On the steps to becoming masters of drama

Lots of proud parents have recently attended their kids’ end of the school year performance and for some this may have left them wondering if the stage will be the place where their kids will find a professional home. For those parents who see a real star in their children’s future or for those young adults who would like to learn the trade of acting from professionals, there is a summer drama camp coming up focussing on learning to perform from some of the best.

The summer camp, which will take place in Kritou Terra in Paphos from July 3-9, is an intensive drama and performance camp organised by Masterclass Workshops UK.

This is a great opportunity for aspiring performers to get trained by industry professionals from the UK – Kathleen Ruddy and Julia Coombe – in a place with rich, historical surroundings and breathtaking views.

Actress, playwright and director Ruddy is well-known to Cypriot theatregoers for her sell-out plays such as Sex, Chips and Ouzo, The Devil Wears Primark, Spare Ribs, Check Your Coupon and Death of a Playboy. She is the winner of an Edinburgh Fringe Festival Award who has also starred on the big screen in the award-winning A Spanking in Paradise and has also written for UK comedy panel shows and dramas for the BBC and ITV.

In Cyprus she teaches National Certificate in Musical Theatre Pre-Vocational students in Nicosia who have all been accepted into UK universities so far.

Actress Coombe has worked with many renowned actors and celebrities such as Michael Pennington, Lindsay Duncan, Margi Clarke, Toyah Willcox, Carol Smillie and Graham Norton. She is best known for her work in comedy in shows like The Vagina Monologues and for her hit stage show Hormonal Housewives.

Teaching has taken Julie as far as Milan and the International School of Vienna. She has given several workshops at PASS (Performing Arts Studio Scotland) such as acting in TV, audition technique and the performing arts as a business.

According to Masterclass Workshops UK, this is “the ideal spot to help actors and performers get away from it all, feel inspired by the location and get to business for the first week of July, learning to act for camera, write a drama, devise a comedy, learn stand-up, voice production, accent training, how to produce a radio play or voice-over a radio advert.”

With the guidance of Ruddy and Coombe, the students will draw on the location’s history to become a part and put on a great performance. “they will draw on the host location – the days when it was a busy hub in the 1800s with a casino visited by celebrities and royalty and of when it housed the many workers of the Limni copper mines across the valley,” said the organisers.

While engaging with the environment and each other, participants will have the time to think, talk and perform while also discovering the power of public speaking, gaining self-confidence and expanding on their existing talents. This could also be the opportunity they need to gain access into UK drama schools and colleges for those who are more serious about the business of acting.

Drama Camp
Drama camp with professional UK actresses Kathleen Ruddy and Julia Coombe. July 3-9. Kritou Terra, Paphos. €550 including accommodation and food. Tel: 99-908434 or 99-069074