ArtsEd Sixth Former, Isabella Pappas has had a busy few months! Last month, she bagged a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in the WhatsOnStage Awards, and now she’s set to play the role of Alice and Harry’s 16-year-old daughter Charlottein new six-part ITV drama: Finding Alice, starring; Keeley Hawes, Joanna Lumley, ArtsEd alumnus and Patron, Nigel Havers, Jason Merrells, Gemma Jones, Kenneth Cranham and Sharon Rooney.
Production began last month, with Keeley Hawes starring as Alice, a widow going through a blackly comic journey of grief after the death of her husband, Harry.
Nicola Shindler, RED Production Company CEO and executive producer is excited to have such an impressive team on board;
“To have such a strong calibre of actors join the cast alongside Keeley to breathe life into these complex characters is incredibly exciting, and I look forward to audiences meeting them.”
Isabella is looking forward to tackling her role in this brand new drama:
“I’m honoured to be working with the incredibly talented cast, writers, producers and director of Finding Alice for Red Productions and ITV. Going to set everyday and working with Keeley Hawes, Joanna Lumley, Gemma Jones, Roger Goldby and everyone… it really is a dream come true.”
ArtsEd Day School and Sixth Form saw incredible results in the recent ISI Inspection Report, held in November 2019.
The three-day inspection was a ‘Focused Compliance and Educational Quality Inspection’, where the Inspection Team looked at every aspect of the school’s operation. Unlike an Ofsted Inspection where a school gets a single summative grade, in an ISI EQ Inspection a school is awarded a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ in terms of regulatory compliance, and two separate grades, one for the quality of Pupils’ Academic and Other Achievements, and one for the quality of Pupils’ Personal Development.
We are delighted to announce that ArtsEd achieved Excellent for both Pupils’ Achievement and Pupils’ Personal Development and that we passed our regulatory compliance with no required or recommended actions. The Inspection Team recognised a very broad range of outstanding qualities in our teaching, our young people, and our staff. Highlights from the inspection were:
Pupils demonstrate very positive attitudes to learning and develop many excellent learning skills.
They often apply the techniques that they develop in vocational studies to other learning.
A key attribute of pupils is their ability to accept criticism and direction and they often show a strong desire for this, indicative of the desire they show to be the very best they can.
They excel in working with others, continually supporting and encouraging each other, and driving one another on to further achievement.
Pupils behaviour is excellent. The pupils are energetic but always cooperative. In interviews, it was hard to draw out of pupils what would be considered poor behaviour in the school because they feel it is so seldom evident.
We are delighted with these comments, and going forward, we aim to keep improving. Don’t forget, you can still apply for our Day School and Sixth Form, or see what all the fuss it about and book a tour.
We’re on the hunt for exciting new acting talent in the Midlands and will be taking our BA Acting auditions to Manchester this February.
As well as having the opportunity to audition, prospective students will get an insight into life on the BA Acting course, direct from our world-class tutors and alumni who will be present at the Manchester audition event – all without the cost of travelling to London.
These travel costs alone can be a major barrier for young people who have great talent but limited financial means. So, we are encouraging young people who are unable to travel to London, to find out about our world-class vocational training at the audition day which takes place at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester on Saturday 8 February.
The Manchester audition day is also part of our long-term commitment to improve opportunities for talented young people from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue careers in the performing arts.
Kyle Rowe, our BA Acting Alumnus 2017, who has appeared in Peaky Blinders, Coronation Street and EastEnders says:
“ArtEd honestly changed my life. I had the most incredible three years there, and it really gave me that ‘can-do’ attitude. My training allowed me to realise anything is possible; I can and absolutely will do it. ArtsEd taught me that people from where I’m from can be something, people that sound like me can have a voice, and I will be forever grateful for my time there; for everything I learnt, the people I met, and what ArtsEd has helped me achieve.”
Julie Spencer, our very own Director the School of Acting says:
“Taking our audition day to Manchester helps to increase participation across the sector and is a vital part of ArtsEd’s commitment in offering outstanding training to everyone.
“We want to encourage students with exceptional potential in and around Manchester to join us at ArtsEd. The distance means not everyone can always make it to a London audition, so we want to bring the audition to you. If you want to be part of the ArtsEd family and train with us then we want to see YOU at the Royal Exchange for our Manchester audition.”
The Manchester audition will take place on Saturday 8 February 2020, 10am – students must be 18 years old by the time the course starts. The audition session will include a warm-up workshop led by our ArtsEd Acting tutors. Candidates will be expected to prepare two monologues. They can find all the information they need on our Auditions page.
We are very excited to announce that our Day School pupil, Olivia Beaumont will be playing the role of Young Maeve in series two of Netflix hit: Sex Education, set to release Friday 17 January!
Olivia loved being on set with the talented team of actors, directors and crew who were all very encouraging.
“I was so excited to be offered the part of young Maeve who is such a strong character, to show the audience a glimpse of her early life and to work with the amazing Sex Education team”
Olivia has performed from an early age, continuing her passion for performance at the ArtsEd Day School. She says that “I just love to step into other peoples’ worlds and tell their story”
It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.
Albert Einstein
It is with genuine sadness that we let you know of the passing of Lisle Jones, who died at his home in Melbourne, Australia on Christmas Day. He was 90 years old.
Lisle first worked as a teacher at ArtsEd in 1969 when it was known as the Arts Educational Schools and based at Piccadilly in London’s West End. During the mid 1970s, in collaboration with Brain Cook and Hilary Wood, he was instrumental in establishing the full-time Acting course, for which he subsequently became the programme leader.
An experienced practitioner as both an actor and a director, as well as a dedicated and resourceful teacher, Lisle brought immense passion and commitment to his work – always exacting the highest standards of rigour and professionalism in all of his students.
Determined to ensure that the Acting course achieved national and international recognition for excellence, he secured full accreditation for the programme when the National Council of Drama Training (NCDT) undertook its first tranche of validation visits in 1979/80. This was no mean feat for a relatively new course and in later years other drama schools would look to ArtsEd as an example of best practice in the vocational training sector.
With a sharp eye for talent and always determined to attract the best possible practitioners to come and deliver the training for his students, Lisle recruited the likes of Declan Donnellan to teach acting and direct performances, Patsy Rodenburg to teach voice, Mary Hammond to teach singing, as well as Ben Benison, Roddy Maude- Roxby and Ric Morgan to teach improvisation.
In January 1983, Lisle was invited to return to his homeland, Australia, as Head of Acting at the newly formed Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), where once again he played a major role in helping to shape the careers of some of the world’s most accomplished theatre and film practitioners.
A genuinely warm and kind human being as well as an astute and highly skilled practitioner, Lisle had an immense influence on the careers of many, many actors and theatre practitioners. His wonderful enthusiasm combined with an immense energy and seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge will be greatly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him.
Julie Spencer, Director of the School of Acting, has been cited as one to watch in The Stage’s list of the 100 most influential people working in the theatre and performing arts industry today. A new entry for 2020, Julie has been noted as a major force for positive change in the drama training sector, particularly since her appointment to ArtsEd as the first black woman to lead a BA conservatoire training course. The 2019/20 intake on our BA Acting course reflects the impact that she has already had, with 60% of the cohort identifying as black or minority ethnic.
The news took the Twitter world by storm, with Julie thanking ArtsEd Principal, Chris Hocking, as well as The Stage and receiving a flood of messages of congratulations and support. We are immensely proud of everything she has achieved in just twelve months and are delighted that her contribution to the industry has been publically recognised.
Julie will be continuing her search for actors from all backgrounds at our Manchester auditions. Focused on our BA Acting course, auditions will take place on Saturday 8 February 2020 from 10am at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. Find out more and apply!
Continuing ArtsEd’s Centenary celebrations, we launch Thomas Dennis’ 100 Years in 100 Seconds video.
Thomas attended both ArtsEd Day School and Sixth Form, graduating from the Sixth Form in 2014. He went straight from ArtsEd, landing the lead role of Christopher Boone in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, then landed another lead role as Albert Narracott in the National Theatre’s War Horse.
Find out what he had to say about his time at ArtsEd, and how it helped kick-start his exciting career:
To celebrate ArtsEd’s 100th Birthday, we have gathered together some of our wonderful alumni to tell us their ArtsEd stories in a series of short films that we will be releasing throughout 2019-20.
First up, we had the fabulous Miriam-Teak Lee, star of exciting new musical &Juliet. You can watch her video here.
And now, we share 100 Years in 100 Seconds with BA Musical Theatre alumnus, Danny Mac who graduated in 2009. Danny has enjoyed tremendous success both on stage and screen; from Hollyoaks and Strictly Come Dancing, to Amelie the Musical and On The Town at Regents Park Open Air Theatre. Today, Danny opens in Christmas West End sensation: White Christmas at the Dominion Theatre. His next endeavor will be Pretty Woman: The Musical which will be opening on the West End, February 2020.
We are thrilled to have a number of alumni nominated for this year’s WhatsOnStage Awards, including the brilliant Isabella Pappas from our Sixth Form. Isabella’s nomination is for Best Supporting Actress in a Play for her role as Cassidy Lafayette in Appropriate, Brandon Jacob Jenkins’ new play staged at the Donmar Warehouse.
Balancing Sixth Form responsibilities while working in the industry is a huge challenge that Isabella has attacked head-on. Here’s what she had to say about her nomination and how ArtsEd helped her along the way:
“It is amazing to be nominated for a WhatsOnStage Award for Best Supporting Actress alongside such accomplished women. And it’s equally wonderful to have Appropriate nominated for Best New Play. I believe in the power of theatre to move audiences in unexpected ways and I’m fortunate to have been involved in plays like Appropriate and The Nether, which raise important questions and stimulate debate amongst audiences. The fact that WhatsOnStage awards are chosen by the public shows that people appreciate the artistry and talent of everyone involved in these productions.
Since my nomination, the outpouring of support from ArtsEd has been overwhelming and I cannot thank everyone enough. As an ArtsEd student, it can be a challenge to represent the school’s tradition of excellence and its commitment to London’s theatre tradition while also being a working actor. I’m often revising backstage and between shows in order to juggle both commitments. I could not do this without the strong support of the ArtsEd community. Their support takes so many forms: from the dozens of ArtsEd instructors and students who came to see Appropriate, to teachers providing a flexible academic schedule so that I could attend recalls, to the students who helped support me after I missed lessons. ArtsEd has a 100-year tradition of promoting success in the performing arts and I’m proud to be a part of that tradition and to have their guidance, instruction and encouragement as I pursue my craft.
It’s time to get voting! Show your support for Isabella and other ArtsEd nominees: Miriam-Teak Lee, Oliver Tompsett and Jac Yarrow and vote on the WhatsOnStage website now!
In ArtsEd’s 100th year, we unearth memories, pictures, programmes and newspaper clippings to collate the rich history of ArtsEd together. While doing so, we discovered a whole family of ArtsEd students made up of three generations of women: grandmother, Lynn Sawyer, her two daughters Samantha and Claire Sawyer, and granddaughter, Scarlet Grace Churchhouse, who currently attends ArtsEd Sixth Form.
Grandmother, Lynn shares memories from her time at ArtsEd in the 60’s:
“I attended 144 Piccadilly at Hyde Park. It was an amazing building full of history. I simply loved it there. I won a scholarship in 1966 and had a wonderful time. After my schooling I then auditioned for the students’ school and continued my training for a further three years.
I am still in the business that I love as a talent agent! I have trained many students who have gone on to further training at ArtsEd; one of these is Jordan Shaw who is doing amazingly well playing the lead role in The Lion King.
I have wonderful memories of my time at ArtsEd and cherished every moment. Even back then, I knew this was a very special place indeed.
…By the way, I still have my boater hat!”
Lynn Sawyer, age 14
Daughter, Claire Sawyer also shared memories of her time at ArtsEd:
“When I think back to my time spent training at ArtsEd, I can only think of what an amazing school it was and how lucky I was to have had the opportunity to study drama there. Not only is the vocational training outstanding, it also offers an excellent academic education.
I attended the day school at the age of 11 when the school was located at Golden Lane. It was an impressive building with lots of character and even an iron bridge! Our Head at the time was the lovely Mrs Jack.
In my second year we moved to Turnham Green, Chiswick to where it is today.
I was fortunate enough to audition for a Walt Disney Film called Friendship in Vienna and was offered a role with my friend Zoe Tahir and we filmed in Budapest for a while, and our drama teacher chaperoned us. I was also fortunate enough to perform in The Sound Of Music at The Apollo Theatre, and my luckiest role was landing the lead in a three-year TV series called Mr Majeika which aired every week and on Christmas Day! I honestly believe it was ArtsEd that put me in good stead to land these roles!
Claire and Samantha Sawyer in their ArtsEd uniforms
I love the fact that 3 generations of my family have attended the school! My mother, sister and now my daughter Scarlet is fulfilling her dreams studying there.
I made friends at ArtsEd that I still have to this very day and the lovely memories of studying there will stay with me forever!”
Daughter, Samantha Sawyer reminisced on her time at ArtsEd:
“I can remember being so excited to have been offered a place at ArtsEd and following in my mother’s footsteps, having heard such wonderful stories of her time there. We were taught such amazing skills that have taken us through our professional lives. I excelled in acting and worked in a number of television series for some time, such as Barchester Chronicles and Lame Ducks. ArtsEd is such a prestigious school and I am so proud to be part of their Centenary”
Granddaughter, Scarlet Grace is currently studying Acting and Film Studies at ArtsEd Sixth Form, and she is also appearing in exciting new series, Truth Seekers, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. You can read more about it in our previous news article.
