One can feel quite isolated at times, as an actor waiting for your agent to ring, but this is not so if you become part of the North London Acting community. Even if paid work is not forthcoming for a while you can still feel a part of the profession at least once or twice a month while attending or performing in NLA events.
There are opportunities to participate regularly in Circle Readings and the potential to be cast in our Semi-Staged Rehearsed Readings with an audience.
You will also widen your contacts, meet new writers and directors, and get the chance to hone your sight-reading skills so that when you do get that call from your agent with that audition you will be ready!
You are able for the minimal cost of membership and without the cost of expensive courses to practise the very art that you need for auditions, the art of bringing the page alive on sight with very little previous study. Another distinct advantage is that you have something to talk about at the audition when they ask you that inevitable question, " .....so what have you been doing lately?"
Another splendid advantage of joining a play-reading group such as this one, is the scope to increase one's knowledge of plays and playwrights and the various styles employed in the history of Theatre....another plus for that audition when you are hoping to come across as an intelligent thinking actor!
Finally we organise a number of workshops in the course of the year at minimal cost. Among these in the last few years have been workshops by Cicely Berry, voice coach to the RSC, Patrick Tucker of First Folio with his unique insights into the meaning of Shakespeare's lines, along with specific sight reading workshops which have proved invaluable to some actors. Many more are planned for the coming year and we are always open to suggestions from members for these.
With regard to writers there is a different emphasis. At the moment there are a limited amount of new writing slots in our overall programme. Plays that are submitted to us will be read by our readers and if they agree on a piece we will speak to writers about how we proceed.
Currently there will be two new works at most, selected by our readers to form part of NLA's programme but as we grow the number of slots will increase accordingly. The rehearsed readings give writers the opportunity to have their worked directed and acted in a professional environment in front of an informed audience. Apart from benefiting from the fact of just seeing and hearing their work performed, there is also a Q&A session at the end where audience members can comment on what they have just seen and give useful and constructive feedback to the writer.
Our method of working is deceptively simple. Our performances are on the Wednesday of a week. The scripts are first sent by email to the actors for them to read by themselves. They will then receive a hard copy in time for the rehearsal on the Sunday preceding performance. This will be for 4 hours with a break for lunch which is provided by the writer who also funds the hiring of the rehearsal space. There is often time before the performance to top and tail various scenes. We find this way of working does not take up an inordinate amount of time for the actors and is extremely useful for the writers in gaining a realistic and artistically informative assessment of their work.
Another avenue open to writers and producers is where we are commissioned by a writer, producer or organisation to do a work of their own. Providing we have no objection to the work, we are able to offer a more intense work shopping process. This is mostly by arrangement with the writer/producer and will be funded by them. They will also be expected to pay actors' expenses, provide scripts and hire the rehearsal space and pay for food and drink for actors during rehearsals.
Like actors and directors, writers are expected to join and support the company with a certain number of attendances to support others in the same way as their work/performance is being supported.