Acting for Camera (16+)

A wide variety of screen performance skills will be researched, explored and developed throughout the summer school. The course will focus on improving your technique and aims to help you progress to the next level of acting for screen.

The first sessions will focus on analysing scripts for clues about character(s) which will help you in your performance. This will be done alongside analysing scenes from film and TV to discuss different performance styles and techniques that professional actors employ when acting on camera. There will be a variety of practical exercises to help in your understanding of the specifics of acting on camera.

The week will culminate in the students monologues and group scenes being shot. These shoots are designed to allow you to gain practical experience in front of the camera. You will be introduced to the technicalities of filming and increase your understanding of the actor’s role within the process.

The footage will then be taken away and edited together, with the final film being sent out to students via a downloadable Vimeo link.

This is an open access course for anyone regardless of prior acting experience.

The summer school is designed so that motivated students will benefit from the training and our tutors are experienced in teaching across all levels of skill and experience. Students should be open, honest, generous, respectful, hard-working and willing to work as part of a team.

It may be of particular interest to theatre professionals who wish to develop and adapt their skills for acting on screen.

Please bring along 2 monologues from a tv/film script you’d like to work on.  Only one will be filmed, but it is helpful to have some options.

These should be close to you in terms of playing age.  You will be using your own accent so feel free to slightly adapt or amend words that sound too American or out of your own vocal or vocabulary range.  Monologues should be 2 to 3 mins in length.

Please avoid, if possible, graveside soliloquies or therapy scenes. For the purpose of this exercise the ideal monologue is you speaking to at least one other person in a scene. There can even be short/one liner interjections from the off camera actor.

Please bring an option for a scene (featuring 2 to 3 characters) These should be 3-5 pages in length in length. Ideally scenes should be ‘high stakes’ scenes i.e where your character is highly committed to the scene’s outcome.

As with the monologues, please select characters that are within your playing age range. You’re encouraged to use your own accent and feel free to adapt a scenes.

Students should bring water as workshop activities in this short course will be physical. Students should also bring a pad and pen to make notes during classes.

The course runs Monday, 28 July – Friday, 1 August 2025, from 10am to 5pm.

Summer Accommodation

We are pleased to welcome students from across the world to our Summer Schools. Our course fees do not include accommodation or food, and these should be organised by the student. Our campus is located in Glasgow city centre, and you can find the addresses below.

We recommend Base Glasgow, as purpose-built accommodation for Conservatoire students, with Rehearsal Rooms, Practice spaces and Dance Studios. Base Glasgow is perfectly suited for our summer school students; both safe and secure, with 24/7 staff presence and only 3 mins walk from our main Renfrew Street building, keeping travel costs to a minimum.

Classic En-Suite rooms come with a 3/4 bed, en-suite bathroom, ample storage, mirror, study desk and chair. The shared area includes a spacious lounge and kitchen area.

Please note that Short Courses staff are not affiliated with BASE or on site outwith the summer school teaching hours, and therefore cannot take responsibility for students outside of these hours.

For more information about booking accommodation at BASE Glasgow you can contact them directly via website BASE – Student Accommodation in Glasgow or email baseglasgow@herestudents.com.

Alternatively, there are plenty of hotels, hostels, and b’n’b options available. We are located close to transport links should you wish to stay outside the city centre. If you are travelling to Glasgow for a course, we strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance that covers course fees, travel, accommodation, and cancellations due to COVID-19 – as RCS will not refund in this circumstance. You can view the Cancellations and Refund policy for full information.

For students under 18 years old, we strongly advise travelling with a responsible adult should any emergency situations arise during class. Students are only monitored by staff during class times.

Renfrew Street Campus: 100 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, G2 3DB
Wallace Studios Campus: 210 Garscube Road, Glasgow, G4 9RR