Penn Abroad announced the return of an opportunity for students to study at the British American Drama Academy in the United Kingdom earlier this summer.
The London Theatre Program offers an acting and directing track to junior and senior College students majoring in theatre arts. The application process includes an audition, and prior acting experience is required.
While it had been offered in past years, the program was discontinued in 2019 due to low enrollment, Penn Abroad associate director Greta Kazenski told The Daily Pennsylvanian.
She explained that student petitions for the British American Drama Academy drove the Penn Abroad office to restart the partnership.
“It’s a really reputable institution — students get great experience, and so the theater department was really pushing and saying we want this experience for our students, and, you know, we agree,” Kazenski said. “We want students of all different majors to have that opportunity to have this really meaningful experience abroad.”
She added that the London program would broaden student theater experiences.
“If you’re always doing theater in the same place or under the same expectations, you will only fall into line there and learn that style,” Kazenski said. “But if you’re exposed to a new style, new rhythm, new structure, new expectations, I think as a performer you can grow in many ways and then be able to adapt in a new scenario.”
During the first eight weeks of the program, students will attend courses based on acting, movement, voice, Shakespeare, comedy, physical theatre, analysis, dramatic criticism, stage combat, and directing. For the next five weeks, they will participate in the rehearsal and production process for a classical play performance in London.
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Students will also be offered introductory workshops on boundaries and consent, visits to theatre productions, and masterclasses with notable practitioners.
Kazenski said that Penn has a “really strong” partner in Sarah Lawrence College, the organization that will host and provide a transcript for the program. Sarah Lawrence College initially opened its program in 1985.
The reinstatement is the latest in a series of changes rolled out by Penn Abroad over the past year, including program caps, new holding periods, and a software upgrade.
Applications for the spring 2027 period are currently open. They will close on Sept. 1 or when the program receives the maximum of 40 applications.
