Actors Hub Week at Birmingham Film Studios

And it's a wrap!

Malaka Chowdhury | Thursday 28th August 2025 4:25pm

A NEW week of excellent community activities for actors looking to learn and land their break has drawn to a close at the Birmingham Film Studio.

The week ran from Monday 18-Friday 22nd August which included a Directors Masterclass Workshop with award-winning director Daniel Alexander; he directed the official film for the Commonwealth Games Handover Ceremony, broadcast to a global audience of 1.5billion viewers. There was also a brand new Audition/Self-Tape Service for actors to focus and film their audition tapes with all tech, lighting, sound and backdrop handled by the studio team for professional self-tapes in a real film studio.

Based near the Jewellery Quarter and only 5 minutes away from the Birmingham City Hospital, this little gem of a studio was created and hand-built by team members Kieran, Jonny and Craig in 2019. The studio has hosted a range of projects from film and tv production to music videos and commercial shoots, and offer a plethora of professional lighting, equipment hire and staff in collaboration with Marklew Productions Ltd. 

I popped in to check out an afternoon Acting Masterclass Workshop and received a friendly welcome from the team. I loved the inviting aesthetic and the large 1800sqft professional studio with a green backdrop and cameras galore, with actors of all ages and backgrounds slowly arriving. 
The class was run by Shireenah Ingram, founder and creator of Red Lens, a 1:1 Coaching and Group Acting classes who is passionate about helping the next generation of actors in the city. An actor, presenter, acting coach and board member at Birmingham Royal Ballet (to name a few of her hats!), she previously worked in London but found she lost her hunger and wanted to create a new service in the city for people with the same passion.

She said, "I wanted to help other actors find their way forward because I realised there was nothing available for local residents. There is so much talent in the city, and I felt motivated to offer classes and my knowledge to collaborate and help other actors too."

Her infectious passion put the actors at ease with a mix of icebreaker activities from initial introductions in a circle, throwing balls to other people and using space wisely with clap-jump exercises for laughs and rapport. I was invited to join in, but I'm definitely more comfortable in my presenter/journalist role these days! It was wonderful to see so many people uniting through their love of acting, and the indent exercise when groups spoke "right down the lens" was particularly fascinating as they received feedback on their on-camera projection. 
With lots of professional tips on acting, auditions and the role of an actor, the workshop was educational and eye-opening for me and the actors, many of whom were curious and wanted guidance on how to progress in the industry. This was the perfect place to ask questions without judgement and gain first hand experience inside a quality film studio right in the heart of Birmingham.

Digital Communications Manager Sandeep Bhardwaj shared that this is the first time the Actors Hub Week has taken place at the studio, but it is set to continue next year due to its broad success. 

For more information, please visit www.birminghamfilmstudio.com or follow on Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook. 

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