Most Americans researching the British alternative for acting classes look no farther than London. In fact, some of the highest standards of teaching are to be found outside the capital. Over the course of several weeks, our London columnist, David McGillivray, visited four regional drama schools, gathering material for these lively, insightful profiles.
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The Oxford School of Drama Woodstock, Oxford
Why Would I Want to Go to Woodstock?
Road signs alert the visitor to "historic Woodstock." This lovely little market town, home to only about 2,000 people, has a lot of old royal connections. It was established by King Ethelred the Unready, who made a clearing in Wychwood Forest for a hunting lodge in the 10th century. The zoo created here in the 11th century by King Henry I was the world's first. Henry's grandson, Henry II ("The Lion in Winter"), regularly stayed at the lodge. In 1553 Queen Elizabeth I was imprisoned by her half-sister, Mary Tudor, in the gatehouse of Woodstock Manor House. And so on.
Once upon a time, the townsfolk made a living out of glove-making; today the main source of income is tourism. The chief attraction is the magnificent Blenheim (pronounced Blennim) Palace, built between 1715 and 1722 as a present to the Duke of Marlborough for defeating the French at Blenheim, Bavaria. Sir Winston Churchill was born here in 1874. The palace is one of the most familiar in the U.K., having been used as a location in countless British films.
The drama school is a three-minute drive from Woodstock, in converted 18th-century cowsheds on otherwise deserted crossroads. The buildings are on the site of a former Roman settlement; excavation for the school's new dance studio produced bones and pottery. The beautiful 13th-century university city of Oxford is 10 miles away. Most students live here.
What's Special About the School?
Without question, the location is like no other in the U.K. For Oxford graduate George Peck, who founded the school in 1981 and is still its principal, the setting teaches students that show biz "is not all bright lights and pizzazz." It helps actors appreciate the wider responsibilities of the profession, he says. He prides himself on a loyal, dedicated staff and a comforting, protective environment literally miles from the distractions of the outside world. Students arrive on a bus in the morning and don't leave again until the evening. Lunch is sandwiches brought in a van.
Unusually, Peck didn't go to drama school. After Oxford, he worked as an actor, then a director, "gradually piecing together how actors approach their work." He felt that Stanislavsky revealed the great truth of the art, and still does. He is "fanatical" about Shakespeare. Staff and students confirm that Peck's knowledge of the Bard is phenomenal. If he has one aim, it is to get the student to connect. "If an actor can share fundamental feelings with an audience, he can move them in a way that's very rare," Peck declares. "To do that, he needs to find courage. We're all afraid of putting ourselves on the line, but we have to if we're going to reveal the heart of great plays."
The school accepts only about seven per cent of applicants. Since it opened at Woodstock in 1988, 14 North American students have graduated. "American students are better prepared," Peck says. "They've done drama more seriously from a younger age. They're more aware of emotional recall. They fit in very well."
Who's Been Here?
The school's star pupil is Catherine McCormack, who was Mel Gibson's wife in "Braveheart," and last year played the title role in "Anna Weiss," which had a short run at London's Whitehall theatre. ("She's the first student to have her name above the title in a West End show.") Other former students currently doing well include Lee Boardman, Imogen Slaughter, and American Dahlia Waingort. Roger Michell, director of the hit movie "Notting Hill," and actresses Jane Lapotaire and Rebecca Saire have given master classes.
Vital Classes
Massimo Marinoni's Animal Studies Class: Students on the one-year course have spent a lot of time at the Cotswold Wildlife Park, each studying an animal of his choice. Now they have to show Marinoni what they've observed. Marinoni is lithe and walks like a cat himself. He carries a stopwatch and never smiles. "No fidgeting!" he snaps. He is, frankly, terrifying. The students stretch their bodies into new shapes. Some are better than others at prowling. Marinoni slinks around the class, whispering suggestions. "We're working towards turning the animal into a human character," explains Jennifer Pasquill, 23, from Vancouver. "It's another way of getting us out of ourselves." After 45 minutes of relentless severity, Marinoni professes himself satisfied and relaxes. He is human after all. He leaves the class, then returns unexpectedly. "My next class is over-running," he announces. "Somebody hasn't got a stopwatch."
Jacquie Crago's Voice Class: "This might be a bit haphazard," warns Crago before rehearsing a scene from "Oedipus." She stands before students on the three-year course like a conductor, spring-heeled, snapping her fingers for emphasis, positively buzzing with energy. She analyzes an angry confrontation between Tiresias and Oedipus, then gets pairs of students to massage each other while speaking the lines. "In no way allow yourself to recite those words," she coaches. "Share them." The long exercise produces an atmosphere of intense intimacy. "You've got to sense that physical connection even though you might be standing at opposite sides of the stage," she explains. Everyone agrees that the exercise worked. Later Crago admits that she only thought it up last night.
Noteworthy Productions
All courses end with graduation shows in London. The few weeks spent in the capital ease students into the London scene, but the main object of the move is to get agents and casting directors, who otherwise would leave London only at gunpoint, to come to the shows. St. Andrew's Church Hall, near the Old Vic in Waterloo, used to be a Fringe theatre. Now it's a typically miserable rehearsal space with a wall clock stopped at 8:55. George Peck is supervising a run-through of a program of Tennessee Williams' one-act plays, which will be presented at the Cockpit, a little theatre down a side street in Marylebone.
Before the performance, students adopt "psychological gestures" relevant to their characters. The plays include the familiar two-hander "Something Unspoken," and the lesser-known "Confessional," which Williams later expanded into "Small Craft Warnings." Anyone wondering whether to do one year or three at Oxford might like to bear in mind that it is pretty easy to detect who's stayed longer. Two three-year students, Paul Dodds and Royce Cronin, who come up to talk during a break, reveal that they already have agents as a result of last week's graduation show. This is not a surprise.
The American View
Jennifer Pasquill and Summer Serafin, 20, from San Francisco, both enrolled at the school last year. Serafin has no doubt that this is where she should be. Her favorite actors-Hopkins, Branagh, Oldman, Fiennes-are British, and she's been to the U.K. twice before for summer schools at RADA. "I'm absolutely loving it," she enthuses. "I can't believe how far I've come in such a short time."
For Pasquill, the most exciting discovery is "exploring areas I'm not used to, finding out things I didn't know. I'm stronger than I thought." Animal study comes up for discussion. "You do things that are so ridiculous," laughs Serafin. "You get off the bus and get into this space and you're different. There was so much I kept inside. You don't act on impulses, because if you go with your impulses you end up doing bizarre things." Pasquill agrees. "It's freed me up entirely. I was always very self-conscious about my movements," she admits. "Now I've got muscles in my arms I've never had before."
Anything Else I Should Know?
Before George Peck bought Sansomes Farm, it was owned by a Marxist co-operative, then by John Entwistle of The Who.
Every July and August there is a summer school for American students aged 18-26. For more details about this program, contact: Atlantic Overtures, 3549 N. 47th Ave., Omaha, NE 68104; phone/fax: (402) 453-3872.
George Peck: "Oxford is an historic city much loved by people all over the world. It's romantic, it's surprisingly friendly, and it's small enough to get around. But it's expensive, there are too many tourists, and it's very cold, even in summer."
Jennifer Pasquill: "People are very friendly, like the lady at the bank. But things are made so much more difficult than they need to be. Try opening a bank account! It's crazy in this country. And everything closes so early. You get off the bus at 6 pm and you can't get anything."
Executive Director Kate Ashcroft: "Woodstock is nice in the summer. There are shops, a library, a swimming pool, and about seven or eight pubs. They're good for employment. Last year five of our students worked in the pubs."
WRITE: Kate Ashcroft, The Oxford School of Drama, Sansomes Farm Studios, Woodstock, Oxford OX20 1ER
PHONE: 011-44-1-99-381-2883
FAX: 011-44-1-99-381-1220
E-MAIL: info@oxford. drama.ac.uk .
WEBSITE: hhtp://www.oxford. drama.ac.uk
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Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOV)
Bristol, Avon
Why Would I Want to Go to Bristol?
Londoners who love the arts, but can do without the dirt, noise, and crime, often move to Bristol. The city, with a population of 650,000, was once the U.K.'s second-busiest port. Most of its citizens' wealth came from the shipping industry, which is why there is a statue of Neptune in the center of town. Bristol has age-old links with America. George Henry Cabot sailed from here in 1497 in search of the New World. Legend has it that the continent was named after Bristolian Richard a Meryck. Mr. Penn of Pennsylvania was another Bristolian.
Bristol is famous for its elegant architecture. The cathedral dates from 1140, and John Wesley's chapel (1739) is the world's oldest Methodist building. Christmas Steps is a quaint Dickensian alley. The S.S. Great Britain (1843) and the magnificent Clifton Suspension Bridge (1864) are both the work of the great civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The skeleton in Bristol's closet is its association with the slave trade. Between 1698 and 1807 half a million slaves were processed here. Relics of the industry, e.g., Black Boy Hill, can still be found, but undoubtedly the most positive legacy is a thriving multi-cultural society. There are a lot of theatres, cinemas, galleries, and bookstores here. The BBC has a long association with Bristol, and Aardman, the studio that produced the Oscar-winning "The Wrong Trousers" is also based in the city.
As can be seen from the BOV's address, the building, two 1900 houses knocked into one, is on the edge of the Downs, a big open space, where you can find the Clifton Observatory and its marvelous camera obscura.
What's Special About the School?
The Theatre Royal, Bristol, which opened in 1766, is the oldest continuously working theatre in the U.K. The Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company, originally a regional offshoot of London's Old Vic, has been based here since 1946. The school, founded by the Bristol Old Vic's first director, Hugh Hunt, opened the same year and moved to its present address in 1956. The building was bought with the proceeds of a West End musical called "Salad Days," co-written by ex-pupil Julian Slade.
The BOV has developed a reputation that allows it to be spoken of in the same breath as RADA and LAMDA. The present principal, Christopher Denys, modestly takes no credit for this, passing the torch back to his predecessor, the late Nat Brenner, who established the policy of only employing as tutors people working in the business. This, says Denys, teaches students, not just the craft, but the "nuts and bolts" of the business. He also engages tutors full-time. He doesn't like the system at other big schools, where high-profile names "rush into LAMDA in the morning and on to RADA in the afternoon."
Denys doesn't adhere to one philosophy. He elaborates, "A third of our American students will have done performing arts at degree level. They're saturated in Grotowski and Brecht. We're here to beat it out of them. Stanislavsky is an interesting historical curiosity, but he's not going to help you play second house at the Sunderland Empire." [Meaning, in American English, that Stanislavsky's Method can't prepare you to do matinee and evening performances of the same mundane potboiler in an ordinary British theatre.] Denys favors a pragmatic approach, tailored to the individual. "We compensate for weaknesses and build strengths, making sure there's a market for that individual."
Today that market is predominantly television and film. Of the 28 students who graduated a year ago, 25 have yet to set foot on a professional stage, having spent all their time in front of the cameras. What use then is a classical theatre course to an American about to do a couple of days on "The Young and the Restless?" "If you can get your head and your mouth 'round Shakespeare, everything else is a piece of piss," Denys explains patiently. "Shakespeare is so demanding. You have to get up and know what you're doing for three hours. That concentration is equally important when you're shooting a film out of sequence. It's difficult integrating TV training, but we introduce cameras very early on to stop people from being self-conscious."
The BOV also offers what must be the best radio training in the U.K. The BBC has had studios in Bristol since World War II, when radio drama was moved away from Blitz-torn London. In the 1990s, the Corporation converted a 250-year-old brewery into a state-of-the-art recording studio, then decided to move drama back to London. The BOV bought the studio in 1998 and now shares it with local musicians. The dance outfit Massive Attack, which had an international hit with "Unfinished Sympathy," records here.
Who's Been Here?
Some very big names, indeed, including Patricia Routledge, Patrick Stewart, John McEnery, Robin Phillips, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jeremy Irons, Miranda Richardson, Pete Postlethwaite, Stephen Dillane, Greta Scacchi, playwright Peter Nichols, and directors Tim Luscombe and Greg Doran. About 15-20% of students are from abroad, among them Gene Wilder, Christopher Selbie (artistic director of the Denver Civic Theatre), and Geoffrey Sherman (artistic director of Meadow Brook Theatre, Michigan). Former pupil Jane Lapotaire still teaches here.
Vital Classes
Peter Nicholas' Audition Class: Bristol actor Nicholas coaches students who are just a few weeks into their first year at BOV. What's his aim? "Stretching consciousness," he states, "showing them that their only limitation is their imagination." Nicholas knows that, in a supportive environment, students take more risks. His motto is, "Don't think too much. Just do it!" Every one of the kids looks as though he wants to be there. They are all shapes and sizes. They have learned Shakespearean monologues, and now Nicholas will suggest how to make more of them. The first student is told to sing "Now is the winter of our discontent" in the style of a gospel song. The rest of the class is told to respond as though they're at a revivalist meeting, and they do, immediately.
The words become truly stirring, bearing out Nicholas' belief in the power of support. Later exercises involve Juliet being physically restrained from reaching Romeo, and Shylock being stripped, not only of his dignity, but his clothes. Another student is chided by Nicholas, "You're giving up! Come on!"
She sighs with frustration, "The thought is so long, it's easy to lose it."
"You need a lot of energy to play Shakespeare," Nicholas responds. "These young actors are so inspired, it is hard to believe they have only just begun training. What will they be like at the end of three years?"
Noteworthy Productions
BOV students regularly take shows to all kinds of venues in and around Bristol. Annually for 16 years "The Nativity" has played to schools, churches, and hospitals. The students have to act, sing, play musical instruments, put the set up, pack it away again at the end, and move on, sometimes performing to five-year-olds, then to 95-year-olds, in the same day. "Character-forming," Christopher Denys calls it.
For the Christmas season at Bristol's Redgrave theatre, the BOV is presenting Denys' adaptation of "Alice Through the Looking Glass," a pleasant change from the better-known "Adventures in Wonderland." It is a spectacular production, with expensive-looking costumes and elaborate sets (on a revolve!) bringing Tenniel's drawings to life. The Lion is not very leonine, but other performances strike just the right exuberant balance for the holiday show. American Tim Davenport plays the Carpenter and the March Hare with two perfect English accents. The young audience at the matinee is very quiet, but this evocation of Carroll's fantasy will probably give them something to remember for the rest of their lives.
The American View
After the performance, Tim Davenport, 27, from Buffalo, NY, admits that the show is "great fun, but very hard sometimes." The main difficulty is trying to remain aware of both the parents and the children: "You have to have a sense of being onstage, and making it live, but you also have to have an ear out there in the audience." Davenport planned originally to be a fight director and came to the BOV in 1996 to assist Senior Combat Instructor Jonathan Howell. He liked what he saw of the acting course and came back to enroll in 1998. "I'd done Stanislavsky in the U.S.; I wanted to do something to balance that out," he explains, "and I wanted to sing and dance." Davenport holds the common view that there's less stress in Bristol than in London. "So much time in London is spent on the tube," he points out. "It's very expensive and every time you walk out the door you're going to spend £12 on meals and fares. Now I'm living in Clifton, which is the most beautiful part of Bristol. I'm in a basement flat that's been let to Bristol students for 20 years, so I feel kind of taken care of."
Abraham Goldfarb, 20, from Long Island, NY, had always loved acting and was accepted by Marymount Manhattan, but thought he would have trouble with the religious aspect. When his father came to the U.K., Goldfarb tagged along, and tried a few drama schools here. He knew nothing about Bristol, and didn't even know where it was, but he was impressed when he learned that his favorite actors studied at the BOV. He's now on the third year of the three-year course. What has he learned? "Tenacity, endurance, a tougher philosophy," he replies. "And to work harder than everyone else." He'd like to stay in the U.K., but knows work will be easier to come by in the U.S. "I've been educated at Bristol," he reminds me. "I guess that gives me a good shot at any Shakespeare company in America."
Anything Else I Should Know?
Some rooms at Downside Road have no central heating!
In the summer, some classes are held on the Downs.
Jeremy Irons: "If you wanted to be a star, you would go to RADA. If you wanted to be an actor and a musician, you went to LAMDA. If you wanted to be an actor and a teacher, you went to Central. And if you wanted to be a new-wave, kitchen-sink sort of actor, you went to East 15. But Bristol was where you trained to be an all-round repertory actor, a bloke who could play anything, and subsume himself in the part rather than shine as a star."
Beth Porter, a New York actress who has lived in Bristol for two years: "Bristol reminds me of the buzziness of the '60s, which I suppose is partially due to the universities and colleges. There's a mix of vibrant young people. I also like the unpretentious respect for history. There's a looking back and a looking forward reflected in the architecture. To top it all off, the river and the harbor are an integral part of the city center, the epitome of which is the gorgeous Clifton Suspension Bridge, especially magical when it's lit up at night."
WRITE: Erika Neumann, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, 2 Downside Road, Bristol BS8 2XF
PHONE: 011-44-1-17-973-3535
E-MAIL: enquiries@oldvic.drama ac.uk .
WEBSITE: http://oldvic.drama. ac.uk .
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Birmingham School of Speech and Drama (BSSD)
Birmingham, West Midlands
Why Would I Want to Go to Birmingham?
Birmingham is proud of its identification as the U.K.'s Second City, the biggest (population 1 million) after London. Although its oldest building, a pub called the Old Crown, dates from 1368, Birmingham is essentially the most modern big city, constantly changing. "Spaghetti junction," a notorious but brilliantly engineered tangle of freeways, is probably unlike anything outside Los Angeles, while the city center, forever in the throes of new construction, will also make American city-dwellers feel at home.
Birmingham's development has been the result of trade since the mid-12th century, when landowner Peter de Bermingham established a market day. In the 18th century, Birmingham was the center of the Industrial Revolution. James Watt developed the steam engine here from 1796. By 1800 all branches of the U.K.'s canal system led to Birmingham. The first railroad link from Birmingham to Liverpool opened in 1836, a year before the line to London.
Today, unlike those in most British cities, Birmingham's industries (automobiles, metalwork, chocolate) remain prosperous. Arts spending is the highest per capita in the U.K. Symphony Hall is described as the finest concert hall in the world. The Hippodrome and the Birmingham Rep are two of the most important theatres in the country. And Birmingham is the U.K.'s most cosmopolitan city, with 21.5% of the population being of ethnic origin. The Drum, the U.K.'s first permanent center for African, Caribbean, and Asian arts, opened in 1998. Balti, a style of Indian cooking which has spread during the past 20 years to every town in the U.K., originated in Birmingham's Sparkbrook and Balsall Heath areas.
Much of the finance for Birmingham's regeneration has come from Europe. The city maintains strong links with Continental Europe and sees its future as "Europe's meeting place."
What's Special About the School?
The BSSD, which opened in 1936, is the oldest drama school in the U.K. to remain in the hands of one family. The present principal, teacher and actress Patricia Yardley, is the daughter of founder Pamela Chapman. During the past 54 years, the school has occupied several premises in Birmingham and, last year, moved to former council offices in the Link Building, so-called because it links a museum and an art gallery. Anyone who can locate it from a map, find the entrance, and park without getting a ticket, deserves a free scholarship. The BSSD rents a lot of other venues around the city, notably the BBC's Pebble Mill television studios, and the Old Rep (1913), the U.K.'s first purpose-built repertory theatre. (The repertory system, now virtually obsolete, was essentially year-round stock.)
Chief Executive Simon Woods was brought in to implement the school's "new vision," i.e., to save money, five years ago. It was a time when all U.K. drama schools were in trouble because of reductions in government funding. Some schools, claims Woods, responded by cutting provisions and teaching hours. Woods tried other methods. He did a major deal with the local University of Central England. (Foreign students are now accommodated in the University's Halls of Residence.) The BSSD also rents out its rooms-a group of Shaolin monks is rehearsing today. "We've rattled the cage of every other drama school in Britain," Woods declares triumphantly.
There is a well-established American presence at the BSSD. The school auditions in New York, and runs an exchange scheme with Kutztown University, Pa. There is no shortage of American candidates. "The American system is geared to TV and film," says Woods, "but if an actor wants to experience the English classical repertoire, he has to come to its birthplace." Prospective auditionees are cautioned, "Watch out!" Work is "incredibly hard," daily from 8:45 am to 6 pm, and sometimes evenings and weekends too. Missing lessons is not an option.
London-born Woods is a great advocate for the U.K. ("Britain is no longer warm beer and cricket. Immigration is the best thing that's ever happened to us.") and especially for his adopted city. ("If Britain is a melting-pot, it's melting at a higher temperature in Birmingham.") If Birmingham does become Europe's meeting place, Woods should be elected head of the welcoming committee.
Who's Been Here?
The name "Nicol Williamson" still chills the blood of older staffers. More recently the BSSD has produced Jimi Mistry, who rocketed to stardom in the film "East Is East"; Abigail Good, the "mysterious woman" in "Eyes Wide Shut"; and Katie Leeming, who went straight from the BSSD to the West End musical "Tess." Last Christmas, ex-student Franky Mwangi was summoned back from Kenya by the Eden Court theatre, Inverness, which couldn't find enough British dwarf actors for its production of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." The headline in one paper read, "Dwarfs are short this year."
Vital Classes
Michael Bower's Combat Class: Some classes are held in a Victorian edifice that was once the Birmingham Athletic Institute. The walk from the Link Building takes one across Victoria Square, with its bronze statue of a female figure reclining in a shell. Its official title is "The River," but it is famous nationally as "The Floozy in the Jacuzzi." Attending Bower's class today is Anglo-American Sarah Kemp, who auditioned for BSSD after seeing our "British Alternative" feature two years ago.
Like most fight directors, Bower is far less intimidating than some acting tutors. Dueling with rapiers and daggers is a purely technical business, with every move planned. Improvisation is not required. Bower reminds the class of the simple object of a sword fight: "You've got to look as though you're going to kill each other, not like you're just waving sticks." The students have only just begun combat classes, and are still nervous about the potential danger. Consequently, some of the comments lack the necessary aggression. "Sorry!" laughs one girl, "I closed my eyes when you did that." One of the boys doesn't like holding his free arm aloft with limp wrist. Bower brings out illustrations of 18th-century duelists. "See?" he says accusingly. "It doesn't look camp; it looks stylish."
Noteworthy Productions
Pantomime has been a British tradition since the 19th century and, from that time to this, theatres have rarely dared produce anything other than another version of "Aladdin," "Cinderella," or "Snow White." Successful new pantomimes are few and far between, but "Christmas Cat and the Pudding Pirates" is one of them, and the BSSD production at the Crescent theatre produces pandemonium in the auditorium. Aboard the good ship Santa Claus are Captain Hollyberry, his cat named Christmas, and their giant plum pudding. One night the pudding is stolen by six rats, one of whom is played by American Kari Scheuring. Verity Breaden is very popular as a Scottish mermaid. None of the cast can sing, although perhaps they're exhausted, shouting over the audience's din. When he's told that these kids were far more boisterous than those in Bristol, Simon Woods says that Bristol kids are far too stuck up.
The American View
Sarah Logan, 25, from Clamath Falls, Ore., came to the U.K. without ever having traveled outside the U.S. Yes, she admits, the different culture took some getting used to. What in particular? Inevitably "banks" is one answer. "They're just not as accessible," she says in wonderment. "At home you can call up your bank 24 hours a day. Here you have to make contacts and physically go there to get things arranged." Immigration was another long process: "They want to see every pound you have in your bank account."
And Birmingham? "On the surface it looks like a nice place. But I didn't grow up in a big city, and I'm used to greenery. It is so gray here. I have to deal with it." On the whole, however, she doesn't regret a thing. "I wouldn't have gotten as much education about life and literature if I hadn't come," she states firmly. "I would have been more narrow-minded if I'd studied in the States."
Anything Else I Should Know?
Birmingham has become known as "Brum," and an inhabitant of Brum, particularly one with (to Southerners) a hilarious, nasal accent, is a "Brummy."
The BSSD will audition at 10 am on April 27, at the American Actors' Equity Building, 1560 Broadway, Suite 416, New York City, NY 10036. Telephone: (212) 302-9474.
Simon Woods: "We're not very pretentious. We're just here to get down to it and do it."
Student Mary Pagones, of West Long Branch, N.J.: "Birmingham is the New Jersey of England."
WRITE: Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, The Link Building, Paradise Place, Birmingham B3 3HJ
PHONE: 011-44-1-21-262-6800
FAX: 011-44-1-21-262-6801
E-MAIL: prospect@bssd.ac.uk .
WEBSITE: http://www.bssdac.uk .
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Manchester Metropolitan University School of Theatre (MMU)
Manchester, Greater Manchester
Why Would I Want to Go to Manchester?
Many visitors to Manchester leave with the impression that Mancunians regard their city as the true capital of the U.K. Their reasoning is that they have everything London has, but none of the attitude. One can see their point. London may be big and sprawling, but so is Manchester. The city itself has a population of only 400,000, but Greater Manchester, which has gobbled up several adjacent towns, accounts for a further 2.5 million. The city has the largest student population in Europe, and consequently there is a lot of entertainment here, a lot of nightlife, and the U.K.'s biggest gay village (where the notorious TV soap "Queer as Folk," was shot). Oh, yes, and Manchester United is the country's most famous football team, and the country's most famous footballer, David Beckham, plays for it. Who'd live in London?
Manchester was an unimportant medieval town until the Industrial Revolution, when first the woolen, then the linen, and finally the cotton industries made it the foremost cloth town of the north. As in Birmingham, canals and railways arrived to service the industries. By 1857 Manchester was also a major cultural center. The following year, Emmeline Pankhurst, heroine of women's suffrage, was born here. Marx and Engels studied here, L. S. Lowry painted here, and the atom was split at Manchester University.
The huge industrial decline that followed World War II should have destroyed Manchester, but it gradually re-invented itself as the financial, educational, and recreational capital of northwest England. Near the Metropolitan University are the Palace and Royal Exchange theatres, the Dancehouse, and both the BBC and Granada television studios. Far away, fortunately, is Manchester's most dangerous ghetto, Moss Side, where seven people have been shot dead in the last seven months. Two weeks ago, the U.K.'s Prince Charles and Spain's Prince Felipe visited the area as part of a morale-boosting campaign. Unless you have bodyguards, do not emulate them.
What's Special About the School?
The acting course is just one of more than 400 courses (everything from accounting to youth work) available at the University. Come to Manchester and you will be surrounded by another 30,000 students. Life here, therefore, is the very antithesis of somewhere like Woodstock, where there are no distractions. In Manchester there are a lot of distractions. This is the toughest aspect of the course for student Jennifer Hastie of Harrow, northwest London. "You need a lot of self-discipline," she warns. "It's hard staying in, studying lines, when students on other courses are out clubbing."
The origins of the School of Theatre lie in a drama teacher training course at the Northern School of Music. When the School merged with the Royal Manchester College of Music, the drama course moved to Manchester Polytechnic, and subsequently to the Metropolitan University. It was based in the former Capitol cinema until 1998, when it moved to the central campus in Cavendish Street. Here, for old times' sake, the new theatre was named the Capitol.
A relatively small number of drama students, currently 81, have the advantage of the University's international contacts. Last year the whole of the third year visited the Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw, Poland. There are also a lot of opportunities for performance experience in Manchester. Many students have made so many contacts by the time they graduate that they stay in the city. "The most exciting theatre is happening outside London," claims the MMU's theatre director, Ben Twist. "What theatre is about is uniting communities, and there are no communities in London brought together by theatre. The best aspects of classical European theatre are continued in the regional theatre system."
In the past, the MMU had an exchange system with the University of California at Davis, but it fizzled out. "The hard thing at 18 is to look into your soul," explains Head of Acting Martin Nestor. "You take criticism personally." The students' previous training in America also conflicted with the British way. "An American is used to emotional recall, and we would immediately knock that on the head," Nestor continues. "We go straight to text. We believe action reveals." Twist nods in agreement. "This is what makes British actors renowned the world over," he states.
At the moment, the drama course boasts students from Japan, South Africa, Holland, and Ireland, but none from the U.S. But this should not deter Americans from applying for one of the finest drama schools in the U.K.
Who's Been Here?
Julie Walters is the most famous graduate, the only one mentioned in the prospectus. But there are many other notable names-Antony Sher, David Threlfall, Richard Griffiths, Steve Coogan, Bernard Hill. Simply Red's vocalist Mick Hucknall was here too (on the Fine Art course).
Noteworthy Productions
"Treasure Island" was the last of many student productions I saw during a tour of duty that took me more than a thousand miles round the country, most of them by road. I was very nearly asleep, and further disheartened to be one of an audience of only 13 at the Thursday matinee in the Capitol theatre. To my astonishment, the adaptation of Stevenson's classic novel was one of the best performances by a drama school I have ever seen.
The opening, with the huge cast emerging from a trap and surrounding the sleeping Jim Hawkins, was a veritable coup de theatre. This was one of many scenes directed with sometimes breathtaking imagination by Andy Farrell, who worked miracles with tables, chairs, and especially candlelight. The performances were without exception superb. At the interval, I was supposed to leave to catch a train to nearby Blackpool, but I returned to see Act II. No one considering the British Alternative should discount MMU.
Anything Else I Should Know?
First seen in Manchester in 1900, the tram returned to the city streets in 1992, this time with such success that the tram is now seen by many as the future of public transport throughout the U.K.
Yuriko Ogino, 37, from Tokyo: "At first I feel scared, but interest is bigger than fear, fun is bigger. I want to come back to England."
WRITE: Niamh Dowling, Manchester Metropolitan University School of Theatre, Faculty of Art and Design, Capitol Theatre, Mabel Tylecote Building, Cavendish Street, Manchester M15 6BG.
PHONE: 011-44-1-61-247-1305
FAX: 011-44-1-61-247-6390
E-MAIL: enquiries@mmu.ac.uk .
WEBSITE: http://www.prospe ctus.mmu.ac.uk .
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ACADEMY OF LIVE AND RECORDED ARTS (ALRA)
Royal Victoria Building
Trinity Road
London SW18 3SX
81-870-6475
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ARTS EDUCATIONAL SCHOOLS
14 Bath Road
London W4 1LY
81-987 6666
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CENTRAL SCHOOL OF SPEECH AND DRAMA
Embassy Theatre
64 Eton Avenue
London NW3 3HY
71-722 8183
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DRAMA CENTRE LONDON
176 Prince of Wales Road
London NW5 3PT
71-267-1177
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DRAMA STUDIO LONDON
Grange Court
1 Grange Road
London W5 5QN
81-579 3897
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EAST 15 ACTING SCHOOL
Hatfields
Rectory Lane
Loughton
Essex IG10 3RY
81-508 5983
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GUILDFORD SCHOOL OF ACTING
Millmead Terrace
Guildford
Surrey GU2 5AT
48-356-0701
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GUILDHALL SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND DRAMA
Silk Street
Barbican
London EC2Y 3DT
71-628 2571
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LONDON ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DRAMATIC ART (LAMDA)
Tower House
226 Cromwell Road
London SW5 0SR
71-373-9883
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MOUNTVIEW THEATRE SCHOOL
104 Crouch Hill
London N8 9EA
81-340 5885
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QUEEN MARGARET COLLEGE
Gateway Theatre
Edinburgh EH7 4AH
31-317-3000
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ROSE BRUFORD COLLEGE
Lamorbey Park
Burnt Oak Lane
Sidcup
Kent DA15 9DF
81-300-3024
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ROYAL ACADEMY OF DRAMATIC ART (RADA)
Until summer:
18-20 Chenies Street
London WC1E 7EX
71-636 7076
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ROYAL SCOTTISH ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DRAMA
100 Renfrew Street
Glasgow G2 3DB
41-332-4101
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WEBBER DOUGLAS ACADEMY OF DRAMATIC ART
30 Clareville Street
London SW7 5AP
71-370 4154
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WELSH COLLEGE OF MUSIC AND DRAMA
Castle Grounds
Cathays Park
Cardiff CF1 3ER
22-234-2854
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When calling from the United States, before April 22, dial 011-44-1 followed by the next nine numbers as listed. After April 22, dial 011-44