East 15 Acting School

East 15 Acting School was founded in 1961 by Margaret Bury.[http://east15.ac.uk/courses/baacting.shtml "East 15 Acting School: BA (Hons) Acting Course (3 year)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513154716/http://east15.ac.uk/courses/baacting.shtml|date=13 May 2008}} Retrieved 26 May 2008

East 15 draws its origins from the work of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop. Margaret Bury was part of the Theatre Workshop for 14 years before starting East 15 Acting School in 1961. She drew on the teaching methods and philosophies of the Theatre Workshop, and its guiding principles continue to inform East 15's teaching and productions today.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

In 2000, East 15 found established its partnership with the University of Essex. At its inception, Essex's founding Vice-Chancellor, Sir Albert Sloman, emphasised that "radical innovation" would be at the heart of its approach, including new specialist performance courses and the creation of new facilities, including the Clifftown Theatre and a motion capture studio served by 30 Vicon sensors.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

East 15 is located in the county of Essex in England.{{Cite web |title=East 15 Acting School {{!}} University of Essex |url=https://www.east15.ac.uk/ |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=www.east15.ac.uk |language=en}} The school provides vocational training in acting, specialist performance disciplines, theatre directing, stage management, and creative producing. It offers a number of undergraduate and postgraduate courses across two campuses, located in Loughton and Southend-on-Sea. Its degrees are awarded by the University of Essex, with which it merged on 1 September 2000.[http://east15.ac.uk/about/essexuniversity.shtml "East 15 Acting School: University of Essex"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513021935/http://east15.ac.uk/about/essexuniversity.shtml |date=13 May 2008 }} Retrieved 26 May 2008{{Cite web |title=University of Essex |url=https://www.essex.ac.uk/ |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=www.essex.ac.uk |language=en}}

Since around 2014 and {{as of|January 2025|lc=yes}} the director of East 15 is Chris Main.{{cite web | title=Chris Main | website=University of Essex | url=https://www.east15.ac.uk/people/MAINC11208/chris-main | access-date=3 February 2025}}

East 15 is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools.{{cite web |title=Rainy season |url=http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0048434 |publisher=Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture|access-date=7 September 2022}}

In 2024, East 15 (as part of the University of Essex), was ranked fourth in the UK in The Guardian's University Guide rankings for Drama and Dance.{{Cite web |title=The Guardian University Guide 2024 – the rankings |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2023/sep/09/the-guardian-university-guide-2024-the-rankings |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}

{{see also|Category:Alumni of East 15 Acting School}}

{{no sources|section|date=February 2025}}

Notable graduates from East 15 include:{{cite news|url= https://www.east15.ac.uk/alumni |title= East 15 Alumni|work=east15.ac.uk|date= 2020}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Maisie Adam
• Arsher Ali
• Patricia Allison
• Peter Armitage
• Annette Badland
• Marcus Bentley
• Linnea Berthelsen
• David L. Boushey
• Sian Breckin
• Corinna Brown
• Marji Campi
• Ian Champion
• Nathan Clarke
• Peter Cleall
• Susannah Corbett
• Stephen Daldry
• April De Angelis
• Janine Duvitski
• Alan Ford
• Paul Garnault
• Alex Giannini
• Chris Haywood
• Elizabeth Henstridge
• The Kipper Kids
• Gabriella Leon
• Kevin Lloyd
• John McArdle
• Sera-Lys McArthur
• Ann Mitchell
• Diane Morgan
• Billy Murray
• Michael Parr
• Vicki Pepperdine
• Jenny Platt
• George Rossi
• Chris Ryan
• Ruth Sheen
• Marlene Sidaway
• Kiell Smith-Bynoe
• Alison Steadman
• Gwen Taylor
• Abigail Thorn
• Kraig Thornber
• Oliver Tobias
• Rhydian Vaughan
• Steven Waddington
• Clive Wedderburn
• Kate Williams
• David Yip
• Meng'er Zhang
• Philip Hedley
• Kyran Thrax
• Daniel Ezra
• Melissa Johns{{div col end}}

Damon Albarn and Marc Warren attended the institution but did not graduate.

{{Reflist}}

• [http://east15.ac.uk/ Official website]

{{Federation of Drama Schools|state=collapsed}}

{{Performing Arts Schools in the United Kingdom|acting}}

{{Coord|51.6495|0.0768|type:edu_region:GB-ESS|display=title}}

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Category:Drama schools in the United Kingdom

Category:University of Essex

Category:Educational institutions established in 1961

Category:1961 establishments in England

Category:Loughton