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How hard is it to get into the top drama school?!

I don't want to physc myself out - but I can't help but ask
Just how difficult is it to get into the likes of LAMDA or Guildhall - specifically on a 3 Year Acting course?

Any answers would help greatly..

thank you
Experience of past drama schools can help and past experiences of auditions help as well :tongue:


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Well.. over 4000 applicant for each school and about 20 places should but it into perspective. Its extremely hard and each school has 2 or 3 maybe even 4 rounds of auditions. You have to be really good and really prepared.
Totally agree with Ruby May - its HIGHLY competitive and the rejection rate is very, very high.

and if you dont like rejection, then this isnt the job for you.
I went to Drama school. It's extremely competitive, and post graduation, it's a hard life. Remember that the auditions will cost money on top of UCAS application, and many drama schools aren't listed on UCAS anyway. They range from £20 to £100+. Also a straight acting course is harder to get on than more varied course. You've picked two top schools, but I suggest checking out: The National Drama Training Council, they have a list of drama schools and all sorts of courses. Whatever you do, and I mean this with sincerity, if you want to act: do not do a "Drama and Theatre Studies" type course at a random university. Go to drama school. My chosen course came up a lot in conversation and it's heartbreaking hearing people talk about their friends and relatives studying drama because they want to act, it's highly unlikely that'll happen. Drama schools provide you with training not just theory. And they support you in finding agents etc. Everywhere you go you'll be asked "where did you train?" In the 6 years I've been in this industry professionally (including study) I have only met one successful untrained actor (and I know people measure this differently but I'm using "success" to mean "regular work").
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by bethanycrook
I don't want to physc myself out - but I can't help but ask
Just how difficult is it to get into the likes of LAMDA or Guildhall - specifically on a 3 Year Acting course?

Any answers would help greatly..

thank you


Difficult - less than 1 out of 100 get offers. But if you choose pieces well and are passionate and committed you are already at at advantage. A lot of very underprepared people apply, and a lot of people take several years to get a place. If you want to be an actor then its the best preparation for the industry provided you do a good course.

Applying is relatively cheap compared to the fees for the course, and it increases your chances of getting a place (and thus not having to pay again next year), so it makes sense to apply to as many as you can reasonably manage and would be happy accepting a place at. Good luck!
Reply 6
Original post by T-o dore
If you want to be an actor then its the best preparation for the industry provided you do a good course.


Not really.

It's best preparation for the craft -- not the industry.
Original post by Powka
Not really.

It's best preparation for the craft -- not the industry.


I said 'if you want to be an actor then its the best preparation for the industry'. So the craft was exactly what I was talking about. I'd be interested to hear what advantages you think university drama students have over students at (accredited) drama schools.
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 8
Original post by T-o dore
I said 'if you want to be an actor then its the best preparation for the industry'. So the craft was exactly what I was talking about. I'd be interested to hear what advantages you think university drama students have over students at (accredited) drama schools.


I understand what you tried to say, you just made a mistake at formulating it, since the performing arts industry doesn't work in the similar fashion as most of others do.

Industry revolves around the craft as much as it does around the business side. What you said implied that someone who graduates from a drama school is ready for the acting industry, and they're not. Drama schools do not cover the business side of the acting industry, which in turns produces hundreds of jobless actors lost in what to do next and finding themselves switching the occupation.

What would've been correct to say is that drama schools provide the best training for an actor (in UK only), and that's about it.

As for the second part of your statement, I'm not sure what your assumption of me promoting the advantages of acting Universities is based on. I don't recall mentioning them at all.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by Powka
Drama schools do not cover the business side of the acting industry, which in turns produces hundreds of jobless actors lost in what to do next and finding themselves switching the occupation.


Sorry, not sure about your experience with drama schools, but this is wrong. In all the drama schools I auditioned at the courses included quite a lot of tuition in the 'business' side of being an actor. Granted, drama schools are unashamedly all about learning how to act, but many have a lot of resources and teaching about how to promote oneself in the industry etcetera.

Original post by Powka
As for the second part of your statement, I'm not sure what your assumption of me promoting the advantages of acting Universities is based on. I don't recall mentioning them at all.


Well, you disagreed that drama schools are the best preparation for being a professional actor, so by implication you think something else is?
(edited 10 years ago)
Why are you so stroppy sounding?! Drama schools do prepare their students for the industry, both in terms of 'craft' and in terms of practical help with agents, self promotion, tax, money, all sorts of things. Of course it's possible to become a professional actor without going to drama school, but graduating from one does give you a good overall foundation, and, if it's one of the top schools, a springboard into the business.
Original post by Jumpin Jacky
Why are you so stroppy sounding?! Drama schools do prepare their students for the industry, both in terms of 'craft' and in terms of practical help with agents, self promotion, tax, money, all sorts of things. Of course it's possible to become a professional actor without going to drama school, but graduating from one does give you a good overall foundation, and, if it's one of the top schools, a springboard into the business.


This thread dates back to 2013...

Posted from TSR Mobile
In the ever expanding industry their are more and more routes into the industry ,drama school is in many cases no longer are a must have, for many including myself drama school isn't financially an option but training ,a must have in any case, can be received from elsewhere such as NYFA, NYT and NYMT as well as weekly technical classes in specific techniques, Method, Meisner, Chekhov etc for £250, plus not forgetting the literal thousands of books on technique, practitioners and text and more. Drama school is also a very personal decision and must be based on the kind of actor and person you are ,for example on a job recently, a brilliant working actor named Jack Bence (Bad Education, Peep Show) was asked about this exact point and he replied that ,'having been raised doing film acting his acting was hyper natural and more fitted to screen work on top of this he took several courses in stage acting and dabbled throughout his youth, this enabling him to become a sound actor in both mediums', he is now represented by United and ,is in my opinion, one of the most exciting working actors in Britain today, he then went on to say that his brother, being 'raised entirely on musical theatre, had a tendency to often go over the top and be showy rather than truthful', now although by no means a bad trait as musical theatre and theatre as a whole is very often larger than life, drama school he said would teach his brother to learn how to whittle his performance down to the bare essentials. so you see for some it's great for others its not the answer. Having spoken with many casting directors on the topic many often say that for film castings often drama school graduates are very samey samey and the actors that stand out, do so because of their imperfections and kinks, however in a theatre casting the reverse may well be the opposite particularly in a classical context. Drama school can be both positive and negative but it is no guarantee ,even being at the top 10 ,a marker of greatness or future success that comes with time, perseverance and luck, I know plenty of brilliant actors who have come from both drama school and elsewhere and the same can be said for bad actors, my cousin for one graduated a top London drama school and 10 years later is now an insurance broker. Artistic greatness no matter who you are can only be found through hard work and no matter where you train the hardest most obsessed workers i'd say 8/10 times rise to the top, the top being able to support themselves purely from their Acting.
Original post by Oceanfalls
In the ever expanding industry their are more and more routes into the industry ,drama school is in many cases no longer are a must have, for many including myself drama school isn't financially an option but training ,a must have in any case, can be received from elsewhere such as NYFA, NYT and NYMT as well as weekly technical classes in specific techniques, Method, Meisner, Chekhov etc for £250, plus not forgetting the literal thousands of books on technique, practitioners and text and more. Drama school is also a very personal decision and must be based on the kind of actor and person you are ,for example on a job recently, a brilliant working actor named Jack Bence (Bad Education, Peep Show) was asked about this exact point and he replied that ,'having been raised doing film acting his acting was hyper natural and more fitted to screen work on top of this he took several courses in stage acting and dabbled throughout his youth, this enabling him to become a sound actor in both mediums', he is now represented by United and ,is in my opinion, one of the most exciting working actors in Britain today, he then went on to say that his brother, being 'raised entirely on musical theatre, had a tendency to often go over the top and be showy rather than truthful', now although by no means a bad trait as musical theatre and theatre as a whole is very often larger than life, drama school he said would teach his brother to learn how to whittle his performance down to the bare essentials. so you see for some it's great for others its not the answer. Having spoken with many casting directors on the topic many often say that for film castings often drama school graduates are very samey samey and the actors that stand out, do so because of their imperfections and kinks, however in a theatre casting the reverse may well be the opposite particularly in a classical context. Drama school can be both positive and negative but it is no guarantee ,even being at the top 10 ,a marker of greatness or future success that comes with time, perseverance and luck, I know plenty of brilliant actors who have come from both drama school and elsewhere and the same can be said for bad actors, my cousin for one graduated a top London drama school and 10 years later is now an insurance broker. Artistic greatness no matter who you are can only be found through hard work and no matter where you train the hardest most obsessed workers i'd say 8/10 times rise to the top, the top being able to support themselves purely from their Acting.

i am a member of NYT. Is it worth becoming a member of nyfa as well? Also do you mean national youth film academy or new york film academy?

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