LEARN THE PROCESS WITH AWARD-WINNING ACTOR & DIRECTOR, IAN CURTIS

Do you want to sharpen your acting skills?

Is your career not moving forward as you hoped?

Perhaps you’re returning to acting after a break?

Are you keen to try acting for the first time?

Whatever your story, I can’t wait to meet you and get to work. I offer 10 x 2 hour weekend acting classes (professional and beginner) in my hometown of Stockport, one-to-one performance coaching in person and online, self-tape and showreel direction for anyone in need of that expert eye to get the audition.

Learn The Process with me, Ian Curtis, as I share the crucial tools of acting for both the stage and screen and everything I have learnt over my 30+ year career. I am a BAFTA, SCOTTISH BAFTA, INTERNATIONAL EMMY, Manchester Film Festival 2025, Tony Jordan Film Award 2025 winning, and ROSE D’OR nominated director, writer and actor. Having spent a lifetime in the casting room, viewing casting tapes and directing actors on set, I understand exactly how to transform your skills so your interpretation of a role and your resulting performance is the best it can be.

Alongside my current film and television projects, I am passionate about working with and transforming the next generation of standout acting talent. I understand the journey you are on and it is my great privilege to be able to give back what I have been lucky enough to receive and achieve. Through an assortment of uniquely curated classes (beginner and experienced, group and 1-2-1), I will share my process of how to hone and nurture your performance skills. This will include tailored exercises, character development, self-exploration, script work and the fundamental question - how can I consistently give my best in an audition?

In my 10 x 2 hour weekend classes I will nurture your abilities, put you through your paces, sharpen your instincts and reset your perception of what it is to be an actor. You will leave my course feeling stronger, more confident, focused, determined and balanced as both a person and an artist. I have worked with some of the biggest stars of the stage and screen and am very excited to share my expertise in a creative, warm, fun and inclusive environment with a group of like-minded people.

ABOUT IAN CURTIS

I was born in Stockport and studied at Stockport School, Oldham College and then the prestigious method drama school, Drama Centre London. At the time The Drama Centre was the most revered method drama school in the UK and fellow alumni include Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Paul Bettany, Tom Hardy John Simm, Anne Marie-Duff and Helen McCrory. Not only did it teach me the foundations of being an actor, it prepared me for working in the industry and coated me in an enduring resilience. As an actor I have stood in your shoes. I have enjoyed the extreme highs this profession has to offer and stood staring in the mirror wondering if I should pack it all in and become a carpenter. I will give you the answers.

I have appeared in shows such as Cracker, Soldier Soldier (lead role), Bravo Two Zero and Holby City (lead member of the original cast) then began writing and directing for television. I created the ITV comedy ‘FM’, starring Chris O’Dowd and Daniel Kaluuya, which was nominated for a Rose D’Or Award. I went on to direct various award-winning comedies and won an International Emmy for Horrible Histories (staring Rowan Atkinson and Ben Miller), a Scottish BAFTA for Blowout (starring Greg McHugh and Susan Calman), and a Children’s BAFTA for the high school comedy, So Awkward. I currently direct the comedy High Hoops (staring Robert Webb, Isy Suttie, Nigel Boyle and Darcy Hull).

My short film ‘HIDE’ is currently touring the International Film Festival circuit and has won ten festival awards to date, including Best North West Film at Manchester Film Festival 2025, and The Tony Jordan Best In The Festival film at Southport Int Film Festival 2025 as well as Best Film at Athens, Barcelona, North East, Sunderland, Liverpool International Film Festivals.

After working on shows such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Eastenders, I am now writing, developing and directing a roster of dramas. I am an expert in the tools an actor requires having spent decades performing, teaching actors, writing for and directing actors, as well as moulding performances in the casting room. I know exactly how to develop raw talent into delivering career defining performances and I am delighted to be able to share the process of my work, my craft and my experience with you all.

ACTING CLASSES

Where:       Central Stockport

When:        Autumn 2025: Saturday 6th September – 22nd November (excluding 25th October & 1st November)

Who for:     Over 18’s

Price: £30 per class (£300 in total for 20 hours of coaching)

I have designed two unique classes for both trained actors, or actors with professional experience, and complete newcomers. Class sizes are limited. Please get in touch if you are interested and available to be part of the Autumn 2025 cohort.

ACTING COACHING FOR EVERYONE

The next block of 10 classes will begin in Jan 2026

In Person

Beginners

10 x 2 hour Saturday classes (6th Sept – 22nd Nov)

There is a reason why directors like Ken Loach, Lynne Ramsey, Shane Meadows and Steve McQueen (four of my favourite directors) enjoy working with actors who have had no previous acting experience. Truth and presence matter more than any formal training and if you are someone who enjoys dramas that reflect your own communities and lived experiences or who would just like to test the waters as an actor, then this is the class for you: A safe, enjoyable, inclusive and unpretentious space to work through a series of exercises and script-based classes that give you the tools to take a play or script and confidently perform it.

You will be introduced to acting, improve your confidence, offer an understanding of how to investigate a character, explore the truth and similarities of not performing and performing, script work, characterisation and improvisation. This course will help you to discover if acting, or any other role in the stage and screen industry, is an option for you and how best to move forward with your passion.

The course will culminate in you performing a finished piece.

In Person

Trained / Experienced Actors

10 x 2 hour Saturday classes (6th Sept – 22nd Nov)

This class is for people with some acting training OR with a background in professional performance, who wishes to hone and strengthen their technique, sharpen their auditioning skills and immerse themselves in an inclusive and creative environment, working within a group setting and one-to-one with myself.

A class aimed at reinvigorating your passion and skills as an actor. To bring you out of the fog of the slog that the industry is and sharpen your instincts, revive your motivation and adjust your sense of self through some holistically balanced exercises. In these classes you will adjust your mindset to know that the work you want to do is a reality if you stay the course and hold strong to your creative beliefs and convictions.

Eight years after I left drama school, after a period of fantastic acting opportunities mixed with long periods of unemployment, my desire to act began to wane. I had forgotten that my roots as an actor were based in the joy of play and performing. The issues of acting to pay the rent were simply disrupting my enjoyment of the craft and crucially my ability to land a part. That life between acting roles is as important to your craft as is the craft itself. This class will give you the space to brush yourself down and find the pleasure and playfulness in your own talent and ability.

Not only will the class be laser focused on elevating your characterisation and performance, we will sharpen your instincts and reset and relearn why it is you are an artist and how best to continue on this journey. You will revisit the healthy balance between being an actor and being a human being. We are here to hold a mirror up to life and we must also not let life pass us by.

SERVICES

1-2-1 Performance Coaching

Acting and Public Speaking

Zoom / Global

Please get in touch to discuss your needs for a tailored price

Have you got an audition coming up?

Do you need to sharpen your skills to land an agent?

Are you auditioning for drama school?

Do you need to smash a work presentation?

Working in a safe and relaxed environment from the comfort of your own home, my 1-2-1 acting coaching service offers a personalised exploration of your performance tailored to your unique needs and journey. I offer packages based on your timeline and goals and all sessions will be 1 hour over zoom. 

During these online sessions we will study your chosen text and discuss the objectives and methods you will carry with you into the audition room. We’ll explore rehearsal techniques, character development, sight reading and voice preparation.

These 1-2-1 sessions also prepare you for public speaking, boosting your confidence and offering you relaxation techniques before addressing a group.

The number of sessions is dependent on your goals and needs. Get in touch to discuss.

SELF-TAPE DIRECTION

Zoom / Global

From £200

As an experienced director with a background in acting, I offer unique and insightful training that will help you to finesse and sharpen your acting skills, build your confidence in character development, and create performances that will win over the casting room.

Send me a self-tape ‘rehearsal’ of you, I watch this and then we have a 30 minute zoom call where I give my feedback and we work on the piece together. You then re-record it, send it over and I give you my final notes.

Alongside performance coaching, I’ll include advice on framing, background, colours to wear on camera, pacing and delivery.

SHOW-REEL FEEDBACK

Via Zoom / Global service for talent around the world

£250

Do you have a show-reel but you’re unsure if it is promoting your best abilities as an actor? Or do you not have enough work yet to create a show-reel and want advice on the sort of scenes you should choose for your reel and how you should go about procuring these scenes?

I have viewed upwards of one thousand show-reels and I either turn off after 20 seconds or I watch the whole thing. There are ways and techniques to create a showreel that will leave casting directors and producers wanting to see more of you.