Christopher Tester
"There is a world, elsewhere"
Training at Central School of Speech and Drama
Beginnings....
Advice on auditioning for drama school
Training at Central School of Speech and Drama:
Disclaimer: All thoughts logged here relate to my own personal experience of the Central School of Speech and Drama and working with its tutors whilst I was there. Any opinions are only ever my own and are in no way intended as either definitive or even correct. By sharing them I hope to gain a greater understanding of what it is to be a actor in training and should no way be seen as a reflection on the school or its employees, whether positive or negative.
1st Year:
2nd Year:
Term 4; Term 5; Term 6
Embassy Theatre, Central School of Speech and Drama
Beginnings...
Whilst in my graduating year at University, I finally decided to audition for drama school in February 2003. Four schools were still open to my application - RADA, LAMDA, Mountview and Birmingham School of Acting. Armed with two classical speeches (Posthumous from Cymbeline and Henry from Henry V), two modern ('A' from Crave and Oswald from Ghosts), plus an admittedly terrible rendition of Radiohead's No Surprises, I got to the shortlist of the former, was rejected straight-off by LAMDA, and gained places on the BA Acting programmes of the two others.
This was an indication that I could, maybe, make it as a credible actor. Not, I stress, because I desperately sought validation purely from drama schools, but because it was my first real experience performing in front of professional practitioners.
Upon graduating from Warwick, I decided after much uming and aahing to take a year out and apply to a wider number of schools. This was a decision based on three factors. Firstly, though Mountview and BSA had both impressed me during the audition process, I was already aware that there was something of a hierarchy amongst the NCDT accredited schools, just as there were with universities. Secondly, all four schools had been completely different in terms of environment and atmosphere, and a major part of me wanted to experience a lot more before committing to another three years of training. Thirdly, having progressed from further to higher education without any kind of intermission, part of me thought it beneficial (both psychologically and financially) to take a year out.
And as a post-script, I wanted to know why LAMDA had been so completely uninterested!
My year out equated to living at home, working in a bookshop in Somerset. I applied to ten schools, and gained seven offers for 3 year BA Acting programmes: Central, LAMDA, Webber Douglas, Mountview (again), Welsh College, Rose Bruford and East 15. Added to my audition repertoire were Richmond from Richard III and a piece from Martin Crimp's Dealing with Clair, and I gained a vital amount of confidence by working with a actor/audition tutor advertised on The Stage newspaper, Philip Rosch.
With the benefit of retrospect, I would make the following observations:
I was very conscious of the 'hierachy' amongst drama schools, and this was more often than not reinforced by my visits to each school and the numerous third year shows I made a point of seeing. Having said that, even the notionally very 'top' schools differed wildly in their audition processes. RADA were always friendly, but I never really worked with a director or tutor. Mountview were the only school where I experienced the 'cut' - recalls being made progressively throughout the day. This was fun (admittedly as one who got through), but again there was little emphasis on being re-directed. Schools such as Welsh College and BSA made a point of projecting a very friendly and informal atmosphere in order to make candidates feel at ease - but then, dealing with half as many applications as some other schools, they could afford to. Guildhall, where I 'felt' I did my best audition, rejected me flatly - a testament to the fact that feeling it as an actor doesn't mean you'r e affecting the audience in any way - a crucial lesson to any applicants. And Bristol Old Vic's weekend school probably gave me the biggest insight into the training their school offered, ie. highly physical!
The difference in audition experiences between my top choices, LAMDA and Central, came down completely to their respective audition processes. LAMDA seemed always quite remote and non-committal; the first audition was simply done on a stage to two darkened figures in the auditorium, and throughout the recall no direction or response was ever given. However, I was provided with a sense of what drama school training might entail by an afternoon session in movement and improvisation. By contrast, Central only ever saw me individually with no group-work involved. But my pieces were work-shopped extensively at both the recall and final recall stage, and I was challenged extensively about being academically strong (ie. "with a first class degree, why do you want to be an actor"). This, ultimately, proved the crucial difference.
As a disclaimer - I know several people who have enjoyed training at most of the institutions previously named, and I don't want my individual opinions to be taken as gospel - the above were just my own personal experiences.
And as a post-script, I don't really know why I never auditioned at the Drama Centre. It's a school whose alumni is impressive, it's stock has been rising over the last few years, but I had already got into LAMDA and Central by the time it came to confirming my first round audition for them and I think I was all auditioned out by that time.
