Acting and Contemporary Theatre

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 Schaubuhe 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.

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.

Previous university/college study is required in addition to local high school qualifications for our Undergraduate Bachelor degree courses.
We accept a number of international qualifications, including the International Baccalaureate with the majority of our courses requiring a grade 30 or above or the SATR with the majority of our courses requiring a minimum of 1100 out of 1600 with 550 in each test.

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.

Complete either a UCAS or Direct Application form (see below for more details). Please do not complete both. If you have already done this and are applying for a course that requires an audition, go to Step 3 below for instructions on how to complete the East 15 Application form.

If you are only applying for BA Stage and Production Management or BA Creative Producing (Theatre and Short Film) you do not need to do anything further. Following receipt of your UCAS or Direct Application form, you will receive an email from us inviting you to book an interview. There is no fee for attending an interview for these courses.