A few weeks ago I was taken to task on the letters page of The Stage by the principal of a Conference of Drama Schools institution who accused me of generalising about the 22 CDS members, each of which is different from the other 21.
Well, of course, I know that no two training organisations are the same and that each has its own highly distinctive features. Some CDS members, such as LIPA, are not even drama schools in the accepted sense. Several are, effectively, university departments. Some are also music conservatoires. And nearly all have diversified in recent years to meet the industry’s changing needs.
Nonetheless, although uniqueness is an absolute quality shared by all members, some certainly seem to have more USPs than others. Take Cygnet Training Theatre (CTT) in Exeter. It is the only CDS member in the South West peninsula - Bristol Old Vic, the nearest rival, is a long way off if you live in Penzance.
Founded in 1980, CTT is a company of actors, aged mostly 18 to 35, which functions as a small-scale touring company throughout the south west. An extensive programme of work in and with schools is part of the training.
CTT grew out of an association between the late Monica Shallis, Mary Evans and Exeter’s Northcott Theatre. Its unusual way of working - ‘the best of conservatoire and practical experience of working in a theatre ensemble’ - means that there are only four or five ‘graduates’ each year. And, especially toward the end of the course, almost everything they do is, effectively, a showcase.
CTT’s three-year, full time Professional Acting Course is arranged in nine terms. Acting with Music and Acting with Drama are other options. There are intensive short courses for actors too at Easter and in the summer: 26-30 April and 8-11 August in 2011.
Recent productions have included Women of Troy, Blithe Spirit, Just So and The Tempest - a mixed and varied bag by anyone’s standards.
So it’s another way of working - and, I think, a sensible option to investigate if you don’t want college based training. Is there, I wonder, scope for the replication of CTT’s methodology in other parts of the country ill-served by the Big Players?
I have seen work from this drama school and I have to say it is no where in comparison with other drama schools who are leagues ahead.
They were shockingly bad in the past three years at The Wannamaker Festival. Scenes were over long and lacking truth.
I have also seen a couple of their other productions (why did I do this to myself?) and the movement/voice work is shoddy and simply not detailed enough.
The work is generalised, hammy and sadly very amateurish. It makes me wonder how they qualified for CDS status.
Is this a blog or an advert?
Just drawing attention to something not very well known, Pete and which may, just possibly, be of interest to potential trainees. I have no axe to grind and no personal contacts at Cygnet.