British American Drama Academy
The British American Drama Academy is a drama school in London, in the United Kingdom. It is affiliated with Sarah Lawrence College and Yale University.
Background
The British American Drama Academy (BADA) was founded in 1983 by Tony Branch and Carolyn Sands based upon an idea they developed whilst living in La Jolla, California in 1982. Its goal is to enable students from around the world to study classical theatre with leading actors and directors of the British theatre.
The BADA's aim was also to bring the best British directors and teachers together with young actors of great promise in North America and from elsewhere. Working initially from his apartment in La Jolla, Anthony enlisted volunteers (including James Pearson, Robert Zimmerman, and many others) to help organize the first class for the first summer program, which was planned to be in Santa Fe, New Mexico. [1]
The program moved in 1985 to Regents Park, London, in order to be better connected with the British theatreworld. Since 1988, it has been affiliated with Sarah Lawrence College, which has spring and fall semesters with BADA in London for credit.[2]
Midsummer in Oxford Programme
Running since 1984, BADA holds an intensive, month-long programme known as the 'Midsummer in Oxford' programme (MIO), in which participants study, live and work alongside BADA and its associated practitioners in Oxford. The programme is based in Magdalen College in Oxford University. It is run in association with Yale School of Drama.[3]
Notable alumni
Past students have included:
- Simone Missick
- Michael Arata
- Jacinda Barrett
- Byrdie Bell
- Orlando Bloom[4]
- Chadwick Boseman[4]
- Brian Patrick Butler[5]
- Jack Davenport[4]
- Brandon Victor Dixon
- Chiara de Luca
- Jennifer Ehle[4]
- Melissa Errico[4]
- Sam Feuer[4]
- Paul Giamatti[4]
- Peri Gilpin
- Mamie Gummer[4]
- Anna Gunn
- Noah Harlan
- Jamie Kennedy
- Yunjin Kim[4]
- Tarell Alvin McCraney[4]
- T.J. Miller
- Elizabeth Mitchell
- Ruth Negga[4]
- Nicole Oliver[6]
- Oliver Platt[4]
- Paul Rudd[4]
- Marco Sanchez
- David Schwimmer[4]
- Billy Slaughter
- Adam Smoluk
- Ryan Jamaal Swain[4]
- Nicole Sullivan[4]
- Joy Tanner
- Justin Theroux[4]
- Tracie Thoms[4]
- Nicolas Wright
- Bellamy Young
Teachers
Those running masterclasses at BADA have included: Ben Kingsley, Judi Dench, Rosemary Harris, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Juliet Stevenson, Simon McBurney, John Barton, Brian Cox, Dorothy Tutin, Sir Derek Jacobi, Kelly Hunter, and Jeremy Irons.
References
- Founding of the BADA, Interviews by S. Washington, Masters Thesis, Yale University, 1998
- "BADA's History – BADA". www.bada.org.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- "British American Drama Academy (BADA): Midsummer in Oxford Program | Study Abroad | Yale University". studyabroad.yale.edu. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- "BADA Alumni". British American Drama Academy. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- "The Elephant Man" (PDF). San Diego Story. 2016.
- "Nicole Oliver Biography". Retrieved 13 April 2014.
She continued her studies in London and Oxford at the prestigious British American Dramatic Academy, an institution that is affiliated with Yale University. Nicole had a dream team of instructors, including Jeremy Irons.