David Walter

Central School of Speech and Drama, alma mater of top theatrical talent including Oscar winners Laurence Olivier, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave and Julie Christie, is looking to recruit a record number of overseas students for the upcoming academic year 2010-2011. The School will be conducting auditions and interviews in New York, Chicago and San Francisco in early February 2010.

Central is a centre of excellence that provides quality higher education in, and training for, the performance and media industries. Courses include full time three-year undergraduate programmes; full time one-year and part time two-year masters programmes; and doctoral programmes in acting, design, voice, movement, music theatre, puppetry, drama teacher training, drama therapy and applied theatre.

New for 2010 is a Masters programme in Scenography, which has its roots in stage design and is taught using Central’s unique performance facilities.

The appeal to overseas students has never been stronger:

• British drama, and British drama education in particular, is regarded as the finest in the world and Central has a well-established reputation as a top school in the field.
• London is the ideal city in which to study performing arts because of the variety and quality of dramatic performances in the historic capital.
• Central is unique in combining the qualities of a leading conservatoire teaching practical skills with cutting edge research, facilities, and teaching staff who are active practitioners.
• The MA Scenography course, offered for the first time in 2010, is particularly appealing to American students as this is a subject which is not offered in most American institutions. Central has an excellent range of research practitioners amongst its the staff. The title ‘scenography’ reflects an approach to the creation of sensorial theatre (visual, auditory etc) that involves visual and sonic artists in the instigation of theatre as well as designers working to a directorial brief. Central has a pedigree in this area, through its MA Advanced Theatre Practice course which has produced companies such as Gridiron and Shunt, and through its longstanding relationships with Complicité and Punchdrunk.
• The MA Acting course now offers two options, classical acting and contemporary acting, which widens its appeal.

The schedule of US auditions and interviews is as follows:

• February 4th: New York
• February 6th: Chicago
• February 9th: San Francisco

Those interested in auditioning/interviewing with the Central School of Speech and Drama should register via the website or call +44 (0) 20 7722 8183

Note to Editors

The Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in acting, music theatre, physical and visual theatre, applied theatre, movement, voice, stage management, puppetry, scenography, sound design, theatre design, drama therapy and drama and media studies teacher training, as well as MPhil/PhD research degrees. With over 55 academic staff, together with visiting artists and lecturers, Central contains the largest grouping of drama/theatre/performance specialists in the UK, who make a major contribution to research in their various disciplines.

Central is designated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England as the Centre of Excellence in Training for Theatre, the only drama college with this status.

Alumni include the 2009 Linbury Prize winning scenographer Ruth Sutcliffe, award-winning sound designers Paul Groothuis and Gareth Fry, the influential lighting designer Richard Pilbrow and legendary British stage designer, the late Jocelyn Herbert. The avante garde collective Shunt formed as postgraduate students at Central, as did groundbreaking site-specific theatre company Grid Iron. Acting alumni include Nonso Anozie, Peggy Ashcroft, Gael García Bernal, Julie Christie, Dame Judi Dench, Rupert Everett, Dawn French, Michael Grandage, Cameron Mackintosh, Graham Norton, Laurence Olivier, Harold Pinter, Vanessa Redgrave, and Catherine Tate.