Northern-based performers will benefit from the launch of a new drama course which marks the latest development in the highly successful partnership between Manchester’s award-winning Hope Mill Theatre and London arts producer Aria Entertainment.
Aria’s Katy Lipson and Hope Mill’s Joseph Houston and William Whelton are the driving forces behind Hope Aria Academy, a part-time drama course which will launch in April 2019.
In a statement announcing the newest development in the Aria/Hope Mill relationship, the trio said: “Having produced 10 musicals in the North West, we have seen the demand for more opportunities for specialist training in musical theatre.
“Hope Aria Academy is filling a gap within the musical theatre training available in the North West. With so much of the current focus being London-centric, we hope to offer a boutique, personable and professional course which allows performers to strengthen skills, learn new ones and challenge themselves whilst staying close to home. We will create a safe working environment which will provide guidance and mentorship for its students as they enter or re-enter the musical theatre industry.”
The course will be aimed at individuals who have already trained professionally and are looking for a fresh approach to training within a smaller, more focused atmosphere, as well as those who are not yet ready to make the leap to full-time drama training and require further tuition, plus mature students who have experience in musical theatre and want to re-train to return to the industry.
With a core faculty made up of Lipson, Houston and Whelton, students will also be introduced to the wider creative industry, with regular guest teachers in all three disciplines of acting, singing and dance, and opportunities for casting directors and agents to come and view a final term piece.
The first 12-week course will run from 22 April to 19 July 2019 (half term 27-31 May) on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings between 6.30pm and 9.30pm at Hope Aria House, Unit 15 Wellington House, Manchester, M40 7FS at a cost of £150 per week.
Applications are now open for students through the Academy’s website. One scholarship place will be made available with details of how to apply being unveiled early next year. The team is also planning to launch a full-time course in late 2019.
The brainchild of Houston and Whelton, the 120-seat Hope Mill Theatre in the Ancoats area of Manchester opened in December 2015 and is part of a converted Grade II listed former cotton mill in the Ancoats area of Manchester that also houses studios for writers, artists and designers, events space, a café and a bar.
Angela Thomas
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