The Director/ Actor Collaboration: Essential Techniques for Directors

Tim image - Robbie Coltane, Sarah Lancashire, Stellan Skarsgrad
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The Director/ Actor Collaboration: Essential Techniques for Directors

Date:
Sat, 1 Mar 2025 to Sun, 2 Mar 2025

Duration: 2 days
Times:
10am-5.30pm
Capacity: Max. 10 participants
Fee: £500

Tim Fywell is one of the most experienced directors working in TV drama, in the UK and internationally. Working across TV drama and feature films, he has worked with a host of accomplished actors including Mira Sorvino, Romola Garai, Robbie Coltrane, Stellan Skarsgård, Helena Bonham-Carter, Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Daniel Craig, Anna Friel, Christopher Ecclestone, Sarah Lancashire, Lia Williams, Douglas Hodge, Ciaran Hinds and Andrew Lincoln.

In 1994, Tim directed To Be A Somebody, the defining series of Jimmy McGovern’s CRACKER. It memorably portrayed the murder of DC Bilborough (Christopher Ecclestone) by Albie Kinsella (Robert Carlyle).  All Tim’s films feature atmospheric and economical storytelling; and their dramatic force comes from the quality and consistency of his actors’ performances.

Tim’s recent TV credits range from RIVER (BBC, 2015, written by Abi Morgan), HAPPY VALLEY (Red/BBC1, 2014, winner of Best Drama Series at the 2015 BAFTA TV awards) and GRANTCHESTER (ITV, 2014, 2016, 2017), to DRACULA (NBC Universal, 2014) and MASTERS OF SEX (Showtime, 2013).

Building on the success of his popular Director/Writer Collaboration: From Script to Screen workshop at LFS, Tim now offers two days of techniques for working with actors.

Course Outline

The aim is for a group of ten directors to experience Tim’s approaches to acting and directing first hand, through a series of practical script-based exercises.

Participants will alternately give and take direction; first working with each other, then with professional actors, who will join the group on day two.

Questions to be considered include:

  • What can you expect your actors to know? What do they bring with them to the director/actor collaboration?
  • What do YOU, as director, bring to the collaboration? What is your understanding of the script, the character, the story and the scene?
  • How much detail should you plan in advance? How much is to be jointly conceived by yourself and the actor working together?
  • How much information does the actor need? What is the most useful way to provide it? 

The course will examine the director-actor relationship to the script, the character, and the shooting process. It will explore how the director can work with an actor to achieve a higher degree of characterisation and immediacy. It will also explore ways to re-set the approach if an actor is missing the notes, or is on a trajectory that does not reflect the tone or pace of the surrounding drama.

Other areas for discussion:

  • The actor's practical vocabulary: Goals, Aims, States of Mind, Realisations.
  • Different kinds of acting methods and styles: How to recognise them, and how best to accommodate them.
  • Getting an actor on board: The process, from the moment you meet (at a casting session; backstage at a theatre), to communicating the relationship you want.
  • The protocols of rehearsal: Both 1-to-1 and with a group. What can be achieved in rehearsal, and what should wait until the shoot.

"A perfectly pitched opportunity to learn skills as a director that you might rarely be able to practice –without any consequences, at least. A good opportunity to meet other directors and to get a feel of the real working practices of a working director. Thanks Tim for a great learning experience." Myrna, participant March 2015

"In broadcast rehearsal, time is a luxury; you need to be able to get the performance you want from your actors in the twenty minutes it takes your crew to set up. Tim showed us how to work with a fast turnaround, how to allow the actors room to bring their own ideas, how to prep very quickly and resolve any issues with both script and performance." Farah, participant March 2015

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Tutor profile: Tim Fywell, Director

Tim Fywell is one of the most accomplished directors of drama working in UK television today. The range of his work extends from GRANTCHESTER (2014, 2016 & 2017) to HAPPY VALLEY (2014); from MASTERS OF SEX (2013) to DRACULA (2014); from CRACKER (1994, To Be a Somebody, with Robert Carlyle) to MADAME BOVARY (2000, adapted by Heidi Thomas); from Sarah Waters’ AFFINITY (2008, adapted by Andrew Davies) to THE TURN OF THE SCREW (2009, adapted by Sandy Welch); plus SILENT WITNESS, WAKING THE DEAD, THE NO. 1 LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY, DCI BANKS, LEWIS and WODEHOUSE IN EXILE (TV Movie, 2013).

Tim's next project to air will be the forthcoming BBC1 drama series RIVER (2015), created and written by Abi Morgan, starring Stellan Skarsgrad. - See more at: http://lfs.org.uk/workshops/lfs-workshops/1577/directoractor-collaborati...
Tim's next project to air will be the forthcoming BBC1 drama series RIVER (2015), created and written by Abi Morgan, starring Stellan Skarsgrad. - See more at: http://lfs.org.uk/workshops/lfs-workshops/1577/directoractor-collaborati...
Tim's next project to air will be the forthcoming BBC1 drama series RIVER (2015), created and written by Abi Morgan, starring Stellan Skarsgrad. - See more at: http://lfs.org.uk/workshops/lfs-workshops/1577/directoractor-collaborati...

Tim’s feature credits include I CAPTURE THE CASTLE (2003) with Romola Garai, Bill Nighy, Rose Byrne and Tara Fitzgerald, and THE ICE PRINCESS (2005) with Michelle Trachtenberg, Joan Cusack and Kim Cattrall. Tim studied English at Cambridge University and began his professional career directing in fringe theatre before moving on to the West End.

Some of his theatrical credits include: LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES (Playhouse Theatre); SKIRMISHES (Hampstead Theatre); RED SATURDAY (Royal Court); THE MOTHER COUNTRY (Riverside Studios); HITTINGTOWN (Bush Theatre); NO HAND SIGNALS (National Theatre), which he wrote and directed; I MADE IT MA TOP OF THE WORLD which he devised and directed at the Royal Court, and SPRING AWAKENING (Royal Court).