Want to train at one of the UK’s leading drama schools? Feel like this might be financially out of reach? Open Door helps talented young people aged 18+ who do not have the financial support or resources to gain a place at one of the UK’s leading drama schools.
We are incredibly passionate about supporting aspiring actors who are serious about pursuing a career in acting and are looking to apply for a B.A (hons) Acting degree. Through our Acting Training Programme, as well as covering expenses, we work to develop skills and build confidence in our participants to apply to one of our current partner drama schools Guildhall School of Music and Drama, LAMDA, Royal Welsh College of Music, and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
The Open Door Acting Access Programme provides participants with:
*please note, the acting training is a series of training days led by the Open Door team and visiting tutors. Participants are expected to attend 80% of these sessions.
A collective of 16-30 year olds interested in shaping the future of craft, design and making in the UK
We know it can be difficult to get started in a creative career. Young Craft Citizens works with young people to create alternative pathways into the craft and creative sectors. We build young people’s creative, professional and leadership skills, particularly investing in those impacted by racism, classism, ableism and the intersection of these forms of discrimination.
What does Young Craft Citizens offer?
Free space to share film and digital projects.
Applications for Delivision are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year.
Theatre Deli is inviting artists to project work onto the screen in the communal area of their Leadenhall Street venue. This is an unpaid opportunity, offering artists a platform to share their work with other creatives.
Your work can be on any theme or subject.
See our Accessibility Guide for information about access in our venue.
We particularly welcome applications from marginalised and underrepresented groups. We welcome applications from artists based in the UK and abroad.
Under 30s and Students – join Bush Connect for free
If you’re under 30 or a student, you can enjoy a great night out for less by joining our free Bush Connect membership. You’ll get:
Once you have signed up, your discount will automatically apply.
ArtsEd offers inclusive, detailed contemporary, BA actor training for Stage, Film, Television and Audio. Preparing you to become world-leading artists, theatre-makers and performers in all genres, by focusing on the ever-evolving developments in the creative industries.
Our tutors are inspiring, passionate industry professionals who are committed to work with you to craft the core skills you will need as an actor.
Dynamic, diverse and rigorous, this vocational three-year BA (Hons) degree in Acting course will develop your technical skills through practical classes, workshops and performances, motivating and challenging you to become an inventive and imaginative actor. By exploring imagination, improvisation, storytelling, play, text analysis, character realisation, vocal technique and movement skills you will discover how to develop a truthful, responsive and resilient individual acting process.
Our training creates graduates who are ready for a career in the industry. This can be seen on our Screenwork page, which features recent examples of original films and showreels, which students produce in their third year.
This programme is validated by City, University of London and you will receive a City, University of London award on successful completion.
Our full-time Foundation Acting course offers a student-centered approach to learning with a strong focus on the individual and their formative journey into training and beyond.
Led by Sam Gibbs, a Theatre Maker and Actor Trainer, the course, based in specialist studios at the Lyric Hammersmith, provides rigorous training that prepares students for the next step in their professional career.
Regular sessions with industry professionals ensure that the intensive actor training is blended with invaluable insights into the demands and opportunities in the performing arts sector. Recent visiting tutors have included Mike Bartlett (Earthquakes in London, King Charles III), Noma Dumezweni (Disney’s The Little Mermaid Live, The Undoing, Harry Potter & the Cursed Child), Sean Kempton (Cirque du Soleil), Matthew Xia (Artistic Director of Actors Touring Company) and Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (Emelia, The Wasp).
The variety of the material used in classes and projects initiates discussions on relevant topics in today’s world, that promote students’ personal development and understanding. Tutors cultivate a safe, but challenging, environment to encourage students to experiment, explore and embrace their training journey, its failures, and successes. Students are supported in choosing, and discovering, a path that is right for them at the conclusion of the course.
Our full time foundation course in Musical Theatre develops your skill and confidence in all three of the essential disciplines required for this demanding training. Delivered by tutors from our BA course, this is an excellent foundation for progression into a full-time training course.
Ensuring that you excel in all three disciplines our Full Time Foundation includes intensive one-to-one singing tuition, ensemble dance training in jazz and ballet and bespoke audition preparation. Throughout the course you will be working with our highly experienced ArtsEd tutors, who have a very thorough understanding of what drama schools are looking for in auditions.
This programme is validated by City, University of London and you will receive a City, University of London award on successful completion.
ArtsEd offers rigorous, exceptional triple-threat training. An exciting and extensive curriculum prepares you to become a world-leading performer across all disciplines and in all genres.
Our tutors are all inspiring and experienced industry professionals, committed to working with you to develop your full potential in singing, dancing and acting.
Dynamic and diverse with a focus on excellence, this vocational three-year BA (Hons) Musical Theatre course will develop your technical skills through practical classes across singing, dance and acting, one-to-one singing tuition, projects in singing, dance and acting, and final year performances.
This programme is validated by City, University of London and you will receive a City, University of London award on successful completion.
ArtsEd has a long history of producing many of the UK’s leading musical theatre performers. Our BTEC in Musical Theatre has been designed to form the foundations of this training.
Students on this pathway rapidly develop the singing, dancing, and acting skills necessary to progress in this demanding genre. Training in each area quickly establishes the level of discipline required and gives students the opportunity to master techniques and gain full control of their performance skills.
Weekly classes include singing, acting, ballet, tap and jazz. These skills are assessed throughout the year in performance projects created by small companies of students.
Recent assessment performances have included:
The course is enhanced by regular theatre trips and workshops run by industry professionals, including music directors, choreographers and West End performers.
Full support is provided to students throughout the application and audition processes for further training, study or professional work.
Some Sixth Form graduates remain at ArtsEd to study on our degree course, many secure places at other leading drama schools including GSA, Mountview, RCSSD, LAMDA, Laine Theatre Arts and Urdang.
The ArtsEd MA Acting course offers rigorous and intensive vocational actor training that enables you to harness your potential as a highly skilled, creative and autonomous actor.
You will be immersed in a dynamic and rigorous acting programme that is challenging and robust. Our team of experienced industry professionals will work with you to hone and develop your actor’s craft, enabling you to be prepared and resilient for the demands of the contemporary industry.
Inclusive and questioning, the course gives you techniques to work with classical and contemporary texts with imagination, truth and specificity. The course is vocational and highly practical where techniques are acquired through the year in classes, workshops and performances. Both theatre and screen acting is explored. The MA in Acting enables its graduates to have an autonomous, responsive process that is alive to the world around it, flexible to the needs of the industry, and full of the actor’s imagination and creative potential.
