Get involved Adult Theatre Training BSL in Performance: Summer Course 2026 x Are you an emerging actor who uses British Sign Language (BSL)? Join us this summer for an exciting two week intensive acting course at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, led by Paula Garfield, MBE. You will be lead by deaf teachers, artists and practitioners in BSL. This course is designed to support deaf and BSL-using actors to grow their skills, confidence and work creatively as an ensemble. about the course You will work on exercises and improvisations to explore acting challenges within an ensemble, developing your confidence, creativity and performance skills. There will be practical workshops across a range of areas including: acting techniques bsl translation movement and dance stage combat visual vernacular acting for camera Participants will work to deliver a short play sharing at the end of the course. This course is led by Deafinitely Theatre in collaboration with the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. ➔ You can find out who will be our course facilitators here! It is fully funded and free to take part. There are bursaries available to support both audition costs and participation in the course for those who need financial support. who can apply? This course is suitable for those with some previous acting experience. You will need to be a native signer, or minimum of BSL Level 3 or equivalent. Whilst the course is primarily aimed at deaf actors, there will be a limited number of places also open to hearing actors with experience of deaf culture and who are BSL Level 3 or equivalent. course information This course will be taking place on Monday 20th July to Friday 31st July 2026 (excluding Saturday and Sunday). The course is delivered in person at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. how to apply To apply please complete this application form, including a link to a short video (up to 3 minutes). Please tell us in the video: why you want to do the course? what you want to achieve from the course? what you want to do in the future? The application deadline is Monday 18th May 2026 at 5pm. There is a one-off £20 fee for applying to this course. You will be sent an invoice with your audition invitation if you have been shortlisted. If your application is not successful, this will be refunded to you. application and audition process This year, the recruitment process has two stages: 1. Application stage - You will submit an application to be considered for an audition. 2. Audition stage - If selected, you will be invited to attend an in-person audition at Royal Central on Saturday 30 May 2026, 10am – 5pm. Final places on the course will be offered following the audition. bursary support We are committed to making this opportunity as accessible as possible. There are two types of bursary support available: audition bursary – to support costs of attending the audition (e.g. travel, accommodation) course bursary – to support costs of participating in the course If you would like to be considered for financial support, please let us know in your application form. our funder This programme is supported by a grant from the Soho House Foundation. Manage Cookie Preferences