No problem - we asked your questions to William again!
1. Will the monologue itself have to come from a film/tv or play? Or could it come from another medium such as a video game, so as long as it's a solo and is around the 2-3 minute mark?
My monologue was from a film and I think you’d be better off auditioning with a monologue from a film or TV show, as you don’t really learn about ‘video game acting’ on the course, so I think it’s better to keep your focus on film/TV. Plus if you do a monologue from a film/TV show that the lecturers know about, it will give them a better sense of your taste in film and the type of actor you are.
2. Could you give me some examples of the projects students have collaborated on?
In your first year you do a module about Alfred Hitchcock where you work with the Film Production and Sports Media students to re-create a scene from a Hitchcock film, you’d probably be on a crew role. Then in the 2nd half of first year you do a module called ‘Script to Screen’ where you will work with the Film Production students to go away for a week to create a short film (very fun!), you could act in that or be on the crew. 2nd year there’s the Drama Craft module where you will work with the Film Production students to create a short film where you’d work on crew, with industry professionals. I used that time to speak to the professional actors they brought in to learn about their craft. Then there’s the Short Drama module (that you could pick) in the 2nd half of 2nd year, where a short film is made, that you could either act in or be on crew for. Plus during this time they’ll be 3rd year short films needing crew members or other little short films being made that will need actors.
3. How many contact hours is the course?
In the first year, I was in about 3 to 4 days a week, I’d say on average I was in about 15 to 20 hours a week. In the second year, I was in only a little less. Now in third year, I’m in only two days a week, for about 10 hours.
4. Do you know where your graduates of this course have gone in terms of employment?
My year is the first year to ever do this course, so there hasn’t been any graduates yet. However, I’ve spoken to Mike Holley (the head of Creative and Digital Technologies department) about this and he said this course is approved by the website ‘Spotlight’, where actors can get selected for auditions and such. He also said he’d be bringing in a photographer to give us some headshots, so when we leave we’ll have something to post on Spotlight. Also you will work on projects that will give you materials that you could use to create a show reel to show casting agents.
Hope this helps!