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Applications and AuditionsAdmission to drama school courses is by audition; admission to university drama courses is by audition and the achievement of satisfactory 'A' Level or other academic grades. Most drama schools charge an audition fee of around £30 and this is non-refundable. Most require that the candidate come to them but RADA auditions in a number of centres throughout the country and, in fact, in New York. Competition for places is intense: RADA, for example, only accepts 32 students a year. In most cases there is a lower age limit of 18 but, in theory, there is no upper age limit. That said, it is unusual (although not unknown) for people over thirty to be admitted. Courses Available Most people think of drama schools as places where actors are trained, and that is still probably their major function, but there are many more courses on offer. As we said before, BA courses are generally three years and BA (Hons) courses four. Schools' own diploma courses (in those school which still offer them) are usually three years. But as well as acting courses, most now offer technical (stage management - including lighting and sound, design, make-up) courses, which are usually two years in length. Then there are specialist music theatre courses, scriptwriting courses and, at LIPA (Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts), for instance, arts and theatre administration courses. In addition, for those who cannot get onto full-time courses or who cannot afford them, most schools offer short courses. Some are evening courses, some full-time for a period of some weeks, some weekend, and.of course, there are summer courses. University courses, however, are regular degree courses and follow the normal pattern for the university: normally three years and a three term year. These courses, too, usually have a higher proportion of theory, normally of the history/lit. crit. variety. How Much Does It Cost? Fees for the top schools are generally around the £8-9000 a year mark. They are normally payable termly in advance, although some, RADA amongst them, require the payment in advance of the first and last term's fees. However there is a tendency for fees to increase year on year, so it is always wise to check. Some schools have scholarships available and some will offer help with finding sponsorship, a route which many of today's students have to take. It must be noted that fees are for tuition and associated expenses: they do not cover food or accommodation, nor do they normally cover books, scripts etc. Some schools have hostels of their own or lodgings of some sort with which they have an arrangement, but many do not and expect students to arrange their own. The larger schools will often have lists of suitably reasonable (in terms of price and standard of accommodation) digs which they make available to students. What Do You Get for Your Money? The majority of courses consist of tuition in acting techniques, singing, dance, stage fighting and make-up as a minimum. Students will normally take part in at least three shows in their time, although some do not start on productions until the second year. The advantage of the major schools becomes apparent here. When schools like RAD, LAMDA and the other "biggies" hold their final productions, the audience is not made up of proud mums and dads - although they are there - but of agents, directors, casting directors and scouts of various kinds who are on the lookout for new talent. Not only that, but The Stage reviews these shows, so the graduating students have the opportunity to impress many of the movers and shakers of the business. Many of the smaller - shall we call them "private"? - schools offer representation by their own agency as part of the deal. Whilst this can be a good thing, it all depends on the reputation of the school: representation by the Joe Bloggs Theatrical Talent Agency of Lesser Nitpicking-on-the-Fringe is not necessarily worth anything! Remember: anyone can set him or herself up as an agency, and, although agencies are regulated by the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry), that regulation only goes as far as ensuring that agencies comply with the law and the various statutory instruments, making sure, for instance, that they don't rip you off for the work you have done. The DTI does not concern itself with whether the agency actually gets you any work at all. A Word of Warning Caveat emptor! The old legal saying "Let the buyer beware" was never more appropriate. Lots of people want to be actors, and lots of others are eager to take their money off them whilst giving nothing back in return. British actors are recognised as being among the best in the world, and they are that way because of a combination of talent and superb training, for the best drama schools in Britain are superb, offering training that is second to none. However there are many which, with the best of intentions, are only as good as the people who run them, and they aren't very good. There are some which embrace odd methods of teaching or even odder approaches to the subject, and there are some which are simply rip-offs. Some years ago one of these "rip-off" schools was taken to court by two students who alleged that they had received bad training. They won. If you can't get into one of the "biggies", then you might be better off hawking yurself round agencies and producing companies rather than paying a lot of money for indifferent or even bad training, and then finding yourself having to hawk yourself round agencies and producing companies, trying to shake off the stigma of bad training. For details of drama schools on the Web and other organisations relating to drama training, take a look at our Professional Training Links Library. Articles Indices:
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