17th November 2022

Read about the routes in and one theatre company offering free training!

Many students who want to be an actor can be confused about the different types of training opportunities. Many will read profiles of actors who succeeded at an open audition, or who were simply ‘spotted’. The truth is, most actors have trained, often for many years before working on the stage, in film or as a voice over artist.

After GCSEs many choose to do a BTEC in Performing Arts while others will include Drama as one of their A Levels. It’s also a good idea to join a theatre group outside school or college and get as much experience as possible. Many actors have also found success via The National Youth Theatre which holds annual auditions for entry onto their summer school courses and the opportunity to audition for their productions.

But at 18, what then?

We did a random search of actors to find out how they trained:

Olivia Colman: Drama School: Bristol Old Vic at 19

Joe Alwyn: University of Bristol: BA in English Literature & Drama followed by a BA in acting at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama

Benedict Cumberbatch: University of Manchester: BA in Drama followed by an MA in Classical Acting at LAMDA

Phoebe Waller-Bridge: RADA: BA Acting at 18

Idris Elba: Earned a place at The National Youth Theatre as a teen followed by a Performing Arts BTEC at Dagenham College. Started auditioning with the help of a £1500 Prince's Trust grant.

Emma Mackey: University of Leeds: BA in English Language. Did not get into drama school but took acting classes before finally securing an agent.

Claire Foy: Manchester Metropolitan University: BA Drama followed by an MA in Acting from Oxford School of Drama

Michaela Coel: Guildhall School of Music and Drama: BA in Acting at 18.

Matt Smith: National Youth Theatre alongside a BA in Drama & Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. His NYT work secured him an agent. 

What is clear from this selection is that while some actors choose to go to drama school at 18, many prefer to wait until they have a degree in a related or completely different subject. The latter is likely to be the result of the employment statistics; only 2% of actors actually make living from acting, so it can make sense to get a degree as a safety net in case acting doesn’t work out. Indeed, the industry advises developing another freelance career alongside which can supplement ‘resting’ periods between jobs. Going to university first also presents the opportunity to get involved with drama society productions, which will give students the skills to successfully audition for drama school. Sadly there are no opportunities for acting apprenticeships currently, although we are hoping that will change in time.

Of course, you could just get a job at 18 and take acting classes but the profession is very much ‘agent’ led and it is very hard to get an agent without some form of training which include the ‘showcase’ events organised by drama schools just before graduation. Another caveat we often hear is to be very wary of paying fees to a drama school which doesn’t have an established reputation, as without the good links to the industry it may not be value for money.

This week however, we heard about a fabulous opportunity for young people to train for FREE with theatre company, Peer Productions! Based in Woking, Surrey, the youth arts charity takes their plays into schools to support the PSHE curriculum. As part of their work, they offer free Level 4 training courses for talented young actors,

"All our performers are participants in our Peer Actor Development Programme (PAD), which trains young actors, aged 18-24, as peer educators whilst they work towards a Level 4 Creative Practitioner Diploma. From autumn of 2022, we will also be launching the Peer Employment Pathway Programme (PEP) - a training programme for young actors with special educational needs".

www.peerproductions.co.uk

Crucially, they also support their students to audition for drama schools at the end of the course, and many have gone on to take up places at East 15, Rose Bruford, GSA and LAMDA.

They are currently taking applications for September 2023, so follow this link to learn more!
In addition, if you live in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey or Hampshire, Peer Productions are also offering schools free workshops to guide students on the various pathways into the performing arts, ‘Training, Touring and Taking the Next Step’. Book here by contacting [email protected]

For more information on a career in the performing arts, see eCLIPS and See Your Future.