My audition for Bristol Old Vic was undeniably my worst so far (and not by their fault). I arrived, feeling a little under-the-weather with a sore throat and, in hindsight, I should have warmed up more before I went in. Upon arrival we were given sight reading from a book, which we were to look over, this changes every audition. Unlike all my other auditions there was no workshop to warm us up or assess are ensemble work and so we went in one by one individually.


They asked me to do my Shakespeare first. This was awful (and now I have switched to my other prepared monologues for upcoming auditions) because I got incredibly confused by Guildhall’s feedback and my teachers and I ultimately became uncomfortable with it. I would HIGHLY recommend you don’t just choose a monologue because it’s impressive or just randomly, pick one you can relate to and are comfortable with (I thought I was, but ultimately it was clear I wasn’t after this audition, hence my change). Also, it threw me because one of the audition panel’s phone rang during my monologue. This slightly annoyed me as I was paying for this time and it felt unprofessional but she was lovely and apologised very sincerely. Next I did my contemporary which was definitely not my best, especially compared to GSA.


Then came the dreaded singing. Ugh. They said to sing a verse and a chorus but I think mine was quite short. Due to my sore throat my voice cracked instantly and it sounded incredibly bad. But then again, singing isn’t my strong point even by a margin. I think I performed it well regardless. The sight reading was lovely, I sat down with them and simply told them the story. She said it was lovely the way I read it – this was probably the best part of this audition. We talked over my experiences and what I wanted from drama school and then I left.


Three days later I got my rejection email. I wasn’t surprised, it was markedly far from my best. It was a lovely place and very friendly. I would definitely audition again, but it wasn’t in the cards for me this time.


Still waiting to hear from GSA

Where I am applying

Seeing as this is my first year auditioning I decided to apply for ten drama schools. Why? So if I don't get in this year I know where I liked and disliked for next year. Also, I saved up really hard to pay for all ten, so I ultimately just want the experience.
I am applying to:

Guildhall

GSA 

Bristol Old Vic

RADA

Drama Centre

ALRA

Central

Rose Bruford

LAMDA

LIPA

These are happening (by the majority) in November/December (for first auditions) with some in January to February 2015/16 (for entry in 2016). I will be posting my experience at each place for those who are also applying and want to know for the future and for myself, for future next cycle auditions.

Have a great day! :)

GSA

GSA:

This day was absolutely brilliant and regardless of whether I get recalled or not I would highly recommend applying to GSA not only for the experience of their audition but because they, as a school, are absolutely brilliant. Upon arriving we were met by current students who were incredibly kind and talked to us about the school in general. Once everyone had arrived (there were about 20 of us, but I've heard in the later audition there can be upwards of 40) we went into a studio. Unlike Guildhall we were met by the current staff, the movement director, the head of acting and the professional acting life teacher (for want of a better phrase). They were funny, kind and encouraging (telling awful jokes throughout the day). It didn't feel like an audition, it felt like a lesson (in the best possible way). The movement workshop took about an hour (I think, but it was so fun time went really quickly). We learned the alphabet of physical movements then were told to associate an emotion with each movement. We then made our own sequence of movements and made a space in the centre of the room. Music was played and we all crossed the room using our movements but interacting with each other. They change this every audition, but it would be something similar. It was incredibly fun.

After a short break we went into the acting workshop where you perform your monologues in front of all the other applicants. I thought this would be awful (and competitive) but it actually felt incredibly safe and supportive - everyone was rooting for each other to do well (and even the head of acting commented on this at the end). We could get up and do our speeches when we wanted (so in not particular order of each other) but we only had to do one. I went first because, well, why not? It went well and I really enjoyed watching everyone else.  They encouraged us to use everyone else, so we could pick someone to stand up and use them as the person we are talking to.

Another note to mention is that they specifically told us they do not look at our ages, stating "you are ready when you're ready", so the ages in the students we met varied wildly. This is a great place to go if you're younger and think you'll be discriminated against for your age at other drama schools. 

We all then departed after a quick Q&A and I'll find out in a few weeks if I get recalled. 

I loved the day so much and I made so many new friends and learned new techniques. It was so good. I came out of it buzzing. It was friendly and kind and I think everyone honestly just wanted everyone to do well. I'll be disappointed if I don't get recalled but I would definitely audition again in years to come.

Guildhall

Guildhall (Acting):

Firstly, I didn't really like Guildhall, it didn't really feel right. It was almost slightly hostile upon entering. I arrived half an hour early for the audition (which in total takes about 30 minutes for the workshop and then about 15 for your individual audition, then you wait around for the results for about three hours) and was met by three students who promptly told me they were leaving for some food in a very "how dare you interrupt my lunch" way, so I sat down with the others. There were fourteen of us total, ranging from the age of 17 to 25. This is a school where age matters, clearly, as next to our names the panel had our ages written down in bold. Everyone was really nice and the workshop was relaxed, it was mostly for warming up and it was fine, but there seemed to be an emphasis on not performing but 'saying'. 

We all did our individual auditions to, and this particularly put me off, recent graduates. Everywhere else you audition for teachers or staff, not here. This made me feel like I was being given subpar treatment and not being seen by the people who would ACTUALLY TRAIN ME. I did my first speech (modern) and it went really well, then they asked me to do my second. They literally hated it. Keep in mind I was performing a Shakespearian comedy - it was supposed to be garish and loud and silly, but they didn't want that. To be honest, they didn't want us to perform at all. They wanted me to literally just say my lines as myself and not act. This, for me, took away any real emphasis on character development I had worked on.  They were also quite big on looking at them, so be prepared to say the speech to them rather than at nothing.

In the small 'interview' they asked if I had any questions and I asked "what is it you're looking for?" and they told me it couldn't be worded. This was clearly a lie, because they'd emphasised that they were looking for something 'very specific'. I deduct that they ultimately want someone who doesn't perform but rather says the lines naturalistically as themselves.

No one out of the fourteen of us was recalled, and where others looked sad I left smiling. I'd had a fun day meeting new people and it had been a triumph to travel to London and not get hopelessly lost. I'd enjoyed performing and the workshop but, ultimately, I didn't like Guildhall. It was clearly not right for me and I not for them. I didn't even feel disappointed.