“Learning the demanding skills of acting takes time,” said Shirley Johnston, leader of the Lights, Camera, Action workshop, at the Box Theatre, for pupils at the National Schools Festival where learners are taught some of the skills required to act in front of the camera.
“Learning the demanding skills of acting takes time,” said Shirley Johnston, leader of the Lights, Camera, Action workshop, at the Box Theatre, for pupils at the National Schools Festival where learners are taught some of the skills required to act in front of the camera.
During the workshop, the students were split into groups of two and were required to act out Coca-cola and Red Bull advertisements, which they did with aplomb.
In the second set the pupils were split into groups of six and were required to act out incidents. These ranged from a group of doctors performing surgery on a patient who they then discovered was an alien, to a group of friends surprised by a ghost.
After the learners have acted out their scenes, they watch ed the taped result, so that they can become their own critics.
The pupils enjoyed the workshop and were exuberant in acting out their respective roles. If an advertising executive was in attendance, the learners would have drawn a lot of ideas,especially for catchy punch lines.
“It is satisfying to see a shy person believing in themselves,” said Johnston. Itumeleng Bokaba from St Mary’s School in Waverley, Johannesburg, who studies drama, said that she knew most of what was being talked about at the workshops, but she was able to put it into practice for the first time.
Goitseone Moerane from Kimberley Girls’ High said the workshop was brilliant and she loved the advice and experience. “I found the workshop very exciting and it enhanced a passion that I have for drama,” she said.
