Auditioning for a Devising or Collaborative Acting Course at Drama School

All devisors will have to have an open mind and an interest in creating exciting new performance with others. You should be able to create a piece of work from an object as your sole inspiration, a piece of art, a sculpture or from a photograph…the list goes on. Or it may be a variety of source material. Whatever it is, you should be able to bring it to life with your theatre skills.

You will need to have good movement and improvisational skills and be apt to spontaneously improvise to given set ups and scenarios. Remember to work as part of a team and avoid taking on a ‘lead role’ or ‘block’ the other actors. The improvisation should evolve naturally and become a fluid piece if the ensemble is supporting one another. Build on other participant suggestions.

They will also want to see that you have a good knowledge of theatre and have been acting at a local or national level. Any devising experience you have done at school, college or professionally will come in very handy. If you have none, then try to get involved in some before your audition.

You will need to show a real commitment to acting and a long-standing interest in acting and theatre. They won’t accept you if you don’t appear fully committed to devising theatre as a career. They don’t want run of the mill actors or singers. They will want a performer who thinks outside the box and wants their ideas to be heard.

Knowledge of a range of theatrical forms and genres which can be covered at GCSE and A Level. If you can do some in depth research on some forms of devised theatre beforehand all the better. A lot of A level studies do cover devisors and playwrights like Brecht and Grotowski.

They will be very interested if you have experience gained in post-education contexts, such as the workplace, travel and voluntary settings. Your devised theatre course work may be staged in such environments. A great deal of devised theatre work has been performed in prisons, schools and with community groups. Any theatre work with youngsters and adults is very valuable asset at this stage. Try and write a devised one man (or woman) show and perform it at your local museum. A project like that will set you above the others at the audition stage.

First of all you need to read the drama school audition requirements carefully. Follow it to the letter. If they ask you to keep your monologues to two and a half minutes then do so. If they ask you to bring black movement clothing then do so. They are asking you to follow these requirements for a reason, don’t cut corners. If you are applying for a devising theatre course they may ask for different requirements than a straight acting course would. For example you may have to devise your own audition monologues rather than use existing written ones.

Getting a place in any good drama school is going to be tough. For any of the top drama schools thousands will apply for just one course that only has about 20 to 30 places. They may see approximately 300 to 500 auditionees for just that one course. At Central 4,500 people applied for just one particular drama course. So you can see that competition is high. You have got to be prepared for your audition as much as you can in addition to being a talented performer.

It’s a simple thing to take but water is so important for an audition. It’s good to clear the throat and it keeps you hydrated., especially if you have just done an intense movement workshop before performing your all important audition songs.

You will naturally feel nervous and so is everyone else. Don’t let the nerves get the better of you. Use them to your advantage. If you are feeling nervous then you are emotionally prepared for giving them all that you have got. Sock it to them! And try not to feel out of your depth. Being auditioned is a tough task but you don’t know what they are looking for. Be yourself and let your personality shine through. And if you do happen to make a mistake then laugh it off and carry on. Mistakes do happen. Be professional at all times.

Smile and enjoy what you are doing, even though you have a stomach of knots. I know everyone seems to say smile and enjoy it, but actually enjoying your audition is half the battle. The panel see so many faces in one day, day in day out, most of them looking nervous. But they want to see a cheerful friendly face who looks happy to be there. Looking stony faced will only give off negative vibes. Try and have fun at your audition.

If you are lucky to get an audition for a drama school you will most probably be asked to prepare two contrasting monologues. Perhaps one classic and one contemporary. A classic could be a Shakespeare monologue and a contemporary speech is something written after 1960. You may be asked to devise your own speeches based on a subject or from an object like a photograph. Usually they ask you to prepare monologue speeches which last no longer than 2 1/2 minutes each. Keep within the time limit, it’s there for a reason. You may think it’s short but the panel will actually get an idea of your strengths and weaknesses very early on in the speech.

Make sure that you learn your speeches, even if you have devised and written them yourself. The panel may ask to see your research and notes that enabled you to come up with your finished piece. There is nothing worse than going to any audition with a half learnt monologue. You will be all over the place and the nerves will also kick in and make matters worse. You will most probably freeze and ask to start again which doesn’t look good. Learn the speeches until you are word perfect.

You may also be asked to talk about your monologues why you chose them and what the emotional attachments are for you or the character. So make sure you read the whole play and have some explanations planned. Rehearse your monologues and background knowledge well before the audition, in case you are asked. A devised speech will need to have any research and notes at hand for the panel to see. They will ask what you used to create your devised performance and what sources inspired you.

Try and get as many people to see your speeches beforehand. That way you will get a great deal of feedback on how you and your monologues are coming across. Ask your current drama teachers to help or hire a drama tutor for some help. You will be surprised to hear that so many students go into an audition ‘cold’ and not even used to hearing themselves speak the speeches out loud. They have simply learnt the monologues and muttered them at home. Get used to speaking them out loud and inside an auditorium.

You may also be expected to participate in short improvised or scripted scenes or even a movement workshop. They will no doubt ask you to work in small groups. These tasks are to see how you work as part of a team and if you can perform on the spot. Don’t be tempted to ‘lead’ or ‘direct’ the piece yourself. Be a team player and listen work in collaboration with others. Remember a great deal of a devising theatre course relies on team work and collaboration. No one likes a dictator or a bossy boots.

Make sure you are fully warmed up, both physically and vocally before your drama school audition. They will most probably give you the opportunity to warm up as a group beforehand. The audition panel may sit in on this to see if you can take direction.

It may seem obvious, but make sure you wear the right clothing for a drama school audition. Keep to sensible plain clothes that you can move in and you don’t mind getting dusty and dirty in. Never wear jeans, skirts, hipsters, revealing tops and ‘stand out’ clothes that look brightly coloured or flamboyant. You may want to stand out and look memorable at an audition, but it will only distract the panel if you are flinging about in fluorescent pink! There will be a lot of moving around and your clothing should not impede your movement or be distracting. Also avoid wearing lots of make up and remove all your jewellery including rings and loose chains and earrings. Look natural, clean and fresh.

If you are asked to sing a song at your devised theatre audition then take along the appropriate sheet music or backing tracks. Make sure that they are in the correct key for your voice. If using song sheet music make sure it is attached together for the pianist and not handed to them in ‘book form’. Sellotape the sheet edges together so they can flip the pages easily. Although you may be asked to sing for an acting course, you don’t have to have a trained singing voice. Many devised theatre pieces use music and songs to help get political or other points across. Brecht and Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop were keen to use music and actors who could play musical instruments in their collaborative theatre pieces.

Most auditions end with you discussing your application with a panel of tutors who will want to see your passion and motivation for their devising theatre course. They will not only want to hear what you want from the course but what you aim to do with your devised theatre training once you have graduated. It’s not all about the performing, they will want to see that you have a good imagination and that you can communicate your ideas clearly and efficiently.

Most drama school auditions last around 3 to 4 hours and if you are interrupted during a speech, don’t be put off. It may be that you have over run your time limit or they have seen all they need to see, whether it be good or bad. Be prepared for any delays or over-running. Don’t book expensive return train journeys until a couple of hours after your audition. Don’t expect that it will all run on time. You may also be asked to come back later in the day if they want to see you again.

Some drama schools even accept DVD audition applications. For example, the Royal College of Music will accept a DVD recording if you live outside Europe and are unable to attend anytime during the audition period. It’s worth contacting the individual school to see if they do this, though it does only apply to overseas students.

Some drama school auditions will allow all the auditionees to stay for the whole audition process, but some auditions may have a first and second round set up. This is where the weaker students may be asked to leave during the process, if they have not been successful. The focus will then be on the remaining students and even some of them may not make the final session, if there is one. It does seema bit brutal and a bit ‘X Factor’ but the panel don’t have the time and they need to choose the successful applicants carefully. Remember, in their eyes you have to be right for their course.

If you have been asked to leave during the process, you will be totally aware that your application ends there. But if you are lucky enough to complete the whole audition process, you may then have a long wait until you hear back. Processing applications, auditioning students and putting together the final list of lucky students may take a few months. So be prepared to wait for the good or bad news.

Some drama schools will ask for some sort of an administration fee when applying for a place. This is now common practice as the schools spend a lot of manpower and hours auditioning hundreds and hundreds of students annually. The prices range from around £50 to £100. This is non refundable. Some may also ask you how you are to finance your studies and living expenses on the application form. They will want to know how dedicated you are going to be. Unfortunately, it’s no good applying if you can’t afford it.