December 2024

I hope you have had a wonderful festive period so far and are looking forward to the New Year.

Workshop Updates

London

Netflix Director Isher Sahota (Missing You, Ridley and Grace) will be leading our first London workshop of 2025 before heading off for his next big directing gig. George and I will be assisting with script direction, building characters and playing high-stakes objectives on screen. Start the new year as you mean to go on by grabbing one of the last spaces.

*18th/19th January 2025 - FINAL FEW SPACES LEFT*

Book Here

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Looking ahead to February, I am delighted to announce Happy Valley and Time Casting Director Sheraz Ahmed CDG will be joining us in London after his hugely popular TV scene study in Manchester. Official invitations will be going out soon but if you would like to get in early, you know what to do…

*15th/16th February 2025*

Book Here

Manchester

Isher will also be running things in Manchester in January alongside Natalie Gavin and George. Our first 2025 workshop will focus on script direction, on-camera listening and response, and character-building rooted in textual truth.

A reminder that all actors who are booked in to Manchester January are welcome to join our first ever CMA football match (nothing too competitive!) after the session on Saturday. If you haven't already, just send us an email if you want to play.

*11th/12th January 2025 - SOLD OUT*

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I am so excited to be able to announce that Azhur Saleem (Blood of my Blood, After the Flood, Anansi Boys, Doctor Who) will be coming up to Manchester to prep for his new directing job and to lead our February workshop. He will choose a TV script for you to work on and provide in-the-room direction and feedback. A fantastic opportunity to work with a director at the top of his game.

*8th/9th February 2025*

Book Here

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February Prices

From February 2025 the price of our workshops will increase to £90.00. This is in line with inflation and rising studio costs. Our Pay What You Can scheme will remain in place for those with financial difficulties.

My Ideas

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Choosing what to work on is more important than just working harder. Be selective with your goals and narrow your focus to work on one thing at a time. We are too distracted by things to actually give our full focus to something for a long amount of time. So choose the most important thing and work on that until it’s done. Then move onto the next.

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New Year’s Resolutions? Start big and get smaller. ‘Land my first TV role’ is ultimately out of your control. But what is? ‘Send one email per week to a Casting Director I have never met’. Make them achievable and make them simple. Then stack them up.

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Narrow down your options and be patient. Unless you are just starting out as an actor, don’t tell your agent you are up for doing anything. If you feel like something isn’t for you, then don’t do it. We have take hold of what little agency we have as actors. There is power in saying no.

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Acting Insights

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Al Pacino on ‘making it’:

“Life’s on the wire, man. That’s my acting, my life. When I work, I’m on the wire. When I’m going for it. When I’m taking chances. I want to take chances. I want to fly and fail. I want to bang into something the I do it, because it’s how I know I’m alive. It’s what’s kept me alive. It’s like I would say years later, when I would have aspiring actors ask me from time to time, ‘how come you made it and I didn’t? I always wanted to'.’ I would tell them, ‘You wanted to. I hadto.’”

Taken from his autobiography, Sonny Boy.

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George Bukhari on the power of the rehearsal room:

“The rehearsal room is littered with the responsibility of an actor.”

CMA Baby Boy!

My December has been both wonderful and extremely tough. My wife gave birth to our second son, Ari Jax Wood-Mehdizadeh, on 8/12/2024. In his first week of life he underwent two surgeries at the Evelina Children’s Hospital in London. We are so grateful he was back home with us before Christmas and is recovering brilliantly. The importance of perspective has come sharply into focus. There is nothing more important than health. Squeeze your loved ones tightly and tell them you love them.

Thanks for reading,

— Majid