Theatretrain

Theatretrain is a Performing Arts organisation founded by teacher/director Kevin Dowsett in 1992. It gives part-time training in drama, dance and singing to children and young people aged between 6 and 18 years of age. Since 1993 it has grown into one of the largest professional performing arts training organisations in the country. There are currently over 70 Centres across the UK and Ireland.

Theatretrain was founded by Kevin Dowsett who spent 14 years as a Head of Drama and GCSE examiner in schools in the West Midlands and London. He went on to become the Theatre Tutor at the ILEA’s Curtain Theatre where he created a variety of theatre training programmes and established the respected Curtain Youth Theatre. Later he taught acting extensively in drama schools including Rose Bruford College, East 15 Acting School, ALRA and the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts where he was Head of Acting. He also taught Advanced Acting Process (a course for professional actors) for 6 years at the City Lit in London.

When his job disappeared in government cutbacks in the early 90s Dowsett used his extensive experience of education and theatre to create a new approach for training young people in the performing arts. He realised that much performing arts training was based on an examination system conducted through classes. He wanted to make it more creative and closer to a theatre experience rather than school. He devised a system that allowed each young person to perform live theatre to the highest possible standard and where possible to incorporate their own ideas.

Almost immediately the company began to expand and franchises were established across the country. Each centre is managed by a Centre Director and a creative team that includes teachers of drama, dance and singing who also have the skills of direction, choreography or musical direction. It was decided early on that prices of classes would be kept at a level affordable by most families. This mixing of backgrounds has had the result in making Theatretrain an eclectic and vibrant company. Qualities that are encouraged include friendliness, imagination, energy, enthusiasm, openness, generosity, commitment and leadership skills. Sound, movement, attitude and storytelling are at the heart of the system, as well as connecting with the audience. There is strong interplay between the three disciplines of the performing arts (act, dance and sing) and skills learnt in one area cross fertilise those in another. Dowsett did this by incorporating the skills of ensemble theatre – in this way Theatretrain is a company rather than just a series of different centres. By coming together annually to perform, friendships are created between pupils and between centres so that they learn from each other. There is a strong sense of camaraderie with the sense of team connecting every teacher, Centre Director and pupil as they learn to be part of something bigger than themselves.

...
Wikipedia