20 Best Acting Schools In The United Kingdom

20 Best Acting Schools In the United Kingdom

20 Best Acting Schools In the United Kingdom – Telling a story in acting requires a lot of skills. It is not just about getting the script, standing in front of the camera or the audience and acting along.

It requires some essential skills, such as communication skills, creativity skills, memorization skills, physical performance skills, teamwork and theoretical knowledge.

The reason it is essential to take a class in acting, or if privileged go to an acting school for professionalism, only if you are gifted by nature meanwhile you would still need training on how to manage the gift.

There are several schools of performing arts all across the world, as entertainment is increasingly in demand there is a need to have people with diverse acting skills who can fit in any role.

In our list, we would be looking at the best acting schools in the United Kingdom, as we all know arts have been part of man’s existence.

Our ancestors tell stories in various ways which have been passed on from generation to generation. So if you want to be a great actor and would be well known. You would probably need to enrol in an acting school.

An actor portrays a character in a performance. this could be a male actor normally referred to as an actor or a female actor referred to as an Actress. The actor performs on a stage as in theatre or in a film as on Television or on Radio.

Acting Schools

Who is an actor?

Popularly known as Drama School, Stage School or Theatre School is an institute that specialized in the professional training of students in the act of drama or theatre arts. These could be in acting, arts coordinating, art design and technical theatre and other fields.

The school could be part of a university, or college where a degree is given or an institute on its own to train extensively in the act of theatre.

There are several drama schools in the United Kingdom, both colleges that train students in theatre art and specialized institutes such as Guildford School of Acting, Italia Conti, LAMDA, Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts and many others 

Brief History of Acting

Acting can be traced back as far back as the 560 bc, in Greece, though they might be other forms of acting as in Egypt and China where a priest worships the memory of the dead.

In the Greek world, it was a different art, aside from singing, dancing and offering rituals. The first performing actor introduced a different ball game. Thespis introduce to the people of Athens during his first performance where he acted as an impersonator.

Many of the Greek actors wore masks and presented their plays in memes and vocal delivery on stages, these forms of acting further spread to Rome where most of its actors were slaves. in the western world, acting was not an honourable job as many actors moved from place to place to get an audience.

The church was a bigger picture in the history of acting, as the church denounced many actors, this was in the period of the dark age. The act was seen as immoral, dangerous and began.

Meanwhile, in the early 11th century, the church began to open its doors to the idea of acting, however, most of the stories were taken from the bible and were staged. this ideal spread all around Europe. Many Stories were staged.

While in the mid 16th century, the acting profession has become a notable one, actors got paid, and theatres were already available for the stage play. women were allowed to act and were recognised.

However, in the early 19th century, acting began to gain growth as a professional and profitable occupation. Many other departments were in the boom, This period had more celebrity actors. Highly recognised for their skills.

You see different roles in the film industry, such as the Actor’s Manager, Producers, custom designer and many others. In the United Kingdom, there were several acting celebrities, Henry Irving was the first successful British actor-managers.

Acting School In the United Kingdom

Acting has been long in existence in the British Empire, it was introduced by the Romans. The Medieval era saw a spike in the act of acting, as many theatres were created. The era saw notable stories told such as Saint George and the Dragon and Robin Hood. These were the English folklore.

Most of the stories in the Medieval era were tailored to the stories in the bible. The renaissance era saw more Shakespearean stories like Othello, The King Lear, Hamlet and many more. The popularity of the Shakespearean lasted till the Victorian Era.

The earliest acting school in the United Kingdom can be traced far back to the 18th century, English Actress and Singer Frances Maria Kelly owned a drama school The Royal Strand Theatre. The was the in 1833.

In 1969, a body, the Conference of Drama Schools was created to represent the 22 members of leading schools in the United Kingdom. This organisation was created to foster the demands and strengthen the standard of the schools. 

The member institutions provide students with quality drama courses in Musical Theatre, Directing and theatre training and acting, however, thee are also universities that provide drama courses. While in 2012, the organisation was combined with the National Council for Drama Training, it was represented by Drama Uk.

In 2017, the organisation was changed to the Federation of Drama Schools. All these were to foster a stronger and better drama sector. To get into a drama school, students must go through auditioning, this could be a performance of a monologue, singing or other performance.

20 Best Acting Schools in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the Federation of Drama Schools has around 22 accredited drama schools on its member list. However, there are other institutes that provide individuals with great drama training.

Here is a list of the 20 best acting schools in the United Kingdom;

  • Guildford School of Acting, Guildford.
  • Manchester Metropolitan University School of Theatre Art, Manchester.
  • Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance l, London.
  • East 15 Acting School, Loughton.
  • Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, London.
  • Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow.
  • London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, London.
  • Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London.
  • Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff.
  • Oxford School of Drama, Woodstock.
  • Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, London.
  • Central School of Speech and Drama, London.
  • Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Bristol.
  • Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.
  • The Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, (ALRA), London.
  • Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham.
  • University of Central Lancashire University
  • University of Essex 
  • University of Sussex 

Conclusion

Acting in recent days is a professional and profitable job. However, before the 19th century, many actors were striving to live on their acting skills. Acting is the act of telling stories through enactment by the actor or actress.

 Acting has far gone through presenting on stage, in modern days, you see stories told on the radio, shown on television or in films. The United Kingdom is more profound in acting, as several institutes provide acting courses.

With our list, you shouldn’t have a tough time picking a drama school in the united kingdom, if you are planning to study in the United Kingdom.

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