East 15 Acting School
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
drama school
Drama school
A drama school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution ; which specialises in the pre-professional training in drama and theatre arts, such as acting, design and technical theatre, arts administration, and...
in Debden
Debden, Epping Forest
Debden is a suburb of the town of Loughton, in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. It takes its name from the ancient manor of Debden, which lay at its northern end. The area is predominantly residential, but is also the location of Epping Forest College, East 15 Acting School and the De...
, Loughton
Loughton
Loughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. At the main campus, Loughton, it occupies an 18th century mansion, Hatfields, and has its own theatre, the Corbett, which is adjacent. The Corbett Theatre is an adaptation of a 15th-century barn. The re-building and equipping of the theatre was largely funded by the actor, and alumnus of Joan Littlewood
Joan Littlewood
Joan Maud Littlewood was a British theatre director, noted for her work in developing the left-wing Theatre Workshop...
's Theatre Workshop, Harry H. Corbett
Harry H. Corbett
Harry H. Corbett OBE was an English actor.Corbett was best known for his starring role in the popular and long-running BBC Television sitcom Steptoe and Son in the 1960s and 70s...
. Part of the school is located at Southend, and is centred around the Clifftown Studios.
The school is accredited by the National Council for Drama Training
National Council for Drama Training
The National Council for Drama Training is a partnership of employers in the theatre, broadcast and media industry, employee representatives and training providers....
and its degrees are awarded by the University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
, with which it merged on 1 September 2000. The area of Debden and Loughton is linked to central London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
via the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
.
History
East 15 Acting School was founded in 1961 by Margaret Walker. It grew from the work of Joan LittlewoodJoan Littlewood
Joan Maud Littlewood was a British theatre director, noted for her work in developing the left-wing Theatre Workshop...
's famed Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop is a theatre group noted for their director, Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company...
, and the school's name acknowledges its debt - Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop was based at the Theatre Royal
Theatre Royal Stratford East
The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company.-History:...
, Stratford, London
Stratford, London
Stratford is a place in the London Borough of Newham, England. It is located east northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an agrarian settlement in the ancient parish of West Ham, which transformed into an industrial suburb...
, whose postal district is E15.
Much of the Littlewood approach was based upon the theories of Konstantin Stanislavski
Konstantin Stanislavski
Constantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski , was a Russian actor and theatre director. Building on the directorially-unified aesthetic and ensemble playing of the Meiningen company and the naturalistic staging of Antoine and the independent theatre movement, Stanislavski organized his realistic...
, and the company inherited the socially committed spirit of the Unity Theatre movement, which brought many new voices into British theatre for the first time. Theatre Workshop broke new ground, re-interpreting the classics for a modern age, commissioning new plays from socially committed writers, and creating an ensemble capable of inventing new work, such as the now legendary "Oh, What a Lovely War!
Oh, What a Lovely War!
Oh, What a Lovely War! is an epic musical originated by Charles Chilton as a radio play, The Long Long Trail in December 1961, and transferred to stage by Gerry Raffles in partnership with Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop in 1963...
". Littlewood created an ensemble, who combined inspired, improvisational brilliance with method, technique, research, text analysis, and the expression of real emotions. Over the years, new training methods were evolved to strip actors of affectations, attitudes and ego trips. The quest was always to search for truth: of oneself, the character, the text.
From 1998-2006, the school was led by John Baraldi, former Chief Executive of Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios is a production studio, theatre and independent cinema on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. It plays host to contemporary and international dramatic and dance performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production.-History:In 1933, the...
, London. Since 2006. East 15 Acting School has been run by Professor Leon Rubin (former Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic, Watford Palace Theatre and Lyric Theatre, Belfast), who has overseen the development of new courses and the expansion of the school. This has included the acquisition of a Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
church in Southend-on Sea, now re-designed at a cost of some £6million as a performance and learning space, and re-named the Clifftown Studios.
Campuses
East 15 Acting School occupies two campuses; LoughtonLoughton
Loughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill...
and Southend on Sea. Courses taught at Loughton include BA Acting (NCDT accredited), BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre (NCDT accredited), BA Technical Theatre and Certificate of Higher Education in Performing Arts. The Loughton campus is also home to the postgraduate courses which include MA Acting, MA Acting for Film Television and Radio, MA/MFA Acting (International), MA/MFA Filmmaking and MA/MFA Theatre Directing.
BA courses taught at Southend include Acting and Stage Combat (the only course of its kind in the world), Community Theatre, Physical Theatre and World Performance (also a completely unique course).
Courses
East 15 continues to commission new work. Many of the school's undergraduate and postgraduate degrees are accredited by the National Council for Drama TrainingNational Council for Drama Training
The National Council for Drama Training is a partnership of employers in the theatre, broadcast and media industry, employee representatives and training providers....
. This means that the actors who graduate from this course are allowed automatic entry into Actors' Equity, the professional actors' union. With the first year providing more of an introduction to everything that gets built on later, work looks at acting, use of voice for drama and singing, and also various aspects of movement. The Living History at the end of this year allows students to live the lives of others from a specific moment in history. The second year looks deeper into the foundations constructed in Year 1, and also deals with challenging texts (including Shakespeare and Brecht
Brecht
Brecht is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Brecht proper, Sint-Job-in't-Goor and Sint-Lenaarts. On January 1, 2006 Brecht had a total population of 26,464...
). The third year not only increases students' repertoire in acting for TV, film and radio, but also holds a series of performances of a wide range of plays.
The school also runs a BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre course. This aims to offer training which will prepare actors for the challenges of new ways of working in the performance arts. The training relates in methodology to the work of contemporary companies such as Complicite, Improbable Theatre and Kneehigh.
Other undergraduate courses include; Acting and Stage Combat, Acting and Community Theatre, Physical Theatre and World Performance as well as Technical Theatre, which is based in its own dedicated studios and workshops at Unit Four, located next to the main Loughton campus buildings. Postgraduate courses include Acting, Directing and Filmmaking as well as the most recently opened course Acting (International) aimed at training actors and actresses from overseas.
Showcases for invited agents and casting directors in major West End theatres are held at the end of the graduate year for each of the courses.
Graduate work
East 15 has produced many actors, directors, teachers and designers. In Britain, theatre companies such as The Royal Court TheatreRoyal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, Bush Theatre
Bush Theatre
The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...
, Theatre Royal Stratford East
Theatre Royal Stratford East
The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company.-History:...
and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
Library Theatre have been headed by East 15 graduates. Companies including Orchard Theatre, Bruvvers, Scarlet blade theatre
Scarlet Blade Theatre
- External links :* * * * *...
, Lumiere and Son, Hull Truck Theatre
Hull Truck Theatre
The Hull Truck Theatre is a theatre in Kingston upon Hull, England which presents high quality drama productions.It also tours its productions on a regular basis....
, Spare Tyre, Footsbarn
Footsbarn Theatre
Footsbarn Theatre is a touring theatre company renowned for its adaptations of classics such as Shakespeare and Molière.Footsbarn started life in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom in 1971 rehearsing in a barn owned by the Foot family, hence its name....
, Women’s Theatre Company and The Half Moon Theatre, in Stepney
Stepney
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...
have been created by East 15 graduates. In 2010 East 15 launched yet another graduate company called 15 Degrees East Theatre Company which works under the guidance of East 15's director Professor Leon Rubin.
Accommodation for students
The East 15 Loughton campus is currently in the process of building a hall of residence for first year students.The first of these is rentable houses or rooms. Students must contact local landlords and property owners, who may have rooms or whole houses to rent for a year. In some cases, groups of students may need to be formed before a landlord commits to an offer.
There is also the opportunity to board with host families. These are generally the cheaper option, in which a student can take up residence alongside the houseowner(s).
Students attending the Southend-on-Sea campus have a recently built halls of residence at their disposal.
Notable alumni
Notable graduates from East 15 include:- Peter ArmitagePeter Armitage (actor)Peter Armitage is an English television actor who trained at the East 15 Acting School. He has been a regular on British screens since the 1970s. He has enjoyed three spells as the character Bill Webster on long-running soap opera Coronation Street, appearing in the role in 1984 , then from 1995...
- Ben CarpenterBen CarpenterBen Carpenter is an actor from the UK but has worked in America.He trained at a drama school in London and graduated in 2006.In 2006 he won the Best Actor award at the Dublin Theatre Festival....
- April De AngelisApril De AngelisApril De Angelis is a British dramatist of part Sicilian descent. She is a graduate of Sussex University who trained at East 15 Acting School....
- Annette BadlandAnnette BadlandAnnette Badland is an English actress best known for her work in children's television.-Biography:Her training took place at East 15 Acting School, London...
- Marcus BentleyMarcus BentleyMarcus Bentley is a British actor, broadcaster and voice-over artist. Born in Gateshead, he was brought up in Stockton on Tees and attended East 15 Acting School in Essex....
- Marji CampiMarji CampiMarji Campi is a British actress, best known for playing Joyce Watson in Surgical Spirit between 1989 and 1995; and Jessie Hilton in Brookside, from 1998 to 2002....
- Ian ChampionIan ChampionIan Champion is an English film, theatre, television and voice actor who has appeared in television movies and soap operas such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Brookside....
- Susannah CorbettSusannah CorbettSusannah Corbett is an English actress and author. Her acting career began in 1991 and she has performed on television, film and radio. As an author she writes children's books.-Early life:...
- Phil CornwellPhil CornwellPhil Cornwell is an English comedian, actor, impressionist and writer. He is probably best known as being part of the Dead Ringers television and radio series...
- Stephen DaldryStephen DaldryStephen David Daldry, CBE is an English theatre and film director and producer, as well as a three-time Academy Award nominated and Tony Award winning director.-Early years:...
- Janine DuvitskiJanine DuvitskiJanine Duvitski is an English actress, known for her roles as Jane Edwards in Waiting for God and Pippa Trench in One Foot in the Grave. She also created and played the role of Angela in Mike Leigh's play Abigail's Party.-Personal life:Duvitski was born in Nottingham. Her father was Polish...
- Ross FinbowRoss FinbowRoss Finbow is a British actor known for playing Woody in the ITV2 drama Footballers' Wives: Extra Time.In 2005 he starred in an independent film, Gamerz, as a character called Ralph. This film received a number of good reviews but unfortunately did not secure wide distribution...
- Alan FordAlan Ford (actor)Alan Ford is an English actor. Ford was trained at East 15 Acting School. He is perhaps best known today for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime capers Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and guest starring in The Bill...
- Paul GarnaultPaul GarnaultPaul Garnault is a Welsh actor, director and lecturer.He is the Head of Academy for Performing Arts, Birmingham Metropolitan College Birmingham Metropolitan College-Wales Actors Company:*1998 Twelfth Night*1999 Hamlet*2000 Henry V...
- Robert GwilymRobert GwilymRobert Gwilym , sometimes known as Bob Gwilym, is a Welsh actor.Robert Gwilym is from Neath in south Wales, where his family owned a clothes shop...
- Blake HarrisonBlake HarrisonBlake Harrison is an English actor who is most well known for playing Neil Sutherland in the E4 comedy The Inbetweeners....
- Kevin LloydKevin LloydKevin Reardon Lloyd was a British actor, born in Derby, and trained at East 15 Acting School, London. Best known for his part of DC Alfred "Tosh" Lines in Thames Television's The Bill....
- John LyonsJohn Lyons (actor)John Lyons is an English stage and screen actor. He is probably most famous for appearing as D.S. George Toolan in the long-running UK detective drama, A Touch of Frost alongside David Jason...
- Saul MarronSaul Marron-Early life:Born Saul-Joseph Marron in Leicester, the youngest of four children, he moved to Scotland as a baby and was raised in Crieff...
- John McArdleJohn McArdleJohn McArdle is an English actor. He is most notable for playing Billy Corkhill in the soap-opera Brookside, with many other smaller appearances in other soaps and dramas...
- Ann MitchellAnn MitchellAnn Mitchell is one of Britain's leading stage and television actresses. In 2011, she was cast as Cora Cross in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, the mother of Tanya Jessop and Rainie Cross. She was only to appear originally for 4 episodes but returned on 28 July 2011 as a regular character...
- Billy MurrayBilly Murray (actor)Billy Murray is an English actor, best known for playing Don Beech in The Bill from 1995 to 2004, Johnny Allen in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2005 to 2006, Captain John Price in the video games Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare...
- Derrick O'ConnorDerrick O'ConnorDerrick O'Connor is an Irish character actor, mostly known for his roles in Terry Gilliam films. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company....
- Jenny PlattJenny PlattJenny Platt is an English actress best known for her role as Violet Wilson in the long running television soap Coronation Street. Her first appearance was on 8 October 2004....
- Adam RandallAdam RandallAdam Randall is an actor from the Rhondda Valley, South Wales. He trained at East 15 Acting School and has appeared in several productions, including Sgripts Cymru's controversial play Franco's Bastard and played Gethin in the BBC series First Degree...
- Garry RoostGarry RoostGarry Roost is an English actor. In 2008, he played Alan Daniels in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He has also appeared in episodes of The Bill, Doctors and London's Burning, amongst others....
- George RossiGeorge RossiGeorge Rossi is a Scottish actor, best known for playing Detective Constable Duncan Lennox in The Bill from 1998 to 2003. Rossi is of Italian descent, his mother originates from Valvori, a frazione of Vallerotonda in Lazio, Italy.He worked alongside his brother Peter in the family ice-cream van...
- Chris RyanChristopher RyanChristopher Ryan is an English actor. Ryan is perhaps best known for his role as Mike "The Cool Person" in the BBC comedy series The Young Ones.-Early life:...
- Tony ScannellTony ScannellTony Scannell is an actor whose best-known role is probably DS Ted Roach in ITV’s The Bill. His debut in the show was on 23 October 1984, in an episode called A Friend in Need....
- Ruth SheenRuth SheenRuth Sheen is an English actress.Born in London, Sheen began her career by training at the East 15 Acting School, and has appeared regularly on British television and in British films since 1988. On television, she had recurring roles as Nanny Simmons in Berkeley Square , and as Nurse Ethel Carr...
- Marlene SidawayMarlene SidawayMarlene Sidaway was born on Teesside and is a British television and film actress best known for playing Brenda Taylor in the long running soap opera Coronation Street. In 1961 she was accepted into the East 15 Acting School in London...
- Alison SteadmanAlison SteadmanAlison Steadman OBE is an English actress. She established her career with roles such as Beverley in Abigail's Party and Candice Marie in Nuts in May for the director Mike Leigh, to whom she was once married. In addition to her stage and radio work, she has had lead roles in The Singing Detective,...
- Gwen TaylorGwen TaylorGwen Taylor is an actress who has appeared in many British television programmes, including Z-Cars, Murder Most Horrid, Yes, Prime Minister, Inspector Morse, Midsomer Murders and Belonging...
- Oliver TobiasOliver TobiasOliver Tobias is a UK-based film, stage, and television actor and directorBorn Oliver Tobias Freitag in Zürich, Switzerland, he is the son of Austrian-Swiss actor Robert Freitag and German actress Maria Becker. He came to the United Kingdom at the age of eight and trained at East 15 Acting School,...
- Steven WaddingtonSteven WaddingtonSteven Waddington is an English actor who is probably best known for his supporting role in Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans. He trained at East 15 Acting School in Loughton Essex. His first film role was as the eponymous king in Derek Jarman's Edward II...
- Marc WarrenMarc WarrenMarc Warren is an English actor, known for his British television roles as Danny Blue in Hustle, Dougie Raymond in The Vice and Dominic Foy in State of Play.-Career:...
- Clive WedderburnClive WedderburnClive Wedderburn is an actor who played Police Constable Garry McCann in The Bill.-External links:...
- Kate Williams
- David YipDavid YipDavid Yip is an English actor.Yip, of Asian and English descent, was born in Liverpool and trained at East 15 Acting School, London...
See also
- ActingActingActing is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
- ActorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
- Drama schoolDrama schoolA drama school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution ; which specialises in the pre-professional training in drama and theatre arts, such as acting, design and technical theatre, arts administration, and...
- National Council for Drama TrainingNational Council for Drama TrainingThe National Council for Drama Training is a partnership of employers in the theatre, broadcast and media industry, employee representatives and training providers....
- University of EssexUniversity of EssexThe University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...