Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
Encyclopedia
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts is an independent drama school
situated in the Wood Green
area of North London
. It was founded in 1945 by Peter Coxhead and Ralph Nossek as 'The Mountview Theatre Club', an amateur repertory company staging a new production for a six-day run every second week .
Among the club's achievements were Coxhead's staging of Eugene O'Neill
's Mourning Becomes Electra
, a production of the complete Arnold Wesker
Trilogy - Chicken Soup with Barley
, Roots
and I'm Talking about Jerusalem directed by Peter Scott-Smith - and Buttered Both Sides, a revue written and composed by Mountview member Ted Dicks and directed by Gale Webb, which later transferred to the Fortune Theatre
in London's West End
.
In the early 1970s, the amateur group was ousted by premises freeholder Coxhead to allow his new commercial theatre school unimpeded access to the theatre and its ancillary facilities.
The school's courses are accredited by the National Council for Drama Training
. The degree courses are also validated by the University of East Anglia
The main full-time courses include a 3-year B.A. Hons. in Musical Theatre
or Acting
, and a 2-year degree in Production Arts. Mountview also offers 1-year Postgraduate Diploma and M.A. Performance courses in Acting and Musical Theatre and 1-year Postgraduate Diplomas in Directing, Musical Direction and Production Arts. The Academy also has a Community Access and Development Department which runs part-time courses in most performance disciplines.
In 2006, Dame Judi Dench
replaced Sir John Mills
as president.
In 2007, the British reality television
show E4 School of Performing Arts
offered several would-be actors the chance to win scholarship
s to Mountview, Italia Conti
and the ACM
. Mountview's Director of Acting Programme Amir Korangy appeared on the show as part of the panel.
In 2011, Mountview principal Sue Robertson announced plans for the school to relocate to the Hornsey Town Hall
in Crouch End
, north London
, by the beginning of the 2014-15 academic year. The Grade II-listed building will be refurbished in a £19 million project. Haringey Council's cabinet approved the plan on 26 April 2011, however a planning application must be submitted and English Heritage approval granted before work may start on the revised refurbishment.
Drama school
A drama school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution ; which specialises in the pre-professional training in drama and theatre arts, such as acting, design and technical theatre, arts administration, and...
situated in the Wood Green
Wood Green
Wood Green is a district in north London, England, located in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated north of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London.-History:...
area of North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
. It was founded in 1945 by Peter Coxhead and Ralph Nossek as 'The Mountview Theatre Club', an amateur repertory company staging a new production for a six-day run every second week .
Among the club's achievements were Coxhead's staging of Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
's Mourning Becomes Electra
Mourning Becomes Electra
Mourning Becomes Electra is a play cycle written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26 October 1931 where it ran for 150 performances before closing in March 1932...
, a production of the complete Arnold Wesker
Arnold Wesker
Sir Arnold Wesker is a prolific British dramatist known for his contributions to kitchen sink drama. He is the author of 42 plays, 4 volumes of short stories, 2 volumes of essays, a book on journalism, a children's book, extensive journalism, poetry and other assorted writings...
Trilogy - Chicken Soup with Barley
Chicken Soup with Barley
Chicken Soup with Barley is a 1956 play by British playwright Arnold Wesker. It is the first of a trilogy and was first performed on stage in 1958 at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, where Wesker's two other plays of that trilogy—Roots and I'm Talking About Jerusalem—also premiered...
, Roots
Roots (play)
Roots is the second play by Arnold Wesker in The Wesker Trilogy. The first part is Chicken Soup with Barley and the final play I'm Talking about Jerusalem. Roots focuses on Beatie Bryant as she makes the transition from being an uneducated working-class woman obsessed with Ronnie, her unseen...
and I'm Talking about Jerusalem directed by Peter Scott-Smith - and Buttered Both Sides, a revue written and composed by Mountview member Ted Dicks and directed by Gale Webb, which later transferred to the Fortune Theatre
Fortune Theatre
The Fortune Theatre is a 432 seat West End theatre in Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, built in 1922-4 by Ernest Schaufelberg for impresario Laurence Cowen. The façade is principally bush hammered concrete, with brick piers supporting the roof...
in London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
.
In the early 1970s, the amateur group was ousted by premises freeholder Coxhead to allow his new commercial theatre school unimpeded access to the theatre and its ancillary facilities.
The school's courses are accredited by the National Council for Drama Training
National Council for Drama Training
The National Council for Drama Training is a partnership of employers in the theatre, broadcast and media industry, employee representatives and training providers....
. The degree courses are also validated by the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
The main full-time courses include a 3-year B.A. Hons. in Musical Theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
or Acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
, and a 2-year degree in Production Arts. Mountview also offers 1-year Postgraduate Diploma and M.A. Performance courses in Acting and Musical Theatre and 1-year Postgraduate Diplomas in Directing, Musical Direction and Production Arts. The Academy also has a Community Access and Development Department which runs part-time courses in most performance disciplines.
In 2006, Dame Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
replaced Sir John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
as president.
In 2007, the British reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show E4 School of Performing Arts
E4 School of Performing Arts
E4 School of Performing Arts was a UK TV programme with a running time of 45-47 minutes....
offered several would-be actors the chance to win scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s to Mountview, Italia Conti
Italia Conti Academy
The Italia Conti Academy is a theatre arts training school based in London. It was founded in 1911 by actress Italia Conti...
and the ACM
Academy of Contemporary Music
The Academy of Contemporary Music is a music academy located in Guildford, Surrey, England.The school differs from more traditional music academies by its focus on rock and pop music, and its vocational approach...
. Mountview's Director of Acting Programme Amir Korangy appeared on the show as part of the panel.
In 2011, Mountview principal Sue Robertson announced plans for the school to relocate to the Hornsey Town Hall
Hornsey Town Hall
Hornsey Town Hall is a public building in Crouch End area of Hornsey, London. Built in 1935, it was the first major UK building to be constructed in the Modernist style. Designed by architect Reginald Uren 1933-1935, the building shows the influence of Hilversum town hall in the Netherlands and...
in Crouch End
Crouch End
Crouch End is an area of north London, in the London Borough of Haringey.- Location :Crouch End is in a valley between Harringay to the east, Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green to the north, Finsbury Park and Archway to the south and Highgate to the west...
, north London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, by the beginning of the 2014-15 academic year. The Grade II-listed building will be refurbished in a £19 million project. Haringey Council's cabinet approved the plan on 26 April 2011, however a planning application must be submitted and English Heritage approval granted before work may start on the revised refurbishment.