NotaPushyMum.Com

Hello Everyone, serious dilemma with DD that I hope you can help with!! Lots of information so I apologies in advance haha!

DD's been acting since she was 14, and managed to get herself an agent back then, and in the last year got some fab screen roles,which led to her being approached by an incredible agency, that had been on her list of agents she'd love to be repped by from the second she started acting, (her agent before was a children's agency, and she's 19 now so this was a perfect opportunity to change) and they are honestly wonderful and she is getting seen for things we could only dream of.

The dilemma however, comes in the form of drama school. DD has already done a BTEC lev 3 in musical theatre for Post 16, at a college called BOA, which is a sister school the BRIT school opened in the midlands. She did that, and then didn't audition for drama school at all last year because she just wanted to continue working through her agent,on a gap year as such but it wasn't because she didn't intend to go to uni or drama school so it was just her first year out of education, and thats how things were going to go and she was happy. She is loving doing screen, and really wants a career in screen acting, but has trained her whole life in Musical Theatre and still adores and wants to someday do that, which her agent assures will be possible, when she's a fraction older and the right age and look to be auditioning for shows he says she can do, (she's auditioned for a couple and got a few recalls then been given the too young right now line) so thats all great.

Only, a couple of weeks ago, she attended a workshop for fun at Emil Dale Academy, and after getting a recall, we got the letter last week to say she has not only been offered a place on their 3 year course, but given a scholarship too, and now as you can imagine were in a real pickle!!!

She would love to go for the training and the experience,but to us the whole point of drama school is to work your bum off, become amazing, and leave with an amazing agent, who will get you amazing auditions but if she already have an amazing agent who does that what do we do?? Once you get in the room they don't care where you've trained, it's just a name on a page. And she just wants to carry on working as she's already doing, which granted she could potentially still do whilst at drama school with her agent, but when she's getting 2 or 3 auditions a week, her attendance would be shocking, and its not just the day of the audition you need really, shed need time before hand to prepare the material or theres no point in her going? And when the whole point of auditions is to get the job, that would be more time away from the course for filming etc which obviously is the absolute goal but would mean shed hardly be at the school?

We don't think drama school will make a difference to her getting screen work now because she's doing it already, the only thing tempting her is the musical theatre side, there are two clear routes into it you either go to drama school and start out that way as a graduate, get an agent and get the auditions then you're in or you already have an agent and do exactly the same, get the auditions, but you need to make sure you're at the same level as the graduates which granted is very hard as they have such intense training.

So our question is, what do you think? Do you think drama school is necessary? Or does she work her bum off herself and make sure she doesn't let her previous training slip and be okay without drama school? (In no way assuming you can "train" yourself, but she has been training in musical theatre from a very young age, with stage schools and up until very recently with things like YMT, Masterclass, but we do understand it would be hard for her to get to that same level!)


Thank you everyone, mel xxxx

A big dilemma indeed. Have you considered carrying on as is for a year or two and if MT is still an objective then many colleges do a 1 year Masters. Friends daughter did one at ArtsEd.

I'm not sure what to suggest via the dilemma but if you want any information regarding EDA give me a shout as my DD is on her second year there.

I don't think that drama schools let you have an agent while you are studying. You would have to find that out. I'm sure the Emil Dale course is fantastic but it is a place that is slightly under the radar. If it were a scholarship for somewhere like Arts Ed or Mountview, places that have a proven track record then I would possibly be tempted but as you say, the whole point of all of this is for our DCs to be employed in what they love, yours is already, so it's a no-brainer. Stick with the agent and with all the lovely cash she's earning, get a private singing coach and keep up the dance!!

What a wonderful dilemma to have, I agree make the most of the moment and stick with the agent, good luck

That is so exciting! I've no useful information I'm afraid just wanted to add my congratulations. It sounds like now is her time -I'd definitely grab those screen acting opportunities with both hands!

I would suggest talking openly to EDA if your dd is really considering it, tell them about your dilemma. They really do have an open door policy and my impression is that they have students signed with different agencies than their own and allow them to attend castings - whether they have limits to how many, I don't know. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Congratulations to your dd, a great dilemma to have! My dd is currently at EDA in the 2nd year so also happy to have a dm chat - so hard to advise as is dependent on so many variables, but I totally agree with having a chat with them - good luck!

What a great dilemma to have. As one of the initiators for #time4change - I guess I'm bound to offer a different take on this, insomuch as a good drama school training isn't only about enhancing the skill set - but rather facilitating a 'life tool kit' if you like which will see your DC through their entire career - and that just might also mean about during the time when the work dries up for a bit? As we've seen increasingly over recent years, those 'natural talents' just working and working and winning the plaudits, can run the risk of life not being so kind to them in other respects.

As with all of your DC's any good drama college SHOULD want to snap them up, and indeed SHOULD (in the ideal world) want to provide them with a healthy scholarship, as their success will pay the drama college a healthy return on that investment. I guess as parents your question needs to be what can your child take from the college? You say that your DC has already got a great agent - so you're paying them for advise too. I'd ask the agent what they think. I'd ask their opinion on whether they personally think that it's worth getting more highly skilled in MT (whilst keeping in your mind that any time spent training is potentially a time not earning for the agency)...and if they were to support it, which colleges do they 'rate', as that's going to be really important moving forward.

Either way I wish your DC every success