Drama school auditions 2024- Acting/MT

[Mcmumager]

Is anyone starting the journey of drama school auditions and starting to feel the stress? Maybe sending them to drama group was a big mistake lol.

Hi @Touchwoodbella at GSA I’ve not heard of anyone not being invited for the interview being offered a place. On my sons day him and another boy were offered foundation and couple of others had an interview. From the interview I think you can be offered a place, offered a foundation, put on reserve or get a no.

I hope she has an offer she is happy with. It’s such a stressful time eh!

Ditto, we know people who got an interview for GSA but didn't get an offer, but don't know anybody who didn't get an interview but did get an offer. It's not because of a lack of talent- it's a tiny cohort, it's a hugely successful and popular course and it's funded.

I think because GSA is through ucas and funded it’s one of the most popular. The numbers seem very high. But someone has to get it in so worth a go

Yes, that’s what we thought - it’s just because the student helpers are adamant it isn’t like that and even said that they know people on the course now who didn’t get interviewed!!!! I wonder why they say that? Maybe it very, very occasionally happens. In a way it would be easier to be told on the day if your name isn’t called for a chat then that’s it (like some schools do) We will give it a few days and then just accept the foundation (need to let that school know by the first week in April!!)

She did get a couple of BA offers from schools up north also, but really wants to be near London so she thinks the foundation at Conti is a better bet!! xx

My child is currently a student helper at GSA. It is very rare to get an offer without interview BUT there are 2 in their year that didn’t get interviews. I don’t know the circumstances. Good luck with your auditions and decision making. It’s a tough road. GSA is wonderful, I do hope she is lucky.

Aaaaaaaah thank you, I do feel as though it is as we expected and like you say maybe a very rare occurrence xx

My daughter said that all the helpers were so friendly and helpful!!!!! She absolutely loved it - the best audition experience so thank you to your child!! xx

Can anyone explain the difference between a diploma and degree and how it's seen by casting agents?

My DD is 16 and has been offered a MT diploma, she can't apply for a degree as not 18. Wondering if she would be better doing a levels and coming back at 18 to audition for a degree?

Hello, to those of you I recognize from the BYMT/NYMT waiting threads. Seems like us parents are always waiting and worrying about our children!

I reckon if an agent or casting team decide they want you for professional work the qualification itself doesn’t matter. What matters is the skills and contacts you pick up during the training. Some will be a success without formal training. Others will need more skills or will use their training in other career paths.

@feelinhopeful My take on it (and it's just my understanding, could be wrong) is that agents whom you might want to take you on their books and represent you will at least initially look at where you trained and whether it has a good rep, and then will decide based on what they think you might add to their client base. If you get as far as having an agent, and they manage to get you 'in the room', I don't think the casting directors will care too much what qualifications you do or don't have, if you are right for what they are casting. However, in reality there is rightly or wrongly a view that the 'best' grads for musical theatre jobs come from a certain few schools where the training is in the form of a degree, and they don't tend to be ones that offer a diploma from 16, which seems more successful for those aiming for commercial dance/cruise ships/panto ensemble etc. So it's probably about what your DD wants to do long-term. If she's all about the dance and it's a reputable diploma, great, but if she wants to work professionally in MT I'd be inclined to wait and train at 18 at a good school that offers a degree. She doesn't have to do A levels in the meantime - she could do a funded performing arts BTEC which will keep her training going and put her in a strong position for post 18 applications. It's quite late in the day though, and applications for those courses may have closed, but worth looking to see if some of the best providers are still accepting applications.
No doubt somebody will come on here and say that their DC did a diploma and is now dying nightly on the barricades, but from what I have seen of young people on a 16-19 diploma, it doesn't compare with what those with degrees from the most reputable colleges are achieving. However, those we know have got work on cruise ships and are doing well.

Ah thank you. My DC has loved meeting all the auditionees. 😊😊

@feelinhopeful My dd did a diploma; is graduating this year and has been signed by a very good agent. The question of diploma/degree never came up - but she did an acting course, not MT.

@UsualChaos I think it's different with acting because that just comes down to the school's funding arrangement. I assume your DD started at 18 and not 16?

Yes, that's right, started at 18 after regular school, and had a DaDA for funding.

Hi has anyone else been offered a place at arts Ed on the acting degree? My daughter received her offer a couple of weeks ago now and we are looking at accommodation and getting to know others who have been offered a place ? Thanks 😊

Thanks, that's what I was wondering. I'll have a chat with her I think. How do I know which colleges are most respected by agents. I'm not sure where she should be applying to. She's got an offer for the diploma course at Laine currently but also looked at Hammond (in Chester). She preferred the feel of Hammond but thought she probably needed to be in London, but again I have no idea how much that matters.

An offer from Laine is great. Personally I would choose Laine over The Hammond but she also has to be happy for the next 3 years. You don’t see many Hammond graduates on the west end, but I believe they do well getting jobs on cruise ships. No shade on cruise ships - fabulous way to earn a living. It just depends what she wants from her career. Once working on cruises, it’s very difficult to audition for anything else due to the fact you’re not about for auditions.

@feelinhopeful is she first and foremost a dancer who intends to make her career in dance? If so a diploma at this stage is probably fine. I'm sure both schools offer excellent training. Or is she also a singer and actor who wants to work in professional tours/West End? If so I would wait till 18 and audition for the likes of Arts Ed, Mountview, GSA, Urdang etc. I'm not saying it would be impossible from a diploma course but I think it would be less likely. If she really wants to do a diploma at 16 then personally if finances etc permit I think Laine has a stronger reputation in the industry. Not knocking the Hammond at all and I'm sure what they do is excellent, but when you look in programmes at shows about people's training, you see Laine more often. I'm prepared for someone to come on and tell me that's wrong, and I am not an expert on the best route for dancers, but that's my impression as far as MT is concerned.

Just a postscript to add that there are of course people working in the industry who didn't train at the 'big' schools, or indeed get a degree at all, but if you can aim for post 18 at one of the top schools I think generally your chances of working will be greater.

Yes it's an interesting one isn't it. My dd (grad) is in a film at the moment with a young lad who hasn't trained. He's debating whether or not to train but as he's doing well and has a good agent, he probably won't.

We've been through this with one of our DC's and all I would say is the acting/MT route is brutal with such a high level of failure to make a living that I'd really try to persuade young people to avoid it unless they are so absolutely hell bent and super resilient with family wealth to support their career.

We have many friends who are between 2-5 years post top drama schools (RADA, BOVTS, RWCMD, GSA etc) and they are all completely struggling or have dropped out to pursue alternative careers.
There simply isn't enough work to go around. What work there is, is all being earmarked for diverse casting choices, but even being global majority is no guarantee of anything coming your way.
The drama schools are either having funding cut (GSA rumoured to be hit this year?) or heavily prioritising international students who will bring in more than double the fees of a UK student.
When you look at the careers of alumni students very few of them have managed to bag anything significant. It's all unpaid student films, shoestring local pub theatre (London) or theme park/cruise ship work.

I really feel angry with all these drama schools promising glittering success to suck in naive young students with their student loans. 🙁

I am sorry that you and your friends have been faced with this reality. My eldest Trained at Tring on dancers course and the dancers route is even more brutal than drama/MT I believe. The girls in that year have really struggled to find anything other than ad hoc bits and bobs (one was very fortunate and got into top company and never looked back) of course not helped by the fact they graduated in Covid times! My eldest had injuries and surgeries and ended up in a completely different career but the skills learnt from the training in dance have been invaluable and they are absolutely flying in their new career.

We also know of some who have absolutely excelled in performing arts - worked non stop since graduating going on now 4/5/6 years, international tours, national tours, west end etc. I hear you about diverse casting but the ones we know are not that. However, those that have been and are being successful are crazy talented - each one being jaw droppingly gifted and they have all come from the very top schools.

I guess what I am trying to say is that they must go in with their eyes wide open, have an alternative way of making money, know that chances of success are very slim but that some do make it and if they are talented and lucky, it could just be them - however, talent alone is not enough. Resilience, incredible work ethic, finding work opportunities and a huge dose of luck are all required. But also know, there are other career opportunities out there that their training will be invaluable for - that resilience, maturity at a young age, ability to take criticism, fight against the odds, determination, drive for perfection and work ethic are skills a lot of non Performing arts students don’t have. Life is short, they may as well chase their dreams. Success follows many paths and we as parents just have to be there to help them negotiate their own journeys.

@Divoc2020 On the point about colleges creating unrealistic expectations, one thing I am glad about is that students at dd's college have always been told that it's incredibly tough and have always been encouraged to create their own work. They were also regularly told about other careers within the industry and were involved in all other aspects of production during college plays etc. But another college where dd nearly went has apparently told their 3rd years that they will be leaving with a top agent or a Netflix contract, which is ridiculous.

@UsualChaos
That was one thing I liked about dd's place. They told them at open day that not everyone doing the course would make it, and said they do lectures on things like doing tax returns for being self-employed and how to set up a stage/dance school etc.
It felt better than they were being realistic than pretending they were all going to be stars.