Undergraduate Course
BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre
Overview
The details
Acting and Contemporary Theatre
W441
October 2023
Full-time
East 15 Acting School’s BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre course is renowned not only for its pioneering, highly influential training program, but also as a creative hub that produces original, bold theatrical work.
This unique and highly challenging pathway is dedicated to training multi-talented actors. We combine developing your skills as a performer with experimentation in European physical theatre, devising, creative writing, composition and cross-media art, allowing you to expand into roles such as actor/musician, actor/writer and actor/choreographer. The training is inspired by leading contemporary international companies such as Complicite, the Schaubühe and the Wooster Group.
Our philosophy sees the actor as an independent, inventive and entrepreneurial ‘artist’, and gives you the confidence and the competencies necessary to realise your artistic inclinations.
This course is taught at our picturesque Loughton Campus which is located on the edge of East London and is just a short 30 minutes by underground train from the heart of the capital’s West End theatre district.
View more undergraduate courses from East 15 Acting School, including further Actor training programs as well as behind the scenes courses in Creative Producing and Stage & Production Management.
Why we're great.
- Intensive acting training.
- Industry showcase.
- Creation of independent Alumni theatre and production companies.
Our expert staff
Our training is by professionals and for professionals, allowing our graduates to work successfully across the globe.
Our international, outstanding teaching faculty is made up of professionals from all areas of live and recorded performance.
Learn more about our staff here.
Specialist facilities
Our Loughton Campus is perfectly located, providing access to both the rich, cultural diversity of London and an attractive and peaceful setting in which to study.
We are just a five-minute walk from London Underground station, Debden, where you can travel in only thirty minutes to Central London, West End theatres and mainline train stations including the Eurostar.
We have three sites at our Loughton Campus – Hatfields, Roding House and Unit Four. Hatfields is a beautiful Georgian dower house, set in five acres of lawns with orchards, flowerbeds and a small lake, providing an idyllic atmosphere for study, relaxation and performance.
Just a short walk from Hatfields is Roding House, a £1.3 million facility containing 10 rehearsal rooms, a green room/café, a sound recording studio and a video editing suite, and our costume department.
Next to Roding House, Unit Four is a £1.5 million facility which is home to the Stage & Production Management department. The Unit contains a large workshop, paint shop, prop shop, prop storage facilities and teaching spaces.
Our on-site Corbett Theatre is named in honour of Harry H Corbett, a key member of Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop and early benefactor of East 15. It is used extensively for student productions and is a practical training hub for our BA Stage and Production Management students.
The building is a medieval tithe barn that was dismantled and transported to Hatfields in the 1960s. These unusual origins create a unique performance space with a special atmosphere. Renovated to include full technical facilities, tiered seating for 130 people and fitted dressing rooms, the theatre provides an excellent resource for public productions, while the adjacent Bar and Café provides a social meeting point for students and staff.
Your future
Alumni of the BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre course are participating in the industry not only as actors in theatre, film and TV, but also by staging their own work to audiences worldwide. Recent graduates have gone on to work with major companies such as the National Theatre, Complicite, Cirque Du Soleil, The Globe, Frantic Assembly, BBC and ITV.
A highlight of the graduate year is the acclaimed ‘Debut Festival’, a unique platform dedicated to staging new work written, directed, produced and performed by students. Many works have transferred to professional production in Britain and abroad, winning awards such as the Edinburgh Comedy Award, The Stage Best Ensemble, Scotsman Fringe First, Best New Musical and BFI Best Short Film. Transfer venues include the Soho Theatre, Bush Theatre and Manchester Royal Exchange as well as tours to Belgium, Denmark, Iceland and New Zealand.
Festivals to which BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre students work has transferred includes;
- Edinburgh Festival Fringe
- Brighton Festival
- Latitude Festival, Southwold, Suffolk
- Pulse Festival, Ipswich
- RADAR Festival at the Bush Theatre, London
- Greenwich and Docklands Festival, London
- Vaults Festival, London
- Camden Fringe
- HighTide Festival, Halesworth
- Incoming Festival, London Diorama
- Festival 45 at the Kings Head Theatre, London
In its short history, the course has shaped a number of exciting new practitioners including film and TV actors Lily Newmark and Adam El-Hagar, writers Charlotte Josephine and Somalia Seaton, directors Bryony Shanahan and Jesse Briton, as well as major theatre companies such as Fat Rascal and Police Cops.
“This course nurtures creativity and playfulness in its actors whilst instilling in them a practical and extensive understanding of theatre craft and its artistry. It allowed me to develop both as an actor and an artist. By the time I graduated I had already signed to a leading agent and established a production company with two of my peers. We went on to win national awards at the Edinburgh Festival, leading to an international tour.”
Nathan Parkinson, BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre
Entry requirements
UK entry requirements
Applicants will need to successfully complete a physical workshop audition and should also have, or expect to have:
A-levels: CDD, or the equivalent in UCAS tariff points, to include 2 full A Levels
BTEC: MMP
T-levels: Pass with C in core
IB: 25 points or three Higher Level certificates with 433.
We are also happy to consider a combination of separate IB Diploma Programme Courses (formerly certificates) at both Higher and Standard Level. Exact offer levels will vary depending on the range of subjects being taken at higher and standard level, and the course applied for.
We can also consider combinations with BTECs or other qualifications in the Career-related programme – the acceptability of BTECs and other qualifications depends on the subject studied, advice on acceptability can be provided. Please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for more information.
International & EU entry requirements
We accept a wide range of qualifications from applicants studying in the EU and other countries. Get in touch with any questions you may have about the qualifications we accept. Remember to tell us about the qualifications you have already completed or are currently taking.
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English language requirements
If you do not require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK then we will assess your English language proficiency/ability at your interview or audition.
If your first language is not English and you are an international student that requires a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK then you will need IELTS 6.0 overall, with 5.5 in each component.
Other English language qualifications may be acceptable so please contact us for further details. If we accept the English component of an international qualification then it will be included in the information given about the academic levels listed above. Please note that date restrictions may apply to some English language qualifications.
Please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English course that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
Structure
Course structure
We offer dynamic and unique courses for actors, directors, producers, technical theatre specialists and students of theatre practice. Training at East 15 draws upon 50 years of tradition combined with a keen sense of the world of stage and screen today.
Our carefully selected modules will give you the chance to explore and develop your specialist training.
We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, or in response to COVID-19, we’ll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.
Teaching
Year 1
Your first year focuses on introductory acting, voice, articulation, singing and movement. You explore your own individual creativity and responsiveness to other actors. During the first year you will:
- Develop skills in observation and self-assessment
- Work alongside peers on the parallel BA Acting courses, following the traditional East 15 training and focus on the development of methodical characterisation work
- Realise your neutral starting point as part of rehearsal process and preparation
- Create individual character studies
- Learn to re-create through reflection, research and improvisation
- Understand how to act and react to emotional upheaval through a wide variety of texts
Year 2
Your second year focuses on familiarisation with form and style, allowing you to explore and experiment with a range of areas, including:
- Physical expressionism, contemporary and classical text, Commedia Dell’Arte, the theatrical clown, script writing, devising, music and parody
- Exploration of form and style
- Scriptwriting
You will also explore the relationship between film and theatre as well as theatre as a tool for social change. In addition, you will construct original works including an expressionist piece, physical comedy show and short film.
The year ends with a site-specific production of a classical text.
Year 3
Your final year focuses primarily on staging new work. Led by visiting practitioners from the industry, students develop ideas and produce a range of different projects including new plays, burlesque and short films.
You will also receive guidance to prepare you for your post-training career with professional development classes in forming companies as well as casting exercises.
You also have opportunities to stage work in public, including a showcase event for an invited audience of influential agents, casting directors, film, voiceover, TV and theatre directors. East 15 continually liaises with industry professionals to ensure the format for the event accords with the changing landscape of the industry.
Fees and funding
Home/UK fee
£9,250
Additional costs for materials and field trips of up to approximately £650 per academic year. Equipment lists are reviewed annually.International fee
£18,585
Additional costs for materials and field trips of up to approximately £650 per academic year. Equipment lists are reviewed annually.Fees will increase for each academic year of study.
What's next
Applying
Applications for our full-time undergraduate courses should be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Applications are online at: www.ucas.com. Full details on this process can be obtained from the UCAS website in the how to apply section.
Our UK students, and some of our EU and international students, who are still at school or college, can apply through their school. Your school will be able to check and then submit your completed application to UCAS. Our other international applicants (EU or worldwide) or independent applicants in the UK can also apply online through UCAS Apply.
The UCAS code for the University of Essex is ESSEX E70. The individual campus codes for our Loughton and Southend Campuses are ‘L’ and ‘S’ respectively.
You will also need to complete and send us an East 15 application form, including a copy of your audition payment receipt so that we can schedule your audition.
For full details, please see the East 15 website.
Auditioning
Applicants to this course will need to book an audition. If you apply to us through UCAS we will send you information on how to do this. Alternatively, you can apply to East 15 directly. If you’re resident in the UK you’ll visit our campus to take part in the audition, where you’ll meet some of our staff and sample our teaching. Please see our website for more information about preparing for auditions.
Our staff travel the world auditioning applicants so if you’re not resident in the UK, it’s likely that we’ll be in a location near you at some point. This will be a one-to-one audition. If you still can’t make a physical audition, we are sometimes able to accept video auditions.
Offers for these courses will only be made after a successful audition.
For full details, please see the East 15 website.
Visit Loughton Campus
You’ll be in intensive training at one of the most prestigious and internationally respected conservatoires in the country, gaining the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue a career in the performing arts. But fear not! It’s not all work and no play at East 15 Acting School in Loughton.
Open Days
We don’t currently offer Open Days for this course but if you would like more information, then please email us at east15@essex.ac.uk.
Exhibitions
Our staff travel the world to speak to people about the courses on offer at Essex. Take a look at our list of exhibition dates to see if we’ll be near you in the future.
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