Drama School – Worth the Expense

Both the Upstaged column in Ideastap and the Education and Training column in The Stage addressed the issue that most prospective actors face: How “going to drama school is increasingly like betting thirty grand on a three-year game of poker; fun, interesting, a good lesson in bluffing but more than a little risky.”

The pros and cons of drama school have been endlessly rehashed in various publications. Most come to the conclusion, however reluctantly, that it is still an important stage in an actor’s development.

“Training gives you discipline, a collection of tools and techniques to fall back on, industry contacts, time to develop and the chance to try out different genres, approaches and theories. It is invaluable, if not inexpensive.”

Even actors who have been successful without the help of training acknowledge the benefits of drama school.

Russell Tovey mentioned: “I feel like I’ve missed out on the fact that I haven’t got loads of mates from drama school in the business, but it was all kind of kicking off for me around that time. If I hadn’t been in work I would have absolutely done drama school. I feel like it’s the route to doing it properly and so I’m absolutely all for it.”

Ideastap were running a competition with Sky Arts that granted emerging artists £30,000 worth of funding. When asked what he would do with the money, he said: “I’d spend it on the year post-grad at LAMDA because courses are expensive, so I would use it to further my education and knowledge.” What’s clear is that the quality of education offered at drama schools is not being questioned, merely the price tag.

While Audition Doctor is known for getting applicants recalls for drama schools, sessions are also an excellent preparation for drama school itself.

In Ideastap, advice was given to those about to start training. “Keep an open mind about what you’re going into. Jane Harrison, Interim Dean and Head of Acting at Arts Ed, acknowledges that although many students may have studied acting to a high level in the past it’s vital they “accept that they’re going to what may be a new way of working and not feel that the way they did it before was right. There is no right or wrong in actor training so the best thing is to come completely open-minded. A willingness to embrace new ideas is particularly important in terms of a student’s interactions with others on the course.