About Us
LISPA (London International School of Performing Arts) is a centre of artistic research, innovation and individuation recently relocated to Berlin. It seeks to inspire the theatre and performance arts of tomorrow and appeals to those committed to the creation of their own work - whether as actors, performers, directors or writers for the stage. The journey which LISPA offers is both poetic and practical, integrating a deep curiosity for life with a passion for theatre and performance.
Since its inauguration in the autumn of 2003, LISPA has welcomed students from over 40 different countries, offering them a uniquely stimulating and challenging meeting place. The school was founded by Thomas Prattki, former pedagogical director of the Jacques Lecoq School in Paris. He leads an international team of teachers, who bring to the school a wide diversity of experience in acting, performing, directing and teaching. They all share a profound interest in the movement of life and its reflection in the ever-evolving world of theatre and performance arts. Inspired by the teachings of Jacques Lecoq, LISPA is constantly developing its pedagogical matrix in response to the visions of our students, shifting paradigms in the world of devised theatre, and the desire of the teaching team to continually push the boundaries of what it means to be a creator of one's own work.
Collaborations - Masters degree options
We operate an existing collaboration with Rose Bruford College in London, which offers eligible students the possibility to progress to the current Rose Bruford MA in Ensemble Theatre through the successful completion of our postgraduate program in Advanced Devising Practice. We are also planning to deepen our existing partnership with the College and in 2017 will partner with them to validate our full-time postgraduate programmes as MA degrees. Additionally, we are in collaboration with Columbia College Chicago and students study the first year of CCC's European Devised Theatre MFA at LISPA in Berlin before going on to complete their second year in Chicago.
A Note from the Founder
A new generation of performing artists is changing the landscape of modern theatre. The idea of the performer as the creator of her or his own work is no longer a fringe phenomenon, but an influential international movement. Devising theatre artists and companies produce some of today's most exciting work, and inspire audiences around the world with their inventive creations. To support this growing movement, new forms of education are needed - education which links artistic craft and expertise to an intensive process of personal and artistic development; education which goes beyond existing theatre forms, fostering the visions of performing artists who want to actively participate in the creation of the theatre of tomorrow.
My hope is that all of our students find LISPA is as much a place for personal development as for artistic research. To collaborate and devise together with fellow artists from around the world not only allows us to refine our particular voice and sense of purpose as an artist - it is also a unique opportunity to participate in actively shaping the world we live in.
At LISPA we do everything we can to support our students on their journey to becoming the artist they wish to be. We hope to stir a never-ending curiosity in life as it is, strengthen the ability to give form to what could be, and foster a fully alive body through which to experience and express one's own vision of life.
Thomas Prattki
Founder and Director