LAMDA exams

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ruby95
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LAMDA exams

Post by ruby95 »

I have been doing LAMDA exams in 'acting' and in 'verse and prose' for a number of years now. I am currently working towards my grade 8 acting. I have always very much enjoyed these classes and have found the skills I have learnt there to be incredibly valuable and so do not regret having taken them, in the slightest.

BUT

I am confused as to whether or not I should mention that I have done LAMDA grades at auditions. Up until recently I assumed that it would always be good to mention them as it shows that I am committed to acting and that, as someone pre-drama-school age,I do still have some basic, tangible acting qualifications. Yet I was told recently by someone 'in the business' that many casting directors do not like to choose kids/ young people who have taken them.

Does anyone know if this is true?
pg
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Re: LAMDA exams

Post by pg »

Warning: possibly contentious and entirely personal opinion coming up!

I think there is some truth to this, personally. I think this is because not all LAMDA exam teaching is helpful if this is all you are doing to prepare you for acting professionally (which I don't suppose it is!).

I am sure there are some excellent teachers, but I have certainly seen some students who have achieved high marks in LAMDA exams give stilted performances. I don't believe that LAMDA exams are an acting "qualification" - even if some of the things you learn and practise are useful to you.

I wouldn't say you should hide your successes and achievements in LAMDA exams, just make sure you don't "tout" them as evidence of you being a good actor, if you see what I mean.

Most of the time, if you are looking for professional jobs, what counts is your last few professional jobs... Auditioners are more likely to be interested in past performances than exams.

Remember - just a personal opinion!
islandofsodor
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Re: LAMDA exams

Post by islandofsodor »

I am involved in helping to prepare students for LAMDA exams.

There are several approaches you can take to LAMDA. I hate what I call the identikit approach where a student or grop of students prepare their pieces in exactly the way the teacher has coached them to. They are copying thier teacher's interpretation you see this approach a lot at festivals. You can gain excellent marks but I question what the student has actually learnt.

I prefer for students to prepare pieces and get to their own interpretation under the watchful eye of a teacher, to look for the truth in a performance and to really understand their chatracter and what they are trying to achieve. Saying that in order to gain good marks you do have to have one eye on the marking criteria. It is for example quite easy to up you final grade by achieving full marks for the knowledge section.

We offer LAMDA alongside a students weekly drama classes and they prepare for the exam in just 6 fortnightly sessions rather than having a full year of private lessons. I do advise students thinking pf auditioning for college to consider doing LAMDA, not because they need it or the grades will count (its like in music exams are good indicators of a level achieved but to get in to music college it all goes on the audition) but because it is useful practise in preparing a monologue and performing it in front of someone. Useful if most of your experience so far has been in group situations or with mostly improvised/devised work.

I would say the main difference in preparing a piece for a LAMDA exam and preparing a piece for a college audition is that LAMDA you are expected to deliver a final product, I'm not saying that for a college audition you don't need to be polished. but you do need to be prepared to perform it in a totally different way, if asked. They need to see that you can act, not just copy.
pg
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Re: LAMDA exams

Post by pg »

islandofsodor wrote:I hate what I call the identikit approach where a student or grop of students prepare their pieces in exactly the way the teacher has coached them to. They are copying thier teacher's interpretation you see this approach a lot at festivals. You can gain excellent marks but I question what the student has actually learnt.
This is precisely what I have come across...

Your approach sounds so much more helpful!

It is possible that the uncertainty that ruby95 refers to is because there are unfortunately a few teachers around who go for the identikit approach.
ruby95
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Re: LAMDA exams

Post by ruby95 »

islandofsodor my LAMDA teacher definitely uses a technique similar to yours. He teaches us about the practitioners and others ways of connecting to and understanding the characters within the context of the play. He always makes sure that that we come to our own conclusions about the characters and don't just accept what he says. He is a really great teacher and would never let us just mimic his interpretation.

But if many people assume that mimcing is what I have learnt at LAMDA as a method of passing the exam then it all makes sense. Thank you so much to both of you. :D
pg
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Re: LAMDA exams

Post by pg »

It's always worth reminding yourself that if you get to the audition stage, then the auditioner wants to see you and already hopes that you will be the right person for the job!

What you then do in the audition is what counts.

Then you have to remind yourself that lots of other things around the casting decision are out of your hands...
All very easy to say of course ;)
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Nicola
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Re: LAMDA exams

Post by Nicola »

In my unqualified opinion, what I love about the LAMDA process is that for once, there is an opportunity to be judged on work you have prepared - to get feedback and to learn how to improve (at least as far as this process is concerned) for the next time. As you go through the grades, there is a great sense of accomplishment and a feeling that your hard work is being translated into something tangible. There is also a lot of theory learned (certainly for verse and prose), which my DD finds helpful in her English lit classes at school.

This feeling of hard work leading to accomplishment is something that is sorely lacking from the rest of this business. Our DC can prepare all they like for castings - and potentially absolutely ace the casting, being much better than anyone else BUT if they have the wrong colour eyes / hair / skin, all of their hard work will go unrewarded.

I agree with PG (surprise, surprise!) - it's not something I'd ever encourage DD to mention at a casting - purely because I don't think it's relevant (not because it has no value) but it IS a great thing for your CV and will have been a great boost to you speaking / performing skills along the way.

I also agree with islandofsodor that it must be taught in a non-parrot like fashion, which seems to defeat the purpose of self-development aspect of it. I too have been in festivals in a set-piece class, where 4 interpretations will be absolutely identical, as if they've all learnt it in unison. In that case, it's completely pointless - but I'm also fairly sure that those people don't go on to the highest grades.
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Genevieve
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Re: LAMDA exams

Post by Genevieve »

LAMDA exams and the process has certainly helped my dd, and she learned an awful lot about herself as a performer and about practitioners, and it helped with English at school. I think its fine to write on forms that you've done them, as they are an achievement, and they show commitment and training for solo performances.
But when my dd performed a piece she'd already done for LAMDA Gold for a festival, she was so 'relieved' she could do it again without the restrictions that she'd had performing it for the LAMDA exam, as it is very different. I have been given the impression that those who don't adapt their performance for audition panels (for drama schools for example) can tell that you've done LAMDA exams and picked up bad habits. Totally agree with the posts so far on this, and its how you perform in the audition, and credits you have which you'll be assessed on.
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Nicola
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Re: LAMDA exams

Post by Nicola »

Hi Genevieve,

Would you mind expanding on this?
But when my dd performed a piece she'd already done for LAMDA Gold for a festival, she was so 'relieved' she could do it again without the restrictions that she'd had performing it for the LAMDA exam
DD is only working towards Grade 6 at the moment, so it could be a grade thing that we've not come across yet, or maybe it's that we're so knee-deep in LAMDA indoctrination that we don't even notice the restrictions, so I'd love to know what I should perhaps be looking out for. As things stand, my DD does her solo drama piece the same whether it's for a festival or her exam so now you've got me worried!!!
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Re: LAMDA exams

Post by In4aPenny »

Nicola wrote:In my unqualified opinion, what I love about the LAMDA process is that for once, there is an opportunity to be judged on work you have prepared - to get feedback and to learn how to improve (at least as far as this process is concerned) for the next time. As you go through the grades, there is a great sense of accomplishment and a feeling that your hard work is being translated into something tangible. There is also a lot of theory learned (certainly for verse and prose), which my DD finds helpful in her English lit classes at school.

This feeling of hard work leading to accomplishment is something that is sorely lacking from the rest of this business. Our DC can prepare all they like for castings - and potentially absolutely ace the casting, being much better than anyone else BUT if they have the wrong colour eyes / hair / skin, all of their hard work will go unrewarded.
You talk a lot of sense Nicola. Great reply! :D :D
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Genevieve
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Re: LAMDA exams

Post by Genevieve »

Nicola wrote:Would you mind expanding on this?
DD is only working towards Grade 6 at the moment, so it could be a grade thing that we've not come across yet, or maybe it's that we're so knee-deep in LAMDA indoctrination that we don't even notice the restrictions, so I'd love to know what I should perhaps be looking out for. As things stand, my DD does her solo drama piece the same whether it's for a festival or her exam so now you've got me worried!!!
islandofsodor's post explains this very well - Having asked my dd, she said its hard to explain, and it depends on how you've been taught by LAMDA teacher, practitioner wise, but having taken LAMDA classes does help with the rehearsals of pieces outside of classes, - but performing when not following the criteria that LAMDA requires, performance/acting is much more natural - LAMDA teaches you to look under the text. to get the character, which is helpful, but its same as if you're doing a GCSE or A Level exam in drama when you are performing to tick boxes, - so any performance without having to adhere to certain criteria is always going to be more natural. I do think its easier for dds to see this when they are older to give a more natural performance. I hope this makes sense :shock:
Last edited by Genevieve on Thu Mar 01, 2012 10:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Flosmom
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Re: LAMDA exams

Post by Flosmom »

Nicola wrote:
This feeling of hard work leading to accomplishment is something that is sorely lacking from the rest of this business. Our DC can prepare all they like for castings - and potentially absolutely ace the casting, being much better than anyone else BUT if they have the wrong colour eyes / hair / skin, all of their hard work will go unrewarded.
In4aPenny wrote:You talk a lot of sense Nicola. Great reply! :D :D
I agree. Flo loves doing her LAMDA exams because they give her a sense of achievement and she likes to 'make the grade'. But she knows they're not like auditions.

Deb x
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Genevieve
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Re: LAMDA exams

Post by Genevieve »

Flosmom wrote: Flo loves doing her LAMDA exams because they give her a sense of achievement and she likes to 'make the grade'. But she knows they're not like auditions.Deb x
yes my dd enjoyed them to. By Grade 7 however,fitting the classes in around all the other school work and having to do 3 pieces did get a bit much, but by that time she was determined to finish them all.Like music exams getting the grades and completing to Grade 8 if possible, is an achievement and worth doing.- but has never mentioned doing them at general auditions.
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Re: LAMDA exams

Post by frisbee »

Learning lots on this thread.

Ds only started doing LAMDA end of last year but did enjoy doing them and getting the individual teaching attention. Did it via his drama group, saw it as a little bit of a goal/achievement to aim for to spice things up a bit, just the same as with the showcases they do. It gives something to aim for.

Shall pass info gleaned on here to him, if I can translate it into "boy speak!"
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Re: LAMDA exams

Post by riverdancefan »

we thought about Lamda exams....
and have decided not to go for them at this time.
DS has so much going on in his little life and have decided to concentrate on singing exams and of course the dancing, ballet, tap, modern and irish. He gets good drama input at his performing arts school, and if something important was to come up, then his drama teacher does private coaching. She coached him through the Scholarship auditions and he got to the final 15 for SY so did very well with a Shakespeare piece more suited to a 16 year old !
I hope he is not at a disadvantage but having read this thread I think we made the right decision for him, and he can always change his mind later on. He would do EVERYTHING if I let him.
school work is still important and we can hardly fit that in either !

interesting thread, thank you
"Tall and proud my mother taught me, this is how we dance" - RIVERDANCE
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