The Darlo Drama Open Day: Take centre stage in 2021

Originally published on TheBigSmoke.com.au

Much of us spent the bulk of 2020 at home. Some under the covers, others doing what they could to carry on as normal when the circumstances around them allowed for anything but.

One sector hit hardest was the arts. An industry which relies on crowds of paying attendees enjoying work in a small, confined space, the events of 2020 placed many (if not most) of the people working in the arts in an extremely difficult position.

With the worst of COVID-19’s impacts (hopefully) behind us, renowned acting school Darlo Drama plans on kicking off Sydney’s art scene’s emerging rebirth with an Open Day to help relaunch not only the arts sector, but the interest ‘normal’ people may have in exploring their theatrical side.

Scheduled for Saturday 30 January, the Darlo Drama Open Day is designed to introduce potential students to the school and show them what it – and the greater world of acting – has to offer.

General Manager Romney Stanton said that the event was a chance for people thinking about exploring the world of acting an opportunity to tour Darlo’s facilities, meet its staff, and get a feeling for what they’d be getting themselves in to, should they sign up for one of their courses.

“We’ve never done an open day at Darlo,” she said. “This is something very new for us. We decided to do it after COVID made everyone a bit nervous about getting back inside the classroom…we wanted to do something that would allow people to come back into the space.”

The studio, which has been an Inner-Sydney fixture for several decades, offers a range of courses to help people discover the theatre, and refine the art of acting for those hoping to improve their skills, confidence and capabilities in front of a crowd.

“It’s an opportunity for us to meet some new people, and for them to become a part of our community – we’re very community focussed and looking to build that by welcoming people to come and take our classes and join in the fun.

“Our main aim is to help people gain confidence if they want to be an actor, or just in their daily life or at work. That’s our main aim, to have a bit of fun.”

With a sizeable portion of the population likely to feel some measure of trepidation about the idea of stage work and performance, Romney says that there’s nothing to worry about in practice, which is part of what the Open Day is all about.

With some likely to feel a measure of trepidation about the idea of stage work and performance, Romney says that there’s nothing to worry about in practice, which is part of what the Open Day is all about.

“Anyone who tells me they’re nervous about it, the first thing I let them know is that our teachers are of the highest standards. They’ve been working in the industry for a long time.

“My husband, Glen and I own the business; Glen has been working here since before he became an owner; one of our other teachers has been here for 16 years, another for 10. So, they’ve been around.

“A lot of the time we have students who have never gotten up on stage before, and the thought of doing it is terrifying. But if this is you, I can reassure you that we pride ourselves on nurturing people. The second that they walk in the door, we welcome them and we encourage people from all walks of life to be a part of the Darlo community!”

Darlo Drama is inviting would-be actors to attend their open day, play some games, do a little bit of acting, participate in a Q&A meet all of their teachers, the current students as well as the previous ones, showing how once someone’s a Darlo Drama devotee, it becomes a lifelong habit.

“We’ve got up to 70 members who are part of The Darlo Theatre Group which is our Advanced Members group, people who have done all the courses and have stayed and continue to come and do things here,” she said. “It shows the type of community we’re building.”

So that Darlo Drama can maintain COVID-safe practices, opportunities to attend are limited. Book your spot online.