Darren Smith

Training – Workshops with Darren Smith – The Expressive Gesture

Darren Smith studied acting, 1994-1997, at the Drama Centre London, tutored by its founders Christopher Fettes and Yat Malmgren, and had the privilege of the generous financial support of Sir Anthony Hopkins. He was an apprentice actor at the Globe theatre under the guidance of Sir Mark Rylance with whom he made his professional acting debut. After working as a professional actor in London and UK touring productions he took the lead role in an award winning, Time Out Critic’s Choice English language production of Gerhart Hauptmann’s Lonely Lives, directed by Eddie Marsan. Darren moved to Berlin (for love!) in 2004. He has produced many English theatre productions in Berlin; driven a horse and theatre-wagon, that he designed himself, to Edinburgh in 2015 performing at the Fringe festival and then lived in it for 8 months with his dog on a farm. Darren embarked on a further training for two years at the Michael Chekhov International Academy under the tutelage of Joerg Andrees. Darren began teaching acting, after graduating, and fell in love with it. In 2018 he was invited to teach at an alternative, non-government, summer camp in Russia (under happier circumstances) and has most recently taught at the Cours Florent School in Berlin. Darren is currently recording a podcast series for budding acting students called The Pocket Theatre School Podcast.

„Darren Smith has lit the room with his warmth, kindness and enthusiasm from day one. His passion for art and people come to life in the manner of how he gives space and makes them feel heard, seen and valued. Encouragement and support, be it emotional, artistic or professional, are motivations he brought to ever session. Especially for those in need of technical support, Darren took time after class to talk us through so everyone could have a lerning experience that would give them tools to support future projects.If anything Darren is generous with his time, energy and resources. In him one would find an ally as a colleague and fellow artist.“Daisy Windham
„Darren is an absolute fountain of creativity and insight. His teaching style inspires you to not only think for yourself but to creatively problem solve. He has an innate ability to foster an encouraging and forgiving learning atmosphere.“Uahuu Tujendapi
„Darren Smith is a very engaging teacher, who’s passion for his work is noticed and felt by his students. He has a great feeling for ensemble work while respecting and noticing individual students’ needs.“Lee Delles