by Bel | May 8, 2014 | acting classes, acting classes london, audition classes, audition doctor, auditions, tilly blackwood
In an article in the Independent entitled “My life on stage with Shakespeare”, Rory Kinnear spoke about how crucial the rehearsal process was in creating a character. “It seemed to require identifying the particular conundrums that a play and character threw up, the various forks in the road ahead, examining them thoroughly, and then making a decision. There wasn’t necessarily a right decision – especially, as I discovered to my delight, with Shakespeare – but there had to be a decision.”
Decisions are why people come to Audition Doctor. Unless you are auditioning for new writing, chances are that countless actors will have tackled your part before. For those auditioning for drama school, many find the thought of entering the audition room as the fifth Cressida horrifying. However, it is comforting to read Kinnear’s assertion that “Shakespeare gives his actors quite a lot of open-endedness within which to work: you’re not often given much back-story, and you’re certainly never guided by him to any particular decision. You have to make your own.”
The open-endedness that he talks about is what Audition Doctor sessions focus on. The freedom that Shakespeare affords the actor means that there are endless choices that can be made to make sure that the character you present is wholly different from the one that the next actor performs after you. Kinnear mentioned that he approached parts “initially just by thinking about them, and then afterwards [trying] to figure out what works well in the doing.”
Thinking – you can do on your own. However, the reason why Audition Doctor is so popular is because the “doing” is nigh-on impossible to achieve repeatedly by yourself. Kinnear, speaking of his experience of Hamlet, said “What surprised me most with Hamlet was that, having gone through that rehearsal process, it wasn’t until the first time I performed it in front of an audience that I realised that it’s only in relation to that body of witnesses that Hamlet discovers himself. If you’re rehearsing in a white room, doing those soliloquies to a wall, even though it’s quite self-reflective and leads to a number of important insights, you’re not really getting anything back.” The feedback you get from Tilly is not only helpful artistically, but also crucial in simply understanding how to respond intelligently to direction.
On Newsnight last week, actors such as Simon Callow, Harriet Walter and Helen Mirren spoke of their experience of Shakespeare. Walter said: “I came to Shakespeare late, I was very frightened of him because I thought there was a way to do it and I was told I had a rubbish voice at drama school…Once you stop being frightened of him, once you stop thinking its high-brow, once you let him in, go with it and not worry if you don’t understand every word, it becomes electric.
Above all, Audition Doctor sessions demystify Shakespeare and there is never a prescriptive way of approaching the text. After a certain number of sessions, there comes a point when the language ceases to be unwieldy and it becomes to feel natural to speak in blank verse. The speech is no longer stilted and you begin to inhabit a character that, despite being Shakespearean, is wholly present – in both senses of the word. It’s why students keep coming back.
by Bel | May 1, 2014 | acting classes, acting classes london, audition classes, audition doctor, auditions, tilly blackwood
When asked what advice she would give to an actor starting out today, Gina McKee said “Ask yourself why you want to be an actor…At every step of the way keep answering the question “Why do I want to be an actor?”
This is a question that is routinely asked asked at drama school interviews and many understandably spend time crafting the “perfect” answer to impress the panel. However, it is perhaps the private and unpolished response that will clarify the kind of actor you want to be.
Mark Rylance mentioned that the thing that sustained him as an artist was secrets – “things that are forbidden to be said. Maybe people are frightened of something, maybe they don’t have the words to express it, but those are the things that need to be said by theatre. That’s what it’s here for. Look for those secrets in society and inside yourself and give them a voice. That’s the role of an artist in our society.”
He went onto say: “Going to the theatre should be like going on holiday. It should allow you to experience a little piece of someone else’s life for a while. If it’s really good, when it’s over you should be able to look at your own life and see it with fresh eyes for a while.”
Sessions with Audition Doctor are all about unearthing bits of the text and discovering the unspoken. The result is that although there may be 30 other people doing the same Shakespeare speech as you on the day of the audition, your performance will be both unique and adventurous.
Many students come to Audition Doctor to start again. This can be because they aren’t getting any recalls, because they find their speeches are no longer being performed as if for the first time or because their interpretation seems to be formed from a mishmash of other actors’ performances.
It’s reassuring to know that even Simon Russell Beale admitted that the most difficult thing when starting a new play was “getting rid of my preconceptions. Harder than you might imagine. If somehow I can start from scratch, then there have been many occasions when I have discovered things that I never expected to. The second thing is trying to achieve absolutely clarity of thought. Before that’s done the emotional life of any character is a bit of a mystery for me.”
Clarity of thought is something that Audition Doctor emphasises in lessons. This is because an audience (and especially an audition panel at drama school) will be able to hear if you don’t understand the text you are speaking. Inevitably, as soon as this happens, the audience’s suspension of disbelief is dispelled and the illusion is broken. Moreover, you fail to hear what Shelley Winters described as “the sound of a wonderful, deep silence that means you’ve hit them where they live”.
by Bel | Apr 24, 2014 | acting classes, acting classes london, audition classes, audition doctor, auditions, tilly blackwood
The fanfare surrounding Shakespeare’s 450th birthday has proven Johnathan Bates’ assertion that “Shakespeare has never fallen out of fashion but in the past 25 years or so his reputation has become truly stratospheric.”
There are articles delineating how phrases Shakespeare coined centuries ago are still in common usage and the fact that his birthday celebrations are being put ahead of festivities for St George’s day. There is no doubt that there is still an appetite for his plays to be performed.
However, Dominic Cavendish – the Telegraph’s theatre critic – conceded: Is this week not as good as any to admit just how intellectually challenging much that lies in the complete works can be and how borderline incomprehensible his language can get, both in terms of the now archaic and obscure nature of his references and the complexity of his poetic expression?”
Amongst all the interactive Bard games and video uploads of people reciting their favourite Shakespeare quotations, there have also been admissions from leading figures in theatre over the inaccessibility of the language. Cavendish’s article was entitled “Admit it – most of us don’t understand Shakespeare”.
Nick Hytner’s confession last autumn has also been reprinted: “I cannot be alone in finding that almost invariably in performance there are passages that fly straight over my head. In fact, I’ll admit that I hardly ever go to a performance of one of Shakespeare’s plays without experiencing blind panic during the first five minutes. I sit there thinking: I’m the director of the National Theatre, and I have no idea what these people are talking about.”
Even actor Ethan Hawke, who was in The Winter’s Tale at the Old Vic, said: “I can’t even read the plays, I know some people can but I literally have a tape of the production of the play and read it while I [watch] it.”
There has been a renewed determination to make Shakespeare productions even more accessible. There is a push to ensure productions communicate energy, emotion, the vital essence of the work, and do its utmost to be as lucid as possible for the modern ear.” This, of course, is down to the actor.
As Audition Doctor stresses, if you don’t understand the language, the audience won’t either. Hawke’s admission is reassuring as that it doesn’t make you less of an actor not fully understanding the language and having to discover the language. It’s in sessions such as at Audition Doctor that the text can be unpicked and pored over.
As Hawke said: “I love breaking down the text and figuring out what the words mean.There’s a great joy that comes from at one point not knowing what a series of sentences mean and then later being able to get a laugh on it. Not only do you know what it means but you can actually translate it to a thousand people…That comes from building the character and inhabiting the circumstances with such commitment and force.”
Audition Doctor is about the exploring as well as the resultant performance. The satisfaction that comes at the end of every lesson is why students return time and time again.
Ethan Hawke went onto admit that while writing was the most peaceful part of making theatre, “there is a tremendous amount of anxiety and stress that comes along with performing…I feel like I’ve spent a great bulk of my life at war with my nervous system.”
Audition Doctor sessions are all about preparation which greatly reduces the stress that comes hand in hand with an audition. As Hawke said: “Shakespeare becomes so alive in the doing.” The “doing” at Audition Doctor ensures that you “live” the character honestly, thereby giving a truthful performance.
by Bel | Apr 17, 2014 | acting classes, acting classes london, audition classes, audition doctor, auditions, classes for acting, tilly blackwood
When auditioning for drama school, performing the work of long dead playwrights is unavoidable. Most, if not all, accredited drama schools require applicants to perform one (or even two) Shakespeare or Elizabethan-era monologues. Even with the assistance of a No Fear Shakespeare edition of the play, the language can be frustrating and impenetrable.
When Simon Russell Beale was interviewed about how he approached Shakespeare texts, he said: “I go through the text with a fine tooth comb. With complicated verse, I have to make it comprehensible at first hearing. That seems to be my basic job so a lot of the early work is about that, it’s about getting the series of thoughts absolutely clear. That’s actually easier said than done. It’s quite complicated when you dig into these plays and have to work out what this person is thinking…The emotional life comes later, that’s something that builds in rehearsal with reaction to other people but the process that you work on yourself is working out the sequence of thoughts.”
Most drama school applicants have neither Russell Beale’s extensive experience nor his first class degree in English literature, so working out the sequence of thoughts articulated in sixteenth century English will be daunting. Audition Doctor is the place to unpick the language, as well as discover the emotional journey that your character takes. The sessions are mini rehearsals where you can truly have the freedom to play.
The most successful of Audition Doctor’s students tend to be those who come prepared with different speeches with various ideas of how to approach them. They are the ones who regularly go to the theatre and who don’t settle for obvious and unimaginative choices.
Jeff Goldblum stated about aspiring young actors: “Don’t do it unless it’s a wild-hearted passion for you and you can’t possibly to anything else and I’ve got to play that game again and…when you can’t wake up without thinking I’ve got to play that game again where I’ve got to play pretend.”
The students that get further in the recall stages are those who come to Tilly with a readiness to experiment coupled with intelligent textual observations. They are the ones who practice what Niamh Cusack advised in Ideastap: “If you see a play and there is a particularly good speech in it, then get the play and learn the speech. Practice is what makes you a good actor. The more you’re prepared – learn speeches, try them out – then the easier it will be for you to walk in and do a good audition. Thinking you’ll get that big break without that hard work is a bit crazy. I don’t think there are that many geniuses; most people have worked really, really hard.”
Further on in his interview, Goldblum said that the best actors were those who were child-like in their ability to play, those who had the vulnerability to be susceptible to their imaginations. It is this quality that Tilly encourages and why Audition Doctor is continually in demand.
by Bel | Apr 10, 2014 | acting classes, acting classes london, audition classes, audition doctor, auditions, tilly blackwood
Even the most respected institutions are beset by flaws. The criticism levelled at drama schools is varied and contradictory. It’s been argued that drama schools are out of touch, blindly forging on with teaching Elizabethan playwrights for which there is no commercial market. Conversely, there have been complaints that today’s young actors don’t possess the know-how to speak verse properly.
Last week’s Sam Wanamaker festival at the Globe – a theatre which is commercially successful solely by staging Shakespeare – disproved both arguments. Susan Elkin from The Stage wrote: “[It] is a very valuable event. The focus is entirely on Shakespeare. A pair of students from each of 21 drama schools – and I know how carefully selected and nurtured those individuals are so it’s an honour to take part – perform a duologue from Shakespeare on the Globe’s stage. The final, and public, performance took place yesterday. And as the Globe’s Director of Education Patrick Spottiswoode told me recently “It’s a celebration not a competition. There is no adjudication or winners”. So it’s a fine way of giving 16th and 17th century drama some close attention – and helping to refute all those critics.”
The idea that drama school is a waste of time because of its focus on Shakespearean texts is a dangerous one. The most celebrated TV and film actors have been known to turn down screen roles in favour of the stage, as evidenced by the recent announcement that a large contingent of the Sherlock cast will be focusing on Shakespeare in the near future. (Martin Freeman will play Richard III, Benedict Cumberbatch will take on the role of Hamlet and Mark Gatiss was recently in Coriolanus at the Donmar.)
It isn’t just verse speaking that drama school affords you either. As Olivier winner Aneurin Barnard mentioned in Ideastap: “Drama school gives you an amazing amount of theatre knowledge. If you want to be a stage actor I don’t think you can without training; some do, but it’s a very low percentage. I knew from 14 that I wanted to go – mainly to get an agent, because I had already been acting for a few years, though I was very rough.”
Drama school auditions are incredibly demanding and sessions with Audition Doctor take some of the pressure off your shoulders. Although all the work must, ultimately, be done by you, Audition Doctor provides an encouraging environment to explore possibilities and experiment with different intentions. Essentially, this is what a drama school audition is.
Drama schools may be flawed, however, it seems like everyone still wants to go. The number of applications shows no sign of decreasing which is why – despite being at the tail-end stage of drama school auditions – Audition Doctor is still oversubscribed.
by Bel | Apr 3, 2014 | acting classes, acting classes london, audition classes, audition doctor, auditions, classes for acting, tilly blackwood
This week, Lyn Gardner asked readers: “Who has commissioned or co-produced some of the potentially most interesting new theatre that is taking place over the next couple of weeks?” The answer was drama schools. Increasingly, drama schools such as the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and East 15 are commissioning new writing to develop with their students.
Many cite the primary reason for going to drama school as being seen and subsequently signed by an agent. However, as Dave Bond of the RWCMD points out…”It [also] gets theatre and theatre writers and directors to connect with graduates, and sometimes they take those graduates with them as their careers progress.”
As Stephen Jameson of Mountview argues: “It’s a virtuous circle of creativity.” And as Christopher Haydon, artistic director of the Gate which is hosting the RWCMD shows, says: “It’s an exciting way of scoring lots of goals with less risk.”
Some prospective applicants to drama school worry about what Jameson calls “the certain marionette aspect to a traditional drama-school education for actors”. However, partnerships between drama schools and new writing proves that drama schools “recognise that [their students] are creative people and foster a progressive programme of work for graduating students that reflects the current developments in theatre in this country and gives them a real understanding of the devising and creative process”.
Many students who come out of drama school form their own theatre companies to ensure that they have a sense of creative autonomy in an industry beleaguered by cuts. Consequently, work – if offered at all – can be safe and devoid of risk. Only when the element of risk is involved can the work potentially be interesting. The devising process that drama schools now offer alongside new writing means that students are knowledgeable in how to create a successful piece of theatre outside the confines of drama school.
As Gardner says: “It’s all to the good, particularly at a time when drama schools seem to be increasingly turning out graduates whose eyes are fixed firmly upon TV and movies rather than the theatre. By putting significant amounts of money and time into new theatre work they are indicating to their graduates that theatre still matters and helping playwrights, theatres and companies to create challenging new work.”
When interviewed about the upcoming production of “A View from the Bridge”, Mark Strong commented on why he has decided to return to the theatre: ‘I wanted to get back into a room with a group of people – all bright, all committed – and talk about why we do this stuff, and how we do it,’ he says enthusiastically. ‘Because film doesn’t really demand that. You tend to learn your lines in isolation, you might go in and have a quick chat with the director, then you’re on camera. And you’re disconnected from the process, really. Whereas in a rehearsal room, you’re going over a text again and again – especially a text like this, which has survived for so long because it’s so good. And if our job is to shine a light on human nature, then you really get a chance over a number of weeks to do that, and then over a number of performances to show it. It’s such a privilege.’
Audition Doctor sessions are similar to the rehearsal room that Strong describes. The text is mined and relentlessly explored. This makes the entire process of auditioning feel organic – invaluable when in the midst of drama school auditions which can make students feel like just another number. The time usually spent at Audition Doctor is spread over a number of months. The interpretation that you present to the panel will by no means be the only one you will have explored with Tilly. Ultimately, this means that when you are redirected, you will have the confidence to present a whole range of interpretations that are rooted in truth.
by Bel | Mar 27, 2014 | acting classes, acting classes london, audition classes, audition doctor, auditions, tilly blackwood
For all drama school candidates currently in the throes of auditions, it might be marginally reassuring to note that Anne Marie Duff once said that “The hardest thing of all is getting into drama school. You’ll never have that level of competition ever again. I mean thousands of people apply for 30 places; you never have that when you audition for a job.”
In many auditions, applicants are sometimes surprised that they are asked to perform their monologues in front of their fellow candidates. Although one hopes that candidates are aware that getting into character in front of an audience is the point of it all, it can be daunting to unexpectedly have to get into character in front of 20 other people.
Anne Marie Duff explains that it’s because “you’re frightened of making a fool of yourself. But you just have to find the truth in it. Instead of just putting on a fuzzy nose and going “ta daaa!” Many people mistakenly think that the “ta daa” element is a precondition to being remembered by the panel. It is – but for all the wrong reasons.
Her advice, whether you are auditioning for drama school or for a feature film, is to remember that “you’re having a conversation with an audience and the audience is either out there, a thousand people, or here, down a lens. It’s the same creative process.”
The initial stages of auditions are focused on the individual and it is usually only when you get further that you are required to participate in group workshops.
When asked about drama school, Michelle Dockery commented that the thing she learnt above all was “to be gracious. And by that I mean to work well with others and to be generous. There is nothing worse than working with an actor who thinks it’s all about them: there’s more than one person creating whatever you’re working on.” Although drama schools want to see you, it’s also as much about how you respond to fellow actors.
When asked about her experience auditioning for drama school, Sally Hawkins said: “I didn’t get in to RADA first time but I knew that was where I wanted to go. I was very single-minded. The only other option was art school and I didn’t have much confidence in that.”
“I did Juliet. I also did Road by Jim Cartwright – talking about “gargantuan men”. It was a very sexual, big Northern woman I was playing. It was totally against type but the writing’s so fantastic that I loved saying it. I also did a very inappropriate Shakespeare: Margaret from Richard III, an old wench. I came with a prop – this was the year I didn’t get in – I had a stick. I’m always drawn to people who are a challenge: it’s interesting to unlock who they are, but you have to be careful of not picking Queen Margaret! Probably better to pick someone closer to your age and your own experience.”
Aside from guidance on audition speeches, Audition Doctor also offers what Anne Marie Duff mentioned – a conversation. It’s important to discuss your choices and it’s helpful to know your strengths and weaknesses before you step into the audition room. In the audition, the panel ask questions that range from your personal ambitions to what theatre you have seen recently. It’s useful to have articulated your thoughts at Audition Doctor prior to the audition. Understandably, when confronted with three staring faces, drawing a blank is common.
Furthermore, in Audition Doctor sessions, actors are confronted with their unconscious habits which are duly discussed and addressed. Nothing elicits a more confident audition than knowing you have prepared in advance with Audition Doctor. This is why booking ahead with Tilly is crucial as places are filled especially quickly during the final recall stages in May.
by Bel | Mar 20, 2014 | acting classes, acting classes london, audition classes, audition doctor, auditions, classes for acting, tilly blackwood
The chief reason why people come to Audition Doctor early on in the audition process is preparation. Advice on picking monologues and direction on the speeches themselves can only be assimilated and played with if you give yourself enough time before an audition.
The Stage warned against hurried interpretations: “Once you’ve selected your speech, experiment. See what it could be, rather than stamping a panicked performance upon it. You must deliver the text audibly, truthfully and connectedly – with intention. That is the actor’s job: to convey the words without false acting voices or daft, uncontrolled head and body-wobbles. The panel will be excited by a clear, clean performance that delivers the words with connection and conviction. Heaped emotion is less interesting.”
In the same article, Andy Johnson explained how “an audition is a two-minute show”. Many candidates comment on how much quicker they perform their speeches. Usually, these are applicants whose first “public” showing of their speeches have been in front of the panel. The combination of nerves and under-preparation is a detrimental cocktail in auditions. Audition Doctor sessions ensure that you don’t throw away your audition by rushing. They give you the reassurance that it’s okay to not throw yourself unthinkingly into your speech, but to do what the Stage recommends: ” To take a moment to imagine the audition space as the location of the monologue. The best auditions are those in which the actor successfully transports the panel from wherever they are to an urban street, a clearing in the woods, a vast hall in a medieval palace etc.”
Audition Doctor is also beneficial for advice in the interview part of the audition; running through possible questions and answers can make all the difference. Ben Caplan recently lamented: “I’ve known actors come into class and have not properly read the play or don’t know basic things like who is running the Royal Court. That is not good enough. But if you do prepare yourself you can have a successful career.”
As almost every actor has said, they key to a good performance is preparation and this is what Audition Doctor gives you. Tilly doesn’t give out answers but something much more powerful – the ability to ask more questions. The curiosity and willingness to engage in trial and error that is fostered in her lessons prepares all her students for drama school auditions.
by Bel | Mar 13, 2014 | acting classes, acting classes london, audition classes, audition doctor, auditions, classes for acting
It’s common to hear of aspiring actors declaring a preference for screen or TV. As discussed in the previous posting, this may purely be down to the fact that students are wise to the fact that opportunities in theatre are waning. However, it would be foolish to disregard any medium in a profession that is always so exhaustingly coupled with the adjective “unpredictable”.
As Patricia Hodge said this week in the Guardian: “Actors can only be as good as what they’re offered – our only weapon is our ability to say no. When you’re at the beginning of your career, you’re not able to say no very often. Fledgling actors need to say yes to everything.”.
Aside from seriously hampering career opportunities, disregarding theatre prevents you from embracing the creative independence that film and television simply can’t afford. As Lara Pulver said: “At first I found screen acting far more difficult than stage acting. The lack of rehearsal was quite a shock, but you learn very quickly that the key to being comfortable on screen is preparation. With stage work you have time to prepare with the rest of the cast and explore the play together – on screen you generally have to turn up with a performance.”
Maxine Peake declared: “For me, theatre is where it’s at…With theatre, you sit and read it and chat about it, discuss it, but with telly you’ll be doing a scene and it’ll be, “What does that mean? Oh right, OK, let’s go.” You get a read-through, but costume might come in and say “Let’s take your measurements” and makeup women come in trying to get their job done and they don’t have any time because the budgets are just getting tighter and tighter. You literally have to do in 30 seconds what you’d do in about four weeks in theatre.”
In television, the old adage that time is money prevents the organic exploration that theatre rehearsals are known for. Furthermore, despite, or perhaps because of, government cuts, there is a common consensus that theatre is upping its game. As a result, it is in new writing for theatre that actors are permitted to be daring and radical. There is an emphasis on encouraging the new and risk-taking is something to be encouraged rather than feared.
As Robert Lepage mentioned in today’s Guardian: “I think theatre must be an event, an experience, not compete with cinema. When people are able to download stories on Netflix, you need to give them a good reason to jump into the car and drive two hours. It has to be something you can only see in the theatre, and it has to be worth it.”
You would have thought with the hike in tuition fees that there would be fewer students applying to drama school. However, Audition Doctor has actually seen a sharp increase in students. This is perhaps because students know inherently that the emphasis on theatre training at drama school will give them the opportunity to practice the kind of artistic license that screen acting doesn’t allow.
Dennis Kelly recognised this when he said: “Theatre is a gateway to thinking – you start off with plays because it involves acting and messing around, and before you know it you’re reading and watching foreign films and thinking, and you just can’t stop.”
by Bel | Mar 6, 2014 | acting classes, acting classes london, audition classes, audition doctor, auditions, classes for acting, tilly blackwood
Insanity was once defined by Einstein as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. One of the many reasons why students come to Audition Doctor is the fact that they find that they are not getting the recalls they so desperately want. They perform the same two speeches over and over again at every drama school audition without success.
Audition Doctor has always stressed that the most important decision you make is your choice of speeches. However, many candidates continue to pick speeches that they perhaps think will show their range, yet which are ostensibly not suitable for where they are in their development.
Steve Winter, head of Old Vic New Voices, advised in Ideastap: “Don’t play a pensioner when you’re 21. Play to your strengths and embrace whatever age you are.” There are hundreds of great monologues for people in their twenties and thirties out there – so don’t just reach for the grandparent role.”
Furthermore, Winter commented on casting sessions where students failed to read the actual play from which the speech was chosen. Reading the play multiple times is a must. It’s essential that you have as thorough an understanding of your character as possible. Additionally, showing that you have a lack of knowledge of the play reveals a lack of interest and preparation. Drama schools are renowned for their insistence on total commitment, not bothering to do something so basic as read the play will guarantee no recall.
“You need to know the playwright, story and character arc of the monologue you are performing,” says Steve. For all you know, this might be the monologue delivered just before the character reveals that they are a pathological liar, or in prison, or actually in love with their mother. If you don’t know the context, it’s hard to give a really informed performance. Also, OVNV are looking for actors who are dedicated and enthusiastic enough to do their research. As Steve says, “Phrases such as. ‘I just selected it from the monologue book my tutor gave me’ are not words we like to hear.”
Audition Doctor is not the place to come if you aren’t thirsty to stretch your acting capabilities. Most of Tilly’s students come ready with several different speeches and ideas of how to approach them. Audition Doctor will not find audition speeches for you because the hunt for the perfect speech is important in itself. The writing must speak to you personally as the organic process of exploring the speech is a lengthy one. In other words, you have to care about what you’re saying to be able to convey the emotion and vulnerability that the writer asks of you.
When Arthur Darvill was asked how useful his training at RADA was, he responded: “Training is a funny thing. I was very lucky and went to RADA. That was the Holy Grail for me, before I went. But it meant that I spent my first year trying to “get it right” rather than get what I could from it. The truth is you never get it right, you just keep learning. Drama school was a great opportunity to do that and – like any place of learning – you get out what you put in.”
Audition Doctor is much the same.
