As you can see this is the largest of the rooms

I suppose it is inevitable that every generation will acquire a rose tinted retrospective. I can’t claim to be excluded from a feeling that “things were tougher in my day” and “kids today have it much easier”.

The truth is though that I have no idea whether we had it tougher or not but it was certainly different. Had I asked any of my tutors in the 70s for a lesson plan I would have received, apart from a strange stare, a curt “I guess we’ll start at 9 and finish at 11”.

Now students can access lesson plans and schemes of work in advance of and after classes which gives them both preparation and reflection opportunities. But does it also take away those most valuable of skills for an actor: self discipline and creativity?

I had no idea why we were doing most of the classes we did and I’m fairly sure neither did my tutors other than an instinct for what an actor should know and should be capable of achieving. Later as I worked I began to understand. I made connections without realising it and adapted technique and process to fit the work I did.

Yes we did do hours of repetitive technical voice work, and yes we did impro for what seemed like an eternity, and every week for a 3 hour class we sat and simply read plays, one a week, for the entire first and second year so my personal library stood at around 60 plays excluding anything I saw or worked on.

I doubt that many of today’s 1st or 2nd year students can claim a figure like this but then do they need to when they can download a play in seconds on a phone?
Frantic Assembly acknowledge that their rehearsal room is filled with as many laptops and camcorders as actors and that they are now an integral part of the devising process. My devising process generally started in a pub with slowly degenerating conversation and fag packets but it will either be a braver or a far more intelligent person than I who can make a case for one or other generation being “better” for their use of available tools.

Anyone who recognises my title will remember the technical impro classes of Hilary Wood and may still wake up in a cold sweat. I know I do.
A little nostalgia goes a long way.