Performing arts degrees at universities and Spotlight / Equity membership

[LynetteScavo]

Can anyone please point me in the direction of how I find out exactly which degree courses meet the criteria for their graduates to qualify for Spotlight and Equity membership? (At least 30 hours contact time, no more than 22 in a class etc)

So far, apart form the Drama schools / conservatoires I have Northampton Uni and Chichester Uni.

Firstly, Spotlight and Equity are very different in their requirements (and arguably in their value on graduation).

Spotlight: Not many unis (outside of the drama school ones) will qualify as there is usually a conflict between the spotlight requirement for hours of practical time and university 'academic rigour' requirements. If a uni course DOES qualify then you can be sure they'll be shouting about it (like Chichester does).
Spotlight membership isn't the 'be all and end all' - don't forget that 'young performers' (up to age 25) can get Spotlight membership even if they didn't attend an accredited course, so long as they get signed with an agency (of which there are many willing to take even mediocre performers!).

Equity membership is much more widely available:
"If you are on a higher or further education course lasting at least one year that is preparing you for work as a performer or creative practitioner, you can become an Equity Student Member as soon as you start your course". I know several university BA Drama courses qualify for example.
My impression is that they are keen to take your money! I'm not sure really what value you get in return apart from some networking with other out of work actors!!

Thank you @NormaSnorks - I'm sure most people will think doing an acting degree is a waste of time and money but DD is being quite head strong about wanting to study acting, and trying to figure out which are the best courses is taking some
serious research.

Most websites don't mention their contact hours per week, and DD is keen to have as much as possible.

I wouldn’t necessarily say that doing a BA Acting is a waste of time and money, but definitely choose the institution carefully.
Obviously a top 10 drama school is what she really wants, but competition is fierce with often over 1000 applicants per place.
Places like Chichester & Northampton really aren’t comparable, being neither drama schools or a top-ranking universities. They may use the lure of Spotlight or an end of course showcase as an incentive, but they really don’t have the prestige of the accredited drama schools.
Is your daughter academic? Would she consider a BA Drama course at a Russell Group Uni such as Warwick or Exeter which has a 50% practical component and then ‘top up’ her actor training with summer courses and even a PG in Acting?

DD has her eye set on the top drama schools, but realistically she's unlikely to get a place, especially if she applies in Y12 as she will only have just turned 17. Her college tutor telling me she's good enough for one of the top drama schools (even if in a couple of years) and actually being offered a place are two very different things. She's prepared to take a year out to focus on auditions, but I think it's wise to use the maximum amount of applications she can, applying to conservertoires, universities and direct applications. I'm trying to figure out which are the best university courses, which seems to be a full time job. (Northampton's course actually looks very rounded, but DD wasn't impressed by their facilities)

I don't want her to be working at McDonalds for 4 years until she's finally offered a place at The Old Vic Theatre school, but I suppose it's not my life.

I'm also a bit nervous about the financial security of drama schools after the recent closure of ALRA and think it might be a safer bet to be at a university.

She's severely dyslexic and doesn't want the reading and writing side of studying drama. Long term I think she would be amazing at directing, but for now she's very passionate about and focussed on acting.

We've been through this with a DC and are a couple of years ahead of you! They got offered a 'lesser' London drama school and two foundation courses but have actually opted to do a BA Drama at a Russell Group uni. They also have dyslexia and yes, the written work is a challenge!

The problem is that even IF your DD got into Bristol Old Vic Drama School (or similar) there's still a good chance they will end up working a minimum wage job afterwards to support a very part-time acting career (if they're lucky).
We looked at the spotlight profiles of graduates from all the top drama schools from about 2017/18 and it's shocking to see how few of them are still active as actors five years after graduation. Our DC took the view that the post-covid world looked even more precarious than usual for actors so decided to get a broader degree first and re-evaluate after that - perhaps going for a PGDip or Masters in Acting.

I really don't think the courses at Northampton or Chichester would carry much weight in the drama world I'm afraid.

I think it's so true that many of the top drama school graduates aren't active actors five years after graduating. Which makes me wonder is it really so important to to only go to one of the top schools? If she doesn't get in, should she just give up and do something she's not passionate about?

As a parent I want my DD to be employable as possible, and I do think having a degree would make her more employable, even if it's not from a red brick uni or one of the top drama schools. Both DH and I work for companies where to get your first job you need a degree (any old degree from any old Uni seems to do!) so maybe my views are coloured by that.

I also think the course content of some degrees offered by universities is more rounded than drama schools. Some however, don't seem to be as robust as others and only offer 18 hours contact time, which is why DD only wants to consider conservertoire style degrees offering thirty hours contact time.

She also needs to be happy while she's studying- having seen one DC have no face to face contact for a year and no other house mates in a city far away where he'd made no friends didn't end well, so DDs potential mental health will be very high on my list of things to consider. I'm already not keen on the drama school where the students seem rather "intense" IMO and one lecturer doesn't think you can be a proper actor until you've been broken.

Realistically I think DD will end up directing or teaching (I also think she'd one day be brilliant with disadvantaged teens for example) or in sales, which she definitely has a flair for. So for now I'll keep trawling websites to see which courses she should put on the UCAS Uni list (the UCAS conservertoire list seems obvious) I'd hoped there was a shortcut to finding out contact hours!

I know what you mean , and I’d tend to agree that it would probably be good to have a degree from somewhere, especially to keep later teaching options open.

It all seems so variable as to who becomes successful in the acting world. We know people without any formal training who have landed parts in West End theatre plays and others from top drama schools who seem stuck with only the occasional regional or pub theatre gig. Another, ex-Rada, is in Theatre in Education, touring primary schools. Not sure if that’s what her original ambition was (I don’t think so) but it pays the bills! A friend on DC’s course has just had a recall for a Netflix show.

Seems to me that the successful ones are not necessarily the most talented, but those that have learnt to hustle the best. They take a very business-like approach to their work and spend a significant part of their life trawling social media for opportunities, making & checking in with contacts, recording & sending endless self-tapes and doing unpaid work to keep their CV fresh.
Even the ones with good agents have to keep hassling them to put them forward for things.
Good luck to your DD - it’s a hard path. Has she done NYT or other similar courses?

Oh, the other thing I was going to say was to be aware that the 'contact' hours at a drama school vs. a university course may mean different things.
A 'studio' or 'practical' based course in a university may be more about devising and developing theatre work as part of a group, rather than specifically focussing on personal acting skills, so check the course modules carefully.

Arts University Bournemouth may be worth a look - it's a highly practical course.

One of the problems you might encounter is that since some of the top drama schools require applications through UCAS you may not have any 'slots' left for other uni choices.

Spotlight and Equity got together a few years ago and their requirements for graduate membership are now pretty much the same.

www.spotlight.com/join-us/graduate-course-criteria/

You would need to ask the institution if they are a member of the graduate scheme

@Comefromaway - the graduate membership is exactly what prompted me to start the thread, rather than emailing each institution separately, I wondered if there was a list. (I'm wondering why Spotlight and Equity don't just have it in their websites.)

I don't want DD to use up all of her UCAS places on drama schools, I think it would be a good idea to have some safer options which could offer a good uni experience.

I am checking the course modules very carefully, and am surprised at how much they differ. It's interesting that some unis teach students how to apply for arts grants and how to market themselves, whereas others don't mention things like that at all. Personally I don't think devising is her thing and have been steering her away from courses which seem to have a lot of devising, but DD disagrees with me! I'm also keener on universities which have several creative courses around theatre and film, as I think it would lead to collaboration opportunities, but I might be wrong?

So far she has very little experience, as I've always discouraged her, partly as I haven't been able to afford the usual drama classes kids do, but we're not really that sort of family. She did apply to NYT for this summer (with no support and only told me after she'd applied) but wasn't accepted, so has decided to go for a local theatre youth project this summer.

These are the places listed on the Spotlight Graduating Schools for 2021 These are only the schools who chose to upload their graduate showreels onto Spotlight

Guildhall School of Music & Drama
London Studio Centre
RADA
RCSSD (Central)
Arden School of Theatre
UCLAN
Cygnet Theatre
Institute for Contemporary Theatre
Momentum
Northampton University
RCS

IN addition the following schools have performance listings on Spotlight

Fourth Monkey
RWCMD
Drama Studio, London
Italia Conti
Mountview
Leeds Conservatoire
GSA
PPA
Bristol Old Vic
Rose Bruford
Manchester Theatre School
LAMDA
LCM
East 15
Performers
RAM
Trinity Laban
LIPA
Liverpool Theatre School
Oxford School of Drama
Arts Ed
Associated Studios
Chichester
Plymouth Conservatoire
St Mary's
Brighton Academy
Hammond

It's still easier to join Equity than it is to join Spotlight - especially as a Student member I believe:
www.equity.org.uk/about/join-us/students-and-graduate-membership/
There's no requirement for a certain number of contact hours or a final student showcase.

Personally, OP, I wouldn't get too focussed on qualifying for Spotlight as a major criterion for the courses. It's perfectly possible to get a Spotlight listing without attending any form of degree course, especially as a young actor aged up to 25 years old.
I think too many young actors wrongly assume that a Spotlight profile is a magic door into a world where their phone is constantly ringing with offers from casting agents and it's simply not true.
There are agencies for children and young performers which will take students onto their books based on experience /enthusiasm /talent but the actor is still responsible for hustling to get the work 80% of the time. A profile on Mandy or Backstage can be a useful alternative when they're starting out.

So far she has very little experience, as I've always discouraged her, partly as I haven't been able to afford the usual drama classes kids do, but we're not really that sort of family. She did apply to NYT for this summer (with no support and only told me after she'd applied) but wasn't accepted, so has decided to go for a local theatre youth project this summer.

It doesn't sound as if she really has much experience, and she will be up against some astonishingly talented youngsters with the benefit of coaching etc on their side. Is there anyone at school/college to help & coach her? There are lots of videos now about how to do an excellent audition self-tape, but quite often it involves a bit of investment in a tripod, a ring light etc.

Thank you @Comefromaway, I guess that's sort of what I was after!

DD is doing a performing arts BTEC- I knew very little about the course or the college before she started (Covid) but it turns out the staff and the facilities are actually very good. I've been very pleasantly surprised by the quality of their performances, and she's achieving better than she would if she'd stayed at school for Alevels. I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to do an HND at the same college in a "year out" for the extra training, or whether that's a silly idea.

Theoretically we're all set up for being able to film an audition self tape as DH presents from home for his job. I think they can also use the facilities at college.

I am on a very steep learning curve!

Just be aware that the HND/HNC will use up a year of Student Finance (you are entitled to 4 years though).

My ds is currently on a music BTEC (its dd who has studied MT) and as he isn;t quite the standard yet beig a late starter is doing a 4 year BA hons with integrated Foundation Year at a conservatoire next year rather than stopping on at his college. Mind you his college isn't the best in terms of vocational training/standards.

Complete aside here but... Casting Agents don't exist. There are Casting Directors who shrivel up howling when someone calls them a 'casting agent' and there are Agents.

I have been in casting. For the last 30+ years I have been an agent. There is no such thing as a Casting Agent.

Setting that aside - it is worth thinking very hard about the fact that a drama school will have a large body of work across the 3rd year along with a London showcase which is how agents tend to pick people up, with a lot of actor/agent meetings happening after Christmas in the third year Spring term. Many of the top drama schools will have 50% or more of their students signed to agents before showcase. University drama courses mostly don't have this so you come into the world unseen. It is currently showcase season and I will have seen many young graduates in shows or at showcases for the drama schools by the end of this month, but I haven't seen anyone from a uni course because they just don't run in the same way.

Someone upthread mentioned ALRA - as an industry we are all currently trying to help the ALRA students and Rose Bruford has stepped in and is taking all ALRA South's students on. Casting directors are arranging sessions with both ALRA S and N as they haven't had a showcase and agents are meeting people to help either offer them representation or to steer them.

There are always people who are so talented or so in the right place at the right time that they move forward without being drama school graduates, but in the current business as we all stagger back post covid, that drama school grounding helps. Equally, there are always people who have given up the business within two or three years because they just aren't the current favourite thing in looks or because they discover they just can't cope with the rejection and the way the world is or they jsut want to do something else. I have had people go off to be yoga teachers, psychologists, lawyers, experts in company takeovers - you name it. Over the years I've seen so many incredibly gifted kids stop while others less gifted have risen to the top but that's the way of many professions and doubly so in this industry. When I first came into the business many years ago the Equity statistic was that over 95% of actors were out of work at any given time. That has, I think, risen to something like 98%.

The long and the short of that is that if someone can get in to a good drama school they should and if they get in to a not so well known uni that may not be the stepping stone they want but there's not much certainty on career progression either way to be honest.

That’s wonderful that you are helping ALRA students.

Sadly despite going to an accredited school Dd was screwed over as a 2021 graduate. Poor covid mitigation procedures meant that whilst other schools agent showcase went ahead, hers did not and she spent about two thirds of her final term in isolation when she should have been filming showreels.

She decided to do a postgrad to mitigate this but there is now an issue with funding so she will be unable to complete her course and again will have no agent showcase. She was taken on, but imo made a poor, hasty decision and won’t be renewing with her current agent.

It’s a tough industry out there, going to an accredited school is no guarantee, but without the Spotlight eligibility and agent showcase you are virtually invisible.

Comefromaway, it’s funny - the 2020 year got a lot of industry help and love but the 2021 grads who had it as bad, really suffered. If she needs help or advice PM me.

I so agree. And the 2020 grads got most of their training. As you will be aware not much training takes place in the final term, it’s all showcases & auditions & showreels. As you say, there was a lot of love and people went out of their way. They may have had to wait a year for actual auditions/jobs but they were visible.

The 2021 grads lost a third of their 2nd year then played the Hokey Cokey of being in and out during their final year.

2019 grads actually had it pretty bad too. Had grads who got off to a good start then March 2020 came and that was that and now the 2020, 21 and soon the 22 grads have all come along and they are still really only recent grads in terms of experience but aren’t grads any more in our stupid industry shorthand of what graduate means. It’s all a bit bollocks really.

@mimbleandlittlemy - Sorry! That was my mistake, I meant casting director (not agent). I DO know the difference, honest!

It's interesting what you say about people leaving because they just aren't the current favourite thing in looks - I have a friend who is an agent and she somewhat jokingly said 'if you're not black or trans, don't bother' . Certainly for commercial work she said their mixed race actors have never been busier!

It's great that Rose Bruford have taken on all the ALRA students, but I did wonder how on earth they are managing that? It rather implies that their courses were half-empty?

I feel so sorry for 20/21 grads, they were really cast adrift. It seems to me that in any cohort of 20-30 coming out of drama schools there are only 1 or 2 who are still active with an updated Spotlight page a few years later. One of my friends is one of these, having graduated from a PGDip at drama school as a mature student. She is very busy and currently in a West End production, but works really hard chasing after work and producing her own stuff in between. I asked her what happened to so many of her peers and she said most just weren't prepared for the sheer graft required to be constantly going after work, get rejected, pick yourself up and start again. That combined with the fact that they were often working full time in a low-paid job during the day. It really is brutal.

NormaSnorks don’t worry - the Guardian, despite being corrected by the Casting Directors’ Guild, continue with casting agent to eye rolling despair from everyone, bless them.

I would agree with your agent friend up to a point.

Rose Bru are going to run the ALRA courses off site as I understand it. They will give the third years a chance to do shows and a showcase and allocate teaching staff to the other two years - I suppose it’s going to work like a bulge year in a primary school. We will see how it pans out.

There is one famous drama school that sends their students out with the belief they should always get the job - and they are shocked when they don’t and have quite a high drop off rate once they hit the world. There is another that tells their grads that it’s very tough and they may not work so when they do they are thrilled. Much prefer working with them and their drop out rate is lower.

So much is to do with that attitude they take into an audition room.

My daughter studied Musical Theatre triple threat BA Honours at Chichester, she left with a first class degree, she graduated in 2019,now lives and works in London, she is a dresser on a West end musical and has just had recalls for her Masters in acting at both Central and LAMDA. She really rated the training at Chichester, and it also gave her the opportunity to study costume and set design, and she occasionally has private work in these areas. I would at least go to the open days and see what they have to offer, they also now have conservatoire status.

@tootyflooty - thank you, DD has only heard very good things about Chichester- we’ll have to go and look, although it’s a very long way from home!