Demidov Studio London
Founded in 2018 by Andrei Biziorek, in collaboration with his teacher and the revivor of the Demidov Technique, Andrei Malaev-Babel, Demidov Studio London serves as both a teaching hub and a research center for the Demidov work. This inner technique acts as a practical key to reviving and advancing the rich tradition of Russian psychological theatre. Unlike modern trends that favour spectacle and special effects, the Demidov Technique prioritises the artist’s creative individuality. The studio offers a range of courses, including regular introductory intensives and longer courses that guide actors through the various stages of Demidov Curriculum.
Studio Founder and Director
Andrei Biziorek
Andrei is an acting teacher and director with over 25 years of experience across Poland, the UK, the US, and Australia. In Poland, he spent many years working as an actor with post-Grotowski companies including Gardzienice, Song of the Goat Theatre and Theatre ZAR, and also trained with Zygmunt Molik, a central figure in Jerzy Grotowski’s Laboratory Theatre.
Andrei has taught at many top drama schools in the UK and abroad, including RADA, East 15, and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, where he taught at BA and MA levels for more than eight years. Introduced to the Demidov Organic Acting Technique by Professor Andrei Malaev-Babel and training under his guidance, Andrei was certified to teach the Demidov work by the International Demidov Association and founded Demidov Studio London, the official UK chapter of the Association, in 2018. As a result of his international work teaching the technique, Andrei also founded a Demidov studio in Vienna, Austria, in 2024.
Andrei has also founded and directed several theatre companies, including Tribe Theatre Collective in London, whose production of Dostoyevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’ was created entirely using the Demidov Technique. He currently leads all classes at Demidov Studio London and directs the DSL LAB Ensemble, a research space for actors dedicated to exploring the technique in greater depth.
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
KATIE JONES
Katie is an actor, writer and wellbeing practitioner with a deep interest in the subconscious mind and its influence on both personal growth and creative expression. Trained in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), yoga, narrative therapy, meditation and Reiki, Katie brings a holistic approach to acting continually seeking to cultivate a state of openness and presence and embracing the flow of creative energy. Instagram: @restorywithkatie
MEDIA, ENGAGEMENT & OUTREACH
Kelsey Marlowe Jessup
Kelsey is an actor, baker, poet and creative artist originally from Upstate New York. She moved to London after finishing her Music Theatre B.F.A. at The University at Buffalo and studied at East 15 Acting School, enriching her creative process through the M.F.A. Acting International degree. Her life is dedicated to pioneering paths for creativity and connection through meaningful theatre and art. Kelsey is is beyond grateful for the artistic and personal liberation which the Demidov School cultivates. Check out her bakes, poetry and visual art on her Instagram accounts: @kelsey_m_j & @kmj_bakes.
THE DSL LAB
The DSL LAB was created as a space for selected actors who are dedicated to exploring the technique of the Demidov School of Acting in greater depth over a longer period of time. The LAB works with actors who demonstrate a desire to be part of an ensemble that invests in an experiential exploration of what Demidov called the ‘culture’ of creative freedom, which is at the heart of the Demidov Technique; to learn to trust and follow their creative instincts, working to master Demidov’s core principles that lead to freedom, spontaneity and unpredictability, which are indispensable for the Art of Living onstage. The current Lab Ensemble members are Kelsey Marlowe Jessup and Katie Jones. The LAB is led by DSL Director Andrei Biziorek.
International Demidov Association
The International Demidov Association, headed by Professor Andrei Malaev-Babel, aims to unite artists and acting studios based in the Demidov School of Acting, pioneered by the Russian master teacher, Nikolai Demidov. It runs certification programs and courses and produces international workshops worldwide.
In 2020, the International Demidov Association and professor Andrei Malaev-Babel offered the first Teacher Certification Program, training teachers around the world who are capable of conveying the principles, values and unique pedagogy of the Demidov Organic Technique.
“This is a totally unique approach to cultivating actors, fundamentally different from other approaches. Having just emerged, this trend of theatre pedagogy that stands up for freedom and spontaneity in the actors’ creative process started developing rapidly. In its development, it took the form of an opposition, if not to say protest against the former principles of teaching and cultivating actors – principles that often bound young people creatively, made them rational, and turned many into truth-like presenters onstage, rather than artist-creators.”
- Nikolai Demidov.
