East 15 Acting School

East 15 Acting School, sometimes known simply as East 15, is a drama school based in Essex, England. It provides vocational training in acting, specialist performance disciplines, theatre directing, stage management, and creative producing. The school was established in 1961 by Margaret Bury, a member of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop. Since 2000, its degrees are conferred by the University of Essex.

History

East 15 Acting School was founded in 1961 by Margaret Bury.
East 15 draws its origins from the work of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop. Margaret Bury was part of the Theatre Workshop for 14 years before starting East 15 Acting School in 1961. She drew on the teaching methods and philosophies of the Theatre Workshop, and its guiding principles continue to inform East 15's teaching and productions today.
In 2000, East 15 found established its partnership with the University of Essex. At its inception, Essex's founding Vice-Chancellor, Sir Albert Sloman, emphasised that "radical innovation" would be at the heart of its approach, including new specialist performance courses and the creation of new facilities, including the Clifftown Theatre and a motion capture studio served by 30 Vicon sensors.

Description

East 15 is located in the county of Essex in England. The school provides vocational training in acting, specialist performance disciplines, theatre directing, stage management, and creative producing. It offers a number of undergraduate and postgraduate courses across two campuses, located in Loughton and Southend-on-Sea. Its degrees are awarded by the University of Essex, with which it merged on 1 September 2000.
Since around 2014 and as of 2025 the director of East 15 is Chris Main.
East 15 is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools.

Ranking

In 2025, East 15, was ranked 1st the UK in for Drama and Dance.

Notable alumni

Notable graduates from East 15 include:

Damon Albarn and Marc Warren attended the institution but did not graduate.