Archive for July, 2022

ArtsEd appoints Brian Brodie as Chair of the Board of Trustees

Posted on: July 13th, 2022 by Neil Roig

ArtsEd is delighted to welcome Brian Brodie as their new Chair of Trustees. 

Brian joins ArtsEd at an exciting time for the organisation, with a new senior leadership team in place, strong 2022/23 cohorts recruited across the degree courses and the independent Day School & Sixth Form and a recently extended and refurbished building.  

Brian is currently Chief Executive Officer of Finance Freedom. He has had a wide and varied career in financial Services and a deep love of dance stemming from the passion his three daughters have for the art form. The many hours spent at dance school with them exposed Brian to ballet, tap, modern and contemporary dance and he saw first-hand, the positive impact of the performing arts, on both a personal and a social level. He has since supported his youngest daughter through her degree at London Studio Centre.  

With a strong desire to see the arts flourish, as well as a personal desire for schools to hear a parent’s voice, Brian joined the board of the Royal Academy of Dance. During his time on the board the RAD changed their syllabus and agreed a deal to move to a new purpose-built home in Battersea. After leaving RAD, Brian chaired the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds, steering them through their exit from the Conservatoire of Dance and Drama and setting them on the path to becoming an HEI in their own right. 

His combination of business expertise and Board experience equip Brian perfectly to support ArtsEd as it continues to develop its provision of world-leading vocational training. 

On his appointment, Brian said: 

“I am delighted to be joining ArtsEd and look forward to working with the team to deliver an exceptional learning experience for all.” 

ArtsEd Principal, Dr Julie Spencer, said: 

I am thrilled that the Board have appointed Brian Brodie as the new Chair. Brian’s wealth of business experience and ambition, alongside his innovative ideas will ensure the continued development of ArtsEd as a provider of uniquely inclusive, contemporary, and world-leading vocational training.” 

ArtsEd Acting students receive Laurence Olivier Bursaries

Posted on: July 1st, 2022 by Neil Roig

ArtsEd School of Acting students, Daniel Apea and Eliza Parry Williams have been awarded financial bursaries to help them complete their training, having successfully auditioned for and been interviewed by a panel of theatre professionals.

A total of £77,500 in Laurence Olivier Bursaries for 2022 is to be received by talented students from 19 drama schools across the UK, awarded by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT).

We are thrilled that Daniel has been given the top award, The Sir Peter and Lady Saunders Laurence Olivier Bursary, which is donated by the Estate of Sir Peter and Lady Saunders.

Eliza is among the recipients of the Laurence Olivier Bursary, donated by SOLT.

Established by SOLT in 1987 to mark Laurence Olivier’s 80th birthday, the Laurence Olivier Bursaries provide financial support to exceptional students entering their final year of drama school, and facing financial difficulties which might jeopardise their studies.

Previous bursary winners have included Denise Gough, Bryony Hannah, Paterson Joseph, Ewan McGregor, Daniel Rigby, Vinette Robinson, Juma Sharkah, Michaela Coel and Michael Sheen.

Nominees, put forward by drama school principals across the UK, are auditioned on a West End stage and interviewed by a panel of theatre industry professionals, led by West End producer and Chair of the Laurence Olivier Bursaries Committee, Lee Menzies. This year’s auditions took place at St Martin’s Theatre earlier this month.

Well done both of you! We’re immensely proud and look forward to seeing you light up stage and screen in your third, and final, year of training with us.

Breakthrough Artist Award 2022- two out of 10 nominations go to ArtsEd BA Acting alumni!

Posted on: July 1st, 2022 by Neil Roig
Sam Creasey (BA Acting 2020) and Gabrielle Creevy (BA Acting 2018) have been nominated for the Breakthrough Artist category in the upcoming South Bank Sky Arts Awards.

They take two of just 10 nominations, that include Emilia Jones for CODA and pop duo Wet Leg.

The South Bank Sky Arts Awards, the first and only awards ceremony to celebrate every genre of the arts, including Dance, Theatre, Pop, TV Drama, Film, Classical Music, Literature, Opera, Comedy and Visual Art – returns on Sunday 10 July at The Savoy Hotel, hosted by Melvyn Bragg.  Previous winners of the Breakthrough Artist category include playwright Samuel Bailey, actors Jessie Buckley and Tom Hiddleston, and musicians Nubya Garcia and Stormzy.

Sam has been nominated for his debut role as Malcolm Polstead, the young hero of the Bridge Theatre’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy novel The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage.  Cast just before he graduated in March 2020, Sam finally stepped in front of the audience in November 2021 to outstanding reviews across the board.

Clive Davis of the Times says of Sam:

“What was immediately obvious was that he possessed natural stage presence. There was a rare aura of confidence about him too: it’s hard to believe that when he first took the coach to London from south Wales to begin his drama course, he spent half an hour in the capital, had a coffee, then jumped on the next coach home.”

Gabrielle has been nominated for her role as Bethan, a working-class Cardiff schoolgirl from a troubled home in the magnificent BBC3 drama In My Skin, a role for which she secured a BAFTA in 2019.  Carol Midgely of The Times describes Gabrielle’s performance as:

 “unforgettable, an exquisite balance of the tragic and bleakly comic and so masterfully authentic that sometimes you could be watching a documentary. Creevy ..plays the 16-year-old Bethan beautifully, and with such intelligence and nuance in a totally immersive performance, that it is obvious she is an acting force to be reckoned with.”

You can find out more about the awards here.

We are immensely proud of both Sam and Gabrielle.