About CAST Studio
CAST Studio is East Anglia’s only specialist drama school dedicated to professional musical theatre degree training.
Based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, we combine a distinctive regional identity with a commitment to developing emerging creative professionals.
Through our BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, delivered in partnership with Buckinghamshire New University (BNU), we connect practical training with academic development and professional preparation.
Regional Setting.
Professional Outlook.
Our ambition is to bring the professional outlook and artistic commitment associated with London training to East Anglia.
Our location is part of our identity. Students can undertake their training in Bury St Edmunds while learning from a team whose experience spans the West End, touring theatre, music, television and creative production.
We encourage students to look beyond their immediate environment: to understand the industry they are entering, develop an individual artistic voice and approach their future with informed ambition.
Our Purpose.
Our purpose is to provide an education in which talent is taken seriously and individuality has room to develop.
Effective training should challenge students, broaden their understanding and help them recognise what they can contribute as artists. It should also establish the habits that sustain professional practice: preparation, discipline, collaboration and responsibility.
Our ambition is for students to leave CAST Studio as stronger performers and as confident, adaptable individuals equipped to approach their futures with purpose.
Our Approach to Training.
High expectations and care for the individual underpin our approach.
Students are encouraged to engage fully with their training, respond constructively to feedback and take increasing ownership of their development. Technical work is supported by opportunities to explore interpretation, creative decision-making and the relationship between performance and meaning.
We value curiosity alongside consistency, recognising that artistic development requires both the freedom to explore and the commitment to refine.
Individuality and Belonging.
Every student brings a different combination of experience, perspective and potential.
CAST Studio is committed to a respectful and inclusive learning environment in which those differences are recognised. We understand that students learn in different ways and that appropriate support can help them participate more fully in their training.
Our community is built on mutual respect, shared responsibility and a commitment to individual development.
Creative Vision and Educational Leadership.
Founded by Paul Schofield and led by Principal and Chief Executive Officer Claire-Louise Auguste, CAST Studio brings creative industry experience together with educational leadership.
Our direction is shaped by a shared commitment to artistic development, academic standards and the preparation of emerging performers for a changing professional landscape.