Jump to content

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama

Coordinates: 51°32′39″N 0°10′26″W / 51.5442°N 0.1738°W / 51.5442; -0.1738
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 188.221.37.86 (talk) at 00:21, 15 March 2011 (→Notable alumni). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Central School of Speech and Drama (CSSD) was founded in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students; it is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world. The school has been a constituent college of the University of London since 2005. The School announced on 9 October 2008 that 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature Harold Pinter (1930–2008), who attended the School in 1950–1951, had agreed to become its president and to receive an honorary fellowship in the School's graduation ceremony on 10 December 2008,[1][2] but Pinter had to receive it in absentia, due to ill health,[3][4] and he died two weeks later.[5] Michael Grandage, a Central graduate and Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse, has now been appointed President.

History

The Embassy Theatre.

Before World War II, the Central School of Speech and Drama was based at the Royal Albert Hall. During the War it moved to Exeter. In 1956, the main campus of the Central School relocated to the Embassy Theatre, in Swiss Cottage, North London, where it is now based. In 1963, a breakaway group of teachers and students founded Drama Centre London in Chalk Farm, after a dispute over the sacking of Yat Malmgren from Central's faculty.

In 2005, the School became a largely independent college of the University of London and was designated the Centre for Excellence in Training for Theatre by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE); as such, it has state-of-the-art facilities funded by the British government.

The British government plans to reduce funding for UK universities in 2011/12, the details of which will be announced on 17 March 2011.[6] Central receives additional revenue in the form of exceptional funding due to the high costs of its specialised courses. The exact details of this are also expected in March 2011. Under the new government system, UK and EU students who begin university in the 2012/13 academic year will not need to pay tuition up front if they take out a student loan. Repayments will only be due after the student has graduated and earns at least £21,000 per year. [7]

Administration

On 9 October 2008, the School announced in a press release that 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature Harold Pinter, who attended the School in 1950–51, had agreed to become its president,[1] succeeding Labour Party politician Peter Mandelson, who had rejoined the government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown; previous presidents of the School included Dame Judi Dench and Lord (Laurence) Olivier.[2] Current Principal Gavin Henderson CBE is an English arts administrator, conductor and trumpeter. Deputy Principal (Academic) Simon Shepherd is widely published in the areas of theatre and culture, performance theory, body and theatre, history and analysis of drama and theatre (especially early-modern, melodrama, twentieth century).[citation needed] Dean of Studies Ross Brown is a theatre composer, sound designer and writer on theatre sound. Dean of Research Andrew Lavender is artistic director of the theatre company Lightwork and a writer on intermediality.

Curriculum

In addition to being an acting school, the Central School of Speech and Drama offers training and education in a broad range of vocational and applied theatre specialties available, providing courses in acting, producing, design for the stage, applied theatre & education, drama and movement therapy, lighting design and production, media and drama education, musical theatre, performance arts, prop making, puppetry, scenic art, scenic construction, costume construction, scenography, set design, theatre sound, stage management, technical and production management and writing.

With over 850 registered students and a faculty of 50 specialist academic staff, the official CSSD Website states that it is "the UK's largest and most wide-ranging specialist drama institution,"[8][better source needed] that the School's staff is the "largest grouping of drama/theatre/performance specialists in the UK", and that the postgraduate body is "one of the largest gatherings of specialist Postgraduates in Europe."[9][better source needed]

Research

In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise the majority of Central's submission was judged ‘world leading' or ‘internationally excellent'. The panel commented that Central modelled ‘a new kind of research institution in the performing arts'. The school has been ranked highly by The Guardian, placing it 6th it's league table of specialist institutions[10] and 9th for Drama and Dance.[11]

The school has over 20 doctoral candidates[12] and the first graduate of the programme, Broderick Chow, was awarded his PhD at the December 2010 graduation ceremony.[13]

Honorary appointments

From the official CSSD list of "Honorary Fellows and Honorary PhD"[14]:

Honorary Fellows

At the graduation ceremony held on 10 December 2008, the most recent CSSD President, the late Harold Pinter, was named Honorary Fellow (in absentia, due to ill health),[1] along with Francis and Brand (who accepted their awards in person); Michael Colgan accepted Pinter's in his stead and spoke on his behalf.[4]

Honorary PhD

Notable alumni

See also: Category:Alumni of the Central School of Speech and Drama

Notes

  1. ^ a b c "Central Announces New President" (Web) (Press release). Central School of Speech and Drama (University of London). 9 October 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  2. ^ a b Alistair Smith (14 October 2008). "Pinter Replaces Mandelson as Central President" (Web). The Stage. thestage.co.uk. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  3. ^ "Degree Honour for Playwright Pinter" (Web). Press Association (Hosted by Google). 11 December 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  4. ^ a b "Central's 2008 Graduation Ceremony" (Web). Central School of Speech and Drama (University of London). 12 December 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2009. Honorary Fellowships for Harold Pinter, Jo Brand and Penny Francis. [dead link‍]
  5. ^ Mark Taylor-Batty, comp. "In Memoriam" (Web). Harold Pinter Society Webpages. The Harold Pinter Society and the University of Leeds. Retrieved 1 January 2009. Harold Pinter - playwright, poet, actor, director, political activist - died on 24 December 2008, aged 78. [dead link‍]
  6. ^ "HEFCE announces funding for universities and colleges in 2011-12" (Web). hefce.ac.uk. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  7. ^ "2012/13 tuition fees and student finance" (Web). direct.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  8. ^ "Courses". Central School of Speech and Drama. Archived from the original on 30 July 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  9. ^ "CSSD Postgraduate Courses - Research Degrees". Central School of Speech and Drama. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  10. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2010/jun/04/specialist-institutions-league-table
  11. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2010/jun/04/university-guide-drama-and-dance
  12. ^ http://cssd.ac.uk/content/research-students-0
  13. ^ "Central awards its first PhD" (Web). Central School of Speech and Drama. 2011-01-12. Retrieved 2011-02-08 08-10-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  14. ^ "Honorary Fellows and Honorary PhD". Central School of Speech and Drama. Archived from the original (Web) on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2008.

51°32′39″N 0°10′26″W / 51.5442°N 0.1738°W / 51.5442; -0.1738

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Royal_Central_School_of_Speech_and_Drama&oldid=418871788"