Auditioning for National Youth Theatre 2016

x

x

x

x

x

x

I also did the technical course last year (Julesyet - which did you do? I did SM) but two of my friends got into the acting course.
Both of them were 14/15 when they auditioned and hadn't really had any acting experience or audition practice - one girl had done basically nothing outside of school drama lessons, and the other had done one school play. I also know people who got in when they were 20/21, so age is no concern - they just want to give the best people opportunities. Just make sure you choose a monologue from a play you enjoy, and practice it in loads of different ways. Some people say not to do Shakespeare, but my friend did a monologue from Macbeth - just make sure you can really commit to the monologue. If you have enough passion and talent, that should come across in your monologue and make you stand out.
Just don't choose a monologue from Blood Brothers - it's so overdone and will just bore the people auditioning you (unless you think you can do it a new and creative way, in which case, go for it!).

As for the structure of the audition: in the morning, you'll take part in a workshop with up to 30 other people - doing different drama games, getting everyone comfortable with each other, and allowing the people auditioning you to get an idea of whether you would work well in ensemble work. Then you go off for lunch and come back for your 10-20 minute monologue slot. This is where everyone's experience is different. Some people are asked to repeat their monologue in a different way, some people are asked questions about the play, some are asked about why you want to join NYT, etc... As long as you know your monologue well and can talk about the play and theatre in general, you should do fine.

Hi! I have an interview this year for the technical course and was just wondering if you could just tell me a little bit about the course/interview and the whole process? Thanks

Hiya!

Which technical course are you applying for? I did Stage Management so I can tell you the most about that course, but I had friends on the other courses so I can give you information about those too. In terms of the course beyond the training (i.e. evening or weekend activities, accommodation life), I can give you some information on that too if you want!

The interview seemed a bit daunting at first, but Sam - my interviewer - was really nice and put me at ease quickly. The questions were things like how much I knew about stage management, what experience I had, whether I knew what I wanted to do after my GCSEs... To be honest, I don't remember much about my interview apart from the fact I rambled on too much, but I'm doing my ambassador training this weekend so I'll let you know more about it once I've done that!

If you have any more questions about anything at all, don't hesitate to ask here or PM me!

Hey! Thanks for getting back to me
I am planning on doing the stage management course too so any information regarding what the course is like would be great! I haven't had a great amount of experience and I was wondering if this would set me back in anyway what soever? Also if I did get in (hopefully) I would to love know about the experience outside the actual course!
Thanks

WHOOO STAGE MANAGEMENT

Okay, so basically, the course is the first year of drama school crammed into two weeks... plus extras.

In the first week, you learn about the duties and responsibilities of Assistant Stage Managers and Deputy Stage Managers. You practice things like taping up the rehearsal room (actually so much harder than it sounds!) and doing scene changes. The second week is focused on the tech exercise, where you work with the LX & SND course to stage a short production.

Every year the course is slightly different, but usually you'll have a prop-making workshop with Johnny B, a blood and stage violence workshop with RC-Annie, talks by various professionals (we had a talk by one of the most renowned UK show-callers - she does every Olympic games! - and another talk by the production manager of Miss Saigon), and backstage tours of theatres (we visited Matilda, Gypsy, and Secret Cinema). If you're over 16, Gareth - the course director and an absolute angel - will find you a work placement for one night during the course on a major West End show (this year, we had placements at Mamma Mia!, The Lion King, Beautiful, Les Miserables, and some others I can't remember), but these are not guaranteed. If you're under-16, like I was, Gareth is lovely and says that if you contact him once you're 16 he'll find you a work placement. Stage Management is also the best course because Gareth has so many contacts that you'll sometimes get free tickets for shows! The year before me got no tickets, but we got free tickets for Miss Saigon and Secret Cinema, so we were really lucky!

Then there's obviously time outside of learning! I didn't stay in accommodation since I live twenty minutes from NYT, but I kind of regret that now - I'm not as close as I would be with some people on my course, and I only really talk to the people from my course who then did the REP with me... But accommodation is expensive. I spent the last two evenings at accommodation and then travelled home afterwards - if you live close enough to do that, it's a good way to get the full experience for a much lower cost. People would organise trips to the theatre in the evenings - I tagged along with the LX & SND course to try to get tickets for Everyman. Sunday is your day off, so if you can, organise something with people on your course!

As for experience, they don't mind how much you have! They look for a passion for theatre and a willingness to learn. I had only stage managed a school show before I applied. Obviously there are people who get into the course and have loads of experience, but having little to no experience won't hold you back at all.

Once you become a member, there are so many opportunities - especially for stage management. I started working on the NYT REP season (NYT's professional company which does a 10-week run in the West End) the week after my course finished, and I've been working there twice a week in the evenings after school. (We just closed last week - a very emotional time - but it's been absolutely incredible!) I've also got another job lined up for the holidays through NYT. Plus through the members board, we get access to free or discounted tickets to shows, which is always a bonus!
Bear in mind though that I live in London, and a lot of opportunities outside of NYT shows are based in London, so your experience may be slightly less if you live outside of London. However, NYT does shows all over the country, so you're bound to get opportunities!

Where are you doing your interview, if you don't mind me asking?

WHOOO STAGE MANAGEMENT

Okay, so basically, the course is the first year of drama school crammed into two weeks... plus extras.

In the first week, you learn about the duties and responsibilities of Assistant Stage Managers and Deputy Stage Managers. You practice things like taping up the rehearsal room (actually so much harder than it sounds!) and doing scene changes. The second week is focused on the tech exercise, where you work with the LX & SND course to stage a short production.

Every year the course is slightly different, but usually you'll have a prop-making workshop with Johnny B, a blood and stage violence workshop with RC-Annie, talks by various professionals (we had a talk by one of the most renowned UK show-callers - she does every Olympic games! - and another talk by the production manager of Miss Saigon), and backstage tours of theatres (we visited Matilda, Gypsy, and Secret Cinema). If you're over 16, Gareth - the course director and an absolute angel - will find you a work placement for one night during the course on a major West End show (this year, we had placements at Mamma Mia!, The Lion King, Beautiful, Les Miserables, and some others I can't remember), but these are not guaranteed. If you're under-16, like I was, Gareth is lovely and says that if you contact him once you're 16 he'll find you a work placement. Stage Management is also the best course because Gareth has so many contacts that you'll sometimes get free tickets for shows! The year before me got no tickets, but we got free tickets for Miss Saigon and Secret Cinema, so we were really lucky!

Then there's obviously time outside of learning! I didn't stay in accommodation since I live twenty minutes from NYT, but I kind of regret that now - I'm not as close as I would be with some people on my course, and I only really talk to the people from my course who then did the REP with me... But accommodation is expensive. I spent the last two evenings at accommodation and then travelled home afterwards - if you live close enough to do that, it's a good way to get the full experience for a much lower cost. People would organise trips to the theatre in the evenings - I tagged along with the LX & SND course to try to get tickets for Everyman. Sunday is your day off, so if you can, organise something with people on your course!

As for experience, they don't mind how much you have! They look for a passion for theatre and a willingness to learn. I had only stage managed a school show before I applied. Obviously there are people who get into the course and have loads of experience, but having little to no experience won't hold you back at all.

Once you become a member, there are so many opportunities - especially for stage management. I started working on the NYT REP season (NYT's professional company which does a 10-week run in the West End) the week after my course finished, and I've been working there twice a week in the evenings after school. (We just closed last week - a very emotional time - but it's been absolutely incredible!) I've also got another job lined up for the holidays through NYT. Plus through the members board, we get access to free or discounted tickets to shows, which is always a bonus!
Bear in mind though that I live in London, and a lot of opportunities outside of NYT shows are based in London, so your experience may be slightly less if you live outside of London. However, NYT does shows all over the country, so you're bound to get opportunities!

Where are you doing your interview, if you don't mind me asking?

Sadly I don't live near London so if all goes well it's going to cost me a hell of a lot I am auditioning in Birmingham in February!

Thanks for all the information you've given me its a great help. I am really look forward to it now, just have to get past the interview first

Hi I hope you don't mind me asking you some questions Charleave! I am also applying for the stage management course 2016! I don't have a lot of experience with stage management but I do GCSE Drama and I did the lighting / sound for my school musical this year! I live near Manchester, (that is where my interview is,) so I am going to have to pay for the accommodation like Ceasha! Do you know where the accommodation is and what it is like - is it in a campus? Also, would you tell us what the daily routine is for the course - is there activities in the evenings for the people who stay in the accommodation or are they just left to do there own thing? I am so glad I have found someone who is able to answer my questions

Im doing an acting audition!
Also i'm 19 and have practically zero real acting experience, similar to OP i didnt have many opportunities at school and had alot of personal problems that stopped me from doing much in that respect, even though id heard of NYT i never really thought i could try.
But now im at uni! And theatre is literally EVERYWHERE and my whole perspective's changed, im actually in a play for the first time and am auditioning for more and more, its so fun!
So i finally booked my audition for the 16th of february, does anyone have any monologue tips? All the good ones seem to be for middle aged characters with accents :' ive heard not to bother with accents though and i should maybe stick to characters closer to my age?
Im feeling strangely confident about the workshop bit, im so excited! Anyone else going to london on the 16th??

I'm 16 and I've just booked an audition in Norwich on 20th Feb as a very spontaneous thing! I haven't done acting in a couple of years but I've recently realised my interest of getting into the world of theatre and film, whether it be acting, writing, or directing. I'm not usually a confident person but I feel like something like this is the right thing to build up my confidence, because it'll be amongst like minded strangers and I'm aware that I have nothing to lose (apart from £42).
Anyone with previous experience at these auditions, should I expect a huge number of other people to be there? And what's the morning workshop like?
Also, I've been given an audition time in the afternoon, will this be the time when I do a chosen monologue? I'm really not sure what sort of monologue to choose. Is it expected to choose a monologue from theatre or would a monologue from a film or TV be acceptable?

Didn't realise you posted in the 2016 one as well! Oops.

To answer more of your questions...

1. Numbers of people depends entirely on venue and place I'd expect. It was me and at least 35 others at one of the London auditions last year. 20-40 is about right.

2. Morning workshop is great fun. You play Drama Games, take part in movement exercises (using the space effectively), you may have a group singing/voice activity, you'll do some work in pairs (concentration, working together), and you'll likely do a group improvisation, in which the NYT people will provide a certain setting/scene/theme for you and others.

3. Your audition time is the time you perform your monologue and have your interview. Turn up to this 10-15 minutes early, others will be waiting around with you, gives you a good chance to chat and calm yourself before you go in (although there's nothing to worry about!)

4. Contemporary Monologue, in my opinion.

5. Definitely a monologue from a published play, not film or TV.

Im doing an acting audition!
Also i'm 19 and have practically zero real acting experience, similar to OP i didnt have many opportunities at school and had alot of personal problems that stopped me from doing much in that respect, even though id heard of NYT i never really thought i could try.
But now im at uni! And theatre is literally EVERYWHERE and my whole perspective's changed, im actually in a play for the first time and am auditioning for more and more, its so fun!
So i finally booked my audition for the 16th of february, does anyone have any monologue tips? All the good ones seem to be for middle aged characters with accents :' ive heard not to bother with accents though and i should maybe stick to characters closer to my age?
Im feeling strangely confident about the workshop bit, im so excited! Anyone else going to london on the 16th??