Antonia Doggett
Acting Coach
Classes for Children
Drama is amazing fun, bringing dramatic situations and characters to life, playing with others to create imaginary worlds. But it’s not only fun; drama teaches children key communication skills. For example, in learning how to bring a text to life children also develop the skills to feel comfortable speaking up in public, clearly, expressively and persuasively. Again, in studying different characters children gain a greater sense of physical and spatial awareness - a more coordinated movement sense.
One of the most important lessons I learned from the drama lessons of my childhood was that everything we do in front of an audience communicates something and that we have the power to control what we communicate.
I believe that knowing this and knowing how to do this is important and empowering, and that is one reason why I am passionate about teaching children drama. The other reason is that it really is amazing fun!
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The Classes
I teach weekly drama classes after school on Fridays. I also teach a small exam class on Tuesdays after school, especially designed for preparing students to take graded London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) acting and speech exams (see below for details). Children can take either classes or both.
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Friday Drama Classes
These are weekly drama classes for primary school aged children at Wanstead Quaker Meeting House, E11.
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These are fun and varied classes where the children work individually and in groups with poems, prose and plays, with improvisation, mime and devising to learn and practice:
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How to create a compelling character
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How to build and tell a story
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How to bring a text to life through the use of their body and voice, their use of the space and through expression and gesture
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How to respond spontaneously when performing
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How to support their voices and how to present themselves clearly and powerfully.
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At the end of each term there will be an open class for family, sharing the work we have been doing.
These regular classes are on Fridays during term time:
4-5pm for years 2 and 3
5-6pm for years 4 to 7
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£7.50 per class paid half-termly - 10% sibling discount
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LAMDA Exam Classes
On Tuesdays, after school during term time, in Wanstead at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Centre.
With a maximum of 6 children, each 20 week course will prepare the students for a LAMDA exam which will come at the end of the term. I am alternating LAMDA Acting and LAMDA Speaking of Verse and Prose exam courses. From 19th April 2022 I will begin a new Speaking of Verse and Prose exam course. The next LAMDA Acting exam course will begin in mid October. If you are interested in either please click on the link to put your child on the waiting list.
Preparing for and taking LAMDA exams is great. Not only will children have their work seen and critiqued by an independent and internationally recognised judging body, the skills that they learn along the way will be invaluable throughout life.
The process of finding a piece to perform that the student likes and that suits them, and then learning how to bring it to life compellingly and consistently is a huge achievement - one that brings pride and confidence.
Please have a look any what LAMDA themselves say about their different exams. If you are not sure which one would suit your child better please just get in touch.
The Speaking of Verse and Prose
This exam class can be taken independently and for itself. It could also be taken in addition to the Friday drama classes. Also, children could miss one term of regular drama classes to take an exam with the Tuesday group and then return to regular classes on Fridays.
Because the exam class has to be very small (to properly prepare the students for the exams), the fees for the class are higher unfortunately - I have kept it as low as I could to make it feasible:
£10 per class paid termly
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These regular classes are on Tuesdays during term time:
4:15 - 5:15pm for years 2 and 3
5:15 - 6:15pm for years 4 to 7
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There is nothing I know that is quite like the thrill that you get when you learn how to see through a character’s eyes or feel the things that they feel. At heart, the very process of acting is life-affirming, joyful and exhilarating.