Another Award for East 15
East 15 Acting School graduate, Anniwaa Buachie, has won the prestigious and highly competitive Alan Bates Bursary.
Anniwaa, who recently graduated from East 15 and is now signed with Nancy Hudson Associates Ltd, took part in the tough competition, beating students from Bristol Old Vic, Italia Conti, LAMDA and RADA to win the prize. She collected her award from actress Fiona Shaw at a ceremony at the Actors Centre in London on Tuesday 2 October.
Anniwaa said: 'This Bursary entitles me to free Actors Centre classes for a year plus £1,000 to cover expenses, like photographs and show reels. It enables me to commit myself full-time to acting, to devote the energy to develop my skills and keep alive the acting spirit that I developed at East 15.'
More than 200 applications were received for the Alan Bates Bursary, with just eight finalists chosen. The panellists said: 'It was a very tough competition with the highest standard in applicants' skills that we have had so far. The finalists prepared two contrasting monologues and had to learn a duologue excerpt from Hedda Gabler by Ibsen that they performed with each other.'
Now in its third year the Alan Bates Bursary, set up in honour of the late Sir Alan Bates, aims to give the winner a jump-start in their first year after drama school. The prize, worth £2,000 in total, provides membership and classes at the Actors Centre and pays for vital services, marketing and job-finding tools, like photos and Equity membership.
The Alan Bates Bursary is just one of a number of accolades given to students and graduates of East 15 Acting School, which became part of the University of Essex in 2000. The Laurence Olivier Award has been won for an impressive seven times in eight years by an East 15 student, while last year the BBC Radio Drama Carleton Hobbs Bursary Award was given to a BA Acting student.
