East 15 students both win LAURENCE OLIVIER AWARDS
Nominated East 15 students both win
LAURENCE OLIVIER BURSARY AWARDS
The Laurence Olivier Bursary was established by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT)
in 1987 to commemorate the 80th Birthday of Laurence Olivier, one of the
greatest British actors of the 20th century.
He was keen to help young actors who had the potential to make a major
contribution to British theatre and the Laurence Olivier Bursary aims to help
students who have considerable talent but are facing financial difficulties in
completing their studies. The demands of their final year course make part-time
jobs almost impossible, which is why the Bursary can make such a difference.
Each summer the Society invites the principals of accredited drama schools to
submit two nominations for the Bursary. The nominees should be approaching their
final year and fulfil the dual criteria of financial need and potential talent.
About 40 students are entered each June and appear before a panel of theatre
industry professionals – usually producers and casting directors – where they
give a ten minute audition and, after lunch, an interview.
This year, East 15 is proud to announce that both their nominated students have
been awarded SOLT bursaries worth £2,000. The winners are; Sarah Hinds
(BA Acting) and Nathalie Wain (BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre) Both
are about to complete their second year of their three year degree courses at
the Loughton campus.
East 15 Acting School, which recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary, was
founded on the influences of Joan Littlewood and her legendary Theatre Workshop
company.
Littlewood created an outstanding ensemble that combined inspired,
improvisational brilliance with method, technique, research, text analysis, and
the expression of genuine emotions. Much of the Littlewood approach was based
upon the theories of Stanislavski and the company inherited the socially
committed spirit of the Unity Theatre movement that introduced many new voices
to British theatre.
Over the years, new training methods at East 15 evolved to include approaches
from diverse practitioners such as Michael Chekhov, Rudolp Laban, Jacques Lecoq,
Jerzy Grotowski and other important contemporary trainers.
In September 2000, East 15 merged with the University of Essex, opening an
exciting new chapter in the history of both institutions and offering new
opportunities to students. Several million pounds have been spent on new
buildings and facilities at East 15 on both campuses since then, including the
purchase of a Victorian gothic church in Southend which has now been converted
into a state-of-the-art theatre and performance space, and re-named The
Clifftown Theatre and Studios.
June 13th 2012
