The Actors Workshop (Australia)

The Actors Workshop Australia

Trade name	The Actors Workshop Australia Pty Ltd
Company type	Drama school
Traded as	The Actors Workshop
Industry	Film, Television and Theatre
Founded	1994 - 2018
Founder	Lyn Kidd and Michael Caton
Headquarters	Brisbane, Australia

The Actors Workshop was a private^[1] professional acting school^[2][3] in Brisbane, Australia.^[4][5][6][7] Its teaching style is influenced by Stanislavski's system and Stella Adler's interpretation, in addition to The Psychology of Character developed by Lyn Kidd.

History

It was founded on 6 October 1994^[8] by acting teacher Lyn Kidd and Australian actor Michael Caton.^[9][10][11]

The first premises was leased from theatrical agent Stacey Testro^[12] in Fortitude Valley. Classes commenced in voice, technique and camera. In 1996 the school relocated into the Metro Arts building in Edward Street, Brisbane CBD.^[13] The curriculum was expanded to include physical training in the form of improvisation, movement and stage combat. Kidd also extended the acting technique program by adding Character to the existing Script Analysis subjects. In doing so, Kidd had developed her technique into the program she named The Psychology of Character.^[14]

In 1999, the school benchmarked training for actors by having the curriculum of The Actors Workshop accredited as an Advanced Diploma of Film, Television and Theatre Acting, under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). The Diploma of Film and Television Acting and a Certificate IV in Film and Television Acting were housed within the Advanced Diploma curriculum.^[15][16] It was the first qualification to incorporate equal, dedicated training streams to both the live and camera medium, for the entire two years full time training strategy.^[17] Also in 2000, the school received Registered Training Organisation (RTO) status, as nationally regulated by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).^[18][19] 

In 2001, The Actors Workshop moved to the heritage listed Foresters Hall in Trinity Lane, Woolloongabba and commenced delivery of the Advanced Diploma, Diploma and Certificate IV qualifications to full-time students.^{[20][21][22][23]} Kidd continued running The Actors Workshop and the delivery of these qualifications until her retirement in 2018.^[24]

School's Philosophy

The artist is a continual student, learning from the experiences of life. This allows the artist to contribute to society, by reflecting a creative awareness back into their community. A community that embraces creativity has a higher potential for a fulfilling, prosperous and compassionate future.^[25]

A maximum of fourteen full-time students attended twenty-eight hours of studio based training a week, forty weeks a year, over two years. In addition, the course included up to 20 hours a week in homework, production rehearsal and work experience requirements.^[26]

Complete list of courses offered:

• Advanced Diploma of Film, Television and Theatre Acting
• Diploma of Film Television Acting
• Certificate IV Film and Television Acting, and
• The Psychology of Character (Pre-accreditation)^[27]

Legacy

The school earned a reputation for Lyn Kidd's generosity, integrity and commitment to her students.^[28][29] The school instilled in the actors an accountability towards adherence, respect and dedication to their craft.^[30] The Actors Workshop was known for creating a safe space for the personal, professional and creative growth of actors, whilst also welcoming and nurturing the wider creative industry.^[31]

The school dedicated a great deal of time in supporting casting calls Australia-wide, particularly in South East Queensland. Students benefited from the school's collaboration with film and television schools and universities as well as production companies Australia wide.^[32]

Community service

The Actors Workshop was committed to community service. Kidd supported South East Queensland community-based organisations and government services by supplying students and alumni to participate in role play based training programs.^[33][34]

Awards and accolades

The Actors Workshop received several industry, education and community service awards. In addition, numerous alumni and emergent filmmakers associated with the school have received award recognition for their work supported by Lyn Kidd.^[35][36] 

Select list of awards won by The Actors Workshop:

Year	Title	Notes
2003	Community Service Award	Presented by Queensland Emergency Services Commissioner, in recognition of Excellence through Education and contributions made to the assessment strategies of community training organisations of Queensland Ambulance's QAS Education Centre.[37]
2004	Kinetone Award	Lyn Kidd was the first female to receive the Kinetone Award, The Queensland New Filmmakers Awards (QNFA), in recognition of significant contribution to film and television in Queensland particularly with the mentoring of young filmmakers.
2004	QTA Queensland Training Awards STATE WINNER	Australia Council for Private Education and Training Small Training Provider of the Year Award. Presented to The Actors Workshop. Awarded by Tom Barton MP, Minister for Employment, Training and Industrial Relations, Queensland Government.[38]
2004	QTA Queensland Training Awards STATE FINALIST

Notes

1. Manger 2012 "It is a privately-run and owned drama school with no Government financial assistance or grants from private enterprise."
2. McLean 2004 "this successful school for actors and filmmakers... She says she caps enrolments in her school … there’s no point taking any more because there aren’t enough jobs to be turning out hundreds of graduates." Also, she says: "This is about art - it is not about making millions of dollars….It is because I have kept this school small…"
3. Stewart 1995 "The Actors’ Workshop made a decision to pursue quality over quantity, limiting class numbers to a maximum of 14 to ensure sufficient attention for each pupil, and offering specialist workshops in areas such as American accents, audition techniques, monologues and Shakespeare."
4. Debra 2004 "…Lyn Kidd’s highly-respected The Actors Workshop”
5. Doran 2015 "The school holds a high reputation for down to earth, creative and hard working graduates."
6. Balos & Kidd 1997 "established the successful studio, The Actors Workshop, in Brisbane.”
7. Anon 1999 "graduate of the acclaimed Actors Workshop run by Masterclass teacher Lyn Kidd"
8. Bentley 2015 "Michael Caton:"…6th October, 1994, it was the start of The Actors Workshop." "
9. Partridge 2004 "Brisbane drama teacher and The Actors Workshop co-founder Lyn Kidd established the Actors’ Workshop with former Brisbane actor Michael Caton, the Castle star currently on screen with Paul Hogan in Strange Bedfellows."
10. Bentley 2015 "Michael Caton: "…and what would The Actors Workshop be without Lyn Kidd, who’s been its heart and soul for the last twenty years. I’m proud to say that I had a little bit to do with its beginnings, and it came about because I was talking to a director and he said the main problem with Queensland is casting those roles we call 50 words or less. They are the guts of any television program or film for that matter. So we got together and decided that Lyn would teach the technique and I would do the scene classes." "
11. Stewart 1995 "Since setting up The Actors’ Workshop a year ago, Kidd and Caton’s students have featured in a range of film, TV and theatre roles, including Thorn Birds: The Missing Years, Fire, Miss Bosnia, Flipper and a host of TV commercials."
12. "Stacey Testro". 17 December 2013.
13. Bentley 2015
14. Anon 2023
15. https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/31222450/ADSA_2019_abstract_booklet.pdf
16. Anon 2023 "[Rob Doran] … then developed her programme into an Advanced Diploma of Film, Television and Theatre Acting, accredited under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF)."
17. Doran 2015
18. https://www.asqa.gov.au
19. "The Actors Workshop Australia Pty Ltd". training.gov.au. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
20. Partridge 2004 "Woolloongaba"
21. McLean 2004 hall in Woolloongabba
22. Bentley 2015 "Michael Caton: "And we started off in the Valley. It progressed through many identities. It went to the Metro for a few years and ended up here in Woolloongabba. My old stomping ground. In Trinity Lane, at the Forresters Hall, and it’s here that Lyn has made something happen from the smell of an oily rag.""
23. Doran 2015 The school is housed in the historic Foresters Hall …Trinity Lane, Woolloongabba.
24. "The Actors Workshop Australia Pty Ltd". asqa.gov.au. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
25. Doran 2015
26. Doran 2015 pp1-4
27. Stage Whispers 2018
28. McLean 2004 "At the awards night Kidd, along with hundreds of others, watched a brief film of testimonials from some of her star pupils, including... Peter and Michael Speirig and Emma Randall. All spoke of her generosity, integrity, loyalty, enthusiasm and pride in the Queensland industry.”
29. Bentley 2015 "Michael Caton: "...“You can come to The Actors Workshop, you’re not going to have a HECS loan. The only way you can do it, is if you pay as you go. There’s no way you’re going to come out of this school with a $40,000 HECS debt. That’s also the sort of person Lyn is. Because what we do and what we teach to people as actors is an intangible thing.” "
30. McLean 2004 "Kidd is similarly straight up with people who don’t adhere to her own strict code of industry conduct. Students who miss special sessions such as role play - The Actors Workshop works with the community training to provide free scenario work for the Queensland Ambulance Service and Relationships Australia - are not given another chance in a hurry”
31. McLean 2004 "She may be a guru to emerging filmmakers... her role in the nurturing of young people in the film and television industry is legendary. Kidd has created an unlikely haven for young people in the film and TV industry...."The kids who come in here and just hang around to learn more, they are the ones I want to nurture because they have taken the time to find their way here and they want to learn.” "
32. Doran 2015 "As well as providing vocational training for actors, the school acts as a resource centre, bringing together young writers, filmmakers and directors. The studios of the school are utilised for rehearsals, readings, auditions, productions and more. The collaboration between students of the school and the emerging production sectors has led to award winning films, independent productions, stage plays and long standing relationships between networking artists."
33. Bentley 2015 "Michael Caton: "The Actors Workshop also gives back to the community, and has done since back in the 90’s. Student actors get on the job experience playing all sorts of characters and scenarios for community and educational training programs. Things like a corpse or a trauma victim for Emergency Services Training scenarios. Student actors helping someone get better at what they are studying while getting better at acting at the same time. By the way, none of this ever cost any one anything, it’s all been done for community service. But everyone involved benefited from it. That’s Lyn’s gift." "
34. Alred 2003 "When the paramedics arrive, students from the Actors Workshop often turn up with the most gruesome injuries: burns, crushed limbs, some are even suicidal patients. For the past five years, student from the Actors Workshop have been volunteering for such pain… in fact they look forward to it. And Queensland Emergency Services value the contribution they make. It’s part of an intensive training regime, both for the actors and the young ambulance officers who are taking part in the Student Paramedic Program with the Queensland Ambulance Education Centre. The emerging actors role-play as accident victims so that the student ambulance officers can run through a variety of accident scenarios. "We work with several groups in the community this way, the ambulance, Relationships Australia, the law societies," Actors Workshop founder Lyn Kidd says. "It gives the actors a great deal of information about situations they may need for a role in their careers." Queensland Ambulance Education Centre administration officer Nicola Tribbles, who doubles as the simulated injury makeup artist for the day, says she is impressed with the realism the students project."
35. Doran 2015 "Since 2000, the school has been associated with a host of awards won by staff, graduates and emerging film makers who seek casting and production support from the school.
36. McLean 2004 "Lyn Kidd, 53, says she was shocked to receive the Kinetone Award and surprised to realise how many of her graduates are award-winners. "…I hadn’t known we had so many well-known young filmmakers and actors because it is not something I stop and think about." "
37. Doran 2015 "In 2003 Lyn was presented with a shield for Excellence in Education by the Commissioner of Queensland Emergency Services, in recognition of the contribution she has made to the assessment strategies of community training organisations."
38. Queensland Government 2004

References

• Manger, Sue (21 November 2012), The Right Place At The Right Time: Casting Stories by Sue Manger 
• McLean, Sandra (22 May 2004). "Windows to the stars". THE COURIER-MAIL. 
• Debra, Aldred (12 June 2004). "Star has room for workshop". THE COURIER-MAIL.  
• Doran, Robert (2015). The Actors Workshop Prospectus Version 12 - 04/08/2015. Brisbane: The Actors Workshop. pp. 1–4.
• Balos, Rowena; Kidd, Lyn (1997). The Jungle of Sounds : A Journey Through The Magic of Language. Sydney: Antipodean Educational Enterprises. pp. 1–5. ISBN 1-876223-06-5. 
• Anon (6 January 1999). "Flying high in lead role". Wynnum Herald. 
• Stewart, Olivia (22 November 1995). "Work-outs for the stage". THE COURIER-MAIL, WEEKEND EDITION. p. 15. 
• Bentley, Dan (2015). The Actors Workshop Celebrating 20 years - 19/10/2004. Dan Bentley Media. 
• Alred, Debra (10 December 2003). "School of hard knocks". THE COURIER-MAIL. 
• Partridge, Des (April 2004). "Drama teacher honoured for playing her part". THE COURIER-MAIL. 
• Anon (2023), Robert Doran, retrieved 2 November 2023 
• Queensland Government, Department of Employment and Training (27 August 2004). "The Pride of Queensland, Queensland Training Awards 2004". THE COURIER-MAIL, SATURDAY EXTRA. 
• Stage Whispers (2018), "The Actors Workshop", Stage Whispers - Performing Arts - 2018 Course Guide - Directory of Performing Arts Courses, p. 25