Getting into Drama School: The Compact Guide (Revised and Updated Edition)

Contents

Introduction

1. Which Drama School?

2. The First Audition Round

3. Choosing and Preparing Audition Pieces

4. Owning the Space and Overcoming Fear

5. What If You Don’t Get Through?

6. Recalls and Interviews

Appendix: Preparing Your Speech

About the Author

Copyright Information

Introduction

This book is aimed mainly at aspiring actors seeking three-year full-time training at a UK drama school. Although there are many one-year and some two-year courses, these are mostly aimed at graduates or people who already have significant knowledge and/or experience in the industry, and who will therefore usually have a working knowledge of the training environment.

If you have picked up this book and started reading, the chances are you are either an aspiring actor yourself, or know someone who is. Either way, you are probably looking for answers. I hope this book will give you the answers you are seeking, but it is also possible that you don’t even know what questions to ask! With that in mind, I am starting this book with a series of questions, some of which you might not have even considered, but which you nevertheless should perhaps ask yourself before you go any further.

Can You Really Become an Actor?

While acting remains an uncertain and insecure profession, there is actually more work out there now than there was thirty years ago, despite the pandemic. With so many television channels and an explosion of theatre in London and other major cities, drama is now a major British industry, bringing in revenue from tourism and overseas sales. There are also employment possibilities in voice-over, commercials, CGI, plus commercial and educational role–play. Acting, in all its forms, is a substantial creative industry and a key element of the UK economy. So if anyone tells you that becoming an actor is a crazy fantasy, just point to the thousands of actors making a living from this thriving profession, not to mention the millions of people worldwide who see the UK as the centre of world theatre.

What is a Successful Actor?

In the UK and worldwide there are a relatively small number of actors who could be regarded as ‘household names’ – recognisable to anyone who watches film and TV drama. Behind that number, however, is a vast cohort of skilled professional actors who earn a reasonable living from acting, even if they are not widely known. Many of these actors work in a combination of different jobs, including theatre, TV, independent film, commercials and voice-over work (including audiobook recordings). So to be ‘successful’, you simply need to be earning a living through your work. You may achieve more success and fame than this, maybe even late in your career, but even if that doesn’t happen, you can still fulfil your dream.

So How Do You Go About It?

There are many ways of becoming an actor, and the successful actors working in the industry have arrived there via different routes. However, a significant proportion of working actors in the UK have trained at a major drama school. To have this training behind you will be helpful throughout your working life. Many actors who haven’t formally trained find it necessary at some point to get some training, simply because they don’t have all the skills they need to do the job.

If you train at one of the best schools, you will also have a better launch into your career, because all good drama schools make a point of preparing their graduating students for the industry and showcasing them to agents and casting directors. Agents also trust these schools because they know that the actors they produce will have a sound and comprehensive craft.

If you are just coming to the end of your secondary schooling, or are studying in a further education college, you will probably need a full three-year training. If you are a little older and already have significant performance experience, perhaps including professional jobs, you might consider an intensive one- or two-year course instead.

Almost all good three-year acting courses now carry a BA (Hons) Degree qualification. This does not mean that they are more ‘academic’ than they used to be – there is usually very little writing or formal academic study required – but you will get a proper degree from training as an actor.

You may find that your parents get quite alarmed at the idea of their offspring auditioning for drama school! Having heard that acting is an uncertain profession, they will be understandably keen to ensure that you make the most of your one opportunity to study at BA level. For this reason they may advise you to get a more traditional degree in something else first and then do a one-year actor training afterwards if you still want to (which they probably hope you won’t!).

I’m afraid this is not very good advice! Not only can postgraduate acting courses be very expensive (up to twice the annual cost of an undergraduate degree), but you would have to pay up to half of the fees upfront rather than through a loan, which could be very expensive, especially when you have just built up so much debt from your first degree.

Furthermore, one year is not long enough for most people to get a really comprehensive training. You would do much better to train for three years, and put all your energies into building an acting career. Back-up plans are all very well, but they can be an indicator that you don’t expect to succeed, which in turn can be a self-fulfilling prophecy!

Given the huge cost of higher education, it is essential that you follow your heart and do the course you really want to do, not a poor substitute!

Will They Want Someone Like You?

At this stage I should make the point, loudly and clearly, that drama schools are looking for every sort of actor, not just certain types. Just as drama itself reflects modern society, so drama schools have to turn out a full range of actors who can portray every aspect of that society in their work. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from – if you have talent and determination, drama school is for you. A good drama school will not try to change who you are – it will merely give you the skills and training to make the best of what you already have.

Drama schools are sometimes described as ‘elite’ institutions, but I don’t think this is true any more. Yes, they may be highly selective and the competition to get a place may be fierce, but they are no longer the preserve of the privileged. You are just as likely to get into a good drama school if you are from a less advantaged background, because what counts is your personality, your drive and your raw talent.

Common Myths

There are lots of myths about drama school that you may have heard, and which quite possibly put you off applying. One of the first aims of this book is to address and explode those myths, which I shall now do:

Myth number 1: It’s too expensive.

Wrong: The majority of good drama schools now run degree courses in acting, most of which attract full-fee loans in the same way as other degrees. So you pay nothing upfront, and won’t accumulate any more student debt than someone on a conventional degree course. There are a few leading schools that are not part of the loan scheme, but which offer scholarships to talented students. In Chapter 1 you will find a list of all the major schools and their fees arrangements.

Myth number 2: They only want people who went to posh schools.

Wrong: Drama schools want talented people from all backgrounds. Most drama schools, and certainly the ones which have access to student loans, now have diverse cohorts that reflect the wider society.

Myth number 3: They only want people with a certain look.

Wrong: Drama schools need a wide range of physical types, ethnicities and personalities, because it is their job to supply the industry with a variety of different kinds of actor.

Myth number 4: Drama schools want to ‘break you down’ and destroy your confidence.

Wrong: If that was ever true it certainly isn’t so now. Good drama schools are only interested in your development as an independent artist and skilled professional. If you go to drama school you will get lots of individual attention which will help you to discover your potential and build your skills.

Myth number 5: It’s too hard to get into a good school.

Wrong: It’s true that many people apply each year and few are chosen, but most of the people who fail to get in do so for the following reasons:

•  Too young. You have to be ready to train, and some people (by no means all) aren’t quite ready at eighteen. Solution: Take a year, or two years, to grow up and get some life experience before trying again.

•  Too tense or have poor posture. If your body is holding too much tension you won’t be able to breathe freely or feel anything except tension. Poor posture closes off the breath and increases tension. Solution: Take some time out and attend classes in Pilates or yoga to reduce this tension, build core strength and improve posture.

•  Poorly prepared. You haven’t learned your lines properly, or you haven’t read the plays your speeches come from, or you haven’t thought enough about the character, what they want, who they are talking to and why. Solution: Do your homework!

•  Bad training. You ‘act by numbers’, delivering everything in a set way rather than living each moment like a real human being.