About Drenovo
A professional acting school in Cambridge, founded in 2014. Structured courses. Patient instruction. Craft-centred education.
A professional acting school in Cambridge, founded in 2014. Structured courses. Patient instruction. Craft-centred education.
Our Story
Drenovo was founded in 2014 by a small group of theatre practitioners who had grown tired of the gap between what acting schools promised and what they actually offered. The idea was modest: a school that would teach acting methodically, honestly, and without inflating what the study of performance can guarantee.
In the years since, we have taught hundreds of students from a range of starting points — complete beginners who had never been on a stage, adults returning to a long-held interest, individuals preparing for drama school auditions, and working performers looking to deepen specific aspects of their practice.
We have not changed our essential approach. Small groups. Experienced instructors. Structured progression. Honest feedback. The same things that mattered when we started still matter now.
Drenovo is an independent teaching school — not a drama school in the conservatoire sense, and not a community drama group. We occupy a particular space in the landscape of acting education: serious in our standards, accessible in our entry requirements, and transparent about what our courses can and cannot offer.
We offer technical training in acting, voice, and movement. We do not provide representation, agency connections, or guaranteed pathways to professional employment. What we offer is the opportunity to learn with discipline, in a studio environment run by practitioners who are still engaged in the work themselves.
Teaching Philosophy
Acting is a learnable discipline. It responds to structured study. Our programmes are sequenced intentionally so that each week builds on the last, and each term builds on the term before.
Acting cannot be studied in isolation. The ensemble — a consistent group of people working together over time — is the essential learning context. We protect and cultivate that environment carefully.
Good teaching names what is actually happening — not what the teacher hoped would happen. Our instructors watch carefully and speak precisely. Vague encouragement is not useful to a developing actor.
A script is a primary document, not a suggested framework. We teach students to read text carefully — to understand rhythm, subtext, and the structural demands that a playwright makes on the performer.
We do not offer promises about career outcomes, representation, or professional placement. What we offer is good training. What students do with that training is their own decision and their own responsibility.
Acting develops over years, not weeks. Our courses are designed as entry points and ongoing companions — not endpoints. Many of our most committed students have returned for multiple terms across different programmes.
Our Studio
We are located at 28 Shelly Row, Cambridge CB3 0BS — a short walk from the city centre and accessible by bus and bicycle. The studio is a dedicated rehearsal and teaching space, not a multipurpose room adapted for the occasion.
The space has been configured for the specific demands of acting training: adequate floor area for movement work, good acoustic conditions for voice study, and an atmosphere that is professional without being clinical.
We do not share the space with other organisations. It is maintained and used exclusively for Drenovo programmes.
Studio Address 28 Shelly Row, Cambridge CB3 0BS, United Kingdom
Visit our courses pages or get in touch with a question. We are glad to help you find the right starting point.
