My Experience at East 15 Acting School

No one believed in me as an actor. It is only me who sees the light at the end of the tunnel. My time at East 15 Acting School played a significant role in my journey of becoming an artist. Graduation is a few months away and I have no idea what the future will look like, but I want to share my story.

I was already studying acting at Arts University Bournemouth when, advised by a friend, I decided to apply to East 15 Acting School, for BA Acting (International) and BA World Performance. It was either that or go back to Romania. Bournemouth and I didn’t connect at all. I could not belong there and it made me feel lonely. I filmed new self-tapes, dreamed of being accepted onto the course, and then there I was, with my offer letter. I never looked back after that. New beginnings are for the lost ones, and I was definitely feeling unsure of my current circumstances. Covid had just begun. Move out. Find a place. A cheap place. In Southend-on-Sea. Southend? Where is that? Oh, it's close to London – it must be good. Done. Booked. Flight taken, mask on. Breath. Hi, I'm Cristiana and I'm from Romania. And the rest, well, is good old history.

I was lucky. I have been truly blessed. I found incredible people; people who I would invite to my wedding, people who outgrew life with me, and people who pushed me from my Romanian shell to explore and accept what the world had to offer. Compared to my fellow classmates, I chose World Performance before it chose me. I heard about its variety of theatre styles (Kabuki, Noh, Butoh, to name a few), and in one way or another I got a chance to perform them all. Improving not only the actor I was becoming, but the performer inside me. I could dance, I could even sing, I could devise my own show and act it in front of people without starting to shake like a scared lamb. I was doing well and East 15 was the place that let me do all those things.

I could not have done this without my friends, most of who are international students just like me. We reached a higher level in our connection, we understood the struggle and the sorrow, the joy and the beauty of being away from your roots. Once I left Romania, I became Romanian. Until that point, I was just one of many.

Arts students are lucky people. They always have to work together so they become family instantly. We created relationships and we trust each other. If I fall, I know one of these crazy folks will catch me. It's an instinct, it's natural, it's part of who we are now. We played gamelan together, we poured our souls out together, we started the three years wearing masks and keeping distance from one another and now we hold hands and shout Mierda! before each show.

What I've always wanted was to be respected as an actor, but more importantly, as an artist and as a human being. I am 23 years old, and I've just started feeling young. Am I ready to settle down? Am I ready to... graduate? I know I am ready for a new beginning.

In the past few days, I have decided on three things: to work on my acting portfolio and start looking for an agent in the UK, to apply for a Master's degree in Bucharest, and to travel. These three things make sense for now, and could lead me to somewhere. When I graduate, I want to be a free spirit, not a sweet bird in a cage who can only sing a lullaby. The world is not ready for the stories I will tell, and for that to happen I must remind myself how great I am. No one else will believe in you like you believe in yourself.