This second five-day intensive is designed for students who have completed the initial Acting for Film program and are ready to deepen their craft in a more advanced and creatively demanding environment. Building on the foundations established in Week One, students will work with more complex monologues and scene material, placing greater emphasis on emotional truth, subtext, behavioural nuance and sustained performance under pressure.
The intensive continues the exploration of screen acting technique, text analysis, objectives and authenticity, while extending students into more layered and dynamic performance work. A major focus of the week is helping actors move beyond self-consciousness and toward the elusive “play state” — a freer, more instinctive and creatively responsive mode of performance.
Students will explore further techniques for managing nerves and maintaining presence under pressure, while also developing greater vocal variation, physical freedom and expressive range without losing the naturalism required for screen. Camera craft and on-set awareness introduced in the first intensive will continue to be refined, with increased attention given to professional on-set protocols, collaboration, continuity, adaptability and the expectations of working within a film and television environment.
As with Week One, all performance work will be filmed and reviewed within a supportive but rigorous professional setting designed to build confidence, technical skill, creative courage and deeper emotional accessibility on camera. The intensive continues to draw on Myles Pollard’s professional experience as an actor, director, writer, producer, teacher and facilitator, combining industry-based practical knowledge with a strong focus on communication, authenticity and performance psychology.
Myles Pollard has appeared as an actor in many Australian television series, including Australia’s most successful TV series, McLeod’s Daughters, Home and Away, Packed to the Rafters, Underbelly, Double Trouble, East West 101, All Saints, Rescue Special Ops, Mystery Road 2, The Twelve, Invisible Boys and Son Of A Donkey.
His feature film credits include Wolverine, Drift, The Turning, The War That Changed Us, Looking For Grace, Jasper Jones, The Gateway, Danger Close, How to Please a Woman, Before Dawn, Frank and Frank and Frederickstown.
Myles produced the feature film, Drift (shot in WA’s southwest) and made his directorial debut with his award-winning short film, Payne’s Find. Post-production is almost complete for his latest short film, Inheritance, starring Travis Jeffery, Matt Nable and Chris Haywood, shot entirely in Dunsborough WA.
A qualified High school teacher, Myles has almost twenty years teaching experience and has tailored his acting courses with a focus on acting for the camera and its various components. Myles has successfully trained students who have gone on to study at WAAPA and NIDA, acquired national and international representation and have been cast in local and international films and TV shows.
With a firm foothold in the performing arts as a working stage and screen actor, Myles brings relevance, experience and a genuine love for teaching to the table. Myles has worked as a facilitator in the corporate arena for the last two decades with companies such as Primed and Maura Fay and has created his own corporate training program, helping clients all over Australia communicate confidently and persuasively.