Films

FOUNDED BY ITV, the Workshop began it's life in 1985 offering weekly sessions training
the acting skills required to work in radio, TV, theatre and film. It has gone from strength to
strength since those humble beginnings and has made numerous documentaries and
programmes for ITV starring workshop members, put on hugely successful theatrical
productions (that have toured the Czech Republic and America as well as a Shakespeare
Festival in Canada) produced short films and entered them into film competitions (we
haven't won any yet - but that won't stop us!) and have had members cast in
in everything from Skins to Harry Potter! Now, as the West Acting Workshop we intend to
continue in this vein and keep those amazing experiences and opportunities available for
our members.

We even managed to persuade Oscar winner Dame Emma Thompson to be our Patron and she
is incredibly supportive of what we do!

Our weekly sessions are fun and informal, but we take acting seriously and specialise in
training Acting to Camera techniques (but don't worry, we tackle theatre too!)
We will teach you everything you need to know to hone your skills as an actor.
We are not here to make you famous, we are here to make you great at what you do - act!

If you are interested in getting involved, please email westactingworkshop@gmail.com
for more information.

official workshop short films

The Workshop regularly shoot short films as part of their workshop sessions as well as stand alone movies that we enter into film festivals. We have even won a couple - one award was from America!

We believe that as an actor, you learn through experience and give our members as much grounding in the art of acting to camera as we can during our weekly sessions and then put that into practice when shooting our short films.

With regular trips to local production companies, TV sets (Emmerdale, Hollyoaks) the ITV WEST Newsroom and visits from guest speakers like Roger Pearce (camera operator on Casino Royale and Mask of Zorro) the workshop members get to see what working as an actor in the industry is really like, and talk to those who are actually doing it!
We are hoping that our illustrious Patron Emma Thompson will be coming down to visit us soon to talk about her experiences as an actor and give us some valuable advice on how to make it in the unpredictable world of acting!

See below for examples of both the work during the sessions and the official short films produced by the The ITV WEST Television Workshop and The West Acting Workshop!

'loop'

Workshop short film entered into the DepicT! Film Festival in 2011. Sadly, it didn't win - but we love it anyway!

'A girl wakes up at the end of a corridor... all the people she has ever been horrible to her line the corridor... and they don't look happy. Can she get past them and reach the end? Can she get out?
This bizarre, uncomfortable and dream-like story has a nasty sting in it's tale....'

Devised by the members of ITV WEST Television Workshop.
Starring members of the ITV WEST Television Workshop
Directed and Produced by Lisa Hamilton-James
Shot by Sam Smith and Jack Newton
Edited by Billy Garratt-John

' CELL'
Produced by the Production Skills Workshop in 2012
Elm Tree Productions in association with Jack Newton Films and Ash Morris Productions

'The unharnessed potential in a man’s brain is used to power a spaceship and when the power runs down, he is put through a variety of different scenarios to recharge his mind.'

ITV West Production Skills Workshop Awards 2012: Best Film, Best Camera, Best Edit and Best Visual Effects

Starring Elliot Chapman, Matthew Urban
Directed by Emily Miller Written By Emily Miller Produced byAsh Morris