Drama Classes

From the young beginners practising a poem about giants, to the advanced students preparing a Shakespeare scene, students at The Playing Space express themselves freely, collaborate bravely and share their ideas joyfully.

OUR PROGRAMME
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Our Principal

Gabi Maddocks established Greenacre Drama Classes in 2002. The classes expanded steadily, and in 2008, she and her husband Steven decided to relaunch the business as The Playing Space.
 Gabi has extensive experience in theatre as an actor, director, and writer.

2020: Love and Information by Caryll Churchill (ensemble cast) – live theatre via Zoom.
2019: My Mother Said I Never Should by Charlotte Keatley (director) – Upstairs at the Gatehouse.
2018: Mirrors by Siobhan McMillan (director) – Leicester Square Theatre.
2018: Hay Fever by Noel Coward (Moira) – Upstairs at the Gatehouse.
2017: Neighbourhood Watch by Alan Ayckbourn (director) – The Bull Theatre.
2016: Cabaret by John Kander and Fred Ebb (Sally Bowles) – The Lund Theatre.

Gabi studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge University and then did postgraduate actor training at Drama Studio London. From 2000 to 2001, Gabi and Steven lived in the Cape Verde Islands in West Africa. There, Gabi’s numerous responsibilities at the English Language Institute in Praia included teaching English to children and adults, training teachers and running drama workshops. Gabi uses British Sign Language to a high level and is a proud Mum and committed vegan.

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After-School Classes

Classes at The Playing Space involve a wide range of speech and drama activities. We play acting games and improvise our own scenes. We work with published texts – drama, verse and prose. We devise and write our own stories and scenes. We do tongue-twisters, breathing exercises and physical games. We mime, learn lines and read at sight.

“I love the inclusive ethos of The Playing Space, where both my children have managed to develop confidence and performance skills as well as a love of acting, in a very nurturing environment.”

Our classes…

  • 
are enormous fun
  • improve communication skills
  • boost self-confidence
  • promote team-work
  • provide a happy and supportive
  • environment in which the imagination can run free
  • give training in vocal and physical expression and stagecraft
  • foster an appreciation of poems, prose and drama
  • continually measure progress and development
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Who We TEach

We teach all aspects of speech and drama to children and young adults. We also run occasional courses for adult actors. We keep our group sizes small so that everyone gets plenty of attention. Some students wants to use drama to improve their self-confidence and develop communication skills. Others are enthusiastic actors, keen to pick up knowledge and techniques that they can apply in performance.
Programme

What We TEach

Our acting classes cover a range of core skills, including script work, devising, improvisation, and physical theatre. We also cover niche skills, such as clowning, mime and screen acting. Students work on monologues, duologues and group scenes. We use plays ranging from Ancient Greek to present day. We also teach verse and prose reading, debating and public speaking.
Syllabus

Where We Are

We are based in Southgate, North London, where we have two fabulous purpose-built drama studios. Currently, we also run classes at other venues in the Southgate area and in Crouch End.
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LAMDA Exams

All students at The Playing Space have the option of taking a LAMDA Exam in subjects including acting, public speaking, verse and prose reading and devising. LAMDA Exams are highly thought of by schools and colleges, and the medal exams earn UCAS points. We have been preparing students for LAMDA Exams for over twenty years and get consistently high results. Our students enjoy taking them.

LAMDA Exams

PRIVATE DRAMA CLASSES

Contact us to arrange classes outside of our regular timetable or to cover specific needs. We can arrange private drama classes, for individual students or a group, at our studios, or at your home.

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Schools: Drama Clubs

We run after-school drama clubs in primary schools across North London. The Playing Space Drama Clubs boost confidence, improve communication skills, and are enormous fun. They give valuable after-hours provision. Each termly club culminates in an end-of-term performance for parents.
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Schools: Peripatetic

Our teachers come into your secondary school to prepare students, individually or in small groups, to take LAMDA exams in acting, public speaking, or speaking verse and prose, as well as other subjects.
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“My two children have been attending the Playing Space for several years and enjoyed it a great deal, have had fantastic support, developed excellent communication skills, grown in confidence and achieved brilliant results in their LAMDA exams.”

Happy Parent

of a student at The Playing Space

“My younger daughter was… very quiet and shy. We tried her out for a term at The Playing Space to see if it really would help her self confidence. That was three years ago and she refuses to leave.”

Happy Parent

of a student at The Playing Space

“Both of my daughters, aged 9 and 6, have taken part in the holiday workshops, and also attend the weekly after-school classes. They love going to drama, it’s fun but also has improved their public speaking. In school assemblies they are now loud and speak clearly and with expression, all due to the work they do at The Playing Space.”

Happy Parent

of a student at The Playing Space

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