Etudes are nothing new. In fact, they’ve been around since the early 19th century and were first intended for musicians. Etudes were written as short compositions so that musicians can practice and improve specific skills with their chosen instrument. It’s a similar story within the acting world, when the Russian practitioner Yevgeny Vakhtangov took this idea and introduced the Etudes to his acting students, so they could learn to execute their technique within a short written scene.

This was introduced and taught to one of our Founders - Jarrad - whilst studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in which he gained practical experiences with the Etude. Inspired, Jarrad shared this with Louis, our other Founder, and the two Fools decided to create The Etudes Project — a collaborative process in which emerging filmmakers can create micro-shorts that serve as stories of their own whilst simultaneously nurturing creativity and developing craft. As a starting point, three rules were set — One Actor, One Location, One Page of Script — and the process began…

TALKSHOW

“That’s human that is!”

The first of six short individual stories, Talkshow is a study of longing and loneliness with our Founding Fool Jarrad Pugh.

THE DATE

“This was fun. Would you like to do it again sometime?”

The second of six short indivisual stories, The Date is a fever dream fuelled by the poems of the brilliant Michael Cummings.

BIRTHDAY

“I miss you, I miss your voice. Happy Birthday.”

The third of six short individual stories explores the denial and delusion in grief; from the bottom of a writer’s heart — Anson K.H. Yip

BLOW IT

“Ding dong! Is that the time?!”

The fourth of six short individual stories explores performance anxiety and change with Madeline Hatt.

THE HAUL

“75% off EVERYTHING — all you’ve got to do is enter NEWDAD at checkout.”

The fifth of six short individual stories explores cancel culture with real life YouTuber Lewis Edridge as fictional YouTuber JackReviewsLife.

DEATHLY

“So why not try a 30 day free trial of death, with Deathly?!”

The finale of six short individual stories is a playful look at commercialised death and existential curiosity of the other side with our Founding Fool Louis Turner.