Foundation Course in Performance - Acting Option

Foundation Course in Performance - Acting Option

3 Evenings a week for 32 weeks (during term-time).
19 September 2011 – 20 July 2012
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings 7pm – 9.30pm

Open-Day announced - more information available here.

The Foundation Course is a one-year, part time course that takes place over three evenings a week. Foundation Course students are valued members of the wider ArtsEd community, and enjoy complimentary tickets to shows within the School of Acting, membership of the library and the gym, and access to the bar and canteen.

Who is the course for?

This course is aimed primarily at students thinking of applying for full-time accredited training at a Drama School or on a practical University course, giving a real taster of what full-time training requires, and boosting confidence for auditions. It is also useful for those who wish to test their capacity for, and commitment to, acting.

With classes in the evenings, the course is designed to be compatible with paid work, to make it accessible to as many serious candidates as possible, and to avoid students having to face the beginning of full-time training with any burden of debt. The course runs according to strict professional discipline, and requires students to be highly committed, both within and outside class.

What is the course for?

The course aims to teach the acting craft and physical and vocal skills required by a performer at the beginning of their professional training, and to create aspiring actors with a reflective and open approach to their work.

The course is primarily experiential and students learn mainly by doing. Our practical work draws in clear, tangible ways on the wisdom of past practitioners, particularly Stanislavski. We explore processes which reflect the dynamic reality of the professional rehearsal room, and aim to create an environment for training that is based on trust, mutual respect and shared passion, allowing students the security to take creative risks. Students learn from within a strong ensemble group, which grows from the input of each individual.

The course does not seek to mould students into a particular ‘style’, or religiously follow a particular ‘school’ of training. The aim is to build the foundations of a solid, but adaptable personal technique, applicable to a wide range of texts and performance styles, which can be developed by further training. There are positive links between the Foundation Course and the ArtsEd School of Acting, and many of our students apply for the three year course. However, we are equally supportive of applications elsewhere, and the course is a useful preparation for a wide range of degree programmes.

A more detailed overview of the course is available here.

Recognition

The One Year Foundation Course in Performance is recognised by City University, endorsing the educational value and quality of the programme. All students who successfully complete the course are awarded an Arts Educational Schools London certificate of attendance showing this recognition.

What do graduates of the course go on to do?

More then half of our foundation certificate graduates go on to professional full-time courses at some of the elite accredited drama and musical theatre schools across the UK and abroad.
Graduates from last year’s Foundation Courses have gone on to train at Italia Conti, Mountview, the Arden School, London School of Musical Theatre, CSSD, GSA and MTA, as well as Arts Ed.

Applying for the course

If you will be over 17 years of age on the first day of the course, then you are eligible to apply. There is no maximum age limit. Overseas applicants are welcome but must be able to attend an audition in London and to show evidence at audition of an excellent command of spoken and written English.
All applicants will be invited to attend an informal audition evening.  For more information, please visit the title="Applications">Applications page.