Bodies in Space

About

Bodies In Space (BIS) is a community-led performance workshop based at Old Diorama Arts Centre (ODAC). BIS aims to provide professional performers with a supportive space to refine their craft, bringing together actors and actor-writers in a weekly peer group.

Running every Monday evening from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, the workshop takes place in a completely non-commercial space, where views are freely exchanged and artists can showcase their material in a safe and encouraging environment. This space is especially precious to first-time writers seeking to build confidence in their artistic voice. It is a stage for experimentation for performers and writers to test new material, sharpen monologues to apply for opportunities (in the rehearsal room or on camera) or further develop original work in front of a responsive audience of peers. The open, drop-in nature of BIS is designed to nurture creative collaboration and foster an ever-growing, stimulating environment.

Equity membership is required to join, but the entire initiative is free to participants and no booking is necessary. The founder and facilitators will be providing their labour in kind, to serve their artistic and professional community.

Why Bodies in Space?

Presence makes artists. There are very few environments in London where that presence is not monetised upon, directly (workshops, classes, drama schools) or indirectly (e.g. as part of a job or professional engagement which will eventually charge for admissions or broadcast). Free and affordable spaces dedicated to artistic togetherness are constantly endangered and often forced to close down due to venue or funding loss.

Space is foundational to acting. In spite of this, we have now become accustomed to acting workshops and performances taking place in spaces that are in between renovations, awaiting usage change or demolition. Essentially, as artists we have become used to fetching the scraps of urban capitalism. It does not have to be that way. The case for fostering an organic performing arts community is not a business case - however compelling that would be - but a civic and cultural one.

While billionaires make headlines by being literally shot into outer space, cash- and time-poor artists are denied a space to exist in the urban environment allowing for a public-facing practice. The loss of social housing in London has directly impacted on the artistic output of the capital, now vastly overrepresenting the lives of the middle and upper-class.

Most people who train as actors are required to make a considerable personal and financial investment in getting started professionally. The industry’s reliance on high-end training and other paid services, now presented as bare necessities to start and maintain an acting career (headshots, reels, ongoing coaching, monthly subscriptions, et al.) have undeniably resulted in making the acting profession a prerogative of those with suitable financial means. By being entirely free of charge, BIS aims to counterbalance this dynamic.

Acting as a practice is now fairly immaterial. In the film and TV industry, what could already be achieved by approximation through quantitative editing can now be achieved by design via qualitative editing. The only true requirement for a screen acting profession in 2025 is access. In the domain of theatre, a renewed focus on the experiential makes extensive audience participation an essential tool, allowing a number of shows to function as they were designed to. Both phenomena make ‘bodies in space’ an accurate definition of what acting has become in a number of professional contexts today.

As an artistic project, Bodies In Space aims to re-focus the acting discourse towards:

the physical presence of the actor - as opposed to their disembodied imagination
the situated actor / audience exchange
the physical space which forms the material basis of that exchange.

BIS is not a drama school and not even an acting gym. It is more like a public park with benches arranged in a circle. And a water fountain.

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Workshop Night Structure: every Monday evening, 6 to 10 PM

Please note we are continuously adapting to participant feedback - join us to be part of this community-led, ongoing project.

For updates, join our WhatsApp group chat.

Signup: A first-come, first-served sign-up list opens at the start of each session, limited to 5 performance slots. Consistently with the ethos of the workshop, these are not bookable remotely. Physical presence at the start of the session is the only way to book a performance spot for the evening. If you are coming to observe, you may arrive between 6 and 8 PM at the latest. Anyone performing is strongly encouraged to stay until the end to contribute to the process.
The magic of a focused room has to be seen to be believed.
Performance Duration
- Solo Performers: Maximum of 2.5 minutes
- Groups of 2 or more: Maximum of 3.5 minutes

These time limits are fairly strict, allowing each participant to perform more than once during the evening and for equal access. However, depending on the night, the facilitator might decide to slightly loosen these requirements based on participation. If you have a longer piece, feel free to bring it as it is - but be prepared to be interrupted mid-performance if it ends up being too long.

Timing starts when the performer starts communicating either verbally or physically.

Session Flow

6:00 - 6:30 PM: List of arrivals opens and check-in + warm-up
6:30 - 9:30 PM: Performances, with short break somewhere in the middle
9:30 - 10:00: Check-out and feedback

After each performance: the workshop leader will invite attendees to raise their hands if they wish to give feedback. A maximum of five people will be allowed to feedback (also first come first served) and each prompt should last no longer than 1.5 minutes.

Based on feedback, the performance may be repeated two more times. A notebook will be made available, where the performer is invited to make notes from the feedback given by the audience. They will be then invited to circle one or more elements they would like to either enhance or subvert. This process is entirely self-led, although the facilitator can make suggestions. The performance will then be repeated and the feedback cycle will also repeat.

The book of notes remains with BIS and will be kept for posterity.

Feedback Guidance

Feedback should always be:

Brief and to the point (90 second time limit)
Specific (e.g. What actions and words? What moments in the journey?)
Relevant (in keeping with what actually happened)
Observational (e.g. Fast, Angry, Unblinking) rather than qualitative (e.g. Excellent, Boring)

Contact

Follow us on Instagram at @bodiesinspaceldn, email us directly to info@bodiesinspace.co.uk, or use the contact form below.

Location

Old Diorama Arts Centre,
201 Drummond Street,
Regent's Place,
London.
NW1 3FE