Fresco Formation

Past student pride.

There are more than 14 franchises of Ricky Gervais’ The Office. The South African version, Die Kantoor, was released earlier this year and has an IMDb rating of 9.4 - the highest of all versions including the original and the US version with Steve Carrell.

Ryan, a student of mine for 3 years when I taught at the acting and film school, Afda, was part of the small writing team on Die Kantoor, and I am so happy for him for this incredible achievement.

He was also a writer on the award-winning TV series, Hotel, which I played in for 4 seasons.

If you’re going to be on a screen for class, learn some rules of the screen. Online sessions had Fresco Formation Drama & Film students explore film composition rules (and breaking them!) in scenes where they scripted and performed confessions from their characters.

We’re happy to be back in the studio now too!

February highlights 2: Our showcase production - BFFs - comic and dramatic scenes created by the students around the theme of friendship.

The students also demonstrated some exercises we use in class, for the audience to experience some of the process involved.

For us, it’s all about process. But it’s always a thrill to have an audience.

📸 by the brilliant .photo

Happy World Theatre Day!

February highlight 1: A series of commedia dell’arte workshops with BTEC students at Diverse Performing Arts. Students explored lazzi and devised physical comedy scenes based on stock commedia characters.

With gratitude to the wonderful commedia masks from

January highlight 2: Physical theatre residency and performances of Sunday Morning at my Alma mater school, Hilton College in South Africa.

Strange to be back there but amazing how boys now are just the same as they were when I was there. A privilege to play Sunday Morning (performance number 200 and something) in sold out shows to a whole new generation of young men and new audiences.

January highlight 1: Acting workshop for adults with , combined with a performance of Lionheart.

We focussed on exploring subtext with participants producing some delicious interpretations of intentionally open-ended texts.

🙌

Georgia theatre highlight:
Internationally renowned in Tbilisi for the performance of . Such intricate, expert puppetry in a beautifully crafted, theatrical story.

Georgia film highlight:
in Mestia, for the screening of a stunning, brilliantly performed and directed (multi-award-winning) film by about a young women’s defiance of centuries-old traditions in a remote village in the Caucasus mountains.

Find the art, wherever you go.

Aaaand we’re…

I’m excited to jump back into acting classes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It’s been a privilege to act and direct stories for a living, and it remains a privilege to share that knowledge and experience with kids and adults in UAE, and see their own stories come to life.

A big, loud shoot-out to Damir, who in the absence of a crucial cast member in our performance last Sunday, immediately volunteered to improvise his scene without her, with great success.