Drama school auditions 2026 entry- Acting/MT

[Mcmumager]

Annual thread for those with dc about to embark on the rollercoaster of audition season. This is my second time round as my ds did it a couple of years ago. These threads are always really supportive and full of great advice as it’s often hard to explain to others how tough and competitive this process is. Good luck everyone!!

Is anyone applying from Wales? The funding is a minefield and trying to get as to whether Welsh students can access tuition fee loans is impossible! We have been told that colleges must be on the office for students register for students from Wales to access tuition fee loans or Welsh government won’t pay them, and the majority of the ones dd has put on her ucas form aren’t (Bird being the exception), and what makes it more confusing is that there are different levels of registration that aren’t clear and each level gets different funding!
Wilkes have asked her if she wants to withdraw because there is no funding available for Welsh students at all. Italia Conti are apparently in the process of applying for registration but no guarantee they’ll get it. She’s also applied to Urdang (no idea of their policy for Welsh students but they aren’t on the ofs as a standalone institution, I’m hoping they are as part of the university of London?), Performers (not her top choice but looks ok funding wise) and Emil Dale (also a mystery but she’s going to a workshop in Cardiff next month so hoping that means Welsh students are being considered!)
It seems so unfair that she’s at a disadvantage due to being born in Wales!

I saw this mentioned on a Reddit thread (don't know if it was you or someone else) and there seems to be a workaround if your DC's home address is in England around results time e.g. she moves to live with grandparents over the border or somesuch before applying for student finance. The rules seem to state that you must live in the UK for 3 years (incl Isle of Man, Channel Islands etc) but there's a separate bullet point about your home being in England. So that seems like you can have lived in Wales until till before the point of applying for £, but as long as you're in England afterwards, it should be okay. I'm no expert so definitely dig into it, but hopefully it won't be as insurmountable as all that.

This was the thread, if helpful - https://www.reddit.com/r/UniUK/comments/1p9sduk/student_loan/

No advice I'm afraid, but had also heard about this. It's appallingly short-sighted on the part of Welsh Student Finance/Welsh govt. So they will provide finance for someone to do a university degree in a subject that offers almost no employment prospects at a uni with a very low ranking, or to do MT at a university (which being honest isn't going to help them get into the industry), but they won't pay for students to go to Wilkes, EDA, IC etc where they would get decent training and at least a decent chance of getting some sort of work - even if not on stage, as commercial dancers, entertainment hosts, cruise ship performers, dance and MT teachers etc. There needs to be a campaign to raise awareness of this. I feel for your DD.

Thank you!
Luckily she has GPs in England so we have considered that as an option even though she’ll lose the £3000 grant. It also feels wrong but we may have no choice…it wasn’t my thread on Reddit but I’ll take a look!
I have emailed my MP who tried to intervene to be fair but he got the same response as me from student finance.
She really wants a dance college not a university course due to future employment prospects so it’s very frustrating that if we lived in England this wouldn’t be an issue at all, it’s so unfair!

Regarding numbers of applicants versus places, in drama schools they are selecting an ensemble each year. A group who will compliment and balance each other so they can take on a range of plays.

So let’s say 24 RADA BA acting intake, will be made up of six white women - two brunettes two blonde and two “not beautiful”: three white men, three of wh are “handsome” and three are “quirky”, six black men etc etc.

so your beautiful blonde son might get rejected at the final hurdle because they already have a beautiful blond boy and are looking for a short fat guy who’s kinda funny looking…

(my child got into RADA after six years of auditioning)

That makes a lot of sense (hadn’t thought of it like that) Congratulations to your DC on their resilience and getting a place! Are they enjoying/did they enjoy the course? Do you mind me asking what they did each year when waiting to apply again? Part time training/acting work?

They changed hugely over the three years - grew in understanding themselves, relationship, their body. It was an incredibly absorbing intense and tiring period - not always “happy”’or “enjoyable” but always knowing it was the right place to be for them.

The sense of relief and of being assured of some kind of acting future vanished in the third year, as the pressure around getting an agent is incredible and felt reminiscent of the auditioning years.

in the six auditioning years - after year 3 they applied only to RADA - they went from bar work and to assistant sommelier at a Michelin starred restaurant.

@Bondeninspiring story of resilience! Is your son working in the restaurant now or has he managed to get some acting work?

Almost every graduate from this summer AFAIAA is doing a mix of work and “working” to varying degrees. One, I think, has been booked for a film that will pay livable amounts. Maybe two.

As a v non-lovie family of academics we were horrified when our child wanted to be an actor … when they finally got to RADA we felt like parents may feel whose son gets accepted by Oxford to do PPI. WTTE of “ Huzzah, doors will now open, their future in their chosen field is assured, it won’t be easy of course, but the worst is over”. We were mistaken. The demand for actors is falling, pay is falling, if you’re not culturally interesting agents are way less interested …

That is so sobering, but what impressive resilience your son has, so he is bound to find his way in life with an attitude like that.

Am currently in a cafe in Brighton as it’s my daughter’s first audition day. I am so terrified and just praying she gets an offer somewhere!

And the other aspect of this, is that if you find yourself on what they always say is a 'short' reserve list, you have no idea how likely you are to move off it. It's not ranked, so they can't tell you for example that you are third on the list - it entirely depends on who declines a place and whether you are a suitable replacement in terms of look. My DS was on reserve at Central aged 18. They sent him a lovely message and he tried not to invest too much, but it was a bit disappointing for him that a place never materialised. However, can honestly say he doesn't regret it now. Some of his tutors at GSA are ex-Central, and he's had great training and met some very inspiring people from the industry and forged good connections and it's all been a little less expensive than central London might have been.
Also totally agree that the euphoria of getting a place is great in first year but soon subsides into general worry about whether you will get an agent, whether you will work etc! But he wouldn't change anything. It's a valuable experience and one that he feels is a privilege to have had.

I think we all appreciate this is a very hard road for our young people. Working in performing arts is definitely a calling and not a choice in most cases. IME most of them understand this and are very aware that they need to be open to portfolio careers that will include teaching, gigging, and other creative pursuits because let’s be honest, only a very tiny minority will be the next Jonathan Bailey… My DC is particularly enjoying anatomy! I can see them digging into this as the course goes on and maybe working in an area that covers the physical and anatomical aspects of performance as part of their portfolio. That’s a totally new door open that we hadn’t considered before!

That’s so lovely to hear ❤️ So important that they enjoy themselves and find it a valuable opportunity to grow within themselves at this age. Did you say your son is on the MT course? My son is going for actor Muso at GSA and Mountview and straight acting everywhere else. He loved GSA as they said he could do dancing with the MTs (something he wants to continue inside/outside of college dependent on course) - do you know if this is true?

On the agent point, my son already has one and they’ve said they’ll keep him on (which may or may not transpire as 3 years is a long time!) but they are encouraging him not to go to college and to go straight into industry (he disagrees and wants more training to be a well rounded actor).

@NervesAreShotthe actor muso course at GSA is proper ‘quadruple threat’. I believe they only have about 2 hours less dance per week than the MT students and the dance training is much more structured than the other AM courses. My DC is an actor muso at Rose Bruford where they have one dance class a week and it’s pretty general. The ‘dancers’ on their course (of which my DC is not one!!) seem to pop into Pineapple for extra classes.

DD started singing before she could speak properly and she has wanted to do MT for as long as she could. We feel we have to support her in this endeavour to see how far she could take her dream ……..

Thank you - that is super helpful!

No, mine is an actor but for various reasons has a lot of friends training for MT too. I believe the Actor musos at GSA do dancw training with the MTs, yes. But even the straight actors can access subsidised dance and singing lessons, which my DS has done as he's an actor who can do MT as opposed to an MT performer who acts - there's a part of him that will never fully let MT go! Anotyer great thing for your DS, from the sound of him, would be GSA Singers. Anyone from MT, actor muso and Acring courses can audition in second year for that. It's a little performance group that GSA hires out for corporate events ot charity dos etc. Brings in some much needed cash for the school and is a lot of fun for the students. They take a staged concert that is professional standard to a posh event and get to dress up and get fed, sing with big names etc.

Sounds great!!!

hope everyone is doing well? How competitive is Italia Continfor MT this year given the changes in the course which was discussed in the thread earlier? I guess no one knows but does anyone know of their stats so far or it’s too early to know

I'd imagine numbers will be slightly down due to increase in fees plus the fact that Welsh students needing student finance, cannot currently access it for Conti as they are still not registered with the Office for Students. However I strongly suspect the competition for places will be nearly just as fierce. My Daughters friends from college currently on L3 course are pretty much all auditioning still. EDA have had these top ups for a number of years and their audition numbers don't seem to be affected, always incredibly competitive. I guess no one will know until after the years auditions are over though, and even then unless you do a FOI request the application data is never published as far as I am aware..

Thanks @CrazyReindeer. i asked as I know if students being offered a place on the day of audition so was wondering if there was a reason for this.

Think they have always done that (especially for boys)..
Last year 2 of my daughters friends were offered BA places from attending the audition prep course.. didnt even need to audition.

@CrazyReindeerwow! Do you think it is a good school with solid training?