ALRA, the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, is pleased and excited to announce the launch of ALRA North, a northern base for ALRA. We are delighted to be the first CDS Drama School to offer regional training together with training at our London home.

Reception	Rehearsal Space	Cafe
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Rationale
The vision of ALRA North is borne out of ALRA’s long-term commitment to access for all together with the North West having a particularly vibrant theatre industry. Manchester, Liverpool, Bolton, Oldham, Lancaster, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield, York, Harrogate, Birmingham all have producing theatres and there are many touring companies based in the North West. 

There is strong national drama output from BBC Radio Manchester and Granada TV studios are just up the road. The aim is for ALRA North to use these artistic centres as resources whilst ultimately supplying them with new talent.

With financial pressures on students being greater than ever, ALRA North will provide a centre of excellence Acting students won’t have to travel hundreds of miles to attend. With more and more students choosing, or being obliged, to live at home during their studies, ALRA North will allow a wider demographic to choose Acting training.

Location
Wigan has been identified as a town with efficient transport links across the North of England. Lancaster, Preston, Bolton, Southport, Crewe, Liverpool and Manchester are all within easy reach, and changes at Manchester take you across the Pennines to Leeds and Sheffield. With the new high speed rail link to London, the journey into Euston can be made in under two hours. ALRA North will be staffed through a mixture of new recruits and existing contacts, with London staff making use of the high-speed rail link for the days they commit to ALRA North.

Financing
ALRA North is also able to offer a substantially lower fee structure, due to the lower running costs in the North-West of the country.

Premises
The North West facility will offer rehearsal studios, TV and radio studios, an on-site modern café, and a Library with state-of-the-art IT facilities. There will be a 200 seat performance space with full lighting and sound capabilities.

The flexible complex, of approximately 9,000 square feet, is 10 minutes’ walk from Wallgate and Northwestern Stations, and 5 minutes from Wigan town centre, with its shops and bars. The whole site has recently been refurbished to the highest standard, and is bright, modern and clean. Apart from the specialised adaptations needed for recording studios and the performance space, the complex is ready for use.

Adrian Hall
Adrian Hall joined Clive Duncan as Co-Director of ALRA in June 2009, after 22 years as a professional actor, and the last ten years as Head of Production at Guildford School of Acting. Since joining ALRA, he has been tightly focused on outreach, heading out to schools and colleges across the country to hold auditions with students on their home turf.
‘ALRA North marks a huge leap forward in ALRA’s outreach objectives. ALRA is building a reputation as a Drama School that produces down-to-earth, committed actors, ready to work, and full of character and drive. They aren’t divas; they’re interesting, and interested. ALRA North will give us the chance to draw on an even wider pool of potential students, bringing a greater diversity to the school, and pushing it forward into an industry hungry for it.’

We're currently accepting expressions of interest from tutors interested in teaching at ALRA North. Please send CVs and covering letters to Adrian at ahall@alra.co.uk.