Drama Centre London

Drama Centre London
Established	1963
Location	London, United Kingdom
Affiliations	Central Saint Martins University of the Arts London
Website	www.csm.arts.ac.uk/drama

Drama Centre London (often abbreviated as Drama Centre) is a British drama school in King's Cross, London, where it recently relocated after a major reshaping of the university. The school is part of the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design of the University of the Arts London ^[1] and is a member of the Conference of Drama Schools.^[2] The BA (Hons) Acting course, offered by the school, is accredited by the National Council for Drama Training.^[3]

History

Drama Centre London was founded in 1963 by a breakaway group of teachers and students from the Central School of Speech and Drama, led by John Blatchley, Yat Malmgren and Christopher Fettes.^[4] The school was located originally on Prince of Wales Road, Chalk Farm, but moved to its current site in Back Hill, Clerkenwell in 2004. Since 1999, it has operated as an integral school of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, offering degree programmes in acting, directing and screenwriting.

A principal aim in the founding of the school was to bring some of the major developments in American and European theatre to the training of British acting. Its approach articulates the Method and Stanislavski's system, with the movement work of Rudolf Laban to produce a 'movement psychology' analysis and development of characters. The school's work also draws on the English tradition, particularly that of Joan Littlewood and Theatre Workshop. These approaches are taught as part of the Western theatrical tradition that began with the Greeks, on which the school places great emphasis.^[5] When the school was founded, it was the only drama school in the country to have an acting class, and is considered to be the first 'Method' drama school in Britain.^[6]

Like most drama schools, Drama Centre places a particular emphasis on the work of Stanislavski and various 'method' techniques, also training students in improvisation through the Vakhtangov tradition. The school offers a theatre based training incorporating both modern and classical texts, and also prepares actors for the demands of screen acting, for which it has a two year postgraduate course. In September 2005, the school launched an advanced MA training course in 'European Classical Acting' which includes residencies at both the Vakhtangov Theatre Academy in Moscow and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London.

The Drama Centre has always had an international outlook and was the first British drama school to introduce some of the great classics of the European repertoire: Spanish, German and French. Today, this tradition continues and is reflected in a broad spectrum of international links, which includes schools in the USA, Russia and China.

Cochrane Theatre

Main article: Cochrane Theatre

The Cochrane Theatre is a receiving and producing theatre that aims to present all aspects of the performing arts within a proscenium arch. The theatre is situated in Holborn. Productions by students of Drama Centre London are presented here, as is work by students of other colleges of the University of the Arts, London.

Advisory Council

• Geoffrey Hodson (Chairman)
• Peter Farago (Vice Chairman)
• Jonathan Altaras
• Daniel Betts
• Kandis Cook
• Declan Donnellan
• Sir Anthony Hopkins
• Simon McBurney
• Warren Mitchell
• Adrian Noble
• Max Stafford-Clark

Alumni

For full list, see Category:Alumni of the Drama Centre London

External links

• Drama Centre London – Official Website

References

1. ^ "Drama Centre at Central Saint Martins". http://www.csm.arts.ac.uk/csm_drama_centre_london.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-15. 
2. ^ "Conference of Drama Schools - Links to Member Schools". http://sites.stocksphere.com/cds/articles.asp?articleid=15. Retrieved 2007-01-15. 
3. ^ "National Council for Drama Training - Accredited Course List". http://www.ncdt.co.uk/adetails.asp?ID=15. Retrieved 2008-09-27. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "Drama Centre London: About us". http://courses.csm.arts.ac.uk/drama/about.asp?level=1. Retrieved 2007-01-15. 
5. ^ Eva Mekler, Masters of the Stage: British Acting Teachers Talk About Their Craft. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1989. p.69, p.75. ISBN 0802131905.
6. ^ Eva Mekler, Masters of the Stage: British Acting Teachers Talk About Their Craft p.73-74.

Coordinates: 51°31′22″N 0°6′33″W / 51.52278°N 0.10917°W / 51.52278; -0.10917