Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance (formerly the Rose Bruford Training College of Speech and Drama) is a drama school in the south London suburb of Sidcup. The college has degree programmes in acting, actor musicianship, theatre arts, and various disciplines of stagecraft.
Rose Bruford College is accredited by Drama UK. The college's undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications and programmes were validated by the University of Manchester, prior to the college gained its own taught degree awarding powers in 2017.
Students graduating in summer 2017 will still receive Manchester degrees, while students entering from September 2017 will be awarded Rose Bruford College degrees and students already enrolled but not graduating in 2017 will be offered the option of receiving either Rose Bruford or Manchester degrees.
Professor Michael Earley is the principal and chief executive. Sir Richard Eyre became the first president of Rose Bruford College in July 2010.
Video Rose Bruford College
History
The Rose Bruford Training College of Speech and Drama was established in 1950 by teacher Rose Elizabeth Bruford, with the help of poet laureate John Masefield, Laurence Olivier, and Peggy Ashcroft, who formed part of the Board of Governors. Rose Bruford "pioneered the first acting degree in 1976."
Initially, classes were held in Lamorbey House, an 18th-century, Grade II listed manor house in the Lamorbey district of Sidcup. Sidcup is a suburb in the southeast of Greater London.
The campus has since been expanded; construction of several new buildings was completed in 2002. For some time, there was also a campus situated in Deptford, near Greenwich in South East London, which was closed when the college incorporated all of its courses on the Sidcup campus. Among these are four venues for student productions: the 300-seat theatre in the round Rose Theatre; the more intimate Barn Theatre; and two "black box" studio spaces. Third-year undergraduate students present their shows in off-campus London venues, such as the Unicorn Theatre and the Leicester Square Theatre..
Rose Bruford College was the filming location of the television drama Nearly Famous (2007).
Rose Bruford
Bruford was born on 22 June 1904. She was educated at Kilburn High School, and later at Bath High School -- where on one occasion a verse recital was given by Elsie Fogerty, the founder and Principal of the Central School of Speech and Drama. Bruford resolved to study drama at the Central School.
While still a student, she took part in the Oxford Recitations of Spoken Verse, begun in 1923 by John Masefield. Here she met several poets, including W. H. Auden, Gordon Bottomley, Richard Church, Walter de la Mare, T. S. Eliot, Christopher Hassall, and John Drinkwater. W. B. Yeats encouraged her to speak some of his poems to the accompaniment of a small harp, and she made this part of her recitals. She graduated in 1928 with top honours for her verse-speaking. John Masefield became her champion and guide for the rest of her life.
After graduating from the Central School, Bruford followed her parents' wishes never to work in the theatre. Instead, she became a visiting teacher of speech and drama. Between 1925-49 she taught regularly at 43 different schools. In 1941 she was appointed to the staff of the Royal Academy of Music where, starting with seven students, she built the drama course to 70 students. The Ministry of Education certified the course as a teacher-training programme. During this period, she spent three days per week at the Royal Academy of Music, and two teaching mime at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
In 1948 her first book, Speech and Drama, was published and was well-received. Meanwhile, she wanted better conditions and premises for her course at the Royal Academy of Music, but some of her views conflicted with those of the principal. She resigned; although she had little money, she began preparing to found her own school. The Kent Education Committee offered to rent her the mansion in Lamorbey Park for £5 per year. Bruford and other college staff established a training programme. Grants helped sustain the college in its early years, and it eventually became profitable.
Maps Rose Bruford College
Academics
Degree programmes and courses
The college currently offers courses in the following fields of performing arts training:
Undergraduate
Postgraduate
- MA/MFA Actor Musicianship
- MA/MFA Actor Performer Training
- MA/MFA Collaborative Theatre Making
- MA/MFA Theatre for Young Audiences
Online learning
- BA(Hons) Opera Studies
- BA(Hons) Theatre Studies
Research degrees (validated by Goldsmiths, University of London)
- MPhil
- PhD
Part-time, summer, and youth programmes
Student satisfaction
In 2014, The Stage reported that 91.6% of Rose Bruford students were from state schools. In the same year, Rose Bruford College scored an overall satisfaction rating of 90% in the National Student Survey.
Rose Bruford College rated 87% for overall student satisfaction in the 2013 National Student Survey. (The average score that year for all participating institutions was 85%.) Rose Bruford College rated 86% in 2012 and 79% in 2011.
Research and community outreach
The college's research facilities and archives include: the Stanislavski Centre; the Clive Barker Library; and the David Bolland Collection, which is devoted to material about Kathakali. Members or former members of its faculty serve as editors and/or on the editorial boards of performing-arts journals like New Theatre Quarterly (Simon Trussler, co-editor) and Performance Prompt.
In partnership with the London V&A Theatre Collections Online, the College also sponsors and supports TheatreVoice, an Internet forum about theatre sound.
Its material relating to research, knowledge transfer, and community outreach is featured online in TheatreFutures.
Alumni
Among the college's alumni are Michele Austin, Tom Baker, Lake Bell, Rosalie Craig, Anthony Daniels, Richard Eyre, Iain McKee, Gary Oldman and Sam Palladio.
At the 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards, 2011 graduates Dave Hearn (BA (Hons) Acting) and Rob Falconer (BA (Hons) Actor Musicianship) won Best Comedy for The Play That Goes Wrong. 2001 BA (Hons) Actor Musicianship graduate Rosalie Craig was the star of City of Angels, which won the award for Best Musical Revival. Also, 2003 BA (Hons) Actor Musician graduate Katie Brayben won Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Carole King in the Beautiful at the Aldwych Theatre.
See also
- Bird College
Notes
Further reading
- "University guide 2017: Rose Bruford College". The Guardian. 24 May 2015 [1st pub. 10 May 2009].
- "Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance". The Independent. 9 August 2013.
External links
- Official website
- Theatre Futures
Source of article : Wikipedia
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