Overview
East 15 Acting School’s BA Acting (International) course provides a complete preparation for careers in acting, tailored specifically for international students.
Built on the methodologies that have helped establish East 15 as one of the most internationally respected drama training institutions in Europe, BA Acting (International) combines core actor training techniques with the skills required to create and produce bold, international work.
The course develops your talent, imagination and skill, so that you graduate as a knowledgeable, professional actor with a creative approach, solid process, and the unique experience of belonging to an international performance community formed through artistic collaboration during your time at East 15.
Due to the unique focus of BA Acting (International), EU and International students are encouraged to apply for BA Acting (International).
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.
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
Graduates of East 15’s BA Acting (International) course regularly appear in stage, film, TV and radio productions throughout the world including; Stranger Things (Netflix), Killing Eve (BBC America), Skam (Denmark), Kentän laidalla (Finland), Vrata do Vrata (Serbia) and many more. Our graduates are currently working professionally in the UK, USA, Lithuania, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, China, Canada, Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Portugal.
- International cohort of students from across the world.
- Intensive skill training by leading UK and international faculty.
- Industry-ready intensive actor training by leading practitioners.
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.
Teaching and learning disclaimer
Following the impact of the pandemic, we made changes to our teaching and assessment to ensure our current students could continue with their studies uninterrupted and safely. These changes included courses being taught through blended delivery, normally including some face-to-face teaching, online provision, or a combination of both across the year.
The teaching and assessment methods listed show what is currently approved for 2022 entry; changes may be necessary if, by the beginning of this course, we need to adapt the way we’re delivering them due to the external environment, and to allow you to continue to receive the best education possible safely and seamlessly.
Teaching
Year 1
Your first year focuses on introductory acting, voice, articulation, singing, movement and contextual studies. You explore your own creativity through co-operation, responsiveness to others and the ensemble. During your first year you will:
- Work on objective self-assessment, development of observational skills and imagination, and re-creating through observation, research and improvisation
- Understand how to act and react to emotional upheaval through a wide variety of texts
Your first year includes Verbatim Theatre and Contemporary Scene Study with a focus on British Plays of the 1950s-70s, and culminates in a major ‘Living History Project’, in which you research, identify with and experience other people’s lives through different periods of conflict.
Year 2
Your second year is a journey of maturation as the focus moves from improvisation to text, and from the examination of self to the exploration of character. We put emphasis on integrating vocal, movement and singing skills into a role and the opportunity to build your own characters independently is combined with honing these technical skills. During your second year you will:
- Adapt to the differing demands of project and director and take responsibility for your own creative work
- Explore the textual and psychological complexities of Shakespeare and Elizabethan Verse Drama
- Develop acting skills required for film, television and radio work
- Take responsibility for your own creative work
Year 3
Your final year focuses on the demands of professional performance before graduation and entry into the industry. Throughout the year you will:
- Extend your performance repertoire through professional productions that demand research, advanced acting skills and full commitment
- Devise, produce and perform work for our unique ‘IF’ Festival. A multi-day event dedicated to original work by BA Acting (International) students which is live-streamed and open to industry guests
- Work with industry professionals to further develop your skills in recorded media, resulting in footage for your own showreel
- Learn from specialised, professional development workshops aimed at introducing you to the administrative aspects of your future profession: including audition technique, CV and letter writing, self-marketing and promotion
- The year concludes with an Industry Showcase 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.
