Scottish Drama Training Network to join Royal Conservatoire of Scotland from August 2020
Scottish Drama Training Network to join Royal Conservatoire of Scotland from August 2020
Published: 23/01/2020
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) and the Scottish Drama Training Network (SDTN) will forge a new partnership to deliver a strong programme of engagement and opportunities for young people across the country to engage with performing arts training.
From August 2020, SDTN will formally integrate into the conservatoire’s portfolio which will ensure the continuation of its highly regarded programme of training, facilitation and placement opportunities for drama students, emerging talent and lecturing staff across Scotland. SDTN will continue to be based within the RCS campus.
SDTN was established in 2009 as a Scottish Funding Council strategic initiative to enhance and develop practice-based drama training by supporting the work of further education colleges and higher education institutions across Scotland. There are currently 19 further education colleges and five higher education institutions in the network. Full details here.
Under the leadership of Director Lucy Vaughan, who was appointed in 2016, SDTN has delivered a highly successful programme that has forged a strong relationship between the learning and professional theatre sectors across Scotland. In 2017, SDTN created The Network Ensemble, an industry standard training programme for acting, technical and production design graduates, delivered in partnership with The Pleasance Theatre Trust. For the past three years, The Network Ensemble has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as part of Pleasance Futures and provided an outstanding work placement opportunity for graduates to learn from professional theatre artists and theatre makers, in a real context.
Lucy Vaughan is to step down at the end of this month (January 2020) having led the programme towards SDTN’s next phase of delivery.
Commenting on the partnership, Dr Lois Fitch, Assistant Principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, said: “For the past ten years the Scottish Drama Training Network has been an important and effective driving force in developing the drama training sector in Scotland, working on behalf of the network of further education colleges and higher education institutions. As the national conservatoire, RCS has been delighted to support the network since its inception. Scotland benefits hugely from having an effective and responsive training community who can deliver highly skilled artists and creative producers into the creative sector. We look forward to working with the SDTN team to develop further their mission for drama training in Scotland.”
Lucy Vaughan, Director of Scottish Drama Training Network, said: “SDTN’s new partnership with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is great news for practice-based drama training in Scotland and ensures the continuation of a strong programme of engagement and opportunities for young people across the country to engage with high-quality performing arts training.
“I’m proud of the legacy of the strong relationship that has been developed with the performing arts sector in Scotland and the groundbreaking work of The Network Ensemble. I’d like to thank all of the professional artists and theatre makers, as well as the staff and students of the network colleges and higher education institutions, who have engaged and supported the SDTN programme.”
