DRAMA CENTRE LONDON

CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN

PROSPECTUS 2012/13

Contents

Welcome 03Introduction 05Links with the Profession 07The Methodological Approach 09Diploma in Performance 11BA (Honours) Acting 12BA (Honours) Directing 17MA Screen: Acting, Directing, Writing 19MA Acting 22Summer School: A London Theatre Experience 24Open Days 26How to Apply 27Booking your Audition and Interview 27Auditions and Interviews 28Fees and Funding 31Scholarships and Bursaries 31Teaching and Support Staff 32

Entrance to Kings Cross Campus, John Sturrock

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03. Welcome

Drama Centre offers its students a unique blend of training methods. As part of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and the University of the Arts London, Drama Centre provides an international outlook, a central London location and excellent learning and performance facilities – they make studying at the Drama Centre a profound, enjoyable and rewarding experience. Our courses are intended to enable you to develop a clear understanding of yourself as a creative person and therefore our students are distinguished by their flair, maturity and commitment. The courses in this prospectus are rigorous, exciting and demanding. Because they continually require you to extend yourself physically, psychologically and intellectually, you should find the work stimulating and enlightening. For the same reasons you are likely sometimes to find the work exacting. In exchange for your talent, we give you outstanding training programmes in a challenging, supportive and highly creative environment.

We look forward to welcoming you. Jonathan Martin Principal

Rehearsals in The Platform Theatre, John Sturrock

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05. Introduction

Drama Centre LondonEstablished in 1963 by a visionary group of students who followed the three founding directors – John Blatchley, Christopher Fettes and Yat Malmgren – on an extraordinary theatrical adventure, Drama Centre has always offered an inspirational and passionate environment for those who are resolutely serious about their careers in acting, directing and writing. Its distinctive approach, originally developed under the patronage of some of the most important figures in post-war drama, such as Peter Brook, Martha Graham and Sir Peter Hall, continues to be guided by a distinguished Advisory Board, currently chaired by Christopher Honer, Artistic Director of the Library Theatre, Manchester. Drama Centre is relatively small and therefore highly selective. Its size ensures that every student receives personal attention and enables performance opportunities to be responsive to the individual needs of students.

Central Saint MartinsSince 1999, Drama Centre has been part of Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design. Central Saint Martins has a distinguished international reputation and offers the most diverse and comprehensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in art, design and performance in the country, including acting, directing and performance design and practice. Central Saint Martins is one of the six colleges that together make up the University of the Arts London, one of the world’s largest academic centres for the arts, design and performance. As University of the Arts London students, Drama Centre students have access to a range of services, including: advice on accommodation and careers; special support for international students; specialist libraries; internet and intranet facilities; a language centre; professional counselling and support for students with disabilities.

Central Saint Martins at King’s CrossIn 2011 Central Saint Martins College, Drama Centre included, bought together its world-leading expertise in fashion, art, design and performance onto one site on a new purpose-built campus, located within the 48-acre development behind King’s Cross station. This new campus is the largest specialist building of its kind in central London, bringing together nearly 4,000 of the world’s most creative young people, alongside the leading professional designers, artists and performers who work at the College. Drama Centre is part of the Centre For Performance, a grouping of Drama Centre and Performance orientated courses in the college.

The Crossing, John Sturrock

The Library, John Sturrock

Drama Centre London's original home in Chalk Farm, London

“Whenever I met those in the professional field they would say that Drama Centre had produced the best actors they had ever worked with, that it was rumoured to have the best teachers, the most up to the minute syllabus. To live up to the enormous expectations I had placed on it seems almost impossible, but from the moment I walked in for the first time, I felt like I was at home and was overtaken by a fever to study here. The students were kind and unpretentious, the teachers ready to help and full of a real love for their jobs.”

Aislinn De’Ath MA Screen Graduate

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07. Links with the Profession

EmploymentThe theatre and film professions have changed beyond recognition over the course of the past three decades. Answering the demands of a global economy, they have become part of a complex industry for which you will need careful preparation. Drama Centre places the greatest importance upon providing you with the opportunity to meet practitioners from all aspects of the profession: agents, casting directors, union representatives, directors of national companies or fringe theatres, independent producers, film makers and established television and film directors. Following an agreement between Equity and the Conference of Drama Schools, graduates from either a BA or an MA course at the Drama Centre will be able to join Equity as full members on graduation.

In the advanced stages of their courses, students are encouraged to undertake professional work whenever this is equivalent to course work. Drama Centre responds positively to enquiries from casting directors, theatres and film companies and organizes auditions for specific projects. As a result, in the past few years, students undertook while still on course a substantial number of professional engagements as actors and assistant directors, including:

The Inbetweeners – UK Feature film ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore -West Yorkshire Playhouse

Black Watch – National Theatre of Scotland and Barbican The Pre-Raphaelites – BBC1

Garrow’s Law – BBC ScotlandWhat the Butler Saw – Criterion Theatre Cymbeline – Cheek by JowlUnder Milk Wood – Tricycle TheatreWaterloo Road – BBC1Any Given Day – Traverse, EdinburghThe Sarah-Jane Adventures – BBC 1

Mock auditions with David Tucker

Anastasia Hille

Frances De La Tour

Ian Hogg

Penelope Wilton

Anne-Marie Duff

George Anton

John Simm

Pierce Brosnan

Colin Firth

Geraldine James

Lambert Wilson

Polly Walker

Michael Fassbender

Don Warrington

Helen McCrory

Paul Bettany

Tara Fitzgerald

Stephen Wight

the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA has enabled individual students to replace a term at the Drama Centre with a period of study in the States Similar arrangements are in place for selected students with the Vakhtangov Institute in Moscow; the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts in China and other distinguished international partners. By the same token, you are likely to encounter students and staff from these and other institutions who come to study or teach at Drama Centre and bring with them a rich variety of cultural perspectives.

The Centre also enters selected students for the Sam Wanamaker Festival at Shakespeare’s Globe and BBC Radio Drama’s Carleton Hobbs competition, in which two of the students graduating in July 2009 were successful. The Mentoring SchemeThe Centre operates a ‘mentoring’ scheme through which students approaching their finals are paired with graduates from earlier years and other professionals who explain the realities of the industry; introduce them to agents, casting directors and other professional contacts; offer advice on audition material and presentation techniques and form a useful support network in the, often difficult, early years after graduation. Professional SupportAnne Henderson, our Casting Adviser, will guide you throughout your course. In a career spanning over 30 years, Anne Henderson has cast over 100 film and television productions, from Highlander and Santa Claus, The Movie to Taggart and Silent Witness. She is currently the Casting Director of the National Theatre of Scotland. The Centre’s activities are guided by an Advisory Board, which comprises some of the leading actors and directors working in the UK today. Its members often hold workshops and discussions on different aspects of the industry. In addition, the Centre regularly organises public talks and question and answer sessions with leading members of the profession. International LinksThe Centre has an extensive portfolio of international connections, which enables students and staff to benefit from alternative points of view and perspectives gained by studying or working in leading institutions overseas. Thus, a well-developed link with

“At Drama Centre you learn that being an actor is not a part time job. Every day, every experience, every moment of your life is a precious tool that can help your imagination fuel your ability to tell a story – passionately, organically and truthfully.”

Ruta Gedmintas BA Acting Graduate

Classes at Kings Cross, John Sturrock

09. The Methodological ApproachTraining at the Drama Centre is characterised by a high level of integration across all disciplines, ensuring that students develop systematically, term after term, across the full range of professional skills and aptitudes. The Centre’s distinctive approach includes: StanislavskiThe most famous and detailed of all systems and the point of departure for most subsequent developments. Training at Drama Centre reflects both the Russian and the American methodologies, combining the approaches of Stanislavski and Vakhtangov with those of Uta Hagen, Herbert Bergof and Stanford Meisner. The teaching therefore ensures a balance between the requirements of the stage on the one hand and of film and television on the other German Expressionism and the Legacy of Rudolf LabanThe Drama Centre was created around the work of Dr. Yat Malmgren, one of the great solo artists of European modern dance and the creator of the Laban-Malmgren System of Character Analysis. His unique contribution developed the theoretical work on the psychology of movement initiated by Rudolf Laban, the visionary innovator in the field of choreography and movement theory. Character Analysis and Movement Psychology remain at the core of the Drama Centre approach and are taught across all of our higher education courses. Improvisation and the Recorded MediaFollowing in the footsteps of great originals such as Joan Littlewood and Mike Leigh, Drama Centre adopts an eclectic approach that fuses the contributions of the modern masters, Brecht and Grotowsky, placing at the heart of its work the exploration of

The Methodological Approach

The Changeling

Yat Malmgren

character, story and dramatic relationships through improvisation. This approach also involves actors, directors and writers in active research into the social background of the dramatic text and places political awareness at the forefront of their work. Drama Centre lays great emphasis on applying these techniques to the recorded media (film, radio, television) as much as to the stage, offering an advanced course entirely dedicated to the screen Student IndividualityDrama Centre seeks above all to develop its students’ individuality, technical skills and professional outlook to the point where they become independent artists, committed to the management and development of their creative and expressive resources. Its culture is one of patient development and profound enquiry into acting, directing and dramatic writing, which are seen above all as art forms. The Centre’s ethos is based on concentration, discipline and a seriousness of approach to the arts of the stage and screen.

Much Ado About Nothing

“Every single day at Drama Centre there is the possibility of finding out something new, either about yourself or your acting, or just your general lack of knowledge in certain areas, be it music, how the human body technically supports and helps you develop as an actor, the history of theatre or even the name of that ballet step you can’t do… yet.”

Hugh John BA Acting Student

11. Diploma in PerformanceThe Foundation course enables you to test your expectations and aspirations against the realities of vocational training and work. The course addresses itself to those who wish to improve their acting, directing, writing and other performance skills in order to make informed decisions about future career pathways, in preparation for further study in higher education, mainly at vocational drama schools. Over the past two years graduates of the course gained offers of places at Drama Schools and elsewhere in drama higher education, including at: ALRA, Central, Drama Centre, Guildhall, East 15, Manchester Met., Mountview, RSAMD and RWCMD. Several graduates also went on to professional engagements. The course enhances your capacity to learn in a disciplined, organised manner and develop the skills that lead to self-reliant learning. The course develops your critical awareness of contemporary performance and enables you to articulate your ideas both in writing and orally. The course is fully based in the practice of performance, delivered within a leading drama conservatoire, thus benefiting from the high levels of expertise of the professional staff at the Drama Centre. Classes in acting, movement, voice, improvisation, acting for camera and audition technique, enable you to develop the key skills necessary to succeed in future auditions.

1 year, full-time (30 weeks)Leading to Trinity Guildhall Diploma – ATCL Performing (Performance Arts)Course Leader: Richard Williams BA (Hons), Cert. Ed. (Oxon)

“Getting Foundation students prepared for auditioning is given a lot of time and is really important to the staff. Additional tutors, who work on audition pannels, are asked to come for individual sessions of preparation and the other teachers also take these special classes. Students show each other their monologues, go through a whole audition process and give each other advice.”

Zachary Fall Foundation in Performance student, current BA Acting Student

Diploma in Performance

12. BA (Honours) ActingThe Acting course combines classes in acting, character analysis, movement, music and singing, voice and speech and play analysis, with preparation for working in the acting profession. The classes are fully integrated and designed to address the individual needs and aspirations of each student. Assessment is based entirely on performance and class work.

Life and Study on the BA Acting CourseThe official day starts at 9.30am and finishes well into the evening, often around 8.30pm. In your first year, a typical day consists of four or five 90-minute classes followed by rehearsals for the play, which becomes the focus of each term’s work. The two morning classes are normally a combination of Movement, Voice or Acting. After lunch work continues with Improvisation, Singing or a study for Character Analysis. Rehearsal sessions usually last three to four hours and often involve a ‘call system’ allowing time off to learn lines, prepare work for other classes or to research. The plays for Rehearsal are likely to be drawn in the main from the classical repertoire: Drama Centre lays a heavy emphasis on the classics and on the ways in which rhetorical speech and classical text convey hidden meanings. The programme of plays stretches from the Jacobeans and the Restoration to the best of the French, German and Spanish dramatic literatures. At the same time, the Centre lays increasing stress on new writing and screen work. Acting for Camera begins in the first year and is fully integrated with other acting classes, enabling the transition between stage and screen to become second nature. In the third year you write and devise short films with student directors and often work on their graduation films and productions. Equally, Radio acting is taught from the second year and leads to a professionally produced ‘show reel’. Selected students from this and the MA Screen courses are entered for the Carleton Hobbs competition, run by BBC Radio.

3 years, full-timeAccredited by the National Council for Drama Training (NCDT)Course Leader: Shona Morris BA (Hons), Licenciee (Ecole Jacques Lecoq), PGCert

BA (Honours) Acting

“In a class of only sixteen students with a longer working day than any other drama school the quantity and quality of one-on-one teacher student training at Drama Centre London is invaluable. This is so much more than just an actor training, this is a unique and specific discipline taught only at Drama Centre that will continue to inform and enrich our acting careers for years to come. In addition to all the tools you would expect to have upon graduating from a three year actor training, Drama Centre gives you a language and a methodology with which to understand the art of transformation.”

Eva-Jane Willis BA Acting Student

“I wanted to come to Drama Centre because I wanted to be prepared for the industry. I didn’t, however, expect to be thrown into the industry quite so soon, taking a year out to tour with the National Theatre of Scotland’s Black Watch. A fantastic, yet daunting prospect. The training at Drama Centre has given me tools that will allow me to take on this work with confidence and relish.”

Ross Anderson BA Acting Student

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You are guided by staff with extensive teaching and professional experience throughout your training. The Centre’s core team is complemented by a large number of visiting professionals who bring into the rehearsal room their up-to-date knowledge of the industry.

RehearsalsIn-depth rehearsals and presentations of plays taken from a variety of traditions, periods and styles give you the opportunity to put the lessons you have learnt into practice. The repertoire progresses from naturalistic drama and comedy to the great poetic masterpieces of the English canon. Final year public productions often stretch you beyond the point that might be expected on first entering the profession. The public attending these fully mounted productions often includes members of the profession, thus affording a useful showcase for future employment.

ActingThe purpose of the acting class is to help you deepen your emotional resources so as to bring the spontaneity of life to performance in the most demanding classical roles. Improvised exercises, designed to free you physically and emotionally, provide a basis for complete identification with the character. You are taught how to explore relationships and to make the surroundings and objects in the play specific and meaningful. The motives and intentions of the character are analysed subjectively in order to lead you to a true creative state while on the stage. Through practical exercises, this class examines fundamental acting questions relating to the essence, circumstances and relationships of a character.. This core methodology is complemented with alternative approaches, including: physical theatre in the Russian, Vakhtangov tradition; and Brecht’s ‘epic’ outlook on performance. Screen and radio acting are integrated into the acting programme from year two and enable

The Kitchen

Dracula

remedy faulty speech habits and explore a range of regional dialects. Great emphasis is placed on poetry – lyrical as well as dramatic – and on the interpretation of complex texts.

MovementTheatre confronts the young artist with the daunting task of making both mind and body instruments of artistic expression. ‘Mimesis’, the process of physical transformation, has always been recognized as the supreme achievement of the actor. Even when this capacity is not to the fore, it still demands of the actor the carefully crafted creation of a public persona. Training of the body therefore lays particular emphasis on the development of extreme sensitivity to psychological impulse and the acquisition of mastery over one’s means of expression. In addition, the movement programme incorporates highly skilled elements such as armed and unarmed combat as well as period and social dance, both linked to specific acting problems and styles.

Music and SingingMusic constitutes an indispensable part of the training because an ability to explore what may be created through sound sharpens the actors’ sensitivity to their own art. The class explores different modes of making music, ranging from percussion-based improvisation to notation and basic composition. Music is seen as a close ally of other disciplines taught at the Centre, addressing common concerns relating to rhythm, pitch, tempo, expressiveness and gesture. The singing class is designed not only to impart a working knowledge of singing technique for the stage, but also to develop your vocal resources.

you to become as confident with recorded media technology as you are on the stage. Character Analysis and Movement PsychologyThis class sets out to examine the relationship of feeling and expression in the act of performance. A unique synthesis of Laban’s movement theory, Jungian psychology and Stanislavskian acting, the class develops the pioneering work of Yat Malmgren. You will be asked to devise and perform ‘scenarios’ based on both experience and observation. The class investigates the basis of characterization and transformation and examines how physical and psychological relationships reflect the different impulses experienced by the actor on stage. Theatre AnalysisThis class is concerned primarily with problems of interpretation and examines ways in which actors or directors can relate the circumstances of the play to their own experience and to fundamental preoccupations, be they philosophical, ethical or religious. It introduces you to ‘an idea of the theatre’ developing and changing, from country to country and from age to age. A series of research projects – often student-led – examine the creative impulse behind representative works of various periods in order to assess their relevance, if any, to the present.

Voice and SpeechIn the past, the pulpit, the bar, the floor of the Houses of Parliament – the models upon which speech in classic drama is based – underlined for everybody the rhetorical functions of language. Today, the responsibility lies with the actor to uphold that vigour. The aim of the class is to encourage an awareness of the naturally expressive qualities of the voice and to bring them under control; to gain freedom and flexibility in the use of the breath, resonance and words; to

“When I left Cambridge I felt quite proud of what I’d achieved there. I still do, but it was only when I got here that I realised how limited my education had been. Drama Centre asks and encourages you to use every aspect of yourself. I feel like my education didn’t start until I got here”

Robert Donnelly BA Acting Graduate

Rehearsals in the Platform Theatre. John Sturrock

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“The training is endlessly stimulating, exciting and tough. It provides realistic preparation, not just for the profession, but for life itself.”

Gwendoline Christie BA Acting Graduate

17. BA (Honours) DirectingEarly graduates of this course include directors of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatres of Iran, Israel, and Portugal. The course has been re-developed with advice from the Drama Centre Advisory Council, which, alongside Adrian Noble, included leading directors Declan Donnellan, Max Stafford-Clark and Simon McBurney. Recent graduates from the course have directed high-profile stage productions in the West End, opera at the National Theatre of Iceland; musicals in Finland and political satire at the Cameri Theatre in Israel. Films produced by graduates have also been shown at a number of festivals across Europe. The course addresses itself equally to those interested in directing for the theatre and for the recorded media (film, television and radio). In all cases, the course provides a common platform of in-depth study of action and storytelling, allied with the art of the actor so as to enable future directors to have an organic understanding of the acting process and a common language with performers. Drama Centre sees directing as principally a ‘physical’ artistic activity: a director’s sense of timing; delicate visual awareness; sense of the dynamic qualities of space and of relationships within it are all essentially sensuous, physical responses to reality. The course therefore aims above all to train your senses, ‘tuning’ your instrument, your imagination. The study of music and the development of visual awareness, for example, are not there to develop historical and cultural references (useful as these might be), but to develop your director’s ‘ear’ and ‘eye’. This ‘physical’ approach is compounded throughout the course by your developing sympathy for the work of the actor, born out of direct experience of acting within the safe environment of your peer group/s. The experience of ‘doing it’ builds the essential empathy between director and actor which is the primary aim of the course. Finally, the director’s intellectual function is

3 years, full-timeCourse Leader: Lorne Campbell; Visiting Professor: Adrian NobleDrama Centre is a member of the Directors Guild of Great Britain

BA (Honours) Directing

“From the beginning of the course one spends a great deal of time with trainee actors. Being able to work alongside actors has enabled me to gain an intimate understanding of the acting process through my own experimentation and observation of others, an understanding key to a director.”

Jonathan Humphreys BA Directing Graduate

developed through the application of close analysis of text and context, both thematically and historically. This enables you to achieve the level of objectivity necessary to interpret the script as a whole, give it a coherent shape and make it relevant to a defined audience. During the course you also have the opportunity to collaborate with other members of the artistic team: designers, musical directors, choreographers, fight directors, editors, sound engineers, etc. In the latter stages of the course you have two opportunities for placements, totalling 12 weeks, with a variety of theatre and film companies during which you may observe not only artistic work, but also aspects of technical production, management, publicity, marketing and outreach. These are designed to give you a direct view of different aspects of the industry as well as to facilitate your eventual insertion into the profession. In 2003-11 placement opportunities were offered, amongst others, by:

The Maly Theatre, St. Petersburg Jim Neilson at the Irondale Theatre

Company, New York Colin Chambers and the Royal Shakespeare

Company on Tynan Declan Donnellan at the Royal National Theatre,

the RSC and for Cheek by Jowl Peter Gill on The Voysey Inheritance at the

Royal National Theatre Joanna Hogg on the film Unrelated Miklos Jancso on the film Dear Julia in Hungary Nancy Meckler and Polly Teale at Shared Experience Paul Miller at the Soho Theatre Kenny Miller at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East Di Trevis at Watford Theatre and for Quantum Theatre

Company in Pittsburgh, USA Betty TV, documentary company The Mob, film and commercials production company The Arcola Theatre The Citizens Theatre, Glasgow Trademark Films

“I came to Drama Centre to study theatre directing, even though my background is in film. I was a little bit sceptical if I could develop my film- and theatre-directing skills together and thought rather that I would have to focus on one or the other. I was very wrong. Drama Centre proved to be about understanding the form, the function, the drama and the historical context of your work. It’s all about storytelling. So no matter if you want to be a theatre- or a film director, Drama Centre will give you the skills to understand the most essential part of the work, which dictates all your other choices: the story, and the skills to make it living and breathing through performance.”

Tommi Erkko BA Directing Graduate

19. MA Screen: Acting, Directing, WritingThe two MA Screen courses prepare you for work in the film, television and related industries by enabling the development of understanding and skills common to performers and their artistic collaborators. You register for either the Screen Acting or the Screen Directing, Writing Course – on the latter you follow one of these distinct Pathways. However, regardless on which Course or Pathway you are, you spend much of the course working on projects jointly with colleagues from other disciplines. Please note that these courses start in January: Directing, Writing run through a whole calendar year, finishing in December; Acting has an additional term and finishes at Easter.

Course ContentAt the heart of the courses is the development of individual creativity, achieved through constant opportunities for working on camera-based projects. The courses are characterised by their performance-led approach to recorded drama; their ‘company’ operating model; and by the opportunities they offer to realise in practice students’ scripts, directing ideas or performance abilities. Like other Drama Centre courses, the MAs offer a ‘mentoring’ scheme connecting students with experienced professionals. Throughout, the courses emphasise ‘filmic’ approaches, in particular those relating to narrative structure and visual story telling. These concerns apply equally to projects shot on video, recorded on audio tape or devised and performed live on stage. In summary, the courses are characterised by the following:

• performance-led approach to recorded drama, with a high level of acting involvement for all students• work in companies formed of a small number of actors, normally working alongside a director and/ or script writer• consequent acquisition of a deep understanding of the processes leading to the creation of recorded drama

Screen Acting: 2 years (60 weeks), full-time extended (30 hours per week) Screen Directing, Writing: Pathways in Directing or Scriptwriting for the screen – 1 year (45 weeks), full-time (40 hours per week)

Course Leader: Alan Dunnett CERT HE, MA (OXON); Visiting Professor: Stephen FrearsDrama Centre is a member of the Directors Guild of Great Britain and the National Association for Higher Education in the Moving Image (NAHEMI)

MA Screen: Acting, Directing, Writing

• professionally-based learning model preparing graduates for direct entry to work• production of drama programmes on video and audio tape (Acting)• creating and realising new writing or adaptations through performance-led models• work on the technical aspects of production.

Screen Acting CourseKey features of the Screen Acting course are:• an extended programme of Acting Skills such as acting methodologies; screen acting techniques; voice; movement; improvisation• projects applying acting skills to the creation of video dramas in quasi-professional conditions• a Radio Drama project: microphone techniques; acting in radio drama; voice-overs; commercials; audio books• a course in Improvisation and Devising Skills, culminating in the public presentation of a devised stage piece in a studio venue• an extended programme of Professional Preparation, including help with securing agent representation; auditioning for film and TV work; workshops with leading film and television directors, producers, casting directors.

Screen Directing PathwayKey features of the Directing Pathway are:• high integration with the acting programme, involving participation in and observation of classes in acting, voice, movement, improvisation, etc.• an extended programme of Directing Skills such as directing methods; characterisation; text interpretation; character movement; improvisation techniques; visual awareness; sound creation• major projects applying directing skills to the creation of video dramas in quasi-professional conditions, working alongside actors and

writers from other Pathways. During these projects you crew and edit under professional supervision; act as assistant director to an experienced professional; direct your own video• a course in Improvisation and Devising Skills, culminating in participation as director/devisor in the presentation of a devised stage piece• an extended programme of Professional Preparation, including advice about entering the profession; workshops with leading directors, producers, directors’ agents; and practical exercises in planning, budgeting and producing future professional work.

Screen Writing PathwayKey features of the Screen Writing Pathway are:• an extended programme of Screen Writing Skills such as script analysis; characterisation; action; creating relationships; building and resolving tension; acting; text interpretation• participation in practical Video Drama Projects based on your own writing, learning at first hand the process of production: crewing; observing actors and directors at work; directing and editing certain elements and doing ‘re-writes’• a course in Improvisation and Devising Skills, learning how to use devising methodologies to create new work or develop ideas for character, plot and action• the opportunity to have a video drama script realised in practice with the help of acting and directing colleagues• the opportunity to write with professional advice a final project, a paper exercise yielding a strong and detailed treatment and preparing you for ‘pitching’ to potential producers• an extended programme of Professional Preparation, including advice about entering the profession; workshops with leading script writers, producers, writers’ agents, etc., and practical exercises in ‘pitching’ a script and career planning.

On the set of Ticking Clock

“I worried that coming from a dancing career I wouldn’t adapt to intense drama training, but you don’t necessarily need to be intellectual to be a good actor. Drama Centre goes beneath the layers and teaches you how to ‘stop acting’ and ‘start being’. Having already trained in Musical Theatre and worked in film, television and theatre, re-training for screen acting at Drama Centre has opened my eyes to a whole new future in the film industry.”

Donna Gray MA Screen Acting Graduate

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22. MA Acting (formerly MA European Classical Acting)MA Acting at Drama Centre London, is an intensive 45 week conservatoire Actor training - 8 weeks of which are spent in Moscow, with a 2 week ‘live project’ in Epidaurus, Greece. Skills classes in Voice, Movement, Neutral Mask, Ballet, Period Dance, Speech and Acting underpin a programme of scene study, which embraces the Greeks through to Contemporary drama, with particular emphasis on Shakespeare and Chekhov. MA Acting is primarily a stage-acting course which focuses on the techniques developed to address the demands posed by the great European classics.

Course ContentClassical theatre is a rewarding route to the general training of actors, offering a solid grounding in acting technique, rooted in the long-established traditions of England and Russia, which are widely considered to be the foremost exponents of the art of the actor. Throughout, this postgraduate course emphasises theatrical approaches, in particular those relating to narrative structures, movement expression and the conveyance of complex texts by means of a rich, well-trained voice. Questions of text and subtext are explored in detail. MA Acting approaches performance in ways specifically addressing the needs of the Jacobean stage: focusing on vocal accuracy with speed, expressivity on a large scale, engagement with the audience. In addition, the course encourages you to develop skills required by the realist style: multi-layered characterisation, recognising the subtle rapport between text and sub-text, being ‘private in public’. MA Acting reflects the general ethos of the Drama Centre London. The Centre’s distinctive approach includes: The Stanislavsky System, German Expressionism and the legacy of Rudolph Laban & Improvisation.

1 year (45 weeks), full time (30 hours per week)Course Leader: Paul Goodwin ma

MA Acting

“After 7 years of working professionally as a physical performer, I came to Drama Centre to broaden the range of work available to me, and most specifically to learn how to work with text. My time here has done this and much more: I have not only learnt new skills but also come to re-evaluate and more profoundly understand my existing ones. I came expecting to be given a useful, portable toolbox, but have found instead integration- not only a practical breadth but depth and wholeness.” Matilda Leyser MA in European Classical Acting Graduate

Course StructureMA Acting is structured in 2 units over 45 weeks; Unit 1 (weeks 1-15) “Skills and techniques of Acting” and Unit 2 (weeks 16-45) “The practice of Acting”. 8 weeks are spent at the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute, known as the Vakhtangov Institute, in Moscow - one of the foremost conservatoire Drama schools in Russia A typical week for MA Acting students will be; 3 hours Voice, 3 hours Movement, 1.5 hours Ballet, 1.5 hours Speech, 1.5 hours Period Dance, 3 hours Neutral Mask, 7 hours Acting Technique and 12 hours Rehearsal. This intensive pattern, with skills classes underpinning rehearsals, carries on for all 45 weeks of the postgraduate course. All of the above classes and rehearsals are “taught time” - contact hours on MA Acting are high, with additional time spent preparing either by yourself or with fellow students -it is an intensive postgraduate course, physically and emotionally demanding.

Our PartnerWhile most of the study takes place at the Drama Centre, an extended unit takes place at our partner institution: The Vakhtangov Institute – or The Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute of Higher Education, to give it its full name – has been in existence for almost a century, having been established in October 1914 by the great Russian director Evgeny Vakhtangov. The youngest of Stanislavsky’s great pupils, Vakhtangov created the school of ‘fantastic realism’, an original synthesis between Stanislavsky’s naturalism and the extreme physical approach adopted by Meyerhold. During eight weeks of study at the Vakhtangov Institute you receive an intensive training in Russian classical acting methods. You engage in a practical investigation of characters and scenes by Chekhov and other classical Russian dramatists and seek to respond to the range of artistic demands with which these challenge

actors. You attend classes in acting, voice, movement (including acrobatics and dance) At the end of your Moscow study you perform scenes on the stage of the Vakhtangov Institute in front of an invited audience. Study in Moscow is in English, either directly or through simultaneous translation.

Professional PreperationThe final ten weeks of the course are spent back at the Drama Centre, integrating your learning experience at the two institutions, along with acting for the recorded media. This part of the course focuses on Professional Preparation, and showcasing your work as emerging professional actors. Voice and movement tutors will support 2 professional directors as the group is split and you rehearse 2 full length plays, which will be shown to an invited audience. The course will end with a fully produced Agents Showcase in September in the new Platform Theatre in King's Cross.

A Midsummer Nights Dream

“The training in Russia really builds on what I received at the Drama Centre. There is a real focus on intensifying the actor’s inner drives and conflict, and the exercises we do in the acting classes train this. Being directed in the Chekhov project by a Russian director who knows the original text intimately gave me so many new insights, and made the work really exciting.” Charlotte Powell MA European Classical Acting Graduate

24. Summer School:A London Theatre ExperienceThe Summer School – A London Theatre Experience Course at Drama Centre (9-27 July 2012) is aimed at 16-19 year old students who are interested in professional drama and wish to improve their acting, directing or other performance skills in order to make informed decisions about their future careers and widen their dramatic horizons. This is a full-time, three-week course run by the Drama Centre annually.

The course enables you to experience the rigour and variety available in the field of drama and to test your expectations and aspirations against the realities of vocational training.

During the course you will gain a taste of what life in a leading drama school is like. We would like to enhance your capacity to learn in a disciplined, organised manner and develop skills leading to self-reliant learning. You will also develop your critical awareness of contemporary performance and will learn to express your ideas clearly and articulately.

The course is based fully in the practice of performance, delivered within a leading drama conservatoire, thus benefiting from the high levels of expertise of the professional staff at Drama Centre.

The teachers on the course will seek to help you widen your understanding of the various opportunities for careers in the field of drama. You may already feel that you are determined to pursue a career in acting or directing, for example. In this case, the course will help you to test your commitment and define your expectations. On the other hand, you may feel that, while attracted by the idea of working in drama, you are not yet sure of how your talent can be developed. If this is the case, then the course will help you explore your special aptitudes and enable you to make informed decisions about future studies.

The course offers a programme of drama classes and a programme of cultural events on the following lines:

Summer School:

A London Theatre Experience

“Studying on the Foundation course was something of a revelation for me: within two months I had decided I was not cut out for a career as an actor. Instead, I took the offer of a Directing Pathway and I found I took to the classes immediately. My confidence was boosted massively by finding this new direction. The encouragement and enthusiasm I received from the tutors spurred me on to apply and get on to the BA Directing. It's pretty safe to say that if I had not done the Foundation course, I wouldn't be where I am now.”

Laurence Chatter BA Directing Student

Drama classesThe Summer School combines classes in acting, music and singing, voice and speech as well as specific physical studies. The classes seek to address the individual needs and aspirations of each student. They are 90 minutes long each, so that every student can have individual attention. There will be 3 or 4 sessions of drama classes per day: 2 in the morning and 1 or 2 in the afternoon, from 10am to 3.45pm or 5.30pm, with a lunch break and tea breaks between classes.

Cultural programmeYou will also participate in a structured programme, which will enable you to make full use of the rich cultural life of London at the time of your course.

You will get the chance to see a variety of productions in London’s West End, at Shakespeare’s Globe, at the Royal National Theatre, at the Royal Opera House or Sadler’s Wells. Off-West End productions at the internationally acclaimed Donmar Warehouse and Almeida are also included, as well as Fringe shows and visits to important museums and galleries in London. The course also offers a visit to Stratford-upon-Avon with a matinee performance at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

26. Open DaysIf you would like to visit the Drama Centre, you can attend one of our Open Days. These usually take place in late October-early November. As places are limited, please visit our website, www.csm.arts.ac.uk/drama, for exact dates and times and to book your place.

Foundation in Performance courseDrama Centre recognises that your academic qualifications provide only partial evidence of your capacity to benefit from and ability to succeed on a foundation programme.

Applicants will normally have achieved either:• one A-Level supported by 3 GCSE Grades A* to C (80 UCAS points)• a BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts• or other equivalent qualifications.

Mature applicants who wish to develop the skills necessary for entry into higher education in performance and show evidence of aptitude for this qualification are eligible to apply. In the case of applicants over the age of 21 the requirement for formal academic qualifications may be waived.

BA (Honours)Applicants must normally possess either:• passes in 2 subjects at A-Level or the equivalent (160 UCAS points), supported with 3 passes at GCSE at grade C or above• or evidence of experiential learning, the outcome of which can be demonstrated to be equivalent to the above.

MastersThese courses address themselves primarily to graduates and mature students who are able to apply a high degree of independence to their learning.

Successful candidates will be expected to bring to the course a level of understanding of drama in its various contexts as well as an ability to work autonomously for sustained periods with the

Bridge Kings Cross, John Sturrock

Drama Centre London

“My first audition had gone really badly, because nerves and insecurity completely overtook me! Drama Centre was my second audition ever, and I must admit I got here feeling quite dejected and sure that I was in for a painful failure. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The atmosphere was vibrating with energy, the staff and students were all lovely and easy going, and I enjoyed the first stage so much that my nerves just evaporated.”

Ana Gonzalez Bello BA Acting Student

appropriate concentration, focus and resilience. As the courses place strong emphasis on collaboration and the ability to work within an ensemble, successful candidates would be expected to demonstrate openness, flexibility and generosity within the context of a creative group.

The vocational nature of the courses implies a certain degree of proficiency at entry. However, the courses seek to balance this against perceived potential, especially when the latter is supported by a clear understanding of the profession and a realistic view of career development and employment prospects.

Applicants should possess or demonstrate either:• a degree in acting, drama, directing, theatre studies, dance, or a relevant art and design discipline• or a Level 3 Diploma from a recognised professional drama or dance school (e.g. those which are members of The Conference of Drama Schools or The Council for Dance Education and Training)• or a degree at Honours level in a discipline other than those listed above plus demonstrable performance-related experience, either professionally or within an amateur or student context• or at least three years professional experience as a performer, director or writer• or prior experiential learning, the outcome of which can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required; or a combination of formal qualifications and experiential learning which, taken together, can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required.

27. How to Apply All applicants (UK/EU/international) must follow the guidelines relevant to the course to which they wish to apply, as listed below.

BA (Honours)Applications must be made through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) to the University of the Arts London and not to Drama Centre. You can apply online from the UCAS website at www.ucas.ac.uk or call on +44 (0) 8701 122 211. For entry in September you must apply by 15 January. Applications after the deadline cannot be guaranteed consideration.

Drama Centre courses are listed in the UCAS handbook and on the UCAS web site www.ucas.ac.uk, as follows:

BA Acting Institution code name: UAL Institution code: U65 Course code: W410 Short form of course: BA/Act DIRECT BA DirectingInstitution code name: UALInstitution code: U65Course code: W420Short form of course: BA/DIRECT

Diploma in Foundation Studies, MA Acting and MA Screen (all courses/pathways)All applications for these courses must be returned directly to the Admissions Office at Drama Centre London (details on application form). For application deadlines, please visit our website. To obtain an application form, contact us on 020 7514 7022/23, email info@csm.arts.ac.uk or download a form from our website www.csm.arts.ac.uk/drama

27. Booking your audition and interview

Foundation in Performance, BA Acting, BA Directing and MA European Classical Acting applicantsonce we have received your application form, you will be sent an audition/interview pack. The pack will contain simple directions which will enable you to go online, pay the non-refundable audition/interview fee of £45 and then book an audition date and time which suits you.

MA Screen applicantsOnce we have received your application form and your non-refundable audition/interview fee of £45, you will be sent further information and an audition date (special provisions apply to MA Screen: Writing Pathway candidates – see below under MA Screen).

Additional Information for International ApplicantsDrama Centre at Central Saint Martins welcomes applicants from around the world. Applicants to Foundation in Performance and BA (Honours) Acting, MA Screen Acting and MA Acting are encouraged to attend for audition and interview but may, alternatively, submit a DVD of themselves performing two speeches as indicated in the candidate information sent once your application forms have been received. The panel may then invite the candidate to attend a Recall Day or Stage 2 audition, as appropriate. Drama Centre may hold auditions and interviews in North America; please contact the Admissions Secretary for further information. Applicants to the BA (Honours) Directing and MA Screen (Directing and Screen Writing Pathways) must come for an interview.

All classes are conducted in English, so you will be required to have a fluent command of the language. If English is not your first language you will be asked to give evidence of proficiency in English. The minimum

score for entry on to courses at the Drama Centre is as follows:• Foundation in Performance 6.5 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the equivalent• BA and MA Acting courses: 7.5 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the equivalent.• MA Screen courses: 7.0 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the equivalent.

Applicants from outside the European Union should note that UK Government regulations permit graduates of higher education courses at the University of the Arts London to work in the United Kingdom for two years after graduation.

28. Auditions and InterviewsDrama Centre seeks to audition and interview all applicants. It is recommended that you choose as early an audition date as possible. From November onwards, updates on the availability of audition dates and application deadlines will be shown on our website.

On the day, whenever possible you will be looked after by fellow students who will do their utmost to guide you around the Centre, answer your questions and help you relax so that you can give the best account of your potential. Auditions/interviews for BA and MA courses normally involve at least one member of the profession. Please note that auditions sometimes finish around 7.30pm and you may need to make appropriate travel arrangements. BA Directing InterviewsAdmission to BA (Honours) Directing is by interview only. These take place between November and June. You will be asked to study two well-known plays before you attend. The interview comprises two stages: You begin with a 20-minute interview covering aspects of a specific play. A recall system is used thereafter. In assessing your suitability for the BA Directing the admissions panels will give equal weight to your interview and your directing workshop taking into account the following criteria:• imagination – visual sense; sensuous engagement with the material; analytical ability• story telling – visual means; textual stresses; placement (‘blocking’); build-up and resolution of tension• spirit of enquiry – intellectual alertness; knowledge and experience of theatre/film; awareness of the demands of the profession.

MA Screen Auditions and InterviewsAuditions/interviews take place between March and September. As these are Course and/or Pathway specific, details will be sent to you upon application; alternatively you can refer to our website www.csm.arts.ac.uk/dramacentrelondon/applyandaudition/auditionsandinterviews/#d.en.99368For Screen Acting and the Directing Parthway, the audition/interview consists of two stages held on the same day, with an initial selection of candidates occurring between stages 1 and 2. Writing Pathway candidates’ written work is first assessed by a panel (stage 1) – only recalled candidates are invited to interview (stage 2). While candidates must state their chosen Course and/or Pathway on application, part of the admission process will include a discussion on the appropriateness of the choice. Candidates who wish to make alternative choices may do so following their interview.

Acting CoursesActing candidates are required to prepare two speeches, each lasting no longer than three minutes, as explained below.

Foundation in Performance: two speeches from plays taken from any period. In assessing your suitability for the course, the admissions panel will place greater emphasis on the interview than on the audition pieces and will take into account the following criteria:• knowledge and experience of theatre• awareness of personal and career goals• analysis of the character, text and action presented in the audition pieces• stage presence, use of emotion, intellectual engagement, voice and body• acting focus, level of intensity and variety of expression• a sense of play and the ability to collaborate on stage.

• stage relationships and the establishment of inner and outer contacts• vocal, physical and internal characterization• knowledge and experience of theatre and/or the recorded media as appropriate• awareness of personal and career goals. In the latter stages of the auditioning process, the panel will take into account the criteria above and in addition:• text analysis• response to direction• a sense of play and the ability to collaborate on stage. Recall Day (BA Acting only)Candidates selected from the third stage are invited to spend a ‘Recall Day’ at the Drama Centre to take part in core classes, e.g. acting, improvisation, movement, singing, voice. You will also have the opportunity to meet informally key members of staff and may also have a further interview with the Principal. Deferred EntryBecause places on courses at the Drama Centre are limited and courses are regularly over subscribed, the Centre does not normally accept applications for deferred entry. Deferred places are only made available under exceptional circumstances and will only be held for one year. Complaints and ChallengeCourse Directors, admissions tutors and administrative staff are normally able to satisfy most queries about admissions decisions and the vast majority of applicants are satisfied with the explanations given. However, in the rare cases where a candidate does not accept the explanation offered, the Centre and

College have put in place a process for dealing with complaints or challenges to admissions decisions. A complaint is normally a specific concern related to a procedural error, irregularity or misadministration in the application of the fee assessment process. Complaints can cover a wide range of issues including the way in which an application has been handled, the outcome of the selection or fees classification or the way in which an applicant has been interviewed. Concerns cannot be raised about academic judgement. A challenge to an admissions decision is normally a request for a formal review of the outcome of a selection or fee assessment decision. Challenges cannot be made against academic judgement. Disagreeing with the opinion of the admissions panel and/or Course Director is not a ground for appeal.

Candidates wishing to raise legitimate complaints or challenges should in the first place put their concerns in writing to the College Admissions Manager, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, 10 Back Hill, London EC1R 5LQ.

BA (Honours) Acting: one speech in verse from a play by Shakespeare or one of his contemporaries and one speech from any play written later than 1830. MA Acting: one speech in verse from a play by Shakespeare or one of his contemporaries and one speech from any play written between 1830 and 1930. For any of these courses, you may replace one or both speeches with duologue scenes, but will need to bring a partner with whom to present the scene(s). All candidates are interviewed, with particular attention being given to the pieces chosen, their context and meaning. You may also be asked to improvise or attempt simple exercises. Stage 1: a panel normally composed of Centre staff and a professional representative initially hears speeches. A recall system is used thereafter. Stage 2: if you are selected after the first stage, you are seen by the Audition Panel that comprises staff, students and professional representatives. The panel hears one or more speeches, conducts an interview about you and the material you have presented and may also ask you to improvise work under direction. Stage 3: if you were selected after the second stage, you may be asked to work with partners on simple verbal and non-verbal improvisations in a workshop. NB: Please note that stages 1, 2 and 3 are held on the same day. In assessing your suitability for the acting courses, the admissions panels will give equal weight to your performance and your interview and will take into account the following criteria: •stage presence, use of emotion, intellectual engagement, voice and body• acting focus, level of intensity and variety of expression

“It’s great to be in a building full of people who have a love of art. The fantastic and professional facilities offer invaluable and inspiring opportunities to create.”

James Smith Diploma in Foundation Performance Student

31. Fees and Funding

Foundation in Performance£11,300 per annum, £149 Trinity Guildhall examination charge and £290 for visits to performances

BA Acting and BA DirectingUK/EU: £9,000 per annum.International: £12,250 per annum subject to confirmation

MA ActingAll Students: £14,100 per annum and £1,850 for the cost of travel to and accommodation in Moscow

MA Screen ActingAll students: £8,700 per annum (x 2 years)

MA Screen Directing, WritingAll students: £14,100 per annum (x I year)

Summer School: A London Theatre ExperienceFees: £1,850. Additional costs for Summer School: students are responsible for the payment of the air flight tickets, travel and medical insurance, London tube and bus fares and for making accommodation arrangements.

Accommodation: the cost of accommodation in halls of residence is GBP 33 per night and it includes breakfast.

NB: Please note that the fees given are for guidance only and are subject to review. Please visit our website for up to date information.

Funding Your CourseYou may be entitled to apply for help with your fees. For more information, please visit our website on www.csm.arts.ac.uk/drama or www.arts.ac.uk/fees_money.htm

Teaching and Support StaffYou can read profiles of our staff on our websitewww.csm.arts.ac.uk/drama

DisclaimerThis prospectus describes the courses currently run by Drama Centre, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design maintained by the University of the Arts London. Every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of this prospectus but changes may have taken place after publication since it is the policy of the University constantly to monitor its courses including their performance and content. Prospective students should be aware of this and are asked to verify details at their interview or by enquiry to the college. In the day-to-day context, whilst every endeavour is made to provide the courses and services described in this prospectus, The University of the Arts London reserves the right to make such changes as may be appropriate for reasons of operational efficiency or due to circumstances – including industrial action – beyond its control.

FIN

PrincipalJonathan Martin

Chairman of the Advisory BoardChristopher Honer

Visiting ProfessorsStephen FrearsAdrian NobleGeoffrey Rush

Casting AdviserAnne Henderson

Drama Centre LondonCentral Saint Martins College of Arts and DesignGranary Building 1 Granary Square King’s Cross London, N1C 4AA

Tel: +44 (0)20 7514 8778Fax: +44 (0)20 7514 8777Email: drama@arts.ac.ukwww.csm.arts.ac.uk/drama

Acknowledgements

Design: Adams Associates 0207 221 7680Production photographs: Mark Duffield and Michal Samir

We have made all efforts to credit images correctly – please contact us if we have omitted to credit or miscredit any images. Amendments will be made to subsequent editions of this publication

Central Saint Martins College of Arts and DesignHead of CollegeProfessor Jane Rapley OBE

The University of the Arts London RectorNigel Carrington

65 Davies Street, London W1K 5DAwww.arts.ac.uk

Member of the Conference of Drama Schools