YORK speech and drama coach Frances Simon will host a LAMDA acting course taster session on Thursday evening at York Theatre Royal for those keen to know how the course would benefit them.

Frances, a professionally trained actress, will host an under-11s session from 6.15pm to 7.15pm and over-11s session from 7.30pm to 8.30pm. You will need to book a £3 ticket for either session at the Theatre Royal box office or on 01904 623568 and more details can be found at francessimon.co.uk or by phoning 07876 541923.

Students at Frances Simon Speech and Drama Coaching who took their LAMDA acting exams at the Theatre Royal earlier this year received their results this autumn with distinctions for all 23 entrants. This term's courses are now fully booked but places are available for the January 2015 course, hence Thursday’s taster sessions.

Frances also runs a children’s talent agency but is looking to open up her books to adult actors seeking professional acting work. All actors will be registered on the prestigious Spotlight database. "Please do get in touch if you're an adult seeking professional acting work," she says. "Within the agency, chaperones are needed to take youngsters to auditions, so please contact me if you have spare time during the day or at weekends to be a chaperone."

Frances also has held a development workshop in York that took the format of a mock casting. "Youngsters were able to work with a professional film director using scripts from children’s TV programmes in order to gain experience in camera work," she says. "It was a really enjoyable learning experience for them."