Royal Central School of Speech and Drama: Practice for performance
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Drawing students from around the world, Central offers high-level, comprehensive training for actors, creators and theatre practitioners working in specialist and varied disciplines.
Patrick Baldwin
Courses offered
BA (Hons)
Acting BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice
BA (Hons) Theatre Practice
Course content overview
BA (Hons) Acting comprises of three distinct courses that train you to be a professional actor for both stage and screen: Acting, Acting: Musical Theatre, Acting: Collaborative and Devised Theatre. You will be considered for all three courses at your audition.
BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice allows you to choose one of three courses that look at making theatre in non-traditional settings, working with communities or other groups within society to explore how performance can change lives.
BA (Hons) Theatre Practice is comprised of nine different specialisms that focus on the crafts, design or production of theatre and live performance. Students specialise in one discipline for the full three years and these range from Costume Construction to Lighting Design and Stage Management.
Fees, bursaries, and other finance information
Central offers a range of bursaries and scholarships for new students. A guide as to what was available in 2022 is available at cssd.ac.uk/scholarships-bursaries-awards.
Accommodation options
Central has an allocation of University of London intercollegiate halls, while some students prefer to stay in private halls of residence. Many Central students live in private rented accommodation, and the Student Centre at Central provides excellent support in helping students find the right home.
Entry requirements (qualifications)
BA (Hons) Acting: 64 UCAS tariff points, 3 GCSEs at C, and selection by audition.
BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice: Academic entry requirements range between 120 and 96 UCAS tariff points and selection by interview.
BA (Hons) Theatre Practice: Academic entry requirements range between 120 and 64 UCAS tariff points and selection by interview.
Application method (UCAS/direct; audition fee; deadlines)
All applications go through the UCAS system. Apply before 26 January 2023 to guarantee an audition or interview.
For BA (Hons) Acting, there is an audition fee of £40 but we offer free audition and travel bursaries to eligible applicants in England. You can view details of this at cssd.ac.uk/freeauditions. For courses where selection is through interview, there is no fee.
Audition process/preparation required
At the initial audition stage candidates will be considered for all three BA (Hons) Acting courses through the one audition, and should prepare all requirements, regardless of their preferred course.
For the first round you will need to prepare:
- One memorised classical speech
- One memorised contemporary speech
- One devised piece, inspired by a painting
- One memorised song
The audition process is comprised of three rounds. Full details can be found on the ‘Auditions Process – BA Acting’ page on our website.
Information is correct at the time of publishing. Audition requirements are subject to change, please refer to the Central website for the latest details.
