Drama and theatre studies applicants 2016 entry!!

Hello! I've just finished my first year of auditions and I'm going to be on the Foundation course at East 15 starting in October! If anyone needs any advice, feel free to ask. I blogged about my audition experiences (thatdramastudent.tumblr.com) so feel free to read them to get an idea of what it's going to be like. There's a page with all the experiences on so you don't have to scroll down the blog. I'll also be auditioning for three year courses for entry 2016 :smile:

xx

-- Madalene

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 4

AmethystFairy

8

Hi!
Congratulations on your foundation course!!
I have and currently am still looking for monologues for 2016 entry for drama school, I have previously auditioned for drama schools, and can't wait to give it another go. Finding the right monologues seems to be a never ending task, but its so fun reading them all and finding new (and old) plays that look fab. Of the 3 year courses which is your fave?

Reply 5

Original post by DreamOfTheStage

Hi!
Congratulations on your foundation course!!
I have and currently am still looking for monologues for 2016 entry for drama school, I have previously auditioned for drama schools, and can't wait to give it another go. Finding the right monologues seems to be a never ending task, but its so fun reading them all and finding new (and old) plays that look fab. Of the 3 year courses which is your fave?

Three year courses at East 15 or in general? My favourite at East 15 is BA Acting, my favourites in general are Acting at Drama Centre, LAMDA and RADA. You? :smile:

xx

-- Madalene

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 6

AmethystFairy

8

Sorry, yes I meant in general. Mine are RADA and guildhall BA Acting for both. :smile:

Reply 7

Original post by DreamOfTheStage

Sorry, yes I meant in general. Mine are RADA and guildhall BA Acting for both. :smile:

I love Guildhall too but my audition there this year was so horrible, it might have put me off. We'll see though :smile:

xx

-- Madalene

Reply 8

Hello there!

I'd really like to apply to RADA, and also probably CSSD, LAMDA, and Drama Centre, just on the off chance. They don't usually want people who have just left school, which will be me, so I'll be applying to universities too, either for German or English. Drama is always going to be the end-game for me, but my parents really aren't at all keen on it, so even applying for 2016 entry will be a battle. If I don't get in intend to apply every year until either they let me in or I die of old age! :smile:

Reply 9

Original post by tribiasfour

Hello there!

I'd really like to apply to RADA, and also probably CSSD, LAMDA, and Drama Centre, just on the off chance. They don't usually want people who have just left school, which will be me, so I'll be applying to universities too, either for German or English. Drama is always going to be the end-game for me, but my parents really aren't at all keen on it, so even applying for 2016 entry will be a battle. If I don't get in intend to apply every year until either they let me in or I die of old age! :smile:

Good luck! As well as their two year Foundation Degree, LAMDA also have a two term Foundation Diploma aimed mainly at the younger people. Often if you don't get recalled they ask you to audition for it (they asked me to). You should look at foundation courses too, but obviously funding is an issue for them (apart from East 15). Don't be put off by your age, a lot of the students helping in my auditions said they got in on their first year (and the ones at Guildhall said that a lot of people in their year got in on their first year too).

Try to audition for your favourite schools last by applying to them a little later (apart from Drama Centre if that's a favourite; you can choose your audition date there). I didn't get the hang of auditioning until about half way through my auditions. I'm pretty sure if I could audition again at the first few, they would go so much better :smile:

xx

-- Madalene

Reply 10

Original post by WolfStannon

Good luck! As well as their two year Foundation Degree, LAMDA also have a two term Foundation Diploma aimed mainly at the younger people. Often if you don't get recalled they ask you to audition for it (they asked me to). You should look at foundation courses too, but obviously funding is an issue for them (apart from East 15). Don't be put off by your age, a lot of the students helping in my auditions said they got in on their first year (and the ones at Guildhall said that a lot of people in their year got in on their first year too).

Try to audition for your favourite schools last by applying to them a little later (apart from Drama Centre if that's a favourite; you can choose your audition date there). I didn't get the hang of auditioning until about half way through my auditions. I'm pretty sure if I could audition again at the first few, they would go so much better :smile:

xx

-- Madalene

Thank you so much! I'm definitely going to look at foundation courses too, but I didn't know about the two term diploma - I will look into that!

I'd never even thought about how I'd get to grips with auditioning, so that is fantastic advice, which I'll certainly bear in mind when applying! :smile:

xxx

Reply 11

Original post by tribiasfour

Thank you so much! I'm definitely going to look at foundation courses too, but I didn't know about the two term diploma - I will look into that!

I'd never even thought about how I'd get to grips with auditioning, so that is fantastic advice, which I'll certainly bear in mind when applying! :smile:

xxx

Another thing about applying to your favourite schools later: RADA get back to you really quickly (at least they did for me and everyone I know). So if it's a favourite, do make sure to wait a good while to apply. However, their audition fee doubles after a certain date so be careful :smile:

xx

-- Madalene

Reply 12

glitterpineapple

OP

Does anyone have any tips on what monologues to choose? :smile:

Reply 13

Original post by WolfStannon

Another thing about applying to your favourite schools later: RADA get back to you really quickly (at least they did for me and everyone I know). So if it's a favourite, do make sure to wait a good while to apply. However, their audition fee doubles after a certain date so be careful :smile:

xx

-- Madalene

Yeah, I saw, I think it doubles in December? Thank you so much for this, it's really helping me to de-stress about the whole thing aha! :smile:

Reply 14

Original post by glitterpineapple

Does anyone have any tips on what monologues to choose? :smile:

From what I've read, most drama schools want at least one Shakespeare at the preliminary auditions. The most hackneyed ones that my LAMDA Award teacher warned me about were Portia's "The quality of mercy" speech, and anything from The Glass Menagerie for women, and the "lying in a box" monologue from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is one of the worst for men. I think you probably don't want to go too obscure, but it's better to go for something which a million others will have done before you, because there's less of a chance that they will be impressed by your performance, simply because they'll have seen so many.

Personally, I've found this to be useful in finding monologues for my LAMDA Awards: http://www.backstage.com/monologues/?utm_source=article&utm_medium=cta&utm_campaign=article%20cta

Hope this helps! :smile:

xxx

Reply 15

Original post by glitterpineapple

Does anyone have any tips on what monologues to choose? :smile:

At the beginning of my audition process I was obsessed with what was going to be overdone and what wasn't. Don't obsess over it. If you love a monologue, do it. Do be aware that it might be over done though.

From my experience, the most common Shakespeare characters were:

Viola (Twelfth Night)
Portia (Merchant of Venice)
Ophelia (Hamlet)
Romeo (Romeo and Juliet)
Hamlet (Hamlet)

Viola was the most common female character by far (and Romeo was the most common male). But remember, this is just from my experience! If you really love one of these characters' monologues, do it! If you're good, the panel really won't mind!

Stick to your age and gender. If you can, at least one of your monologues should be close to you in life experience. Have at least two classical (preferably three) and two contemporary and try to have a classical which isn't by Shakespeare.

If you're auditioning for Central (and a couple of other schools), there's a classical list that you have to choose your speeches from. Avoid using these speeches in your other auditions (some schools even ask that you avoid using them).

"Contrasting" doesn't have to mean dramatic/comedic (although, from my interview, I think that's what Drama Centre wanted). It could be happy/sad, excited/bored ect. Dramatic/comedic is safer though.

I'm sure you know this, but make sure you read and understand the plays that your monologues will be from. The panel will know if you haven't and you will be asked about it at some point.

The best way to find contemporary monologues is to just read lots of plays. I understand that this can be hard because plays can cost a lot. If it's a problem, maybe find monologues online that you like and then buy the play (that way you know that there's a monologue that you like in there). Make sure you find a contemporary monologue that you really love. It will show if you don't.

I hope this helped. Good luck!

-- Madalene

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 16

glitterpineapple

OP

Original post by WolfStannon

At the beginning of my audition process I was obsessed with what was going to be overdone and what wasn't. Don't obsess over it. If you love a monologue, do it. Do be aware that it might be over done though.

From my experience, the most common Shakespeare characters were:

Viola (Twelfth Night)
Portia (Merchant of Venice)
Ophelia (Hamlet)
Romeo (Romeo and Juliet)
Hamlet (Hamlet)

Viola was the most common female character by far (and Romeo was the most common male). But remember, this is just from my experience! If you really love one of these characters' monologues, do it! If you're good, the panel really won't mind!

Stick to your age and gender. If you can, at least one of your monologues should be close to you in life experience. Have at least two classical (preferably three) and two contemporary and try to have a classical which isn't by Shakespeare.

If you're auditioning for Central (and a couple of other schools), there's a classical list that you have to choose your speeches from. Avoid using these speeches in your other auditions (some schools even ask that you avoid using them).

"Contrasting" doesn't have to mean dramatic/comedic (although, from my interview, I think that's what Drama Centre wanted). It could be happy/sad, excited/bored ect. Dramatic/comedic is safer though.

I'm sure you know this, but make sure you read and understand the plays that your monologues will be from. The panel will know if you haven't and you will be asked about it at some point.

The best way to find contemporary monologues is to just read lots of plays. I understand that this can be hard because plays can cost a lot. If it's a problem, maybe find monologues online that you like and then buy the play (that way you know that there's a monologue that you like in there). Make sure you find a contemporary monologue that you really love. It will show if you don't.

I hope this helped. Good luck!

-- Madalene

This is great advise! Thank you so so much!!

Reply 17

SarahHDJ

Original post by glitterpineapple

Does anyone have any tips on what monologues to choose? :smile:

Hiya! I have just done a round of auditions at eight drama schools (rada,guildhall,guildford, Birmingham school of acting, AADA, East 15, central and mountview) and am about to do a foundation at east 15!

A lot of what people are suggesting is dead on.
the only think i can suggest from what i have learnt is to really pick one that speaks to you. i know its wierd but there is no point doing a monologue you don't sympathize with. also, for contemporary plays, try watching as much theatre as possible, even if its on youtube, because it honestly helps. and keep them contrasting!

i know some will ask you questions about the characters motives and different drama schools will want different outcomes, from my experience honestly is the best policy the more you waffle the more nervous and ill-prepared you look. so keep it simple, insightful and honest.

everyone has covered everything else so all i can say is to be yourself. that's where i feel short near the beginning of my audition season (hence i got offers/reserve list from my last three and nothing for the rest :') )

hope this helps!!

Reply 18