Page 247 - Guildhall Coverage Book 2020-21

approaches, the principles of comedy found in French farce or physical slapstick, but

applying them to contemporary TV scripts.”

For Broderick Chow, interim deputy dean at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama,
the material students work with is an important aspect of broadening the curriculum.

“As drama schools have been grappling with their histories in relation to race, gender,

disability and all minority identities, a key issue is that we ask students to bring themselves,
including their unique identities, to the work. This creates situations of vulnerability, which

can lead to harm if not managed carefully. I understand this on a personal level as an East-

Asian actor who studied and trained in white spaces.

‘We have begun by pulling out our library and

implementing a new approach to inclusive

texts’ Yusuf Khamisa, ALRA

“We consider all our play choices to ensure students are given the opportunity to play roles

both within and without their personal experiences. Often Black and global majority actors

can just be expected to be able to ‘play themselves’ – so play choice must be supported by

teaching that considers the lived experience of students, such as diasporic accents and
dialects.”

Yusuf Khamisa, head of live and recorded performance, says: “At ALRA North, we are

questioning our own pedagogy and implementing an ethos that’s safe, fair and inclusive. We
have begun by pulling out our existing library and implementing a new approach to inclusive

texts from around the globe. Libraries can often be steeped in white-male privilege and need

to be decolonised. We are also engaging in queering up our spaces and developing a

predominantly neurodiverse approach to our curriculum and student experience.”

AJ Quinn, head of screen, audio, digital performance and research at LAMDA, says, with the
rise of streaming platforms and audio books, “screen and audio work now plays an important

role in our training”. He adds: “We want graduates to leave with a range of useful digital