Acting: Exploring Tennessee Williams
Short Courses – 10 Week – Online for Adults
Overview
This class will be taught online and you can take part from the comfort of your own home.
This intensive ten-week course for people aged 16+ aims to develop acting, movement, and voice skills required to creatively engage with Tennessee Williams’ emotionally rich and poetic text.
Throughout the course, you will deepen your understanding of Williams’ work through an in-depth exploration of A Streetcar Named Desire, using both established and innovative techniques. You will also prepare a monologue or scene from the play, applying new insights in a practical setting.
This course is ideal for students seeking a professional training experience or considering acting as a career. It is also suitable for experienced professional and amateur actors eager to refresh their skills and explore new ways of approaching modern classic American drama.
Throughout the course, you will:
- Develop skills in textual analysis, focusing on the emotional nuance and subtext central to Williams’ writing.
- Explore poetic realism, understanding how Williams’ use of language and symbolism creates heightened yet deeply human performances.
- Learn techniques to enhance character development and storytelling, through the analysis of a range of monologues and scene work from A Streetcar Named Desire and other Williams plays.
- Gain insights into Williams’ dramatic style, exploring how his themes and characters can inspire contemporary productions.
- Refine vocal and physical techniques, learning how to embody the text and bring to life the complex emotional landscapes of Williams’ characters.
- Investigate Williams’ influences, including how his personal history and the cultural context of his plays inform their themes and performances.
This course provides an exciting opportunity to engage with one of the most significant playwrights of the 20th century and bring his works to life.
Courses you may be interested in
We run a variety of different courses throughout the year, and update our programme regularly – you can find all courses by clicking here.
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Contact us
If you have any questions about this course before you book it, please get in touch with us at shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk.
The important details
Age:
16+
Cost:
£195
Date:
16 April - 18 June 2025
Time:
Tuesdays, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Venue:
Online
Course Information
- Entry Requirements
- Course Preparation
- Who is this course for?
- Teaching Staff
- Term Dates and Tuition Fees
There are no entry requirements for this course.
The course is designed so that motivated students will benefit from the training. We expect you to undertake a certain amount of self-directed study and preparation out with class times.
Students should be open, honest, generous, respectful, hard-working and willing to work as part of a team.
You will need access to a device such as a desktop computer, laptop or tablet which allows you to access the internet with a screen large enough to see the group members during online sessions. You will need internet connection which is fast enough to take part in video sessions on MS Teams and to watch film footage.
You may also want to consider whether you have a space you can use where you can work without interruption. Please keep in mind that the other students taking part in the course will be able to see what’s behind you when you are online.
- Plan and prepare to attend all classes
- Dress comfortably in clothes which are suitable for the activity you are taking part in.
- Bring a notepad and pen/pencil in case you wish to make notes.
- Please bring a bottle of water to stay hydrated during your class.
This course is suitable for students aged 16+, with no or little experience. Students should be keen to learn and plan to attend all classes.
Alasdair Hunter
Alasdair Hunter is a Scottish theatre director. He directs classic plays and plays by writers who are very much alive. He is Founding Artistic Director of shakespeare.scot – a global Shakespeare company rooted in Scotland. He is also a member of The Shakespeare Ensemble (www.theshakespeareensemble.com) and an Associate Member of the Shakespeare Theatre Association. He is a Connections Director for the National Theatre (London), and also regularly teaches at UK drama schools.
Alasdair is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the University of Glasgow, and also trained at Shakespeare’s Globe. His work has been seen in UK theatres including the Tron Theatre, Traverse Theatre, Hampstead Theatre, and Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, as well as across the Midwest USA including Chicago and St Louis.
Alasdair was President of Glasgow’s Queen Margaret Union in 2008/09 and a board member of Macrobert Arts Centre from 2009 to 2012. He made classical work, often of a guerilla nature, under the Wilderness of Tigers label between 2007 and 2017.
This course will run online on Wednesday evenings for 10-weeks from 16 April – 18 June 2025, 6:30pm – 8:30pm.
The course fee is £195 which is the equivalent to £19.50 per session, and can be paid in full or in instalments before the course end date.
Further Information
We want to ensure as many children, young people and adult learners as possible can access the performing and production arts education that is offered through Short Courses at RCS. Financial support options available for Short Courses include:
Agnes Allan Bursary
Agnes Allan was a teacher, passionate about inclusion, and this bursary scheme exists to offer support to students to participate in the performing or production arts.
The Agnes Allan Bursary provides some support to students who may require financial assistance to take part in a short course in dance, drama, music, production or screen.
Anyone who wishes to take part in our Short Courses and faces a financial barrier can apply for bursary support to help meet the cost of tuition fees.
James McAvoy Drama Scholarships
BAFTA-winning and Golden Globe nominated actor James McAvoy is committed to nurturing the creative potential of young Scots who experience barriers to access and participate in drama at RCS Short Courses.
James is a graduate of the BA Acting programme at RCS and Patron of the Junior Conservatoire of Drama. The Glasgow-born actor has funded the new James McAvoy Drama Scholarships to enable young people to experience the world-class drama training at RCS as he did.
The scholarship aims to support applicants who would otherwise find meeting the cost of tuition fees at RCS a barrier to accessing pre-Higher Education drama training at the Royal Conservatoire.
You can find more information about these funds on our Financial Support page.
We run various promotional offers for our Short Courses and Summer Schools. You can view our current offers on our Promotional Offers page.
You should contact us at shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk to request your discount code before booking a course.
Please note, only one promotional offer can be applied per course and should be used at the time of booking as we are unable to apply a discounts retrospectively.
Please see our Short Course FAQs for more information about all aspects of choosing, booking and attending your course.
Please see our Short Courses – Terms and Conditions for more information about your contract with Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Cancellation and Refund policies.
Sign up to our mailing list to receive the latest updates of courses, offers and news from Short Courses. You can do this by completing this short online form found here.
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