Lots of luck to all auditionees! & a place to put results

[amanda]

Gosh yes. Loads to prepare but at least the opportunity to show her strengths.

[Katymac]

Or fall flat on her face!!

[Megmar610]

Oh I'm sure she will be fine, fingers crossed for her.

[Katymac]

Thanks - she had problems with the trains & was 10 minutes late

Poor poppet!

[suesmith]

Hope it all goes well for her today - and the Christmas break has given her a final burst of energy

[Hecouldshine]

Good luck to all your dcs for their auditions.

Has anyone been following Susan Elkin in the Stage? Her latest comments on the cost of auditioning are here http://www.thestage.co.uk/columns/educa ... pplicants/

[millymollymandy]

Hi all, Ive only ever posted on here twice, but I have followed everybody elses stories for the past 2 years now. I can t tell you all how helpful your stories and advice have been, especially regarding drama school auditions, applications and advice. I have been passing the relevant and helpful information onto my dd who is in the middle of her drama school auditions. She is currently studying her a2 levels, is 17 and has applied to RADA, BOV and LAMDA. She had her RADA audition on Dec 9th and her BOV audition on the 15th Dec, and her LAMDA audition is next week on 19th Jan. She has been lucky enough to receive a recall at both BOV and RADA. She had her recall at RADA and waiting for the dreaded letter. BOV recall is next week. It is costing a fortune in travel expenses and hotel bills but it will be worth it if theres an offer in store. If we can be of any help whatsoever to anybody in the same situation then please ask away, as you have all been so helpful. DD says she would of gone to all the auditions with no idea as to what to expect had it not been for the useful info on this site, so a massive thankyou to all and good luck to all those auditioning this year.

[pg]

What a lovely post millymollymandy - wishing your dd well. Recalls at BOV and RADA really is great news. Well done to her.

Hecouldshine - I read through that article - it's really interesting, thanks for linking. I do think auditions for drama schools are expensive, but I really don't agree with the idea of only seeing a small number of student and doing the first cut on application forms/personal statements only. I think it would be much better if the schools could offer many more regional auditions for the first rounds - to cut down the travelling/staying overnight expenses. I think there are a lot of people applying to drama school that don't stand a chance - but I think they should be able to audition if they want to. Perhaps someone should have tried to talk them out of it - but I'm not sure that I would try to talk someone out of auditioning. I would try to give them an honest picture of what the profession is like - but most people just don't want to believe it.

I think the only way to know whether someone is the right sort of candidate for drama school entry is to see them in audition. I think it is almost impossible to judge what someone is like as an actor - and what potential they have - from a CV/personal statement. It's only once actors have CVs containing known names (e.g. directors or production companies) that the CV will give an indication of a certain standard: though that's not foolproof of course - which is why actors are normally asked to audition for roles rather than given straight offers (except where the work of the actor is widely known - or known personally to the person doing the casting).

Acting tends to be different from music and dance in my experience. On the face of it, it's easier. Some of those who want to "give it a go" probably haven't been spending hours every week practising, but some of them may be really good. There genuinely are those who have "a certain something" - and they don't need to have done a lot of it for that to be apparent in an audition.

I think there are too many courses on offer - too many places, not too few. Too many graduates are emerging, believing they have the training that will equip them for the profession - and discovering the hard truth that the market is saturated. In particular, I think there are too many Universities offering drama courses suggesting that these will be useful for people wanting to act as a career. If they are not practical acting courses then I think it's bad advice and misleading advertising.

[Katymac]

That's really interesting, and not withstanding DD not having an offer, I think it might be the same in dance/MT too.

DD is quite realistic about her ability but she saw loads of applicants who stood no chance of getting a place (not necessary because of ability but because of lack of effort) and I spoke to parents who were very shocked at the amount of dance that was required. One parent asked how a college could expect them to dance for over 2 hours 'without a rest or a proper break' which I was shocked at. How are they going to get a job if they can't dance for 2 hours.....

Even if the same 750-1000 students attend every college they can't all get a place

But there is an idea that if you work hard and are 'special' you will become a star (BGT/The voice/Xfactor etc) - I'd like to think my DD's dream is more realistic - she want to be "dance in the chorus of the show" then teach

[Robsmumma]

Ha! 2 hours!
Dd starts at 8am with body conditioning and goes on till between 4.30 and 6pm most of which is dancing. She then goes on to work in the local pub till around 9/10pm 3 nights a week.
It really is full on!

[Katymac]

Exactly & if you can't manage 2 hours of audition, it really doesn't bode well does it?

DD regularly does up to 6 hours a day - which I think is about on track for non-vocational. But some of these girls couldn't do 2 classes back-to-back as they 'would get tired' according to their mum

[2dancersmum]

I think for dance and MT courses you often find people auditioning who have not necessarily consulted their teachers or done any research. At one of DDs auditions a few years ago all the parents sat and waited together due to adverse weather conditions and the venue opening up a room for us . It transpired that one of the girls had only been dancing for about 6 months (ballet and contemporary) and had had no training in any dance school prior to that. This was for a level 6 diploma at a ballet school! They genuinely thought that was normal.
And this year there were a few girls from where elder DD used to dance and younger DD still dances, who applied to schools and then told the ballet teacher. They clearly expected to get offers as my DD had but they were nowhere near the same level as my DD was when she applied, in fact one is not even at the level my younger DD dances in. I know grades and levels are only a guide but in this case I am talking about girls starting dance at the same age and dancing at the same school throughout with the same number of classes so we did find it surprising that a year 11 girl who dances with year 8s would expect offers for the big dance and mt colleges.

[Katymac]

DD's teacher always says she can't predict who will get in; but she is quite good at who won't

We know DD isn't up to standard (now) but we honestly thought she might get through on potential

[Caroline A-C]

If they are worried about coping with a 2 hour session, you have to wonder why on earth they are even looking at the performing career path. My ds regularly does a 10 hour day with only half an hour for lunch which I believe is the norm in these colleges. I think you need to be totally committed and focused to contemplate this route and those people who can't cope with the 2 hour session need to take off their rose tinted glasses!!

[Katymac]

or maybe their parents do