A couple of weeks ago I was invited to go along to Seven Arts in Chapel Allerton, not so much to review a play, but to sample the output of Leeds Actors In Training (LAIT). I must say that I was impressed on several levels.
Leeds Actors In Training is a year-long acting course with sessions taking place on Wednesdays, between 6.00pm and 9.00pm, in the Basement Studio at Leeds Grand Theatre. The target age is 18 to 25 and there are three terms which coincide with their academic counterparts. The purpose is to provide young people who are interested in an acting career, with the high-quality skills, development opportunities and an alternative to the traditional drama school route. This means that the fees are much more affordable as well. The cost is £155 per term – £465 for the full year. That works out at about £15 per session, less than a round of golf and certainly less than a round of drinks.
Lizi Patch, Artistic Director of LAIT – and Director of The Maladies.
The format does not mean that standards are lower, far from it. The course is run by Lizi Patch who is the Artistic Director of Young People’s Theatre and also enlists the help of guest artists to provide specialist knowledge in a variety of fields. There is Dawn Holgate, Dance and Choreography, Sam Kenyon, Vocal Coaching and Singing, Paul Birch, Improv and Playwrighting and Eleanor Manners, Directing and Voice.
The three terms each concentrate on a different aspect of the profession. The first is all about The Actor developing their use of the voice, body and imagination. It also covers self-development, good practice and interpersonal skills, using improvisation and play.
The second term develops what was learned in the first, and introduces texts, and how they should be approached. It then goes on to provide a guide to finding good material for auditions, and the skills needed to present it, and themselves, to a group of strangers.
The final term revolves around performance opportunities, such as developing a showcase of the group’s work, individual work and rehearsing for public performance. A professional photographer/videographer will be visiting to take stills and footage to begin a portfolio.
Meanwhile, back at the play.
Clémence Bérnard, Grace Keenoy and Madeleine Ivanov
The piece is a dystopian mystery, which is triggered when a group of women in London lose the ability to speak. I will let that pass without comment, as will they, obviously. The year is 2025 and group of young people running a podcast, Trilogy Media, pick up on the story.
One of the researchers discovers similar outbreaks of strange occurrences among groups of women for no apparent reason; the first, occurring in Strasbourg in 1508, when a woman begins to dance compulsively, and soon, hundreds join her. Tanzania in 1962 is the next stop in the story, when a schoolgirl’s laughing fit spreads from village to village. 2011 sees a group of American cheerleaders overcome by uncontrollable twitching, which leads us back to the present day.
Karolos Karakantzas-Marketos, Beth Walkden, Leah Holmes and Devon Nixon
Along the way, the scene keeps switching to the Trilogy Media studio where the attitude of the corporate sponsor changes from support to animosity as the events get more bizarre and the general topic of female hysteria is examined.
Grace Keenoy and Gabriel Simpson
Regardless of the story, it was the creativity of Director, Lizi Patch, which impressed me; given her cv, so it should. Working with minimal props and scenery, she managed to highlight each of the elements of the year’s course with aplomb. Each actor got their minute in the spotlight in every aspect of the production. There was music, movement, ensemble pieces and solos, showing how they had learned to recognise themselves and adapt to the various scenarios into which they were thrust.
Clémence Bérnard, Madeleine Ivanov, Tara Buranakul and Liên Cao
Obviously the participants had their strong and weak points, but these were overcome by the self-confidence which had been instilled. Although even their strengths were still in embryo, I came away with the feeling that I will be seeing at least one or two of them, go on to pursue whatever path, through the highly competitive theatrical process, they chose to follow. I wish them all the very best.
If you are interested in finding out more about LAIT, Leeds Actors In Training, please go to https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/take-part/young-adults/leeds-actors-in-training/ where you can download an Info Pack, see a trailer and biographies of those leading the tutorials and apply to join. Applications for 2025-26 close on Monday, 1st September, 2025 and shortlisted applicants will be required to audition on Wednesday, 24th September, 2025.
If you apply, break both legs, and I hope to see you soon. The same sentiment is extended to those who have graduated from the 2024-25 class.
All images supplied by Leeds Heritage Theatres
To learn more about Seven Arts and to see what is coming up there, please go to https://www.sevenleeds.co.uk/
Tyke It To The Limit 