Drama

Hi guys! Have an interview next week for drama. Could anyone tell me what it's likely I'll have to do? I'm so nervous because I really want to go here! Anyone let me know what it'll be like? Thank you, lovely people! X x x

Reply 1

jessicapolkadot

Hey, i'm doing drama next year at Birmingham too, but sorry to tell you - i didn't have to audition! Doing a joint honours course has it's advantages! Haven't you been asked to prepare anything?
Good luck!! Let us know how it goes!

University of Birmingham

Birmingham

Reply 2

charlotte m

Lucky you! Thanks for replying anyway! No it just said there'll be a workshop but I just want to be a bit prepared!! I'm not always that good at thinking on the spot!

Reply 3

jessicapolkadot

i know the feeling! Well most workshops seem to be the same, for my bristol audition we just had to do stuff like rhythm and number games, eg you and a partner have to count to 3 repeatedly taking it in turns, (you: 1, them:2, you3: them 1 etc) then change the numbers to movements. We also had to say phrases and words in different ways to convey different meanings, and do freeze frames and short improvisations. Most of my friends did exactly the same stuff at their auditions too, it's quite easy and fun actually - nothing to worry about! They just look to see how well you work in a team as well as individually. My only advise would be to speak up but don't try to dominate. For example, there was this other game we did where the group had to make shapes like a triangle and a heart when he said without speaking, and this one girl always put herself as the point on the triangle and tried to control everyone else which didn't go down too well. I think if you're too dominating, they think you'll take over and not be good at recieving dirction or criticism. Are you auditioning anywhere else and when are they? Oh and make sure if you've said on your personal statement you've read certain plays make sure you know them inside out because they might ask on them - that's where i slipped up!

Reply 4

charlotte m

Oops! No I didn't say anything about reading plays! I've already had interviews at Lancaster and Kent and have offers from both. On weds I had one at Central School of Speech and Drama but it wasn't really my kind of thing and Birmingham next week! Then just waiting to hear from Exeter oh and been rejected from Warwick, but didn't mind about that! How about you? Thanks for the advice by the way.

Reply 5

jessicapolkadot

it's alright! haha, well...my audition at Bristol was fine, but then i had an interview and he asked me about a play i said i'd read in my statement that i'd never got round to reading! oops! It went disasterously downhill from there so wasn't really surprised when i was rejected. lol. Erm, i also went to Royal Holloway for an audition, but walked out of the room practically as soon as i'd got in - i hated the place, it was just like a big field, and i thought there's no way i'm living here. Pretty much the same for manchester met, i'd got in to the drama bit, but had to write loads of stuff they'd set for the English, then realised that the English course was in an entirely different campus to the drama, missions away from each other and Manchester, so didn't bother doing those either! Then that left me with Manchester where i didn't even get to the audition process, bristol met, where i was accepted and Birmingham where i was accepted - so i settled with Brum! Don't know anything about the course though! Do you? Oh, drama schools aren't my cup of tea either, bit la dee daa for my liking! What did you have to do at your previous interviews?

Reply 6

charlotte m

Yeh a bit too la dee daa!! Definitely! Um I don't know about joint honours but the drama course sounds wicked. And you get to do loads of stuff like the lighting and costume so that's all cool. Have you been to an open day? I think it's useful coz you can ask loads questions and listen to their talks and things. I'm just trying to plan my trip up to Birmingham! It's a bit of a trek but not as far as Lancaster, so...! How far away are you from Birmingham? Um other interviews...Lancaster they sent some questions to discuss - they were quite hard! Other people have written about them in the arts section on here. And there was a short workshop and Kent was a short workshop and then a discussion about what you did. It's so difficult to know if you've done well or not! Because I didn't think I'd got into either. I was just myself and that seemed to work! There were some people like you said who were really bossy or over the top and dramatic and afterwards I thought, oh no I didn't stand out like they did! But maybe those people didn't get in...?! Who knows. I worried in the discussion bit at the Kent one because I wanted to say things but I didn't want to be constantly talking so I was really worried about getting the balance right!!

Reply 7

jessicapolkadot

haha, i went to an open day last year with two of my friends, coz we were in Birmingham for the x factor auditions, anyway the audition was the day before and we got through so we went out that night to celibrate and were totally hungover the next day. It was also the day we were going back to Newcastle (where i'm from) so we had massive suitcases to lug round and were in no fit state to do it. I did actually manage to get myself to the drama talk and it was the wierdest thing. People kept getting up and leaving through it so the woman was like 'if anyone else wants to leave could you do it now so that my talk's not interrupted any more?' and i'm not joking, everyone got up and left, it was hilarious! So i did too - i didn't want to be the only one left to talk to! So that's why i know nothing about it! I missed the looking at the accommodation too, which i'm a bit gutted about, coz i'd well like to know where i'm gonna be living! Have you had a look at the accommodation? Where do you live near btw? i'm terrible at geography...i once thought London was a seperate country! Oh dear!

Reply 8

charlotte m

Haha, that's awesome. Well done on x-factor!!! That's crazy. No I didn't get to see the accommodation but my friend has an offer there for history of art and I think she looked at it so I'll ask and let you know soon. That's hilarious about the talk too! Yeh I mean out of the places I've applied to, it seems the best course out of all of them and you get to do a wide range of things. Newcastle's cool. One of my brothers was at uni in Durham so we stayed up there and went to Newcastle - it was really cool. I'm from Hampshire and I'm quite near the south coast. Don't worry, my geography is appalling! Good job I gave it up before GCSE really...!

Reply 9

jessicapolkadot

Thanks! We only got to the last 14 groups and i was totally ripped by everyone that saw it, but i can honestly say it's one of my most hilarious experiences to date! yep, i gave up the old geoggas before GCSE too - there's just too many places in the world to learn in my opinion. Cheers for asking your friend, i'm just a bit worried coz i said in my accommodation form that i wanted to stay in Shackleton but i've heard a few people on here say that the rooms are really small and that it's full of snobs and hard to make friends there - oh dear! Did you go out when you stayed at Newcastle? The night life's mint here! My mum's a prof at Durham uni, what subject did your brother do there? She might have taught him! (though how unlikely would that be really, although she had taught my English teacher and tutorial teacher at school which was wierd, but anyway!) Are you doing your A levels now? If so, what subjects?

Reply 10

charlotte m

That would be really weird! He did modern languages, French and German. I was in Newcastle with my parents so we went out for a meal, we were only there for a night coz it's where we got the plane. We went to the living room, really really good food! Yeh the night life looked awesome but I couldn't exactly go clubbing with my parents! Haha. I think I might get to see accomodation on weds so I'll let you know about it next week and if I don't get to I'll ask my friend and I know someone there at the moment so I'll ask which is the best. At the other places I've been to though the rooms are usually always a good size, but the cheaper ones just aren't as nice. Basically, if you pay more you get better facilities and probs don't have to share a bathroom and stuff. But my friend's brother is at Exeter and he's in awful halls but then everyone is in the same position so you're all in it together kind of thing. But yeh it's one of the things I worry about, I'd rather not share a bathroom!!! It's quite difficult to know what to believe as well if it's on a site like this. And if someone said it's full of snobs that sounds like a bit of a generalisation, there may be a group of snobs but there must be other people there who aren't?

Reply 11

charlotte m

Sorry, knew I'd forget something....! I'm taking drama/theatre studies, whatever! Art and English Lit. You?

Reply 12

jessicapolkadot

that'd be great about the accommodation - thanks! I've got a fiend who's mum always goes out clubbing with her actually, it's proper wierd but canny hilarious at the same time! I did drama/theatre, English lit, English lang and media for A2 last year and an AS in genneral studies - which was a complete waste of time but stupidly compulsary at my school. I secured my placement at Brum last year, but deferred. Was originally planning on going travelling but never got round to organising it/getting money sorted out etc, so i took a 1year course in performing arts at Newcastle instead. What are you doing in drama and English this year?