Terrie Fender
Associate Lecturer
Terrie trained as an actress at the Drama Centre, London, and spent ten years working in the theatre before turning to directing and teaching. Terrie has been at the forefront of actor training for the last twenty years, most recently as Principal of GSA at the University of Surrey from 2012 and subsequently, head of the department of theatre and dance at the University of Surrey before joining Falmouth University in 2016.
She is currently engaged on the enhancement and development of the AMATA performance and production course portfolio and in developing employment opportunities for performing arts graduates in digital futures and emerging industries. Her previous roles enabled her to develop and explore conservatoire practices within the academy, embedding real industry skills and contemporary training methodologies. Terrie is interested in interdisciplinary performance events and processes and in developing the creative potential of the individual within the ensemble.
She is currently external examiner for BA Actor Musician and BA Acting at Rose Bruford College and was previously external examiner for MA Acting at East 15, University of Essex and MA Acting at Drama Centre, UAL. She was also a member of the Executive Board of Drama UK and is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Terrie’s external directing work includes After Mrs Rochester and Machinal at the Electric Theatre Guildford and Under Milk Wood at the Mill Studio, Guildford. She has worked with the Bonnington Group to create a new play, The Peculiar and Irresistible Charm of Ellen Terry, staged at the Barn Theatre, Smallhythe Place. Other directing work includes Blood Wedding, A Bright Room Called Day, Live Like Pigs, Anna Karenina, Yerma,The Storm, Sauce for the Goose and The Power of Darkness, in the Main Theatre, ArtsEd; Anatol, Vassa Zheleznova, The Misanthrope, The Wake of Jamey Foster and Love Hurts at the Tabard Theatre, London; Don Juan Comes Back From The War at the Lyric Studio Theatre, Hammersmith; The Women at the Battersea Arts Centre; Bondagersat the Riverside Studios, Hammersmith; Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean at the New End Theatre, Hampstead. She has also directed actors showcases at the Criterion Theatre and other West End theatres. In her spare time, she likes to cook, explore, paddleboard, dance and take advantage of the many theatre and arts events in Cornwall and the South West.
Qualifications
Qualifications
| Year | Qualification | Awarding body |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | MA Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Performance & Culture | Goldsmiths College, University of London |
| 2002 | PGCHE | Central School of Speech & Drama |
| 1977 | Diploma in Acting | Drama Centre, London |
Membership of external committees
Executive Board, Drama UK 2015-16Research Interests
Research interests and expertise
I am interested in how individual actors respond differently to training methods and how this may affect the trajectory of the actor’s eventual practice and career destination. Particularly the differing methodologies of Lecoq, Laban, Grotowski, Kantor, Vakhtangov, Stanislavski and Meisner.
Chekhov and Ibsen in contemporary performance
Arthur Miller and the Group Theatre
Teaching
Areas of teaching
- Chekhov and Early 20th Century texts as well as improvised storytelling and themed devised projects.
- Classical and contemporary American texts
- contextual studies and the Meisner technique. Director of projects and productions including European Theatre
- devising workshops
- group improvisations
- physical workshops on animals into characters
- Restoration Comedy
- Shakespeare
- Teaching a series of acting classes involving Stanislavski-based character and action improvisations
