THE COURSE
A key objective of the course is to nurture students in the development of their own thoughts and ideas, to encourage individuality of expression and foster creative confidence.
There will be chance to write, direct and perform as well as opportunities to develop original theatre work. During the course students will discover new areas of ability that will provide the foundations for future creative endeavour.
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Our Team
Deborah trained at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama. After spending time lecturing in movement and drama as a freelancer at Stratford-upon-Avon College and Birmingham Conservatoire, she set up Year Out Drama. Deborah has remained as the creative force leading it. She has also directed numerous productions and projects with generations of students in the successful years the course has been running.
Alastair has been working for Year Out Drama for 10 years and became Assistant Director in 2018. He has directed numerous productions in that time for both Year Out Drama and The Comeback Company. Previous productions have included The Suicide, Under Milk Wood, Blue Stockings, The Visit and The Threepenny Opera. He is a graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, with an MA in Advanced Theatre Practice.
Alastair has also worked as a freelance director, writer and workshop facilitator and has created and performed original work for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Dylan Thomas in Fitzrovia Festival.
Kath has been choreographing and teaching for Year Out Drama for 20 years. She teaches extensively in Classical Ballet, Contemporary Dance, jazz dance and choreography as well as examining A Level Dance and standardising BTEC Dance. She is also well known in the genre of historical dance as both a performer and teacher. Her roles include Artistic Director of Stratford Renaissance Dance, Co-Founder of Apollo’s Revels – a baroque and dance ensemble, performer and teacher with Mercurius Company, and Forewoman of the Shakespeare Morris women’s side. She also choreographs for Heartbreak Productions.
Joe’s Musical Director and arranger credits include the Olivier nominated Josephine and I (Bush Theatre and Public Theater, New York), The Miser (BBC Radio 3) Not Such Quiet Girls (Opera North and Leeds Playhouse), All I Want is One Night (Manchester Royal Exchange), Pat Kirkwood is Angry (59E59 Theaters, New York) and Liza Pulman Sings Streisand (West End and UK tour).
His compositions for stage include Carnation for a Song, She Ventures and He Wins (plus lyrics), Sing Before You Speak Again (all Young Vic), Scene Unseen (Stapleford Granary / Royal and Derngate) and Cabaret Macabre (British Youth Music Theatre). TV composition credits include Mud, Sweat and Tractors and Shooting the War (BBC4). Other recent engagements include artist-in-residence at the 2021 Lichfield Festival plus cabaret appearances at Live at Zedel, the Cadogan Hall and the Liverpool Philharmonic.
Joe joined the Year Out Drama team in 2003 and has been a member of the Globe’s Higher Education Faculty since 2009. He trained at New College, Oxford and the Royal Academy of Music.
Visiting Professionals
Sarah is a director and writer. Her directing credits include: Henry IV pt 1, Henry IV pt 2, Henry V, Sweet Love Remember’d (Shakespeare’s Globe); All Places that the Eye of Heaven Visits (Shakespeare’s Globe/Westminster Abbey); The Process (Baz Productions / The Bunker); Groomed (Brighton Theatre Royal); Sitting (Arcola / BBC Arts ); on/off Henry (Arcola); dreamplay, Macbeth, Prophesy (BAZ Productions); Parallelist (Aldeburgh Music Festival); Further than the Furthest Thing (Young Vic); Reality (Oval House); City Love (Bussey Building); Some Kind of (1)derful (charity fundraiser); The Riots, Three Days in the Country (Rose Bruford); Zero for the Young Dudes! (Central School of Speech and Drama); Her Naked Skin (Bristol Old Vic Theatre School); Plaques and Tangles (RADA). Development work at HighTide festival, Finborough, Pleasance, Soho Theatre, Dartington Hall, Wilton’s Music Hall and Shakespeare’s Globe.
Adam started his professional life as an actor in 1983, and then moved into young people’s theatre and drama teaching (mostly in Further Education). In 2009 he left teaching to focus on a career as a freelance actor, theatre director and acting/performance coach and workshop facilitator.
He qualified as a life coach in 2018, with an Advanced Certificate in Executive Coaching.
In December 2018 Adam joined Olivier Mythodrama Associates as a Coach/Facilitator, delivering leadership training to high-profile organisations across the world. Through OMA, he has trained as an Archetypal Coach, and is a Founding Practitioner for the Archetypes At Work™ Guild.
Adam now combines one-to-one and team coaching (both corporate and private), group facilitation and online teaching.
Simon is an actor and musical theatre performer. His many London credits include three Stephen Sondheim original West End productions: Follies, Passion and Sunday in the Park With George His most recent theatre credits include Titanic The Musical (Southwark Playhouse, UK Tour, Toronto), Privates On Parade (Union Theatre), Mrs. Henderson Presents’(Toronto) and Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (UK tour). Together with his musical director, David Shrubsole, he won New York’s 2017 Drama Desk Award for their cabaret, Life Is For Living.
As an actor, Jason has performed with many leading theatre companies including the RSC, the RNT, Headlong, Cheek by Jowl and The Wrestling School, premiering new work by major writers such as Howard Barker, Peter Barnes and Steven Berkoff and Michael Hastings. Along with many television appearances his films include Biddy, Damage, Wilde, Mrs Brown and Affinity.
As a director his work includes Love is Only Love (The Other Palace), The Cutting of the Cloth (RNT Studio), Berkoff’s Women (Leicester Haymarket), Love, Loss and Chianti (Minerva Theatre, Chichester) Against Prejudice (Belgrade Theatre, Coventry), The Terrors of the Night (Wanamaker Theatre at Shakespeare’s Globe) and many productions for the Read not Dead seasons at Shakespeare’s Globe. In 2014 he created and directed the 50 event festival week for London’s celebration of Dylan Thomas’s centenary, Dylan Thomas in Fitzrovia.
Hannah is a freelance theatre and opera director, co-artistic director of fringe opera company, Opera’r Ddraig and an associate director of new writing company, Chippy Lane Productions.
Tim is a composer, lyricist and musical director, who has worked with Year Out Drama for several years. Recent work includes the music for Unfortunate: the Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch (Underbelly, Edinburgh). Other shows include book, music and lyrics for Stay Awake, Jake (VAULT Festival, 2016) – which won the VAULT Origins Award for new work, and the S&S Award in 2014 – and the music for Great Expectations (workshop at National Theatre Studios, 2019).
Joe studied Music at the University of Birmingham. He also has diplomas in Music from LCM, and in piano performance from ABRSM. He studied joint voice and piano performance as part of his BMus degree, and has extensive experience coaching singers in Classical, Pop and Musical Theatre. Joe works as an Associate Lecturer in Musical Theatre at Performers College Birmingham, lecturing in voice on their BA Musical Theatre course. Through his role here he is currently training to be a voice specialist, working towards a PgCert and Estill figure proficiency.
Across the Midlands he works as a musical director, conductor, accompanist, and teaches voice and piano around the region. He is an Associate Conductor for Unlimited Voices Choir, which regularly goes on concert tours round the UK. He started training as an MD with First Act Theatre in Newcastle Upon Tyne in 2012, and has worked on a wide range of different musicals with several different groups since then.
Michael currently teaches as a guest practitioner, visiting lecturer and coach in Acting for Performance, Voice and Classical Text at The Rose Bruford College of the Arts.
For many years, Michael was Senior Voice and Text Associate and Senior Associate Education Practitioner with the Royal Shakespeare Company working across a number of projects, both in-reach an out-reach.
Jack graduated from Circomedia in 2016 with a BA in Circus and Physical Performance. As resident juggler of the Foolhardy Circus he has extensive experience as a performer and tutor. He has also toured with the Ministry of Burlesque and Circus Thirty Six and regularly teach and run workshops at schools, festivals and corporate events.
Course Fees
The Course Fee for 2024/25 is £7,750.
A non-refundable deposit of £750 is requested upon accepting a place on Year Out Drama in order to cover administration.
The remaining balance of £7000 is due in two instalments, half at the start of Term 1 and half at the start of Term 2.
The fee includes:
- All tuition, workshops and production costs for performance work.
- Transport and tickets for the many theatre trips the group enjoys.
- In addition, the fee covers the hire of the performance venues, professional directors, technicians, producers and publicity throughout the year.
The fee does not include:
- Accommodation
- Expenses incurred whilst living in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Students are encouraged to apply for suitable part-time jobs. These are abundant in Stratford-upon-Avon in the many restaurants, bars and hotels. Company members need to understand that these jobs need to work round the demands of the course and to negotiate with their employers accordingly.
Student Commitment
Serious commitment is expected from all students. Any student failing to maintain this commitment may be required to leave the course, and, under these circumstances, will not receive a refund of course fees.
Each company member will have their own en-suite room as well as access to a shared kitchen and living area.
Upon accepting your place with the Year Out Drama Company, we will discuss with you what is available.
Living in stratford-upon-avon
Each company member will have their own en-suite room as well as access to a shared kitchen and living area.
Upon accepting your place with the Year Out Drama Company, we will discuss with you what is available.