Acting: Play (16+)

“First of all, you have to invite him in.” 

During this six-day summer school, you will have the opportunity to take part in the intensive casting, rehearsing and performance of Liz Lochhead’s Dracula. 

The course is suitable for aspiring actors who wish to develop performance skills and build on previous experience. 

The course is taught by an experienced theatre director and students will benefit from participating in a simulated professional rehearsal and production process. Workshops will explore techniques which can enhance character development and story-telling, and students will become acquainted with the essentials of textual analysis. 

The course is practical, rigorous and aims to challenge participants technically and creatively. It aims to create an inspiring, challenging and supportive environment for ambitious actors to increase their performance experience. 

By the end of the courses students should have: 

• Strengthened their acting skills, in particular voice and character development 
• Experienced a professional approach to casting and rehearsing 
• Participated in a range of skill-based masterclasses 
• Worked towards a finished production as an acting ensemble 

The final performance will take place on the last day of the course. 

If you have any questions in advance of booking, please contact us at summerschools@rcs.ac.uk or (0044) 141 270 8213. 

You may also be interested in the following courses: Acting for Camera (16+), Acting Audition Preparation, Acting: Shakespeare 

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 out with 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@thisisfresh.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

This is an open access course which is suitable for anyone over 16 who is interested in taking part in an intensive rehearsal and performance experience, however previous acting experience is recommended to get the most out of the teaching.

The course is designed so that motivated students will benefit from the study, and the tutors are experienced in teaching across all levels of skill and experience.

Students should be open, honest, generous, respectful, willing to take risks, hard-working and happy to participate in new challenges. The course would particularly benefit people wishing to:

• build on or refresh previous acting experience
• explore this as a pathway towards or as an alternative to full-time training
• investigate the possibilities of pursuing a career in acting

During the course students should dress appropriately in loose and comfortable clothing and be prepared to work without shoes if required. We also ask that students to bring rehearsal clothes to the summer school, i.e. clothes that are dark and neutral.

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

Promotional Offers

We offer a selection of promotional offers for our Short Courses, take a look!

To receive the promotional offer code, contact shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk before booking a course.

The course runs Monday 24 July – Saturday 29 July, from 10am to 5pm. There will be a short sharing of the work students have been engaging with on the Friday afternoon for invited family and friends.

“A fun, exciting and enjoyable way to stage a play. A great way to meet new people and develop new skills too.” (2019 participant)

“Inspiring, fun, dynamic, interesting…I really enjoyed working with the whole group. In only 6 days we created a nice cohesion! The tutors were inspiring, clear, easy going and fun! The only thing there is more to say, I definitely would like more of it!” (2019 participant)

“An opportunity for all levels of actors to work with a fantastic director who gives clear and structured instructions. A great balance between fun and creating something worthwhile. An excellent experience that is worth doing for all interested in performance and plays.” (2019 participant)

“It was insightful as well as entertaining. It also taught me valuable lessons about how to properly portray the complexities of a character & their desires.”(2019 participant)

“This course is amazing, a once in a life time experience where you can meet people from all around the world with similar intentions and interests in drama. In this course you can tackle sensitive subjects and learn more about acting , futures in drama and yourself.” (2018 participant)

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.

More information about the Agnes Allan Bursary.

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.

More information about the James McAvoy Drama Scholarship.