UCAS and CUKAS drama school applications

Hi beautiful thespians,
So it is coming up to that time of year again when its time to start getting those Drama school applications in! I'm so excited and nervous already about it all. Especially because up until an hour ago I couldn't find a sutible monologue as a contempary. But finally I've got it. Anyway this post is a little database on some of the drama school's available via the UCAS and CUKAS website's with some basic infomation. Now with UCAS and CUKAS there is a £16 fee (CUKAS) and a £23 fee (UCAS). You can only apply to up to five school's on UCAS. This inclueds any other university course's that you might be applying for.

UCAS drama school's:
1. The Royal Central school of speech and drama.
UCAS institution code- C35
Course ( BA Acting) code- W410
Audition fee - £50
Audition process- 1 contempary (post 1960's) and 2 shakespeare monologues chosen from a list on their website. Max of 2 minute duration. Also two songs needed,  one from a musical with accompanying piano music and another song unaccompanied. (Although from what I understand the singing part of the audition is for the musical BA.)
Audition is at the school.

2. Drama Center
^Under the name of University of the Arts in UCAS
UCAS institution code- U65
Course code- W410
Audition fee- £45
Audition process- 1 contempary (post 1830) and 1 shakespeare monologue, both with a maximum of 3 minute duration, dualogues are also accetable (you must have a partner) for both speaches.
Audition is at the school.

3, Guildford school of acting (GSA)
^ Under the name of University of Surrey in UCAS.
UCAS institution code- S85
Course code- W410
Audition fee- £35
Audition process - 1 contempary speech (post 1950) and one classic monologue (pre 1800). Also you must bring a sonnet with you,  you don't have to learn it. They should not exceed a 3 minute duration.
Initial audition's are held in:
·Belfast
·Cardiff
·Dublin
·Exeter
·Edinburgh
·Newcastle
·Manchester
·Guildford (I.e the school) + all recall's.

4. Manchester school of acting
^Under the name of Manchester Metropolitain university in UCAS.
UCAS institution code- M40
Course code- W411
Audition fee- £45
Audition process- 1 contempary (post 1950) speech, 1 shakespeare speech and another monologue of your choice. All should not exceed 2 minute duration.
Audition's held at the school.

5. Rose Bruford
UCAS Institution code- R51
Course code- W410
Audition fee-£45
Audition process- Two speaches, one classic monologue and one contempary (I presume as the school's website does not give much infomation.)
Audition is held at the school.

Other UCAS school's include Italia Conti and East 15.

CUKAS school's:

1. Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS)
CUKAS institution code- R58
Course code- W410
Audition fee- £45
Audition process- 1 Shakespeare speech and one contempary speech. All should not exceed a 3 minute duration.
Audition is held at the school.

2. Royal Welsh school of music and drama college.
CUKAS institution code- R59
Course code- 200F
Audition fee- £45
Audition process- 1 Shakespeare speech and one contempary speech (post 1950). And should not exceed a 2 minute duration.
Audition's held at:
· Cardiff (I.e the school) plus all recall's.
·London
·Edinburgh
·Belfast
·Manchester
Hope this helps people,
Cheerio,
Terri ; D

RCS: The Audition

Hey dudes, Sup?
... Yeah never let me say that at the beginning of a post again.
So yesterday I had my RCS audition and I'm going to break the tension in telling you that I did not get recalled. I blame this mainly down to throwing up 20 mins prior to the initial audition and just feeling awfully ill for the majority of yesterday. It cannot be helped but I'm going to fill you in on all the details so you can have some knowledge on what to expect.
So I started my wonderful day at 5 o'clock in the morning (a time quite unknown to me) and was out by 6:30 (am - I'm not that slow.) To get my train to Glasgow.
Although feeling pretty ill at this point I did have a fabulous conversation with this 45 yr old man for an hour on Doctor Who, a conversation which was started btw with his ringtone of the Doctor Who theme tune (the David Tenant one of course, as all Whovians should know that the tune is changed slightly with every new doctor.)
Off train with an hour to kill, I head towards my second home. Costa. Ordered my favourite "a small soya cinnamon latte" and sat there and drank. 10 mins later queue vomitorium (and panic on whether capable of actually doing the audition.) I trudged on to the school.
Now the building itself is amazing, there's a definite magic about the place. Speaking of magic, I saw CHO CHANG (i.e. Harry Potter first lurve interest.) in a RCS classroom, training to be even better than she was in the franchise when we were on a tour of the building.
But back to the Audition. After going to two wrong reception desks I managed to get to the correct one and sign in. Already there were two girls there waiting. One of them was from Stockport and had auditioned at Manchester Met the day before like me... creepy. She was 19 and had bee recalled last year so she had high expectations of also being recalled again. The other was posh and from Windsor.
After ten mins of waiting two current first years showed us down to where we were going to be auditioned. As one girl hadn't turned up, I was to go first (gee thanks "not showing up girl", not.).
I was called in and saw one lady with a limp and an old man, who told me the running of the audition. They both were very nice. I had a glass of water before I started as my throat did not want to admit much sound.
I did both pieces in an average way. It was, to my standard not good enough, I already knew that. But I was not going to give up hope without a bloody good fight so I went head first into the interview.
I was asked the following questions:
1. You live in England, why do you want to train at the RCS?
2. How do you deal with you're dyslexia as an actor?
3. Why did you choose your Shakespeare piece?
4. What is the play Port about?
5. What are you doing at the moment?
All questions I answered well, maybe I could of modulated my answers better but overall it went ok. I was thanked and told that the list would be put up a 1:30 of all those they wanted to see at the recall. I then thanked them and left, then waited for the others to do theirs.
An hour wait, the tour (queue the sight seeing of Harry Potter cast members.) Then the list. I was not on it of course and it was slightly gutting but hey ho I would be back next year if I don't get offered anywhere else this time round.
A 4 hour wait then waited for me before I could get a train home back to Manchester. I filled it with yet another Costa (not a coffee, my stomach was not yet up for that.) a fashion magazine and looking at my options on where I was next applying and what different speeches I could do for the next one. (I did find a brilliant one in the character of Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream that I am very keen to try out.) and thinking in general about the year awaiting me.
I don't mean for this post to sound depressing. I really enjoyed the audition and the school, I would love to study there. I just wished that I could of showed them my true potential and not to ill version of me, that's all.

And what have I learnt from my expedition up north. Not to loose hope. Shown to me by one pupil there who applied 5 times before being offered a place. If you want it you'll fight for it.

As for the next audition, that in late February (RADA eek) so I get a decent break from a madness of it all.
Until next time folks,
Terri ;D x

Personal Statement For People... (Acting)

HI!... again.
Now as I promised (6 months ago) that I would re-post this. SOooo here is some information for people who need help writing their personal statement for Acting. This is from the CUKAS website so you can access this and more there. I'm putting this here though as I know how little examples there are for Acting Personal Statements (TIP do not get confused between a Drama personal statement and an Acting personal statement as a Drama course will be more academic based so the Uni's will not be looking at practical skills unlike acting.)
^In regards to myself I did around 10 drafts of my personal statement before I sent it off on my UCAS and CUKAS applications but don't worry if you haven't started you're one yet as I know for a fact that the CUKAS deadline is the 15th January for UK applicants (and later for overseas).

So here it goes...

What to include in your personal statement:

Most courses have an Entry Profile that you can view in Course Search - these explain what the conservatoire is looking for in their students and what qualifications or experience you'll need for the course. Check these because they'll give you some ideas about what to include in your statement

You do not have to use all the space provided. Consider carefully the information you give to support your application and the best way to present it effectively. Remember, you must be truthful and accurate in what you write. Make this a true match of you, your aspirations, personality, feelings about your chosen study area and experience. Showing understanding of today's competitive music or performing arts profession where versatility is required is helpful and indicates a suitable temperament. It is up to you how you write your statement, but we suggest you include some or all of the following points.

• Your reasons for choosing the courses you have listed. Remember that each conservatoire will be able to see the other conservatoires and courses to which you have applied.
• What interests you about your chosen study area (whether playing an instrument, acting, singing, conducting, stage design or another specialist area).
• Your experience within your chosen specialist area and in any other activity related to the course(s) for which you have applied.
• Membership of national and/or international orchestras, choirs or chamber groups, eg NYO, EUYO or National Youth Theatre.
• Your career plans for when you complete your course.
• Any job, work experience, placement or voluntary work you have done, particularly if it is relevant to the course for which you have applied. You may want to list the skills and experience you have gained from these activities. Try to link any experience to skills or qualities mentioned in the Entry Profiles.
• Any involvement in widening participation schemes such as summer schools or mentoring activities.
• Involvement in master classes or other Gifted and Talented programmes.
• Details of non-accredited skills and achievement that you have gained through activities such as:
  • ASDAN (Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network awards), for example, Universities Award
  • Diploma of Achievement
  • Duke of Edinburgh Award
  • OCNW Level 3 Certificate in Personal Development for Progression (previously known as the Liverpool Enrichment Programme)
  • vfifty award
  • Millennium Volunteering Certificate of Volunteering Achievement
  • Young Enterprise.
• Details of accreditation achieved for any activities in preparation for higher education, for example through the ASDAN Aimhigher Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE qualification).
• Your future plans: if you know what you'd like to achieve after completing your course, explain how you want to use the knowledge and experience that you'll gain at the conservatoire.
• Any subjects you are studying that do not have a formal assessment.
• Any sponsorship or placements you have or for which you have applied.
• If you are planning to take a year out, your reasons why.
• Your social, sports or leisure interests and any other achievements that you are proud of. Think about how your interests and social activities demonstrate your skills and abilities. If there's anything that relates to your course or to the skills needed to complete the course, include it - the more evidence the better.
• Any positions of responsibility that you hold/have held both in and out of school, eg form prefect or representative for a local charity.
• Attributes that make you interesting, special or unique.

While you should not include details of your performance in individual units of qualifications (such as GCE AS and A level) in the education section, you may put this information in the personal statement.

If you are a mature student, you should give details of any relevant work and performance experience, paid or unpaid, and information about any current or previous employment.

If you want to send more information, perhaps a CV, send it direct to your chosen conservatoire(s) after we have sent you your Welcome letter and Personal ID. Do not send it to us.

If you are an international student, also try to answer these questions.

• Why do you want to study in the UK?
• How can you show that you can complete a higher education course that is taught in English? Please say if some of your studies have been taught or examined in English.
• Have you taken part in any activities where you have used English outside of your studies?

Make sure that your personal statement is your own work

We will carry out checks to verify that your personal statement is your own work. If your personal statement appears to have been copied from another source, we will inform the conservatoires to which you have applied. They will then take the action they consider appropriate. We will also contact you by email to tell you that this has happened. Find out more...

Now kids go live your lives!!!

(^I don't know where that came from but OK)

Terri :D.

Drama School Potentials (UCAS/CUKAS applicable)

Heya there!

Now firstly I should really think up a less cheesy way of starting a post because at the moment what Im doing is just saying "yeah she still watches High School Musical and Camp Rock in her spare time..." Which I don't, well not camp rock.

Anyway the point of this post is to discuss the different drama schools that I really want to audition for.

If you have done your research then you will know that there are 100's of different places which offer Acting/Drama degree's. 

Now personally I have avoided all courses which offer a Drama BA because according to my "So you want to go to Drama School" book these courses are very academic in structure and have little pratical lessons, so this to me would sound a bit like torture. In a lecture theatre having some old person waffle on about Shakespeare seems to me, rather dull plus a waste of three years. (Also you have to get the top grades to get onto these courses which for me will never happen.)

Now because of this, with places that offer the Acting BA the number of places offered in minute compared to the amount of applicants. For example at LAMDA they only take 3.5% anually so they really do want the best of the best.

And to be the best of the best you need to know what they want from you.

OK so I'm going to first start with the one's that you can apply for via UCAS...

1. Manchester Met.

One of the few Universities which offers a high standard Acting BA course it has trained the likes of Julie Walters and the late Richard Griffiths.

Number of places available - 80

Fee for audition - £45

Qualifications needed - 2 B's and a C at A2 level. (Or 280 UCAS points)

The initial audition peices (3 monologues are wanted) - 

*One Shakespeare which must be written in blank verse (this is when there is a flowing beat but it does not rhyme, usually it is iambic pentameter).

^Don't worry too much if you don't understand that, the majority of Shakespeare's monologues are written in this form, but if you are not sure then ask someone who has a good knowledge of the english language (an english/drama teacher perhaps) to check it just in case.

*The next needs to be from a play written after 1970.

*A monologue of your choice, from any era/genre.

Remember - These monologues can last up to 2 mins so they will probbably need to be cut down to the time limit. (In saying this, ensure that they are not too short either and that you understand the character and what they are saying - i.e. particually with shakespeare - and where this monologue is in the play.)

Why I choose this course...

-This course has been acredited by the NCDT. (Always look for this as it shows that the teaching standard is of a high quality.)

-It is very close to home so I would not have to spend money on rent and live at home instead.

- The course looks interesting and would help to be employable afterwards.

-The University has a very good special needs department that could help me with my dyslexia.

http://www.theatre.mmu.ac.uk/courses/ba-acting/

2. Italia Conti

 One of the oldest stage training schools in the world, covers a vast range of art training including opera, musical theatre and many others.

Actors who have trained there include Karen Gillan (Amy Pond - Dr Who), Noël Coward, Russel Brand and many more...

No. of places available - 24

Fee for Audition - £45
Qualifications needed - 2 C's at A2 level

The initial audition peices (2 monologues wanted) - 

*A shakespeare peice to be chosen from a list on their website :/

* A monologue from a play written after 1870.

The duration of each of these peices needs to be around 1.5 mins, if it is alot longer then you will be stopped.

Why I choose this course...

- It is a NCDT acredited course

- I belive this course would challenge me in the different aspects of theatre.

- If you don't get onto the BA course they also consider you for their foundation course which looks the best out of all the foundation courses that I have looked at.

http://www.italiaconti-acting.com/

3.Drama Centre London

Within the St Martin Central Campus the place is surounded by a creative energy (god I sound like a hippy) which the school focuses on in its aspect of learning. Famous students include Oscar winning Colin Firth, John Simm + more.

No. of places available - 16!

Fee for audition - £45
Qualifications needed - 2 Passes at A2 level

The initial audition peices (2 monologues are wanted) -

*A Shakespeare peice

*A monologue from 1830+

Remember - the monologues can be no longer than 3 mins (so they can't be too short either).

Why I choose this course...

- This course has been acredited by the NCDT.

- It offers something very different compared to the rest of them which I really like.

- Unlike the majority of drama schools in London it has accomadation.

http://www.csm.arts.ac.uk/dramacentrelondon/

And now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which you have to apply for via CUKAS (a website which works in a similar way as UCAS).

Based in Glasgow in the summer I am doing a course there with my freind and the School has trained people like David Tennant and James McAvoy.

No. of places available - Around 25

Fee of the audition - £45
Qualifications needed - 2 Passes at A2 level

The initial Audition Peices (2 monologues needed) - 

*One shakespeare, any of your choice.

*A moden one, now the site dosent say how far back you can use one from but I'll say go back about 50 years max as I feel that is a safe boundary.

Why I choose this course...

- An acredited course

- Has a broad range of ways in which to improve an actor

- Based in Glasgow so will be cheaper to live there in comparison to London.

http://www.rcs.ac.uk/

I will do another post on the Drama Schools that I want to go to which you have apply by their website individually but I don't want this post to get too long so I am going to bugger off now and do some maths revision...

Byeeee

Terri ;D