Successful Auditions

The Complete Guide

Annie Tyson

• Editore: The Crowood Press
• Anno: 2022
• ISBN:
  9780719840227
• Argomento: Media & Performing Arts
• Categoria: Acting & Auditioning

Auditions remain a constant requirement in an actor's life, whether beginner or seasoned professional, and the attendant nerves and pressure to succeed in an intensely competitive industry is something that all actors need to learn to negotiate. This guide is aimed at those wishing to undertake in-depth training to develop the physical, vocal, imaginative and emotional skills necessary for a varied career in stage or screen. Offering practical advice, it takes readers through the audition process to the moment of acceptance at a drama school. The second section looks at first steps into the profession and how to prepare confidently for auditions and meetings, whether live or by self-tape, so that actors can meet the professional environment with confident ownership of their skills. Topics covered include: choosing your school; selecting audition material and preparing it; an analysis of a contemporary and a classical speech; the audition cycle and self-taping for video auditions. It also features practical and honest insights from casting directors, industry professionals and recent graduates, as well as up-to-date guidance for online auditions.

CHAPTER 1

AUDITIONING FOR DRAMA SCHOOL

This might be your first ‘real’ audition – the first where you feel that there is a great deal at stake, and that the outcome will change your life. You will have been told that the competition is fierce, that the schools audition thousands every year for thirty places or less. The Oxford School of Drama will audition over one thousand applicants for nineteen or twenty places in 2021, while RADA had four thousand applications for twenty-eight places on their three-year Acting course.

Worrying global politics – Stuff Happens, RADA final year production 2017.

The morning after – RADA final year Industry Showcase 2021.

‘We love mum in spite of everything’ – RADA final year Industry Showcase 2021.

It is also a somewhat dispiriting fact that a great many drama school graduates change path because the industry’s unpredictability has meant they were not able to make a viable living or to sustain a career of any longevity. This could be for a wide variety of reasons, one of which could be simply that the demands and the disappointments are not for you, or it could be more positive, which is that you have found some other occupation that gives you more fulfilment, and for which the training and skills you have absorbed are brilliantly transferable.

We have all read the stories about overnight successes, and these days this is fostered by ‘reality’ TV shows that purport to make ‘stars’ from seemingly nowhere. The true reality could not be more different. If this, and the stern warnings from parents, teachers and well-meaning friends does not deter you, then the first stage of this process is to think seriously about what you want from a training, why you believe that a professional career as a performer is for you, and to do some honest self-analysis.

What Must I Consider?

What does it mean to be an actor? It might be better to ask, ‘What is acting?’, and then ‘Why do I want to be an actor?’ ‘Because I want to be famous’ won’t really do, but of course the notion of ‘success’ – that is, being able to earn a living somehow from the thing that you love above all, and to keep doing it with the same love that you started out with – might serve as something of an answer. Social media can be a terrible and seductive trap regarding our perceptions of ‘success’. So much valuable and rewarding work is done unsung and unheard, except by the audience to whom it brought a joyful, illuminating and memorable experience.

What is the experience and the moment – and there might be more than one – that has led you to this ambition? What might acting/performing ask of you? Are you someone who can take being judged in public? Can you take criticism, hopefully constructive but sometimes tough to hear? Think about the things that make you you. What are your strengths, your weaknesses, how would you describe yourself to a close friend whom you know will pull you up if you are seeing yourself a bit too rosily or indeed too negatively? Look for the positives, of course, but be honest about yourself. What do you think you can offer the industry?

If all this sounds rather heavy going, think about why you are undertaking this appraisal, and try to treat it with a sense of humour and empowerment. It is the beginning of building your confidence, and confidence rooted in self-knowledge is the key! If you are determined and you believe that your way forward is to train, then the next question is, what do you think a training is, and what do you want from it? There may be those who tell you that it is not necessary, and that plenty of people ‘make it’ with no formal training – and of course actors/performers take different paths.

Acting is about life in all its richness, holding ‘the mirror up to nature’, and life experience is of inestimable value. The old saying ‘there’s more than one way to skin a cat’ certainly holds true in some cases – but a good vocational training will be taken seriously by the industry, give you craft skills for all genres and media, knowledge, stamina, discipline, and the ability to work both in a team and independently. Above all, a training will teach you how to work and, possibly more importantly nowadays, how to make work.

Drama School or University?

Once you have decided that you need to train, it is important to be able to distinguish between the courses on offer in drama schools and universities. They are not really the same thing, and the landscape has been made more complex by the fact that most reputable drama schools offer their training as degrees (BA undergraduate degrees for three years, and MA post-graduate for one or two years), validated by a Higher Education institution. In addition, many universities are now offering degrees in Performance Studies, Drama, Theatre Studies and Acting.

To add to this minefield, some drama schools with university-validated degrees require you to apply via UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admission Service), just as you would for a conventional degree in English or History, and some do not, having their own discrete application process. The best and most comprehensive way to find out about this and to assemble accurate, clear information is via the Federation of Drama Schools.

‘Did you mean that?’ – RADA final year Industry Showcase 2021.

‘Come to the Prom with me!’ – RADA final year Industry Showcase 2021.

The aims of the Federation are to engage in activities and discussions that enable diverse groups of people to receive the highest standard in training for the modern performance industry, sharing values and best practice. The organization identifies the changing nature of the industry, and encourages a flexible but rigorous approach, collaborating with both schools in the Federation and industry professionals. It seeks to be a strong and articulate, knowledgeable presence in discussion of the values of conservatoire training in a challenging higher education environment. In other words, it seeks to protect and sustain in-depth, rigorous, demanding training.

The Federation website will give you all the essential information you need about each partner school, a short history of the Federation, the values it espouses and industry connections. It will direct you to each school’s website where you will find information about the courses on offer there, some indication as to the distinct character of each partner school, advice on choosing your school and course, auditions, and the application process. The Federation website is essential reading for anyone considering drama school.

Regarding university courses in drama or theatre and performance studies, the amount of practical work and contact hours will vary enormously. There may be a bewildering series of choices in terms of different modules, and some courses lean towards the theoretical rather than the practical. This is not to say that the education you would receive there would not be of immense value, extremely stimulating and rewarding, but the numbers in your cohort could be far larger than in a conservatoire-type drama school training, so individual attention may be limited and there might be far less time spent exploring the fundamental practical principles of craft and skill in favour of a broader examination of ‘drama’.

If you are considering study at university, ensure that you research the university’s website and the course prospectus with reference to content, skills contact hours and the number of students admitted. Is it what you want? It is worth noting that some university graduates decide to undertake training at a recognized drama school after graduation, some on a three-year Acting course, and many on a ‘fast-track’ post-graduate MA one-year Acting course. Many partner institutions in the Federation of Drama Schools now offer these MA courses, some with specialisms such as screen acting, classical acting, musical theatre. While there are some inescapable and possibly daunting financial implications in choosing further intensive vocational training after three years’ study at university, the advantages of maturity, of having mixed already with a wide variety of people, and of knowing that this is what you really need, are considerable.

GRADUATE PERSPECTIVE

Mikhail is a graduate of the MA Acting course at the Drama Centre in London. He says:

This MA course had the intensity that I needed. My first degree was History, and it really helped me because the essence of history is, in some way, about stories but mainly concerned with the socio-economic, political life of people and communities over time. The History degree helped me understand context more. I think any degree gives you a little bit more knowledge about life and experience. I did do a regular job too, which was a different kind of life, teaching me about deadlines and dealing with people. I think you can draw from that, use that knowledge, and make it more powerful.

DRAMA SCHOOL PANELLIST PERSPECTIVE

Edward Hicks is the principal at the Oxford School of Drama. He says:

As well as finding the right school, it’s even more important to choose the right course – is it the one that you really want and that will meet both your particular passion and your needs?

Dewi Johnson is an audition panellist, director, and lecturer in acting at Stratford College.

My first advice is [that you need] to know where you want to go – have you researched the school and the course thoroughly? Each drama school will have a slightly different idea of what a training is, and the final objective will be the same, but it’s how you get there.

Choosing Your School and Your Course

So, after all that hard thinking, you have decided to train at a drama school. There is yet another crucial question you should ask: is this the right time for me? Am I ready? The minimum age for accredited BA and Foundation courses is eighteen (and of course schools do accept students at eightee...