April 2026

Hello!

Here is the CMA newsletter - a dedicated space for our latest news, acting tips, life reflections, inspiring quotes, and updates from our talented actors.

Workshop Updates

Manchester

Award-winning acting teacher and theatre director David Salter led our sold out April weekender in Manchester. He is currently head of acting at LIPA and previous students include Michael Fassbender and Tom Hardy. David chose the play Victory by Howard Barker and taught an in-depth scene study across the weekend.

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Our 16th/17th May workshop with Sonia Allam Casting Associate Leila Ali is sold out. We are really excited to welcome her to CMA for a screen acting weekend alongside George.

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In June we will welcome Rosemary Berkon back for our now annual General American accent weekend. Rosemary is a highly experienced voice and dialect coach. She trained at some of the top institutions in the UK and US and has coached performers for major TV, film, and theatre productions. Across the weekend, Rosemary will guide you through American accent technique, helping you develop authentic pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation. You’ll work with US scripts in practical exercises designed to refine your performance and build confidence in delivering natural, compelling American accents.

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We take a break in summer so there will be no workshops in Manchester in July and August. Keep an eye on your inbox for an invite to our summer drinks at 53Two!

Book June Manchester Workshop

London

In London we tackled the world of acting in video games with Assassin’s Creed star Zora Bishop. Zora has a wealth of experience in the gaming industry and VoiceOver. She guided actors through practical exercises on mindfulness, meditation, voice and movement, which developed to giving life to animated characters and working on scenes from Assassin’s Creed and The Last of Us. I developed the work further on the Sunday, with a big physical warm-up and an exercise called ‘The Tank’, which explores moving on impulse.

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We will welcome Peter Hunt CDG to London for our 23rd/24th May workshop. Peter is an award-winning Casting Director and in recent years has overseen the casting for all scripted projects at Lime Pictures UK. 
Peter will share insights from his work in casting and provide in-person feedback on screen scenes chosen prior to the workshop.

Book now using the link below. We have one space left.

Book London May Workshop

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Rosemary Berkon will also be running our General American accent workshop in London 27th/28th June. Booking is available now.

Book London June Workshop

My Ideas

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In theatre, think on the line. On screen, think before the line.

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Do you rehearse your reactions for screen as much as you rehearse your lines? You might think you are an actor that reacts best ‘in-the-moment’ but just because you ‘feel it’ doesn’t necessarily mean the audience will. Get your phone out and film yourself doing as many screen reactions as you can in 5 minutes. Watch the results. You may well find you can use the best ones again and again.

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What I’m Reading: Secrets of Screen Acting (4th edition) by Patrick Tucker. It is the best book on screen acting I’ve ever read. Loads of surprising insights and techniques. 

Buy the book here.

What I’m Watching: Testaments (Disney +). Sequel to Handmaid’s Tale. Some great screen acting but overall I am disappointed so far! Anyone else watching it? Can we discuss?!

Insights

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Mel Robbins on gratitude:

“The truth is, if you have running water, electricity, and the time to read this book, you’re doing better than most people.”

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Patrick Tucker on acting:

“The one link I find is quite simply - whatever works. Laurence Olivier had some slight difficulty with Dustin Hoffman wanting to improvise a lot while they were creating their roles in Marathon Man. On one specific occasion, when Hoffman came lurching in to makeup, exhausted after keeping himself up for days, and having run and run (just as his character was supposed to have done for the next bit of the film), Larry looked up at the exhausted, red-eyed figure and inquired sweetly, ‘Wouldn’t it be easier to act it?’ Whatever works for Dustin Hoffman and whatever works for Laurence Olivier - do whatever works for you.”

From the aforementioned book Secrets of Screen Acting.

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Oliver Burkeman on reading:

“Treat your to-read pile like a river, not a bucket. That is to say: think of your backlog not as a container that gradually fills up, and that it’s your job to empty, but as a stream that flows past you, from which you get to pick a few choice items, here and there, without feeling guilty for letting all the others float.”

CMA Actor Spotlight

London regular Namita Lal plays a key role in the independent film Bayaar (Dust and Wind), which is screening at the UK Asian Film Festival in Shoreditch. There will be a short Q&A after the screening. Details here: https://richmix.org.uk/cinema/bayaar-dust-and-the-wind/

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A reminder that I am directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Source theatre in Stratford, London on 7th & 8th May. Both shows are at 7pm (the matinees are for schools). Would love to see you there. Tickets and more information: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

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Manchester actor Owen Warner is currently starring in Witness for the Prosecution in London. Great seeing his lovely mug on the tube posters! Go and see it if you can. 

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Please keep us updated with what you are up to - we would love to shout about your work in the newsletter.

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Thanks for reading,

— Majid