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Original poster

Anyone else suffering the trauma of drama school auditions?

27 replies

user1490903005 · 28/01/2018 20:12

My DD is auditioning again this year. She is currently on a Foundation Course at East 15 which is great and she will be auditioning for a BA course there soon and also GSA and Bristol Old Vic. The whole process is so nerve wracking but you can’t show it!!

OP posts:
theredjellybean · 30/01/2018 15:53

Me too

theredjellybean · 30/01/2018 15:54

Awful isn't it, we have recalls at juillard, guildhall, Oxford and Rose brueford...

theredjellybean · 30/01/2018 15:54

Guildhall, Bristol and rada still to go

Original poster
user1490903005 · 30/01/2018 20:59

That’s a lot of auditions! But she is doing v well to get that many recalls!

OP posts:
theredjellybean · 31/01/2018 00:49

Thank you.. Is it a lot? I thought she should apply absolutely every where but dd has specific style she likes. It's our first Yr of applying so not sure what to expect

AlexanderHamilton · 31/01/2018 00:51

Dd has just finished the first round of Dance/MT auditions. She has funding finals still to go.

Original poster
user1490903005 · 31/01/2018 12:36

It is just v stressful I think - last year I made DD do loads and it wasn’t until she got so tired that the nerves weren’t so bad - then she got a place. She isn’t so nervous this time!

OP posts:
user1457824083 · 04/02/2018 17:12

Dd is auditioning for the second year. She has had 2 1st round auditions so far, a recall from one and still waiting to hear from the second. Then another 4 to start in March and April. She is still waiting to hear from Rose Bruford for an audition date. Ucas was sent in the second week of January. Do they usually take a while or is it wotth contacting them? Ucas track says shd is being considered.
It doesn't get any easier.....

DrRanjsRightEyebrow · 04/02/2018 17:15

This caught my eye as I remember going through this 20 years ago... Yes it was terrifying Grin Best of luck to them all!

user1457824083 · 04/02/2018 17:24

Thanks DrRanjs 😊

DrRanjsRightEyebrow · 04/02/2018 17:35

I also remember it being expensive! Do they still make you pay to audition? I had to work extra shifts (at Waitrose checkouts at the time) to pay all the audition fees, not to mention train fares and b&b's... It was a bit miserable staying alone in a grotty b&b the night before an audition, just going over and over my lines and feeling all anxious. Hopefully you are all ferrying them around to the auditions so they don't have to deal with that aspect!

user1457824083 · 04/02/2018 19:16

I have spent about £400 for auditions, Ucas and Cukas to apply to 7 schools. This doesn't include train fares. Luckily Dd has managed to get a couple of regional dates ( we live in the north west). Also Ds is a second year at one school so she stayed with him the nihht before one audition and she has a coiple of friends at Guildhall and Italia Conti so will stay with them for the London auditions, saving us on lonely hotel rooms!

theredjellybean · 04/02/2018 20:13

It is expensive... We have paid for auditions and train fares and luckily dd has stayed with us or friends in London so far.
It's so nerve wracking and just so many applicants and so few spots

theredjellybean · 04/02/2018 20:17

User... Where is your daughter apply via ucas? My dd has done some ucas choices for drama and theatre studies at traditional University and got offers at Royal Holloway and Queen Mary's... But she knows she doesn't want to do that.. She wants drama school

Original poster
user1490903005 · 04/02/2018 20:47

Hiya,

Rose Bruford took so long to give my DD an audition date last year (having applied beginning of Jan) that she accepted her East 15 Foundation place at the end of March before she got an audition date from RB ! So she didn’t take the audition and they wouldn’t refund the fee. We had chased twice and they snootily told us just to be patient. The audition date was in April in the end.

OP posts:
user1457824083 · 04/02/2018 22:25

Theredjellybean, she has applied to Central, Rose Bruford, East 15 and Italia Conti through Ucas. BSA now Royal Birmingham Conservatoire through Cukas. Then Guildhall and Lamda direct. All have student loans, we can't afford the likes of Mountview or Arts Ed.
She definitely wants conservatoire style training and has not looked at any Uni courses. She is on a gap year this year. Last year she was offered a foundation but as it wasn't funded had to sadly turn it down.

theredjellybean · 05/02/2018 07:52

Aha... I get it now user... Most of my dds choices were schools outside of ucas, so direct auditions, she did a few uni course choices as back up.
My dd got rose brueford audition within week of applying.. But that was pre Christmas so maybe they hadn't had many at that stage.
Has anyone had a child audition at or look at fourth monkey?

user1457824083 · 07/02/2018 19:42

Rose Bruford have a message on their website for anyone who has applied before the Jan 15th deadline and not received an email about auditions to contact them. Luckily we saw this today, Dd would have been checking emails for weeks! 😀

Original poster
user1490903005 · 08/02/2018 08:24

I don’t think they are the most efficient !!

OP posts:
user1457824083 · 25/04/2018 17:43

We have had a good news week this week. After getting no's from Central and Rose Bruford, Dd had her Italia Conti audition last Thursday and East 15 (regional) on Monday. Yesterday she got an email from Italia offering her a foundation and today the same from East 15!
So she has rejected Birmingham Conservatoire as their foundation is not funded and now has to decide between the other two. She has been offered a place at the Southend campus for East 15, so we will try to get down there to check it out. If anyone has any advice about either of the schools it will be gratefully received!Grin

Original poster
user1490903005 · 25/04/2018 23:24

Hi, well done! My dd is currently doing the Foundation at East 15 in Southend. It is a challenging course and my daughter has loved the work and she now has a place in the World Performance course at Southend. If you go one weekend I am sure she would meet up and let you know what she thinks! Let me know if you need any more info x

OP posts:
jeanne16 · 26/04/2018 18:00

I know nothing about any of these schools but the Daily MailOnline has an article about financial issues at Italia Conti. It may be worth checking this out.

littlestar34 · 20/02/2021 16:12

@user1490903005

Hi, well done! My dd is currently doing the Foundation at East 15 in Southend. It is a challenging course and my daughter has loved the work and she now has a place in the World Performance course at Southend. If you go one weekend I am sure she would meet up and let you know what she thinks! Let me know if you need any more info x
Hi. I know this is an old thread but I wondered if your DD did the World performance course at East 15 and what she thought of it. My DS been offered a place on it for September but had his heart set on BA in acting so not sure if best to take a year out and do the whole audition thing again next year which he thought he'd end up doing anyway given drama schools tend to like a bit of life experience.
DSArnott · 28/03/2021 23:22

Also posting, as we are jus going through drama school applications, to say hi to anyone in the same boat this year. Some via UCAS and some direct.

Comefromaway · 01/04/2021 15:42

My dd is applying for postgrad.

She had a zoom recall earlier this week and has another next week. Still waiting on two others.