Guildford School of Acting at the University of Surrey is one of the most highly regarded theatre schools in the UK with a vibrant community of performers, performance makers, creative practitioners and technicians graduating from our wide variety of programmes each year.
Building on a heritage of over 85 years and our reputation as arguably the leading musical theatre school in the world, we are passionate about helping our students to develop the practical, inter-personal and intellectual skills needed to make them employable in today’s highly competitive and ever-evolving creative industry.
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Discussion & Q&A with Trans & Nonbinary Creatives
We were delighted to welcome an exciting selection of trans and nonbinary professionals to GSA for a trans-led, hour-long panel discussion and Q&A. The panel consisted of professionals from different areas of the creative industry including creative producers, performers, an intimacy coordinator, a
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Welcome, Freshers of 2023 - A Message From Your Student Society
Welcome to the Guildford School of Acting, Freshers of 2023! 🎉 Congratulations on securing your place at GSA! We're thrilled to have you join our community of performers, performance makers, creative practitioners and technicians. We're the GSA Student Society, and we're here to ensure your time at
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GSA alumnus Kobna Holdbrook-Smith MBE awarded Degree of Doctor of the University, honoris causa
Congratulations to GSA alumnus and GSA Advisory Group member Kobna Holdbrook-Smith MBE , on his award of an Honorary Doctorate Degree by the University of Surrey, in recognition of his extraordinary acting achievements and impactful advocacy for the arts. Presenting Kobna with the award at the July
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Meet your technician: Roger Ness
GSA Technician and Set Designer Roger Ness tell us about his long career at Surrey and why he looks forward to coming to work every day. How long have you been working at the Guildford School of Acting, University of Surrey? I came to GSA in early 2000 to paint three sets, which went to the Electric
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GSA Alumni win at the 2023 Oscars and BAFTA awards
Two Guildford School of Acting alumni are celebrating global success after triumphing at this year’s Oscar and BAFTA Awards. Tom Berkeley and Ross White, who graduated from the BA Acting course in 2017, won the 2023 Best Short Film (Live Action) Oscar award for writing and directing ‘ An Irish
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Mig Burgess Walsh on ABTT's Work Related Stress Risk Assessments Guidance
The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) launched Guidance Note W2: Mental health and well-being in the workplace - A practical guide to conducting Stress Risk Assessments and creating well-being policies in November 2022. GSA's Senior Lecturer and ABTT's Co-Chair, Mig Burgess Walsh
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Leading the Way on Inclusivity - GSA Pilots New Way of Delivering Audio Description for Its Audience
GSA’s autumn production of Once in a Lifetime will pilot a new way of delivering audio description for audiences at the Ivy Arts Centre. As one of the most highly-regarded theatre schools in the UK , GSA is leading the way on inclusivity in the industry using Sennheiser Mobile Connect, which allows
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Welcome from Head of School, Dr Catherine McNamara
On behalf of all of the staff at GSA, I am delighted to welcome the new academic year. You may know that I started in the role of Head of GSA in mid-May. I saw a wide range of student work in the weeks leading up the end of term which was energising and inspirational. I’m very much looking forward
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Final year Acting Students Among the Winners and Long Listed for the BBC Carleton Hobbs Bursary Award
Final year BA (Hons) Acting students, Tom Kiteley and Ruth Sparks took part in the BBC Carleton Hobbs Bursary Award (CHBA) 2022 earlier this year and achieved outstanding results. We are so excited to share that Tom won the Award and joined the Radio Company on 23 rd July to complete his 5-month
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Her Majesty The Queen
A statement from Professor Max Lu, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey: "On behalf of the University of Surrey community, I want to offer my most profound and sincere condolences to the Royal Family. Our University, along with people the world over, is mourning the passing of
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Life-changing, global experiences with the Turing Scheme
We’re delighted to announce the University of Surrey’s £1.7m government grant for the Turing Scheme and want you to know how to get the most out of it at GSA. What is the Turing Scheme? The scheme offers students in the current 2021/22 academic year and 2021 graduates the chance to take part in a
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GSA offers fully-funded Foundation places to broaden inclusion
GSA is offering up to four fully-funded places on its highly regarded, year-long Foundation Acting and Foundation Musical Theatre courses, meaning some students will be able to study for free. The bursaries, which cover all fees and are worth up to £10,100 each, are being offered to students
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Shakespeare on demand for schools, colleges and youth groups
As people around the world commemorate the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth and death on 23 rd April, GSA is making screenings of its recent productions of two Shakespeare plays available to schools, colleges and youth groups. The contemporary setting of this abridged version of Hamlet
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Alumni needed for new mentoring scheme
A new online platform is connecting graduating students with alumni working in relevant fields, enabling former GSA students to support those just finishing their courses. SurreyConnects brings alumni and students together for networking and short-term mentoring. The idea is that mentors and
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Meet Guildford School of Acting's appointed EDI Directors
Meet GSA's appointed EDI Directors Nina Kristofferson is a multi award winning actor, singer, writer (including The Billy Holiday Story and Timeless ), producer, director, recording artist, GSA alumna and GSA Teaching Fellow in Singing. @ninaspage @ninakristofferson Dr Cathy Sloan is a theatre-maker
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GSA's new audition fee widens access and improves representation
GSA's new audition fee widens access and improves representation. As applications open, Guildford School of Acting (GSA) are delighted to announce new audition and interview processes and fee structures for 2021 entry. Head of GSA, Professor Sean McNamara says “2020 has been a year of profound
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The Ella Balinska Scholarship 2021
The Ella Balinska Scholarship 2021 GSA is delighted to announce the establishment of the Ella Balinska Scholarship. O ffered by GSA graduate and Hollywood actress, Ella Balinska, the scholarship will be a financial award to one first-year student on the Acting BA (Hons) course in 2021, who is part
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GSA adds muscle to its production students’ qualification
GSA adds muscle to its production students’ qualification We are very pleased to formally announce that the BA Theatre Production Degree at The Guildford School of Acting has now successfully integrated the ABTT Bronze Award into its programme. Students will now have the opportunity to gain not only
