Spring and Fall
Program Overview
Immerse yourself in Shakespeare. Live in London. Experience the West End.
For over 10-years, Tisch London has maintained an exclusive collaboration with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), offering actors an intensive, full-time semester immersed in the world of Shakespeare.
Under the direction of RADA’s Associate Director, Geoff Bullen, develop the skills necessary for the performance of Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. You spend three days a week throughout the semester within the prestigious RADA facilities, whose halls have housed such acting legends as Sir Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Joan Collins, Vivien Leigh, Mark Rylance, Dominic West and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
While at RADA, your acting emphasis is performance based on three key elements: The Arts of Shakespeare—a presentation of sonnets, song, dance, armed combat, and clown; two play projects—in which you work with a dedicated director to examine and perform excerpts from a particular play; and an ensemble studio presentation before an invited audience. In addition, there are classes in voice, speech, physical performance, Alexander technique, and combat for camera. You give monologue and scene presentations and receive one-on-one tutorials with the course director and key RADA staff.
In addition to your RADA training, spend two days a week taking classes at the University of London’s Senate House. Choose two additional classes from either The Arts in London, British Cinema: London on Film, Studies in Shakespeare, or Theatre in London. While on the University of London campus, you have access to a myriad of resources such as lunch time concerts, free events, the University’s Student Union and computer labs. Housing is mere moments from campus, and London’s incredible culture is at your fingertips.
Program Curriculum
Your semester abroad consists of your core program curriculum and two
additional companion courses, completing a full-time, 16-unit program.
Performance in Shakespeare: Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA)
ITHEA-UT 481
8 units | RADA Staff
Prerequisite: four semesters of studio training or equivalent.
This intensive course aims to immerse the student in the world of Shakespeare while developing skills necessary for the performance of Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. Under the guidance of RADA’s associate director, members of the RADA faculty teach and direct the course. Emphasis is on performance in three key elements: The Arts of Shakespeare—a presentation of sonnets, song, dance, armed combat, and clown; two play projects—in which students work with a dedicated director to examine and perform excerpts from a particular play; and an ensemble studio presentation before an invited audience. In addition, there are classes in voice, speech, physical performance, Alexander technique, and combat for camera. Students give monologue and scene presentations so that their progress can be monitored and receive one-on-one tutorials with the course director and key staff. This course, with its emphasis on performance, makes great demands on students’ time and concentration, requiring vivid and accurate processing of presentation within short periods of preparation.
