The Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) is a British drama school situated on Wandsworth Common, South West London and in Wigan, Greater Manchester making it the only CDS drama school to offer identical training at two separate institutions across The United Kingdom. It was founded in 1979 by director and actor Sorrel Carson who then directed the school as its Principal until 2001. The current Directors of the school are Clive Duncan and Adrian Hall. ALRA was the first drama school to offer training which included all media; live theatre, film, TV and Radio. Now 30 years old, ALRA is still the only CDS drama school to offer all four media forms throughout the entire three years of training to its acting students.
ALRA is a member of the Conference of Drama Schools (CDS), runs courses accredited by the National Council for Drama Training NCDT and receives funding from the Young People's Learning Agency YPLA. It is one of only twenty-one schools approved to offer Government funded Dance and Drama Awards, a scheme established to subsidise the cost of professional dance and drama training for the most talented students, at leading institutions.The first and original location, now dubbed ALRA South, is located within the Royal Victoria Patriotic Building, a Victorian Gothic Grade 2 listed building on the edge of Wandsworth Common, South West London.
The second location, named ALRA North, will be located in Wigan, Greater Manchester in a newly refurbished state of the art complex. ALRA North accept its first group of students in September 2010. The curriculum and teaching methods will be exactly the same as ALRA South’s and as such all courses at ALRA North are still accredited by NCDT, recognised by the CDS, the degrees awarded by Greenwich University and diplomas awarded by Trinity College London. The only difference between the two institutions is that the fees at ALRA North are substantially lower than that of ALRA South due to the lower running costs incurred by its location.Students accepted onto any of ALRA’s courses now have the choice of which institution they would prefer to study at. Acting students studying at ALRA South will now stop at ALRA North during the touring sections of their 3rd year productions and will receive a showcase at ALRA South, The Criterion Theatre (London) and at ALRA North to ensure maximum exposure to industry professionals. Acting students at ALRA North will also benefit from the same exposure.
ALRA is a member of the Conference of Drama Schools (CDS), runs courses accredited by the National Council for Drama Training NCDT and receives funding from the Young People's Learning Agency YPLA. It is one of only twenty-one schools approved to offer Government funded Dance and Drama Awards, a scheme established to subsidise the cost of professional dance and drama training for the most talented students, at leading institutions.The first and original location, now dubbed ALRA South, is located within the Royal Victoria Patriotic Building, a Victorian Gothic Grade 2 listed building on the edge of Wandsworth Common, South West London.
The second location, named ALRA North, will be located in Wigan, Greater Manchester in a newly refurbished state of the art complex. ALRA North accept its first group of students in September 2010. The curriculum and teaching methods will be exactly the same as ALRA South’s and as such all courses at ALRA North are still accredited by NCDT, recognised by the CDS, the degrees awarded by Greenwich University and diplomas awarded by Trinity College London. The only difference between the two institutions is that the fees at ALRA North are substantially lower than that of ALRA South due to the lower running costs incurred by its location.Students accepted onto any of ALRA’s courses now have the choice of which institution they would prefer to study at. Acting students studying at ALRA South will now stop at ALRA North during the touring sections of their 3rd year productions and will receive a showcase at ALRA South, The Criterion Theatre (London) and at ALRA North to ensure maximum exposure to industry professionals. Acting students at ALRA North will also benefit from the same exposure.