Overview
East 15 Acting School’s BA Stage and Production Management course is a practical-based professional training that prepares you for careers in a range of production and technical roles in theatre, events and related creative industries.
We emphasise learning through practice and you are part of a creative production team from early in the course. Based at our picturesque Loughton Campus, our proximity to London means you will be able to keep up-to-date with the latest technical innovations in one of the world’s greatest theatre capitals. Our specially equipped Unit Four building is complete with workshops, an IT suite and seminar rooms – the perfect environment for learning your craft!
View more undergraduate courses from East 15 Acting School, including our Creative Producing (Theatre and Short Film) vocational training program.
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 and relaxation.
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
In addition to the widespread opportunities offered in the stage, film and television industry, there is huge demand across the events sector for production staff at festivals, concerts, exhibitions, sporting events and large scale outdoor events. Students often gain employment through successful work placements. Alumni have previously worked in production and technical roles at leading British performance venues such as The National, RSC, and Northern Ballet. We also have graduates working at the BBC, on Game of Thrones and international theatres in Dubai and China as well as international tours and theme parks.
Why we’re great
- Professional industry placement during study.
- Immersion in full production work from year one.
- Introduction to sound, lights and costume skills.
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
In your first year you acquire a range of core stage management and technical theatre related skills whilst working as part of East 15’s production crew on professional productions at our in-house theatre. Our professionally experienced staff help you to develop practical experience and expertise across a range of areas, including:
- Lighting
- Sound
- Set design
- Costume
- Prop making
- Construction
- Stagecraft
- Stage and Event Management
- Training in specialist software pertaining to technical theatre roles
Students also undertake a design project to support and enhance their own working with professional directors and designers.
Year 2
Your second year enables you take on increasing responsibility for productions, with a combined emphasis on managerial and organisational abilities alongside your broader stage and technical theatre skills.
This includes being responsible for production budgets and collaboration with professional directors and designers.
Year 3
By your final year you work at a fully professional level, with the skills, experience and confidence to take responsibility for the organisational and financial aspects of a range of public productions across different venues both on Campus and in central London.
You also undertake an industry-based work placement – a perfect preparation for professional life after you graduate.
