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Central School of Speech & Drama, University of London, was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906 to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. The School offers 100 undergraduate, postgraduate, research degrees, and short courses in acting, actor training, applied theatre, theatre crafts & making, design, drama therapy, movement, musical theatre, performance, producing, puppetry, research, scenography, stage management, teacher training, technical arts, voice, and writing. With over 55 academic staff, together with visiting artists and lecturers, Central contains the largest grouping of drama/theatre/performance specialists in the UK.^{[citation needed]} The school has been a constituent college of the University of London since 2005.

On 9 October 2008 the School announced that 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature and Central alumnus, Harold Pinter (1930–2008), had agreed to become its president and to receive an honorary fellowship in the School's graduation ceremony on 10 December 2008,^[1][2] but Pinter had to receive it in absentia, because of ill health,^[3][4] and he died two weeks later.^[5] Michael Grandage, a Central graduate and artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse, has now been appointed President.

History[link]

The Embassy Theatre.

1906 - 1956[link]

Elsie Fogerty founded The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art at the Royal Albert Hall in 1906. Fogerty was a specialist in speech training and held a firm belief in the social importance of education. She was committed to advancing the study of theatre as an academic discipline.

1957 - 1960[link]

In 1957 the School moved from the Albert Hall, having acquired the lease of the Embassy Theatre at Swiss Cottage and its associated buildings.

1961 - 1971[link]

By 1961 three distinct departments had been established within Central. The Stage department was running its three-year course for actors, with alumni as distinguished as Lord Laurence Olivier and Dame Peggy Ashcroft already a part of its history, and a two-year course for stage managers.

The teacher training department was preparing students for its own Diploma, which was a recognised teaching qualification, and for the London University Diploma in Dramatic Art. That diploma had been instituted in 1912 precisely as a result of Fogerty's campaign for the recognition of drama and drama teaching as subjects worthy of serious academic study. By this time the School was as famous for its speech therapy department as for its work in training actors.

1972 - 1992[link]

The School continued to expand. In 1972 Central became grant-aided by the Inner London Education Authority. In 1989 it was incorporated as a higher education college in its own right and funded directly by government. Central had been offering degrees since 1986, firstly validated by the Council of National Academic Awards and from 1992by the Open University.

2004 - A University Conservatoire[link]

In 2004 the Privy Council granted the Central the power to award its own taught degrees. In 2005 students from the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art transferred to Central after a 100-year history of significant contributions to stage and screen. In the same year, the school was designated as the Higher Education Funding Council for England's Centre for Excellence in Training for Theatre. With effect from September 2005 Central became a college of the University of London, finally realising the ambitions articulated a hundred years earlier by its founder Elsie Fogerty.^{[citation needed]}

Apart from its notable alumni, who include Lord Laurence Olivier, Vanessa Redgrave, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Cameron Mackintosh and Harold Pinter, the School has had some notable staff. In the 1960s Yat Malmgren taught movement, based on principles derived from Laban; Cicely Berry taught voice to students and later the Royal Shakespeare Company, John Allen, Principal from 1972 to 1978, founded the Glyndebourne Children's Theatre, was the leading organiser of the Communist Party's Unity Theatre, where he coordinated the first Living Newspaper, Busmen (1937), and was a founding member of the Group Theatre, also in the mid-1930s; Litz Pisk was Head of Movement (1964-1970), having previously worked with Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill in Vienna, and then Michel Saint-Denis at the Old Vic Theatre School

Administration[link]

On 9 October 2008, the School announced that 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature Harold Pinter, who attended the School in 1950–51, had agreed to become its president,^[1] succeeding Labour Party politician Peter Mandelson, who had rejoined the government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown; previous presidents of the School included Dame Judi Dench and Lord Laurence Olivier.^[2] Current president of Central is Michael Grandage, CBE, Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse and alumnus of Central School of Speech & Drama

Current Principal Gavin Henderson CBE is an English arts administrator, conductor and trumpeter. Deputy Principal (Corporate) / Deputy CEO / Clerk to Governors, Deborah Scully; prior to joining Central, Debbie held a number of roles in the former Inner London Education Authority (ILEA). These included Deputy Senior Administrative Officer (1985-1987) and Registrar (1981-1985) at Southwark College, London; Divisional Office Management Clerk (1980-1981); and roles at Westminster College, London 1976-1981) and ILEA Accounts (1974-1976).

Deputy Principal (Academic)and Professor of Theatre, Simon Shepherd, joined Central in 2001. Previously a Professor of Drama at Goldsmiths, University of London, and before that Professor of Drama at the University of Nottingham, which he left in 1996. Simon is widely published in the areas of theatre and culture, performance theory, body and theatre, history and analysis of drama and theatre (especially early-modern, melodrama, twentieth century).^{[citation needed]}

Dean of Studies and Professor of Sound, Ross Brown, formerly a painter, then a professional composer, performer and sound designer in theatre, Ross holds the first Chair in Theatre Sound in the UK. Since 1994, the aim of Ross' research has been to establish the subjects of theatre sound and aurality and advance their study by located them within a broader epistemology of sound and a framework of relevant theories and histories.

Director of Research, Robin Nelson, is a long-term member of the IFTR’s Theatre and Intermediality research group. Nelson joined Central in 2010 to support research development. In this context his work championing 'practice as research' (PaR) is particularly relevant, but he has broad interests in theatre and media. Robin has held a range of posts in the HE sector; he is an Emeritus Professor of Manchester Metropolitan University where for over a decade he has been a member of the senior staff, finally involved in research management. He was an invited member of the Drama, Dance & Performing Arts RAE sub-panel in 2007/08.

Curriculum[link]

In addition to being an acting school, the Central School of Speech and Drama offers training and education in a broad range of vocational and applied theatre specialties available, providing courses in acting, producing, design for the stage, applied theatre & education, drama and movement therapy, lighting design and production, media and drama education, musical theatre, performance arts, prop making, puppetry, scenic art, scenic construction, costume construction, scenography, set design, theatre sound, stage management, technical and production management and writing.

Research[link]

In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise the majority of Central's submission was judged ‘world leading' or ‘internationally excellent'. The school has been ranked highly by The Guardian, placing it 6th in its league table of specialist institutions^[6] and 9th for Drama and Dance.^[7]

Central has over fifty-five academic staff and a wide range of visiting lecturers and artists, making it one of the largest clusters of drama, theatre and performance specialists in Europe.^{[citation needed]}

The school has over 20 doctoral candidates^[8] and the first graduate of the programme, Broderick Chow, was awarded his PhD at the December 2010 graduation ceremony.^[9]

Honorary appointments[link]

From the official CSSD list of "Honorary Fellows and Honorary PhD"^[10]:

Honorary Fellows[link]

• Jo Brand
• Yvonne Brewster
• Lady Diana Cooper
• Declan Donnellan
• Penny Francis (puppeteer)
• Nickolas Grace
• Michael Grandage
• George Hall (acting teacher)|former head of stage at CSSD
• Ronald Harwood
• Jude Kelly
• Dame Helen Mirren
• Natasha Richardson
• Harold Pinter+
• Dame Joan Plowright, Baroness Olivier
• Professor Sir Ken Robinson (senior adviser to the president of J. Paul Getty Trust)
• Richard Schechner
• Catherine Tate
• Dawn French
• Richard Wilson
• Carrie Fisher
• Bette Bourne
• Joseph Seelig & Helen Lannaghan (London International Mime Festival)
• Joseph Morgan

+ In October 2008, Pinter had agreed to become its president and was awarded an honorary fellowship at its graduation ceremony on 10 December 2008.[192] On his appointment, Pinter commented: "I was a student at Central in 1950–51. I enjoyed my time there very much and I am delighted to become president of a remarkable institution."[193] But he had to receive that honorary degree, his 20th, in absentia owing to ll health. Michael Colgan accepted Pinter's in his stead and spoke on his behalf.^[4] [192] His presidency of the school was brief; he died just two weeks after the graduation ceremony, on 24 December 2008.

Honorary PhD[link]

• Cicely Berry

Notable alumni[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• [1] – Education Guide (Higher Education) in The Guardian
• Central School of Speech and Drama – Official Website

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Links to related articles v t e Performing arts schools in the United Kingdom   Acting Academy of Live and Recorded Arts · Arts Educational Schools, London · Birmingham School of Acting · Bristol Old Vic Theatre School · Central School of Speech and Drama · Drama Centre London · Drama Studio London · East 15 Acting School · Guildford School of Acting · Guildhall School of Music & Drama · Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts · Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts · London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art · The Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre · Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts · Oxford School of Drama · Rose Bruford College · Royal Academy of Dramatic Art · Royal Conservatoire of Scotland · Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama · Stella Mann College of Performing Arts · Tring Park School for the Performing Arts   Dance Bird College · Central School of Ballet · Elmhurst School for Dance · English National Ballet School · The Hammond School · Laine Theatre Arts · Laban · London Contemporary Dance School · London Studio Centre · Masters Performing Arts College · Northern Ballet School · Northern School of Contemporary Dance · Performers College · Royal Ballet School · Scottish School of Contemporary Dance · Stella Mann College of Performing Arts · Tring Park School for the Performing Arts   Music See: Music Schools in the United Kingdom   Musical theatre Arts Educational Schools, London · Bird College · Cambridge Performing Arts · Guildford School of Acting · The Hammond School · Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts · Laine Theatre Arts · Leicester Performing Arts · Liverpool Theatre School and College · Masters Performing Arts College · Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts · Performers College · SLP College · Stella Mann College of Performing Arts · Tring Park School for the Performing Arts · The Urdang Academy   Secondary Arts Educational Schools, London · BRIT School · The Hammond School · Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts · Sylvia Young Theatre 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Coordinates: 51°32′39″N 0°10′26″W / 51.5442°N 0.1738°W / 51.5442; -0.1738

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007)

In the English education system, central schools were selective secondary education schools between the more prestigious grammar schools and the secondary schools.

Central schools were first established following the 1918 Education Act.

Following the 1944 Education Act, the selection process was changed so that those who failed the 11+ but were considered clever enough to have been entered for it were able to go to central schools.

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