“We are proud to be pioneers in the Acting for Camera workshop. We developed an interesting plan where the student can constantly see and also feed off the work of their peers” explained André Silva, general coordinator of the Talent Workshop and director of Image and PR at Del Barrio, as well as a film, theater and television actor.
The relevance of this workshop led to an agreement with the National School of Dramatic Arts. “They come to our school and we go to theirs for learning exchanges” said Silva.
CASTINGS
Students in Del Barrio workshops have a series of benefits. One of them is the possibility of participating in castings.
“We have shown that through preparation, our students can have great possibilities of appearing in our productions. Many already do it continuously, from extras (gigs) to important characters in a soap opera. But other casting houses also come to look for us because of the large population of actors and candidates in our workshops, we are a very attractive space for casting agencies” stressed Silva.
Another benefit is the so-called “cultural Fridays,” opportunities for students to meet with the community of Barranco, Lima, to watch movies, participate in discussions with directors and actors, painting exhibitions, book presentations, poetry readings, and samples of Del Barrio’s workshops.
There are also trips to theaters and guided tours of the sets where Del Barrio records its productions so that students have direct contact with the soap opera artists and the production team.
“All of this is to nourish learning,” said the workshop coordinator.
13 YEARS OF PROGRESS
The Del Barrio Acting Workshops opened 13 years ago with the purpose of finding new actors and actresses, and quickly housed many young people eager to train in acting with the largest television content producer in Peru. So far this year, it has trained between 800 and 900 people. In addition to the theater and acting workshops in front of the cameras, other workshops have been added over the years and today there are also workshops on singing for children, audiovisual production or scriptwriting, which are frequently attended by renowned professionals such as the Chilean Ignacio “Chascas” Valenzuela, who was teaching a workshop on writing for streaming fictions.
There are also specialized proposals such as “stage fighting”, a workshop related to the behavior of the actor’s body in front of a risky scene.
Even the pandemic forced them to develop online workshops and this allowed the students to enter other areas related to their career: lighting, framing, diversity of shots, scenography. These topics, a little alien to the training of an actor, were necessary to present works related to acting.
“We take great care of the content and we have an academic director who supervises. As an actor, as a man of theater and television, I perfectly understand those tools that actors must have to be able to differentiate themselves from the rest and achieve that opportunity that we all seek” said Silva.
Children, adolescents, young people and adults with a vocation for acting make up the majority of the student population, but there are also those who enroll in workshops to improve their expression, gain self-confidence, socialize or handle stressful situations.
The team of teachers is made up of Juan Carlos Pastor, an actor with pedagogical training; Irene Cáceres, a teacher and pedagogue with many years of experience; Pold Gastello, a current film, television and theater actor with many years of experience in teaching; Liliana Trujillo, a leading national actress, winner of local and international awards and a teacher; and Luis Rosadio, a young theater actor who graduated from the National School of Dramatic Art.
MAKING GOOD DECISIONS NOW
Art in general is experiencing a great moment in Peru. “People go to the theater, to the movies and consume art constantly, there are important film festivals, Peruvian films are winning awards and crossing borders. All this positive outlook feeds desires and dreams in many young people, so it is important to reach a space where they can be welcomed and receive current tools for their development as actors. I think that the challenges for the candidates are to make good decisions now” concluded Silva.
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