Bodies in Space

About

Bodies In Space (BIS) is a free, community-led performance workshop for professional actors, running every Monday from 6 to 10 PM at Old Diorama Arts Centre (ODAC). With its open, drop-in structure, BIS brings together actors and actor-writers in a weekly peer group.

How BIS works:

arrive
get together and warm up
if you don't want to perform, observe and feedback
if you want to, perform your own text
you may repeat the performance twice more
each time you perform, you get feedback
share your thoughts at the end.

That's it!

Our weekly gathering is non-commercial - we simply perform our chosen text in front of each other. This space is especially precious to first-time writers seeking to build confidence in their artistic voice, but any performer who joins us benefits from it.

Equity membership is required to join, but the entire initiative is free to participants and no booking is necessary. The founder and facilitators provide their labour in kind, to nurture collaboration and create new connections beyond industry.

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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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Please note we are continuously adapting to participant feedback - join us to be part of this community project. For updates, join our WhatsApp Community.

How do I sign up?

A first-come, first-served sign-up list opens at the start of each session. Physical presence at the start of the session is the only way to book a performance spot for the evening. Consistently with the ethos of the workshop, these are not bookable remotely. Latecomers are welcome to join until 8 PM latest.

Who can join?

BIS is a workshop and peer group for professional actors. As such, an active Equity membership is required. Please note this might be checked on the day, so remember to bring your Equity card or other proof of membership.

Why Equity?

In 2026, it can be difficult to establish what makes a professional actor. It is our view that union membership is still the best way to demonstrate commitment to an acting career. There are many benefits to joining Equity, which you can learn more about here.

Is there a minimum commitment?

Absolutely not. BIS is a drop-in, 100% flexible space for community. You can come once every six months, or every single week. Or anytime you can and want to. Totally up to you! BIS runs every Monday unless we announce otherwise, except on national / Bank Holidays.

How do I get into the building?

Keep an eye on the WhatsApp Community for the studio number as this is announced on the night. Just head to the Old Diorama reception, sign in and head into the studio.

I have work - can I arrive later / leave earlier?

You may arrive between 6 and 8 PM at the latest. Anyone performing is warmly encouraged to stay until the end to contribute to the process, but we completely understand life happens. BIS is a community room, just come in when you can - quietly if a performance is taking place!

What is the 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

How long do performances last?

These are our indicative guidelines for performance duration:

Solo Performers: around 2.5 minutes
Groups of 2 or more: around 3.5 minutes

Guidelines were formulated to allow as many people as possible to perform more than once during the evening - ideally, three times. 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! If you can, edit your text down to meet the suggested length - your time in the room will be much more productive and focused.

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

What does feedback look like?

After each performance, the facilitator will invite the audience to share observations and/or offerings. The performer is invited to take brief notes from the feedback given, in order to help in their own performance reformulation. This process is entirely self-led, although the facilitator and others in the room can make suggestions if helpful. The performance will then be repeated and the feedback cycle will also repeat two more times.

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

What are Observations and Offerings in your feedback sessions?

Observations are:

Brief and to the point
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)

Offerings are:

Expressions of curiosity (e.g. 'I found myself wondering if...')
Spontaneous ideas on where to take the performance (e.g. 'what would this character be in [insert completely different circumstances]?')
Actionable (e.g. 'My offering is to try this faster / slower / in French')
Always about the character or situation performed, not about the actor performing them
Non-binding and non-prescriptive - a gift the actor may or may not decide to use.

Contact

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

For updates, join our WhatsApp Community.

Location

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