Drama Centre

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Drama Centre is a British drama school in Clerkenwell, London. The Centre is a part of Central Saint Martins College of the University of the Arts London[1] and is a member of the Conference of Drama Schools.[2]

The Centre 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 .[3] The school was located originally on Prince of Wales Road, Chalk Farm, but moved to the site in Clerkenwell in 2004. Since 1999, it has operated as a school of Central Saint Martins College, offering degree programmes in acting, directing and performance.

A principle aim in the founding of the school was to bring some of the major developments in American and European theatre to British actor training. 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. Its 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.[4] 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.[5]

Notable alumni include Simon Callow, Paul Bettany, Pierce Brosnan, Louisa Clein, Anne-Marie Duff, Colin Firth, Helen McCrory, Andrew Tiernan, Jack Shepherd, John Simm, Morven Christie, Nicolas Tennant and Russell Brand.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Drama Centre at Central Saint Martins. Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
  2. ^ Conference of Drama Schools - Links to Member Schools. Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
  3. ^ Drama Centre London: About us. Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
  4. ^ Eva Mekler, Masters of the Stage: British Acting Teachers Talk About Their Craft. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1989. p.69, p.75. ISBN 0802131905.
  5. ^ Eva Mekler, Masters of the Stage: British Acting Teachers Talk About Their Craft p.73-74.
This United Kingdom university, college or other education institution article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.