With the sharp hike in tuition fees and an industry suffering from government cuts, acting hopefuls have to think carefully about whether training at drama school is an advantageous investment or whether saving £27,000 (and chancing it in an industry where notable practitioners such as Miriam Margolyes and Eddie Redmayne are a success without having gone at all) is a worthy risk to take. Bursaries, grants and scholarships are becoming increasingly difficult to come by and with universities and colleges offering a variety of “Theatre Studies” courses, it’s hard to know whether the traditional route of a three-year course at drama school is the best choice. Reality television has also proved that you can be viewed as an “actor” without having ever stepped foot in an accredited drama school.
As theatre producer Richard Jordon stated in the Guardian: “It’s a big problem in the industry that those reality shows make it seem as if being an actor is easy, and that you don’t need the training. But if you’re going to survive, then being properly trained is crucial, not just in acting technique but also in the techniques of getting a job, building a career and surviving in the longer term.”
In other words, it’s not just the vocational training and development of creativity that drama school offers but also the tools with which you can most effectively market your talent. In an industry that is infamous for its precarious employment statistics, the skills, support and advice that drama schools offer seem integral if you want to sustain a long-term career as an actor. Although universities now offer many theatre-based courses, these focus largely on academic theory. While the history of drama is useful knowledge, what drama school offers is performance-based training that is the most applicable and beneficial to someone aspiring to become an actor.
Having trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Tilly recognises the categorical importance of professional training as a working actress. The high standard of teaching that Audition Doctor provides is incomparable and is an invaluable asset when auditioning for drama schools. The meticulous and rigorous sessions that Audition Doctor offers maximise your chances of gaining a place at an accredited drama school which will ensure, as Lyn Gardner wrote, that young actors will attain “the skills, support and confidence that will allow them to develop as independent artists, make their own opportunities and help broaden the theatre ecology.”
