Birmingham School of Acting (formerly known as Birmingham School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art (B.S.S.T.D.A), and then as Birmingham School of Speech and Drama (B.S.S.D) ) is a drama school located in Birmingham, England.
It was founded in 1936 by Pamela Chapman and became a faculty of Birmingham City University in 2005. In September 2006, it moved from Paradise Place to a purpose-built state-of-the-art facility at Millennium Point in the city's Eastside area. In 2008, it became a school of the university's Faculty of Performance, Media and English (PME) alongside the world-famous Birmingham Conservatoire.
Two higher education courses exist with a range of part-time, summer school and short courses for adults and children. The three-year BA (Hons) Acting course and the one-year Diploma course are accredited by the National Council for Drama Training, and the school itself is a member of the Council of Drama Schools.
Alumni of the school include Nicol Williamson, Tom Lister, Catherine Tyldesley, Rachel Bright, Barbara Keogh, Luke Mably, James Bradshaw, Stephen Laughton, Anna Brewster, Jimi Mistry and Nicholas Gledhill
Famous quotes containing the words school and/or acting:
“I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil,—to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than as a member of society. I wish to make an extreme statement, if so I may make an emphatic one, for there are enough champions of civilization: the minister and the school committee and every one of you will take care of that.”
—Henry David David (1817–1862)
“More than in any other performing arts the lack of respect for acting seems to spring from the fact that every layman considers himself a valid critic.”
—Uta Hagen (b. 1919)