Performing Arts 2025

[doesanybodyhaveamap]

Starting a thread re: performing arts applicants for 2025. If one already exists, happy to be redirected!!

Anyone pressed 'send' on their applications yet? Curious as to timelines for initial responses and to submit self tapes....

Buckling in for a long and nervous journey!

@Hatethewaiting wow she has some great offers already. Well done to her, and good luck for the remaining auditions too.

Wow - so many great offers! Congratulations everyone!

My DD auditioned for 6 places for Musical Theatre. Her last of those auditions was Arts Ed yesterday and she got cut, but she wasn’t feeling well and debated whether she should go. In retrospect we should have asked to defer her audition but it is what it is. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Of her remaining schools, she still hasn’t heard a peep from Mountview so I’m guessing that’s a no, BUT she has offers from the rest,
She got an offer on the day for the Ba MT from both Bird and Wilkes, and a choice of either the Ba or Diploma (with or without the final year degree top up) from Laine, and finally London Studio Centre offered her a choice of Ba MT, Ba Jazz and commercial or Ba contemporary.

She has no idea which to choose. Financially, Bird or Wilkes make sense but she fears Bird won’t push her enough in dance (she’s already as good as many in their third year show) and fears Wilkes won’t push her enough vocally which is probably her weakest of the three areas for MT.

Such a big decision and I have no idea how to help her decide so any valuable opinions welcome!

Also, anyone else waiting on Mountview?

The Manchester pianist messed up my DD’s music too! She was laughing about it, but said it was at what felt like 1.5 speed!

Also Conservatoire’s tend to do longer hours, there’s a reason for this, but I’m sure someone else will know why!

It's because Spotlight & Equity set a minimum number of hours for courses in order for their graduates to be eligible for membership.

My DD has been waiting a long time to hear from Royal Welsh. Are you supposed to log into Acceptd to get the result or do they email you?

If you go to a West - End show you will find most of the performers are from ArtsEd or Laine. They along with Mountview are the most expensive schools unfortunately

They emailed last year.

Oh dear, it might have been your DD who came out and asked the question. Mine said she just apologised at the end and said ‘I’m sorry, I’m not quite sure what happened there’ although she did t think it was her. At least they can laugh about it.

Those are amazing offers. Bird was always known to be very dancey, has that changed? I would have thought it Top Trumps the others.

DD is still waiting to hear from Mountview too, she seemed to think 24th of March.

Laine is probably the danciest (betty Laine loves her ballet girls & her boys regardless of style) but the dance training at Bird is top notch.

back when Dh taught there they had two separate courses - one was for actor singers, but it’s all the same course now but the students can work to their strengths.

BUT

its become huge, massive cohorts means that even if class sizes are small you struggle to get seen. Agents pick & choose which shows they come too. It’s easy to get lost in the crowd.

It’s good to know that the dance training isn’t going to be a huge step down from Laine, but the cohort size is a bit concerning. I suppose they have to take extra students to make the course financially viable given that they charge so much less. Laine is £22k per year(!!!) compared to Bird’s £9,800.
DD is pretty self-motivated though and has always had her commitment to whatever job is at hand applauded by her teachers, both dance and academically, so I HOPE that she can be driven enough to not shrink into the background of ‘kids’ giving it less than 100%, though I appreciate that’s only one of many factors in being seen.

Also, not necessarily relevant to the training DD will receive but I really didn’t love the lack of diversity at Laine 🤔. When looking around and watching classes there, it felt like everyone had been hand-picked to be a Lainey with the occasional person who looked a bit different. By chance, my daughter IS that Laine-looking person (slim, white, blonde) but it really stood out to me how I felt like I was watching 20 versions of my daughter in each class. Maybe that’s a not totally a bad thing as I can see her fitting in there, but it didn’t sit quite right with me. Certainly, ‘off’ enough for me to notice. In this respect at least, Arts Ed, Mountview and Bird really felt like a better balance (in fact Arts Ed even said in their talk that some people would likely be discounted due to their commitment to diversity rather than the applicants talent, so not to be discouraged by cuts).

Yes, there is definitely a type at Laine. I don't think they have moved away from the ballet aesthetic.

To be honest, agents pick and choose with every drama school 3rd year show. It’s simply not possible to cover everything, shows often clash, you’d be out every night and away from the office at matinees (as I am today, in fact) and there’s also your actual client list to cover in any show they are in too, so something has to give and you’ll prioritise a particular school because it’s easiest to get to or you’re interested in the show itself.

I am often swayed by a couple of emails from the cast.

Yes but the college my dd went to had one graduate showcase lasting 30 mins and one 3rd year musical. Agents went to both.

If a college has multiple showcases spread over a number of days and 4 different 3rd year musicals, each triple cast then the odds of being seen are much smaller.

Oooh! Your response has piqued my interest! You’re an agent?

Obviously, it’s largely a case of ‘horses for courses’ (or replace ‘horses’ with ‘dancers’ in this instance 🤪) and almost impossible to say what’s best because people are so different, but without knowing anything about a person which school out of Bird, Laine, Wilkes and LSC would you say shows the most rounded performers in their third year showcases?

@BlumminNora - dance isn’t my agenting bag really. I have a mix of MT and ‘straight’ acting people on my books. I just follow these threads as sometimes I have something useful to contribute but not always, sadly, as on this occasion. Sorry.

My DDs already on Spotlight, I didn’t realise it related to hours of training.

Maybe because she had an agent for some supporting artist things she did with me. Whilst she’s not represented by them now, the direct debit still goes out to Spotlight and it lists what she’s been in.

@mimbleandlittlemy applying the same question to MT - are there any particular schools that stand out to consistently having graduates that stand out?

If you join as a child then agents can add them to Spotlight.

Once you are over 18 then you need qualifying professional credits, or to be a graduate of a drama college.

There are various criteria as to which courses do or don't count, and it is a LOT easier these days than it was a few years ago to qualify for Spotlight entry.

That would be it. She was 18 when she did some Hollyoaks and Coronation Street stuff and a few walk ons in Dramas. I presume these must count. I just had a look and it still has her agents details on it!

Unless things have changed you never used to be able to use extras/walk on work for Spotlight.
however there have been big changes in the last 2-3 years.

Gone are the days of 4 professional credits or graduating from a named drama school.

Now it's:

You must have at least one featured role with an Equity or equivalent union contract
OR
You must have at least two credits where you were contracted as a performer (actor, singer, dancer, presenter, comedian, commentator, puppeteer, voice over artist, motion capture performer, model, variety performer). This would be featured work (and/or ensemble in theatre).

We don’t accept:

• Extra/Supporting Artist work
• Stunt credits
• Amateur/unpaid work
• Productions during training courses (as credits)

For training it must be RQF Level 5 and 1 year full-time minimum or 2 years part-time.

However, Spotlight is now massively oversaturated and Casting just go direct to their favourite agents, or to all agents. So it's pointless in terms of getting castings without the agent... but agents won't look at you if you're not on Spotlight. And so the complaints continue... but Spotlight make a ton of money.

I have MT graduates from Mountview, Guildford, Rose Bru, Royal Scottish and Royal Welsh. Not an indicator of school preference, more to do with my taste.

On the topic of Spotlight, since they sold out to the Americans it’s all about the money.

It’s always to do with personal taste as an agent, as it is with casting directors too.

My son submitted his first round audition tapes to GSA and Italia Conti 3 weeks ago but still hasn't heard anything. I know they say responses can take up to 4 weeks but it's making me a little nervous as some of his friends submitted at a similar time and have already heard back. I'm just wondering whether anyone else has experienced longs waits to back from first round auditions?