2012 DRAMA SCHOOL APPLICATIONS

[Genevieve]

a recall for the foundation course ... all thoughts and opinions on the RADA Foundation course would be much appreciated. It is a LOT of money and does not qualify for a student loan ...

my gut feeling is that DD would also benefit from a gap year rather than doing a foundation course.

Annoys me.,when Arts Foundation courses are FREE !! Such an expensive option, when your dd wanted a BA 3yr course. The RADA foundation is just as competitive, if not more than the BA course too ! If necessary, a gap years a good idea, There's also summer school your dd can go to at leading drama school too to see if a BA Acting 3yr course is what she wants. Good idea for your dd to go to the audition for foundation course at RADA though - if not for experience and take it from there.

I had no idea about the 'accredited ' bit, so I'm glad I found out now so plenty of time to think it all through. I hadn't realised that there was such a perceived difference in 'value'! He was sort of thinking of trying for Bath Spa, as its down the road, but maybe not now.

There's strong advice to apply for accredited courses, because the University drama courses that arn't accredited are more theory-based than practical training. There are 22 leading drama schools who are members of the Conference of Drama Schools (CDS), and because their courses are accredited this ensures they are of the highest standard, offering practical 'vocational' training, and are recognised by employers in all areas of the industry, and the students graduate with Equity membership.
Downside is that the competition for places onto 'accredited' 'Acting' courses is notoriously high. @Each drama school will receive between 1,000 to 4,000+ applicants each year, for an intake of between 20 to 150 places !! The more 'famous' drama schools will likely accept 1 applicant in 100, rising to 3 and 5 per 100 at the less famous (not necessarily less good) drama schools (source : student room website)@
Useful websites : http://insidedramaschoolauditions.blogspot.com/ http://ncdt.co.uk/guidetotraining/courses/ http://sites.stocksphere.com/cds/articl ... ticleid=15

[sapphire]

I was quite surprised to discover that, for example, UWE don't do auditions for their Drama degree, and you don't need to have done any drama before either, it just goes on UCAS points from any subjects, whilst Bath Spa go on an audition.

Is it possible to find a list of the unis doing the unacredited courses ie acting degrees, rather than drama degrees?

If you want to study acting then a drama degree is not the right choice ....all are very theory-based. You can search on the UCAS website by subject and can find info on Acting and Performing Arts courses that way ... happy hunting

[Welsh Mum]

The other advantage with accredited courses is that at their showcases they get a huge number of well respected agents attending, largely because if the college is well respected they know in advance that it will produce high quality graduates - not something they know elsewhere so many will not attend their showcases. The showcase is very important, its where most graduates get their agents.

There are other perks as well - DD performed in the Olivier Awards last year - a few of the leading schools were asked to send some students. Some third years last year performed in the Royal festival of Remebrance in the Albert Hall in November - again, asked to supply some dancers for Cliff Richard . So you get good opportunities. This afternoon she has a Q and A session with Vanessa Redgrave

[tikka]

WOW, sounds amazing......and so far out of reach!

Being realistic I think DS may be looking at an acting degree at a good old uni....is there any way of finding out the pecking order of the unis?


tikka

[sapphire]

Central, LIPA and Man Met are accredited courses you have to apply for through UCAS ... so these are definitely the best.

Unfortunately other Acting courses such as those offered by Bath Spa, Bournemouth, UCLAN etc are not seen as being as prestigious .... at least that's my understanding

[pg]

I would agree that the accredited courses are the best to aim for as others have said. Tikka, if your ds wants to try to work as a professional actor then I think it's important to consider both the quality of the training and, as you say, the perceived value by agents and those with jobs to give. I'd be more inclined to suggest going for a degree at University in something different and doing lots of acting while he's there. It's worth him thinking about what a degree in acting from a non-accredited course will deliver for him. He might thoroughly enjoy it and learn a lot of interesting things - and that might be sufficient reason to choose the course. I think he would need to choose it because the course looks brilliant/interesting though, not as a view to it opening doors in the profession.

Also, of course, there are plenty of actors who get jobs without drama school. Where you train is one "sifting" that is done by agents/CDs. For someagents/CDs it's an important one but it's certainly not the only one - and once you have a few jobs on your CV, where or whether you trained is far less relevant/important.

The problem with these decisions is that no specific decision holds any guarantees. A student can do everything "right" and still not get an agent or a job, or a student can elect to study something unrelated to drama and then get an acting job/agent when graduating.

From my own experience though, I am very glad indeed that I trained on an accredited course. Quite apart from any perceived value or jump start from getting a good agent (which didn't happen for me at the showcase, nor for lots of other graduates by the way, it was several months later that I got an agent), I just learned so much about myself as an actor. I learned lots of things I didn't know I didn't know (if you see what I mean). Had I not gone to drama school, with the opportunity to work on the craft of acting for 9 hours a day, I would have carried on with all the bad habits I learned as an enthusiastic amateur, with no idea at all that the habits I had were bad!

I wouldn't bother with a year long foundation course unless you have lots of money! I think there are more useful things you can do (or just as useful) in a gap year:
Earning money (they'll need it)
Going to the theatre as much as possible
Reading lots of plays
Volunteering at a Fringe festival and talking to the actors/production teams
Putting on a production/concert (however humble)
Getting together with other actors for improvisation and play reading sessions if possible
Getting someone you trust to help you with your speeches - an outside eye is really useful. Someone who has been to drama school/is working in the profession is probably best, but it has to be someone you can feel comfortable with to help you learn and improve.

and perhaps most importantly, experiencing life outside education for a while and meeting people not involved in the acting profession.

I went to the Oxford School of Drama. Both the 3 year and the 1 year course are accredited (but not the foundation courses) and you can get a DaDA for both. This makes the one year course particularly appealing because you can get a DaDA even if you've already had funding for a degree. At least, that was the case when I went. Depending on family income you can also get a grant towards maintenance (but not a student loan).

[islandofsodor]

I would also add that you should look at CDET accredited schools too. Some schools such as Bird have CDET accreditation as they originally started off as dance colleges but they also offer well respected acting degrees and diplomas. These courses have their agent showcases too.

[Genevieve]

From my own experience though, I am very glad indeed that I trained on an accredited course. Quite apart from any perceived value or jump start from getting a good agent (which didn't happen for me at the showcase, nor for lots of other graduates by the way, it was several months later that I got an agent),.

A friend of my dds went to ALRA and she was the ONLY student in her year to get an agent straight away on leaving !
My dd has heard from RADA following her recall. After looking at the envelope for a while ...she opened it..and it states they are still considering. Phew !

[sapphire]

My dd has heard from RADA following her recall. After looking at the envelope for a while ...she opened it..and it states they are still considering. Phew !

How exciting .... hoping it's a positive outcome for your DD

DD and I went to an ALRA open day and stayed for the student production. We sat next to a lovely gentleman ... his daughter was one of the final year students. In chatting we discovered he had two other children both drama school graduates both of whom were really struggling to get professional work .... it's a hard path our children want to follow

[Genevieve]

My theory is that if my dd had a passion and ambition to work in medicine and got an offer for medical school, would I be so worried ? (probably not )-but someone said to me the other day that he wished he'd had the opportunity to pursue an acting career, but he was pushed to take the academic route, and his school saw drama as a soft subject - he still regrets that he never got the chance - he's now in his 60's.
My friends dd asked at Central how many applications this year for the the BA (Hons) Acting Course, she was told over 4,000 for only 14 places But competition for Unis is also competitive, so are jobs, life is !

[tikka]

[quote="Genevieve"]My theory is that if my dd had a passion and ambition to work in medicine and got an offer for medical school, would I be so worried ? (probably not )-

good thinking Genevieve

such a difficult time to make such hard choices for us - 'passion of your subject and fun following a dream' versus 'common sense and getting the right qualifications to maybe be in a better position to get a job' - especially as there aren't many jobs in the first place.

When I trained I went into maths teaching and knew I'd get a job, and it would be a job for life, which makes it so hard for me to get my head round ds following his passion, probably not getting into 'the best' place to train but into somewhere that's just 'good', and then doing short term jobs flitting between acting and working in call centres! But its his choice and I'm glad he is following a dream.

Thanks for all the links everyone. Been looking through them and we really like Oxford, but oh, the fees! I'm now getting the comments about DADAs. I really feel for you all.

Good luck everyone.

I see the DADAs rules are changing as next year is the last year of transitional arrangements - so are they likely to continue beyond next year?

[Genevieve]

When I trained I went into maths teaching and knew I'd get a job, and it would be a job for life, which makes it so hard for me to get my head round ds following his passion, probably not getting into 'the best' place to train but into somewhere that's just 'good', and then doing short term jobs flitting between acting and working in call centres! But its his choice and I'm glad he is following a dream.

mind you - a young man who went to one of the top drama schools was working behind a bar I went into the other night so be prepared I guess so..... they're all at it !!! (so to speak )

[Welsh Mum]

[quote="tikka]When I trained I went into maths teaching and knew I'd get a job, and it would be a job for life, which makes it so hard for me to get my head round ds following his passion, probably not getting into 'the best' place to train but into somewhere that's just 'good', and then doing short term jobs flitting between acting and working in call centres! But its his choice and I'm glad he is following a dream.

mind you - a young man who went to one of the top drama schools was working behind a bar I went into the other night so be prepared I guess so..... they're all at it !!! (so to speak )[/quote][/quote]

Unfortunately this is true of lots of degrees now - DD has friends with excellent degrees from top unis, still not in "proper" job yet after graduating last summer. These days there are few guarantees whatever you train as so may as well aim for what you love As long as your DCs are realistic about what it will be like - unfortunately for some raised on the "instant fame" of reality tv shows some are not prepared to slog away at it for years and expect instant success. The drama colleges soon disabuse you of that view

[Genevieve]

I know of many parents of budding excellent actors who have said NO to drama school, and their dds and dss are off to Uni to do a more academic degree ,and told them to just get involved in drama where possible at Uni , and their parents have said they can do a one year course in acting after they're got a degree under their belt !
I think you've got to be realistic. I read that on leaving uni/drama school degrees you can expect to get a job (not acting) with a starting salary of £14,000 - but leaving University with a more academic degree you can expect a starting salary from around £21,000, (thus, starting to pay your student loan back!)
So doing the maths on that !!! Of course, there's always the option of taking a teaching qualification and PGCE after doing your 'accredited' drama course ....thereby earning potential improves !
None of us are under any illusions that you'll get a 9 to 5 job and have 28 days holiday a year and a decent pension --
FORGET IT !!!
What on earth are we all doing in that case ??? I do sometimes wonder
If I had my way ........

...Back to reminding myself about the 'passion' dd has I think...before I put my head in a bucket

[angelam]

My DD came home late last night after rehearsals and burst into tears. As well as been tired the harsh reality of future insecurity had really properly dawned her. I felt so sorry for her. She like so many young people she has worked her butt off for years making sacrifices that would make her peers faint. She had been focusing on the dream of getting into drama school (not starting to apply until next year) but has started to think that even if she was lucky enough to get in that it is a selfish and foolish decision from an overall financial perspective (short and long term).

Cheer me up. Who's got an positive or inspirational news or views.