The Theater and Performing Arts Commission is preparing to launch its 2023 Actor Training and Improvisation program, which will be held in three different cities in Saudi Arabia.

The program aims to train students in core theater and improvisation skills with experienced, specialized trainers. The initiative is part of Skills Development, one of the commission's strategic initiatives.

The program consists of two training workshops running over 10 days, with three hours a day for each workshop. The first workshop covers acting skills, while the second focuses on improvisation. The program aims to train 40 students in each workshop, for a total of 80 trainees per city and 240 male and female trainees across the three cities.

Through the program, the Theater and Performing Arts Commission aims to raise awareness of theatrical performance and equip trainees with a range of skills, including basic language and theater vocabulary, acting, improvisation and related general culture, as well as how work is done in theater. The program also seeks to encourage continuous self-learning and promote ensemble theatrical performance.

The training curriculum will cover the fundamentals of theater and acting over ten days, with topics including body and voice, subtext, levels of focus and pressure, founding theater practitioners, characters, group work, feedback and applying the theories of the founders of theater schools. The curriculum concludes on the tenth day with a final performance.

The improvisation fundamentals curriculum begins with the skill of failure and the joy of risk-taking, followed by accepting ideas and building on them; spontaneity, speed and collaboration; environment and tangible objects; body movement; creating and using characters and their interactions; engaging with the audience; feedback and performance analysis; and the practical application of these skills in improvisation sessions and final performances.

Anyone interested in theater and performance can register for the program, provided they are 18 or older and speak Arabic fluently. Training materials and the necessary tools will be provided during the training period, and no previous theater experience is required.

Those wishing to register can contact the program's organizing body in each city and register through the commission's website. Training dates, venues and trainers will be announced later.