KFTS - HOLISTIC APPROACH TO TEACHING ACTING THAT PROVIDES A STRONG PSYCHOLOGICAL GROUNDING

By Ben Hamilton

Now in charge of Københavns Film & Teaterskole for ten years, BritishAustralian headteacher Stuart Lynch reflects on the changes he has made to the school’s syllabus, which has just been certified a Degree Level Education

The secret to succeeding in Denmark is never telling anyone you’re busy, confides Stuart Lynch, the indefatigable headteacher of KFTS (Københavns Film & Teaterskole/ Copenhagen Film & Theatre School).

A resident of Copenhagen since the early 1990s, the appointment of the halfAustralian, half-British theatre performer as the new headteacher of the prestigious school in February 2013 surprised many, but one decade later he continues to infuse KFTS with purpose and energy.

Not only does 2023 mark the tenth anniversary of his accession, but it also heralds a new era: for the first time in its history KFTS will be able to confer its graduates with a degree-level qualification.

It is testament to the sustained effort Lynch, aided by a team of hard working (but never busy!) teachers, has put into transforming a school with a “dangerous cult-like atmosphere”, which he recalls was in a “dire situation” when he took over.

“It reminded me of my training in martial arts as a young man, and the uniforms favoured by the Samurai. The armour only worked when they were going forwards; turning around, they were unprotected, as there’s no honour in retreat. I too had to jump in and never look back,” he said.

Holistic approach

Established in 1995, and formerly called Holberg Film and Theatre School, KFTS moved from venue to venue, finally establishing itself in its current home, a former Nørrebro chocolate factory, in 2010.

Known as a Stanislavski school, it set itself as a viable alternative to the State Theatre School. However, it lost its way around 2011-12 and Lynch was headhunted to save the school from closure.

The curriculum was idiosyncratic, oldfashioned and lacked, according to Lynch, a holistic approach to the students’ inner-selves.

“For instance The Method acting technique requires actors to draw upon authentic feelings for their performance by finding a character within their psyche, but it can be emotionally draining,” he said.

“I saw the opportunity to introduce contemporary coaching into the school and provide the students with a strong psychological grounding to return to ‘real life’ after diving deep into an acting role.”

Lynch has drawn on his expertise in philosophy, psychology and accreditations in cognitive behavioral therapy coaching and neuro linguistic programming.

“The big issue is when you try to go into some dark areas, you need tools, and if you don’t have those tools, you can easily get carried away in the current. Becoming psychologically unstable is a big problem among actors,” he contended.

Finding the right method

Equally important, according to Lynch, was to set up a framework to enable the students to connect with the method of acting that best suits them.

“Often it’s lots of different components from different acting approaches or methods and styles, but some methods will leave students cold, so it’s best if their learning is concentrated on others,” he explained.

“Normally, there’s one style that they connect to: whether it’s a method with a more emotional background or actionbased, so a more classical approach.”

When Lynch started, he encountered “a lot of different methodologies taught by people who held strong ideas about acting, however idiosyncratic, based on no real pedagogic scientific experience”.

What he felt the school needed was specialists within the methods. “If you want to study the technique of Meisner, you do it with a Meisner teacher etc,” he reasoned.

“That way, a student, should they wish, can seamlessly resume their training in New York. But if the direction of the teaching is floating within notions of ‘fusion’, and poor teaching technique then it becomes problematic.”

A business approach

Another major 2013 addition to the curriculum were business classes with the aim of empowering the students to really understand the inner machinations of the industry: from how to fundraise and apply for arts grants, to preferred methods for networking and making connections.

their personal manner and their ability to sell themselves in a manner that doesn’t suggest they love themselves, but rather that they are in love with what they do. If you push yourself from the perspective of being passionate about your craft, then people love that kind of pushing,” enthused Lynch.

Likewise, alongside a strong classical training, other performance skills less commonly associated with acting, but still relevant in Lynch’s opinion, are prioritised, such as public speaking and body position training.

After all, not all the students will end up as actors, so it is important to facilitate them with skills that can make a big difference in a future career away from the stage.

“Ultimately, there’s an awful lot of luck involved in being in the right place at the right time. Saying ‘no’ to going out for a drink – and then somebody else takes your place and gets the job. It’s that type of life and you can’t do anything about it,” he ventured.

“So a lot of people end up in teaching or they use the acting in the business world, or therapy etc. But the basic fundamental techniques they learn, they will serve them well.”

Strong international presence

Around a third of the 70 students at the school, at any given time, are internationals.

According to Lynch, it is invaluable for the Danes to mix with the internationals – and “they tend to work together a lot” during the first year.

“We’ve created a very welcoming place for whoever wants to be an actor because the truth of the matter is that a lot of actors have some kind of neuro divergence,” he revealed.

“The atmosphere is facilitative but not hierarchical. The knowledge they acquire is mostly knowledge they discover for themselves. We try to open doors to ensure, for example, intersectional feminism is a part of the school without it being painted on the wall.”

But the school is more forthright about the necessity to provide a safe place for all.

“It is particularly important in improvisation,” continued Lynch.

“We have to have structures in place so that