The Stage Scholarships 2024: win acting training at the Bridge

For the first time, The Stage Scholarships is teaming up with the Bridge Theatre Training Company. This London-based organisation is offering two half-scholarships on either its two-year professional acting course or one-year postgraduate/experience acting course. This fantastic offer will provide comprehensive career guidance, with plenty of opportunities to present work to the industry through a season of productions and showcases. The total value of this scholarship opportunity is £8,550.

The Bridge was established in its Camden Town home in 1993 by joint artistic directors Judith Pollard and Mark Akrill and other creatives who felt that training opportunities were often too expensive.

“We wanted to make a high calibre of training available to everyone. And that meant that we would have people from all kinds of backgrounds and all kinds of nationalities and races. There would be people that  reflected society as it is, rather than just drawn from one part of it,” says Akrill.

The two-year acting course consists of intense training and preparation in all aspects of theatre, including screen and radio training as well as acting, stage combat, voice and speech, movement and classical theatre.

“We’re very keen on stage combat,” adds Akrill. “We have a very good record with a course headed-up by Andrew Ashenden and Period Dance. Huw Prall from Shakespeare’s Globe has been teaching students about dance from the 12th to the 18th century for over 20 years. We are not a massive institution, so there could be anything between 30 to 45 students at one time. It’s quite intimate as a company and there’s a family atmosphere. The people who teach are all drawn from the industry – actors, choreographers, directors – who are bringing modern industry practices to the students. The teaching changes as the industry changes. Today, having an online presence or understanding how to do a good self-tape can be vital.”

The one-year postgraduate/experience acting course is a condensed programme of training for graduates of any discipline or with some acting experience. There is a minimum age of 21 years for this course, but no upper age limit. Students have courses tailored to needs as well as career-related studies, such as self-tape, auditions and acting for screen.

“We start with intensive classes and then, in the second term and third term, students will do a main classical or
Shakespeare production for the public. They will also do then a West End showcase and a contemporary play in the summer. I suppose that the name the Bridge implies that we’re bridging lots of different approaches. We encourage the actors to make their own approach and take the training that suits them best,” says Akrill.

In the first instance, auditions will be held by Akrill and his co-artistic director Pollard, with possibly a few graduates or students on the panel. If accepted, students can then apply for a scholarship by email, detailing their circumstances, what the training means to them and why they need financial support. Scholarship auditions will take place at a later date, after the trustees have looked over the applications.

Details: the Bridge training

Course: Two-year professional acting or one-year postgraduate/experience acting course
Educational level: 18+ for the two-year course and 21+ for the postgraduate
Number of scholarships offered: Two half-scholarships on either course
Value of scholarship: £8,550 (2 x £4,275)
What costs are covered? Fees only
Where is the school? Cecil Sharp House,
2 Regent’s Park Road, London NW1 7AY
Likely audition date: August 2024
How do I apply? Apply via website. Scholarship applications are submitted upon successful audition and acceptance of place on the course

Keep an eye out on thestage.co.uk as we launch the individual scholarships for each school over the next three months