Rose Bruford – Alumni Thoughts

The audition was in various sections, with people going through to different stages throughout the day, or asked to leave at various points.

We had to perform speeches in front of all the other auditionees (1 classical, 1 modern), we had to take part in a singing workshop and perform a pre-prepared song, we had to do a movement session and attend a brief interview at the end.

The atmosphere and the friendly staff made me choose the school, and that it was a London drama school with a good reputation.

The facilities in my day were inconsistent in standard. Lamorbey House in Sidcup is a beautiful old manor house set in pretty parkland. It had an olde-world atmosphere.

In my day, we had a Deptford campus too, which was an old comprehensive school. This no longer exists, as Rose Bruford operates mainly from Sidcup now, with good quality facilities, rooms and theatre spaces.

3 items essential for surviving drama school :

stamina, a good constitution and an open mind.

You have to be fit and healthy as drama school is rigorous and demanding on your time and energy (but hugely rewarding)…and you have to be open to try anything, go there with imagination and flexibility.

I probably learnt most from movement lessons, as they have given me an awareness of my body which I keep with me today. Having spatial awareness and awareness of your spine and your body’s habits (eg where tension is created and where you should iron that out) are things I still care about today.

I don’t think there were any lessons I could have done without, as it was all vital to the training I was getting. Yes there were tutors I preferred over others, and sessions in which I felt like I was too tired or not engaged for various reasons…but they were there for a reason, and I learnt something from all of them.

We did have one or two sessions about surviving after drama school, but these were few and far between.

These came in the third year and we had sessions which talked about managing finance, dealing with agents etc but I don’t remember much about these and they were scarce.

I am still in touch with a few of my good friends from drama school, although some of them live abroad.

On one of the first days of drama school, one of the tutors said, “Darlings, if you fall flat on your face on stage, just dust yourself off, pick yourself up and get back on there”. Priceless!

Too many embarrassing moments to choose from.

You have to be prepared for anything, and it usually involves making a prat of yourself, and laughing at yourself.

I remember being asked to paraphrase a bit of Shakespeare about getting revenge on someone, and my mouth came out with, “I want to s**t on you from a great height. And not in a good way”. Then everyone rolled about laughing and I realised what I’d said sounded dreadful.

I forgot lines during play performances, I started giggling during lots of shows, and had the weekly embarrassment of wearing tights and a jock strap to pure movement lessons.

You can’t be embarrassed at drama school..it’s all part of the fun!

Our showcase was at the Mayfair Hotel and pretty well attended. It got a write-up in The Stage which was complimentary about some but not others. We were given scenes and songs to perform, we weren’t given a choice. I was in a comedy scene, and I wasn’t particularly happy with my scene as it was slight and it didn’t give me much to get my teeth into.I did get an agent from my showcase though.

In Sidcup, we used to hang out in the Black Horse pub on Halfway Street

Crazy, sociable, energy-sapping, educational, fun, difficult, challenging, unlike anything else you can imagine!

I would tell myself not to go to drama school until I had “lived” a bit more eg been in a relationship, felt heartbreak and anguish and other emotions.

I feel I went to drama school too young as I went straight from school. Actors are asked to recall difficult emotions and significant moments in their lives, and at 18 I hadn’t experienced many of these.

Go and travel the world, find love, lose love, enjoy some wild times…then go to drama school.