Industry Partnerships

There are many benefits for students from Central’s excellent formal and informal partnerships with professional bodies, national and international consortia, local and international communities and the theatre industry.

Central’s London location places it ideally for access to the wealth of theatre, media and creative industries and professional bodies that act as its partners and, of course, the 2012 Olympics.

As the UK’s designated Centre for Excellence in Training for Theatre, sector-wide collaboration continues to flourish at Central, and our commitment to working alongside our partners is reflected in the work placements, collaborations and outreach work that are an integral part of many of Central’s courses and the student experience.
 

Relationship to industry

What do we mean when we talk about ‘our industries’? Comprising mainly freelancers and small-to-medium enterprises, the drama, theatre and performance industries are a complex ecosystem of diversely specialist practitioners and service providers, which, as a whole, makes an important contribution to the national and international creative economies, while also bringing equally important social benefits. Central is proud to serve this industry in all its interrelated parts. From the drama teacher or workshop leader who uses theatre in local communities in order to ‘make a difference’ and who, in doing so, reseeds the relevance of live theatre and develops new audiences and participants, to those who specialise in the techniques and technologies of theatre production, management and design, to the actors who ‘front’ the industry, both onstage and off: each of these roles is indispensible to the whole. It is this inclusivity and this ethos of collaboration that characterises the experience you will have as one of our students.

At Central you will encounter the theatre ecosystem in microcosm and have the opportunity to be part of an extended community of fellow actors, creative writers, artists, directors, designers, technicians, managers, performers and dramaturges, along with those who teach drama, study, critique and theorise it, use its techniques in clinical therapy or apply its processes within communities in order to achieve social benefits.

However, we also consider it important, since our graduates will shape the future of our industries, to encourage students to think critically about the world in which they will work, to have ideas about how they might change it, and to enter into debate with professionals about orthodox practices and approaches.

We also work with a wide range of organisations in the industry for the purpose of student placements and work experience.