There are thousands of drama schools to apply to and they
all look for similar things. Some drama schools are more advanced and look for
actors who are willing to work at their full potential and be committed.
Whereas less advanced drama schools teach students about the life of an actor
and skills they need to learn.
Before applying to a drama school you need to do lots of
research on many drama schools around your area or further if you wish to move
away. Look at their courses and see which suits you best such as Acting,
Musical Theatre or Technical Theatre. Most drama schools have a three year
course and if you want to apply then you’ve got to ask yourself – am I ready to
commit three years of my life to something I’m passionate about?
Entry requirements
You can find the entry requirements on the websites of your
chose drama school, however they only give you a brief course outline and a
list of names of successful alumni who graduated. In order to find out more
information, many drama schools have open day events for you to see the school,
meet staff and get an overview of what the three years in the course consists
of. To get the full experience, attend a few plays or musicals performed by
final year students from different drama schools; this is useful as it
demonstrates the quality of teaching and professional guidance given from that
particular school.
To expand your knowledge on your options of drama schools,
research and gather a list of actors whose work you respect or you inspire from
and are known to be good at what they do. These graduates might inspire you to
join that drama school and become like them.
Audition and Interviews
In order to get yourself an audition for a drama school
there is a price to pay which is usually around £50. You have 3 rounds and the
last round is either accepting you, recalling you or telling you that you haven’t
passed the audition. No matter how talented you are and no matter how much
potential you possess, if you are not organised and fully prepared, the chances
are you will fail.
You might think drama schools only want you to learn a
classical and modern speech for your audience. Unfortunately it’s not that
easy. You should prepare three contrasting dramatic pieces of your own choice
lasting up to 2-3 minutes:
·
One from a classical play (such as Shakespeare,
Jacobean or Elizabethan)*
·
One from a modern play (after 1956, 20th or 21st
Century)*
·
One should be a contrasting piece from any
period.
A piece written by
you or by an unknown or little-known author is unacceptable.
*The time periods depends on the drama school so be sure to
check what they ask for you to bring at an audition on their website
Choosing a speech
- You should select a monologue that is age
appropriate for you and allows you to express the uniqueness of who you are.
Choose a piece that you feel comfortable in playing or have always known to be
good at doing.
-
Think about the things we
consider when discussing "type": status, energy, personality.
- - An audition monologue should be active and in
the moment, not a character telling a story or a memory. Choose a monologue in
which the character is clearly pursuing an objective with another character as
opposed to just telling a story.
- - Don't do a self-written monologue but choose a
well-written piece from a play, and be sure to read the entire play so you
understand your character, the situation, the relationship and all other relevant
details.
- - There's nothing that ruins an audition more
efficiently than delivering a monologue that's one long, shouted, angry rant or
nonstop weeping. Neither yelling nor crying are impressive so choose a
monologue that gives you the opportunity to show off your skill with
transitions. Transitions is where good acting happens, you don’t have to
include a transitions but if you don’t have a couple of good ones in your
monologue, then it’s harder to tell that you’re a good actor.
- - Don't choose pieces that are full of graphic
violence, sex or offensive language. This gives a bad taste at an audition and
can sound irritable hearing swear words a lot.
‘Be you when you walk
into the room. Be you doing your speech. Be you when you talk to the panel
people. Be you because they want to meet the true ‘you’ and see a considered,
focused, in-the-moment speech.’ (Source: dramauk.co.uk)
