills on to aspiring local actors of all ages through two new local workshop opportunities in Castlemaine.
The Youth Screen Acting Workshops and Adult Acting Workshops are set to commence shortly and will offer valuable insights into the challenges of acting.
Bridget undertook her method training at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in London.
“I was lucky enough to get a full scholarship. I also had the opportunity to train with Jack Waltzer in the Sanford Meisner technique. He worked with Dustin Hoffman on Tootsie.”
During her six years in London Bridget balanced her studies whilst working at the Phoenix Theatre on the West End where she learnt everything from front of House to backstage and props.
“I had the opportunity to work with actors of an extremely high calibre, including a three month stint assisting backstage with Dustin Hoffman, and it gave me a really good grounding for every aspect of acting and theatre.”
On her return to Australia she worked as Head of Props for the Victorian State Opera and later as an Art Director for screen projects including The Secret and has featured in film, television series and commercials.
“My last film The Red/Rippy premiered at the end of 2024 and gave me the opportunity to work alongside actors Michael Biehn, Tess Haubrich and Aaron Pedersen in Central Queensland and studios in Brisbane.”
Bridget said the new workshops came about as a result of a Facebook post seeking local screen acting classes.
“I’d been thinking about offering workshops for sometime. After a brief discussion with a local mum looking for a class for her teen things quickly gained momentum,” Bridget said.
The Youth Screen Acting Workshops are aimed a 12-18 year olds will run over nine weeks commencing April 20 and running until June 22. The two hour sessions will be held Monday evenings from 5pm to 7pm at ‘The Mess Hall’ at the Old Castlemaine Gaol.
“I am really excited to see Global Village Learning opening up the space to the community. They have a real focus on young people engaging in project-based learning and these workshops align really well with that philosophy,” she said.
The workshops will see young actors learn how to act for film and television, develop on-camera confidence and technique, self-taping skills and more.
“It will involve some basic method acting practices, enjoy a little improvisation and then film it. Participants will learn how to adapt to the small space,” she said.
“Screen acting is very different to theatre where you aim to make the performances big and use your instrument, your body, to help tell the story. It’s much more subtle.
“We will wrap up the sessions with an opportunity for participants to share their work with their families.”
The classes are $30 a session or $250 for the term.
The Adult Acting Workshops will run over eight sessions from May 1 to June 19. The two hour sessions will be held Friday evenings from 5pm to 7pm at the Wesley Hill Hall.
“The adult classes will concentrate on method acting techniques to explore the actor’s instrument and develop confidence to take the next step with their own projects or exploring the community theatre space.
“My hope is to help build skills and confidence, but most of all encourage participants to have a bit of fun with it,” Bridget said.
The classes are $30 a session or $220 for the term.
For more information or to register phone 0409 806 864 or email primamateriatheatre@gmail.com