Daniel Stier captures hopeful actors auditioning at the National Youth Theatre

For his latest series, Daniel Stier was commissioned by The Telegraph to capture auditions at the National Youth Theatre in London. Known for churning out stars including Daniel Craig and Dame Helen Mirren, Daniel was asked to document the young aspiring actors as they try to get a place onto the courses offered there. 

“I was very interested in singular images of the young actors showing the intensity of the event,” says Daniel. “It was really one of the most intense performances I have ever witnessed. This was probably also because I was so close, which is what I wanted.” 
This directness was important for Daniel as it changed the dynamic between photographer and subject. When looking through the series every emotion and movement is visible and the series has that tense, performance-like atmosphere throughout. 

The showiness of the blacked out stage and old sets in the background is offset by the actors’ casual clothes, sticky label name tags and fresh faces. All of these elements help towards the energy Daniel’s captured. “I was trying to freeze the young actors in mid-action. I wanted to get some stark iconic images of them all,” he says. From weeping, heartfelt winces to fierce, nostril-flared grimaces, the best moments of passion captured are when Daniel’s subjects are completely in the moment.
 
We’ve featured Daniel in the past for his mesmerising photographs of scientific experiments in various research institutions, and while the subject is completely different, his approach remains the same. “There is a certain way I want images to look and that has got a lot to do with lighting and framing the image. But I will always react to the situation in front of me,” he explains. Despite it being a commercial project, Daniel was still keen to convey a sense of “drama and intensity” present on the stage. “I wanted to create a story of real theatre.”