The Drama School Handbook

1. FIRST STEPS

So let's start from the moment you decide to get some actor training.

What do you do next?

Well. maybe you're at secondary school and a famous Hollywood producer is scouring England looking for an untrained teenager to star in his next movie and he picks you out.

You end up going to Hollywood and becoming an international superstar.

Yes indeed!

Or perhaps your English teacher has a friend who is a casting director for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

He recommends you for the part of Romeo.

And you wow all the critics!!

Or maybe you're in a show at your further education college, and a top actors' agent sees you and.

Stop!

A very fine actress I met once said the difference between amateur actors and professional actors is that professional actors 'dedicate their lives to acting'.

Think about that before you head out on this journey.

They dedicate their lives to acting.

Is that what you want?

If it is, carry on reading.

GETTING ADVICE

Okay, so perhaps you need some advice on how to get started.

But listen. Don't ask an actor, whatever you do! They can be a bit cynical.

After all, if someone has dedicated their life to acting and they haven't got a job, it can make them feel quite depressed.

Actors often get depressed.

But don't worry, people in all manner of jobs get depressed at one time or another.

In fact, statistics show that the job that makes you most depressed is being a dentist!

So don't be a dentist, right?

MIGHT AS WELL BE AN ACTOR.

Hey! Perhaps your drama teacher will be able to give you advice.

Or maybe you could try a Google search.

How about standing outside a West End stage door after a show and stopping a famous actress as she emerges to ask her how she started? You never know. You might strike lucky.

All these things are possible.

But probably the best thing to do if you want to be an actor is to apply for a place in a recognised drama school, so you can get some training. If you do that:

You will meet other people your own age who want to be actors.

You'll learn loads of techniques from experts.

You'll be in lots of plays.

And you'll get an introduction to the world of professional acting.

Sounds good?

Then do it!

FINDING A DRAMA SCHOOL

When to apply

Most drama schools start their audition process during the Autumn Term and then continue with regular audition days until the middle of the Summer Term.

So you should begin the process well over a year before you want to do your training.

Most drama schools need applications to be in by February or March for the following September.

How to choose

All the drama schools have websites explaining how brilliant they are, and they will all have pictures of ex-students who have been successful so it's a minefield.

But this is where your dedication to your ambition starts.

Get online to check out drama schools.

Read their websites carefully.

And get a gut feeling of which schools appeal to you!

They all teach acting but they each have their own method, so it's important to think about what you actually want to learn.

And what kind of career you would like to have.

Maybe you want to be in a long-running television drama.

Or maybe you want to make your mark in a TV sitcom.

Perhaps you want to be part of an experimental theatre group.

Or make cutting-edge, new-wave films.

Maybe you want to perform at the National Theatre.

Or maybe you want to be a movie star.

There are many paths available so you should think carefully about what you actually want.

You probably like watching films and TV.

Maybe you like going to the theatre.

And there are probably actors you particularly admire.

So find out where they were trained.

Especially if they have recently graduated.

You should also:

Check out the drama schools' specialist facilities, such as rehearsal studios, theatres, and radio, film and television studios.

Find out about tutor contact time.

Discover the length of a normal training day.

Find the names of the professional directors they use - Google them to see how connected they are to the industry.

Checking out the schools you've chosen

If it's at all possible, try to see some final-year productions at your selected drama schools so you can judge the kind of work they are doing.

Are the plays mainly classical or are they contemporary?

Is the acting style theatrical, humorous, physical or an example of ultra-realism? Ask yourself which styles you are most interested in.

Do the students look confident on stage?

Hang around after the performance to observe the atmosphere when the cast emerge from their dressing rooms.

Watch how members of staff talk to the students after the performance to see if they have the sort of relationship that would like to have with your teachers.

Ask yourself if you would have liked to have been in the show!

This is your training.

And you need it to be the best.

So you can achieve your ambition.

Making your application

Drama schools charge you a fee to audition so, unless you're very rich, you will have to be quite selective.

I suggest you apply to about six drama schools if you can afford it.

Sometimes you will be asked to fill in an application form online, so that will be easy.

Write about your acting experience.

Write about your other interests.

Be enthusiastic but don't exaggerate.

Be straightforward and honest about yourself.

Tell them what you want to achieve and how you think they can help.

THE AUDITION PROCESS

This is different for each drama school, but they all want to know

Can you act?

What experience have you had of acting?

What are you like as a person?

Most drama schools ask to see a self-tape to start with.

Check online for details of what each drama school wants you to do.

And how they want you to do it.

(And turn to page 186 in Chapter Thirteen for advice on self-tapes.)

After they have viewed your self-tape they will then decide if their training is suitable for you. If they think it is, you will then be given an audition date for some time in the future!

That's exciting!

(Note: Choosing audition speeches and preparing them for performance is the same for self-tapes as it is for live auditions.)

Gathering suitable audition speeches

Drama schools usually ask to see you doing two speeches:

A classical speech - some ask specifically for a speech from a Shakespeare play.

And a contemporary speech - which some drama schools call a modern speech.

Maybe they will ask you to prepare a song as well.

And perhaps you need an extra speech up your sleeve.

And you may have to do a bit of sight-reading.

Each drama school has its own particular requirements. But basically, the standby reliable requirements are the two speeches:

A classical speech and a contemporary speech.

The classical speech

A classical speech is one that uses heightened language and often contains metaphors, similes and poetic images.

In other words it is not...