People deliberating over whether to apply for drama school will wonder whether the tuition fees and length of time spent training will be worth it. This is a profession that deifies youth, where the possibility of steady gainful employment is largely non-existent and which has a reputation for being elitist.
This is why it was so refreshing when this week in the Guardian, Anne-Marie Duff described the profession as a “sublimely egalitarian world”. Her working-class background that was untinged with “entitlement” meant that her ambition was in no way neutered: “”I knew if I wanted to do this for a living, I really had to pursue it.” However, she did mention: “When I was auditioning for drama schools, the girls around me were from very different backgrounds. I remember thinking, ‘Should I lie about my family?’” Without wanting to sound trite and melodramatic, being anything other than who you are is a waste of time as it will be your specific experiences and upbringing that will be your most valuable resource.
Duff remembers her drama school training as a “masochistic” but “exciting” time. “It put me through my paces. I toughened up. I was by no means the star of the year. It taught me to be resourceful, to go away and do the work myself. Invaluable.”
There is no substitute for consistent and rigorous daily training; since reparatory theatre no longer gives actors the opportunity to learn on the job, drama school is one of the last places where the actor can learn her/his vocation. Talent can only take you so far and no matter how young and talented you are, there will be someone else who is younger, just as talented and who will have the technique and skills developed over three years. Although drama school training doesn’t necessarily put you in the fast track when you enter the profession, it is proof that you take yourself seriously as an actor and have put in the effort to improve and nurture your potential.
When interviewed by Erica Wagner of the Times about Complicite, Wagner noted how Simon McBurney sees himself “almost as an instrument through which others may find the means to express themselves. Curiosity drives him: curiosity about his fellow human beings, about literature and art, about the world.” This is why Audition Doctor sessions are so valuable; your curiosity about the character and the play is encouraged and pushed further. Analysing the myriad of possible psychological impulses that prompted a character to say or do something means that you have a wide range of artistic choices at your disposal. At a drama school audition, the work you do at Audition Doctor is constantly drawn upon and being redirected is neither surprising nor difficult because you will have explored so many alternatives with Tilly during your lessons.
When one journalist asked to sit in on an audition for a piece on the “secretive world of casting directors”, one casting director opined: “Asking an actor if they mind someone sitting in is a bit like asking a woman if she minds someone watching her gynaecological examination.” Attending Audition Doctor sessions guarantees that your drama school auditions will be as exposing as having your legs in stirrups – but in the good sort of way. Exposing your unique vulnerability and openness is something that Audition Doctor sessions foster and a quality that drama schools prize above all else. This is why Audition Doctor lessons are so essential. They give you the unique opportunity to come closer to fulfilling Laurence Olivier’s credence – that “ The actor should be able to create a universe in the palm of his hand.”
