Professional Actors
It never ceases to amaze me, how powerful and obstructive a lack of self confidence is. Couple this with becoming stale and used to a succession of failed auditions and you have the perfect combination of what stands in the way of success. My work with professional actors, is focused on re-acquainting them with their strengths and working on their weaknesses. These text based sessions-bring your own speech or sides for an impending audition-are focused solely on igniting confidence, but never losing sight of the main prize: securing the job.
How We Can Help: Audition Surgery for professional actors
I teach actors regularly on a One To One basis. In addition to this, I run a regular audition group that meets at my home. Each surgery consists of whatever suits the group best on that particular day. Whether you wish to discuss pieces, perform your latest audition speech or chat about your worries regarding anything to do with auditions.
The environment is one where people will feel comfortable and secure with fellow actors who understand, sympathise and can constructively provide input to their fellow group members. I have run very similar groups at The Actors Centre and actors have found it hugely helpful in building confidence. A large percentage of regular attendees found that they were successful in auditions for the first time in years.
The groups will be small, for around five people and last approximately three hours. Please contact me if you have any questions or would like to know more information about either One To One’s or The Audition Surgery.
Please contact me if you have any questions or would like to know more information.
Testimonials for Professional Actors Coaching
Tilly is a talented, imaginative and inspiring tutor who really cares about actors and building their confidence and self-belief.’
Tilly is one of the finest actors I have worked with;she has a great wit and comic sensibility. More recently I have gone to Tilly for help with audition pieces and putting myself on tape with Great success. I cannot recommend her knowledge, experience and enthusiasm enough.
Tilly is a great sounding board – if you ever need an objective eye to give your work the once over she is the perfect person. It’s great to know that if you ever get stuck down a dead-end with a character she’ll be there to set you straight.
Tilly is totally fab. I have worked with a lot of acting coaches and she is the best by far – I always look forward to our sessions and always really enjoy them.
I’ve always felt fairly confident with my TV auditions – I’d been getting a decent amount of work and felt I was giving them my best shot. However, when I work on auditions with Tilly, they are so much better. Tilly helped me with all the auditions and I’m sure that she had a big part to play in getting me the jobs. She’s also brilliant at theatre auditions.
I didn’t go to drama school and always thought that as a result I wasn’t good enough to do theatre, but Tilly worked through technique for theatre speeches and really honed my audition technique.
And, added to being a brilliant coach, she’s also a really lovely person, someone I enjoy seeing every week. I couldn’t recommend her enough.
Tilly’s advice and guidance was superb. She is not only a gifted teacher but a wonderfully kind and friendly person, putting me at my ease and creating a welcoming and supportive working environment. Her insights on acting for television and her experience of working professionally was invaluable to me in preparing for an important screen audition.
Tilly guided me through a helpful process of breaking a scene down, understanding its place in the arc of a story and finding interesting and creative choices to play in the scene. She underpins her natural instinct and talent for acting with the firm foundation of being classically trained so she has a wonderfully well rounded approach to the craft. I took the work we did into the audition and got the job.
I start next week and will be on screen for the first time on feb 25th!
More Testimonials
Tilly is fantastic. She offers insightful suggestions, while respecting your instincts and is so generous with her time. She helps you think of different ways to approach text and scenes to get a fuller picture of your character and a better view of the piece in general. As well as all this she is incredibly warm and funny, making the whole experience joyful as well as educational.Yasmine Akram (Sherlock)
Tilly is truly a superb teacher. She really makes the effort to get to know you before you begin working with her. She takes her time with you and gives you space to really explore the piece you’re working on.
When you work with her, you feel at ease as you know she isn’t judging you, she is very constructive with constructive with her feedback. One of the best things about Tilly is that she genuinely cares about nurturing and developing your skills and encouraging you keep in touch with how your audition went. I’m very grateful to know her and hope that every actor out there gets the chance to work with her. Rita Walters
Going to see Tilly was without a doubt one of the best decisions that I have made in regard’s to advancing my career. I, as I am sure most actors do, find auditioning incredibly nerve wracking and stressful. Unfortunately it goes hand in hand with being an actor so I knew that I had to find a way to deal with it.
Tilly has made me feel so much more relaxed about the whole affair. She creates a wonderfully safe environment for you both to work where you feel that you can be utterly vulnerable and creative. I feel incredibly fortunate to have found her and plan on taking full advantage of her skills and advice. I suggest that you do the same. Olly Mott
Having now first gone to Tilly low in confidence and slightly lacking purpose, we both found speeches that removed my bad habits and made auditions more bearable. I am now finally getting a chance at rep playing Edgar in King Lear and Jacques de Boys in As You Like It with Lazarus Theatre Company. Seeing Tilly is something I highly recommend to anyone preparing for an audition or looking for a new identity as an actor. Jamie McKie
I have been a professional actress for over twenty years and during this time I have had some fantastic jobs and met some wonderful people along the way. After I left drama school I have always continued to train by doing classes or one to one with a coach. I have enjoyed these sessions over the years and definitely felt that there was an improvement, however, in between I have felt very low about my ability- especially in the area of television and have often felt that I am missing something.
Then by lucky chance I came across Tilly Blackwood. Tilly is without any doubt the best drama coach I have ever worked with. Tilly has an incredible ability to help you find the truth in what you are doing; her methods are subtle yet very effective. In one of our sessions I found myself so deep in character, that it took me a while to recover. I was able to trust what Tilly gave me and go with it- pure joy. I also have felt incredibly motivated since Tilly became my Coach. Although I have enjoyed Shakespeare in the past, now I love it and find myself seeking it out wherever I can. Suddenly my ears have been opened and I am able to truly enjoy and appreciate it.
I have also noticed a 100% improvement in performances in my auditions and film work. I did some filming the other day and for the first time I arrived feeling confident in my ability. I was able to go for it and not feel worried and the result was clear for all to see.
I cannot recommend Tilly highly enough- she is a very special and talented person who is able to share her gift with her students in a very positive way. I am just so happy that I have found her now. Denise Orita
Working with Tilly has had a huge impact on my confidence as an actor, and in a very short space of time I have achieved significant breakthroughs in my acting.
I enjoy every minute of our sessions and highly recommend Tilly as an excellent coach; one who is extremely committed to your development and success. Tilly, thank you, thank you and thank you again! Eleanor White
Tilly Blackwood has a vast amount of experience in all forms of media within the acting business. Tilly has helped my career launch onto an international level over the past year and I would not of been able to do this without her guidance and technique.
The first job that Tilly helped me with was for a series for Canal + called BORGIA. Tilly changed my performance to match what television directors on a major international series would look for. This worked and I was cast by the Emmy award winning director, Dearbhla Walsh. Dearbhla was very impressed with my audition. However, this audition was all the work that Tilly had put into it with me and her technique helped me land the role. I would not of been able to do this without her.
The second job, was the Ridley Scott series, WORLD WITHOUT END. I landed the part a second time in a row. Again, only with Tilly’s help and technique.
The third job was another international series, SINBAD for Sky 1. Again my proven formula works, since I was cast in SINBAD and have only just got back from Malta.
Tilly has helped me in a major way land these 3 television roles over the past year. Without her, I would never of beennable to do this. The roles have launched my career to an international level and I am now getting interest from top agents. I will always be going back to Tilly, as without her, I will know that I have not done my best and will only be confident in a major audition with Tilly’s guidance and help.
I recommend Tilly to any actor, and you are very lucky if you happen to find this website, since I have gone from doing not much acting work, to major high profile international television shows within a year, all from Tilly’s help and technique, which I repeat again cannot be learned on your own and is very specific. It is not just camera technique, there is something a lot more important that directors look for, and you will only get this from going to Tilly first. Dan Cade – www.dancade.com
Before coming to see Tilly, my confidence has seriously depleted as I kept finding myself at a loss when it came to auditioning; to such an extent that on one particular important audition I dried mid monologue and I was unable to continue. However from my first session with Tilly, she quickly saw where I was going wrong and pointed me in the right direction. Tilly made me realise that I was capable of doing this as a career but I needed to have a more positive state of mind, if I was to be successful in the future. With Tilly’s help and coaching I found a new Shakespeare speech that really allowed me to show myself to my full potential in an audition.
After only two sessions with Tilly I have landed a role in a Summer Shakespeare tour this summer. Thank You Tilly. Roisin Keogh
Having musical theatre background I felt a lacking in confidence when it came to straight acting, although musical theatre and acting are very similarly linked, there was something I was missing when attending tv/acting auditions,. I would always leave an acting audition knowing I hadn’t quite done the best I could. i would be left irritated and constantly pondering what it was I was lacking. This pre-emted my search for some acting coaching.
With every audition or text I bring Tilly Blackwood, its a quick glance at the script and she instanlty knows what the casting director is looking for, and that is all ready half the battle won! Her teaching is more a calming guidance, which can only nourish and bring confidence to you as an actor. She has taught me the ease at which to find a character and to be comfortable with the decisions and choices I make. Tilly will instill you with great confidence and belief in yourself.
For any auditions I attend now, I am left feeling I have done the best I can, this comes from knowing and understanding yourself as an actor and it is something I have been able to discover through my one to one lessons with her. Amazingly Tilly has taught me the art of learning lines in less then an hour, which is genius and definately less stressful then trying to cram lines in your head to no prevail.
From acting auditions through to Musical Theatre songs and scripts Tilly Blackwood has helped un block me as an actress and has left me enthused about the acting possibilities there are out there. If you require a calming, tactful, patient and knowledgeable acting coach, and want to produce in depth results as an actor , Tilly Blackwood will instill you with the confidence and attitude you need to get out there and get the job! Without a shadow of a doubt do not hesitate to get in contact with this fabulous lady! Abiona Omonua
I am so glad that I found Tilly. It makes such a difference to one’s confidence to go through an audition piece beforehand; Tilly is very good at helping to shape the piece and she makes the session fun. When I have done an audition coaching session with Tilly, I either got the work or received very good feedback. So, I look forward to my next session! Annabel Pemberton
I met with Tilly a few times to work on an audition & showreel piece, and in those sessions I had with her the amount I learnt and improved was fantastic.
She is an absolutely brilliant acting coach who knows EXACTLY what she is doing and you will have a lot of fun while you are literally perfecting every single line. Would recommend her to anyone! Worth every penny and more. Great experience that I will re-live again next time I go up for a big audition.Thank you so much Tilly! Harry Hains
I have been to see Tilly a few times now, prior to auditions that have daunted or tested me in some way or another.
One thing I can rely on when I leave Tilly is a totally renewed sense of confidence. This follows a no nonsense clear discussion of the text, help from Tilly to make clear choices through her sharp direction, as well as a thorough pep talk. Sadly our profession involves not only the momentous highs but also the gruelling lows and some rejection is somewhat an occupational hazard. This can often knock even experienced and trained actors.
Lack of confidence and nervous energy can be incredibly debilitating and Tilly is excellent at helping focus the mind on the text, clearing the mind of doubt, and enabling the actor to go into the audition prepared and giving all he/she has got. If you are lucky you might even get a cuddle from Basil (the cat!)
I cant recommend her highly enough. Mia Mackie
I have worked with tilly in the past on several audition pieces and I will continue to work with her!
Tilly has a strong perception of the individual and their own creative processes, she is able to give helpful guidance and critique that really improves your outlook on your piece/ and performance of it, and also give you pointers about your own acting technique.Tilly has helped me with previous auditions and I’ve walked into the audition room feeling confident and in control of my work.Her friendly approach and passion is infectious, and has really brought life into the room, I would recommend anyone to go and see her as she is a great teacher and someone to learn from! Cassandra Bond
As an actor, isn’t it refreshing to find an acting teacher / coach who not only knows how to teach (and by that, I really mean “guide”) you but who also immediately “gets” who you are?
I feel incredibly lucky (for that, read “blessed”) to have found Tilly. After our first “one on one” class together, I asked her if she was prepared to see me again….because I immediately felt very comfortable working with her and exploring the options of the text….and it was also very evident from her comments that after only one session she understood who I was and could identify my strengths and weaknesses.
Tilly is a very “down to earth” teacher….she never imposes her ideas on her students….as an actor, she makes you, the actor, think about your character, what is happening, what you want to achieve, and then guides you….always with encouragement.
What was important for me was that I always felt safe in her class…..I was encouraged to try different options, and even though she never used the word, I knew I could “fail”….and then she would encourage me to find the “right” path.
My only regret is that I didn’t find Tilly sooner….as I am leaving London to return to Melbourne. But in the short time we have worked together, she has encouraged me to be “bold” in my choices….and has helped me to identify the “types” of monologues that are most suited to me.
I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Tilly to any student who is serious about their acting career…she will inspire you, motivate you…and challenge you to be the best you can be.
Without Tilly, I would not be where I am today. David Hugh
I have repeatedly knocked on Tilly’s door with a mammoth script to prepare for a last minute audition – and she was absolutely brilliant. She immediately helps you shed anything you don’t need; draws a performance from the inside out and offers strong, insightful, clear direction. Mika Simmons
Tilly is extremely intelligent and after just a quick reading of a script comes up with ideas about the character and the scene thatare really insightful and original – helping you to prepare unconventional, exciting readings.
She knows the industry inside out, and being an actress herself has invaluable advice on issues such as how to market yourself, or how to behave at castings. Tilly has really helped me to deliver my absolute best at auditions. Elizabeth Bichard
I cannot recommend Tilly highly enough. She is an incredibly insightful and sensitive audition coach with a very practical and warm approach. My session with her made such a big difference to my confidence. We worked in great detail on the text that I’d brought along and also had a really useful discussion about audition technique and presentation in general. I felt really positive and energised in my next casting and booked the job! Laura Murray