NotaPushyMum.Com

Hi everyone,
Just wondering if any one could offer any advice etc, as we are new to this.
My daughter has just had a rejection from Central for the MT course. She is disappointed, but can take some consolation from the fact that she survived the first cut, and was re called for the final stage. This is her first attempt, and is not yet 18. Do you think she should be encouraged by the fact that she was re called twice.
She also has a re call for Manchester, but was rejected immediately from LAMDA. They seemed more interested in finding out if she had recalls for other places.
Any advice, tips etc. I think she's done really well so far, but she is tough on herself.

It sounds like she has done very well and she should be pleased to get a recall. Drama schools often prefer their students a little older , so please tell her not to be disillusioned. It may be worth considering a foundation course at one of the top establishments ( although these can be difficult to get on to ) The training is intense and the hours are long. Ds chose that route despite getting offers from other establishments . Only time will tell if it has paid off as he is just about to embark on the audition circuit again. Nail biting stuff .Good luck to your dd. x

Thank you for answering.
I suspect her age may have been something to do with the rejection. Hopefully, hey may give some feed back.
Do you have to apply specifically for the foundation courses?

For some colleges you do and for some if you 'just' miss the cut they will offer it as an alternative

My daughter is on one at Performers and she has become much stronger (in so many ways) while on it - she was 16 when she first auditioned & starts auditioning again next month for September

Recalls show she as something to offer and I would say it is worth re applying next year.

My DD applied just before she was 18. She had a clutch of recalls (including Central, RADA, GSA, Mountview, Arts Ed) but no offers. She was down, but we felt the recalls meant that the colleges saw something in her. She re-applied the following year. She got offers from Central (MT), GSA, Mountview, reserve places at Arts Ed and East 15 and a creditable third round in RADA. It was well worth waiting the extra year, I personally think that the year working and gaining maturity and life experiences improved her performing skills and made her more ready to leave home and study in London.

So if your DD still wants to apply I would say go for it.

PM me if you want any more info

HI Welsh Mum.
She still has to audition for most of the ones you mention, so we'll see how she goes.
I think she should be encouraged by her re call, but agree, it may be a maturity thing, she needs more life experience. As i say, we'll see how the others go, but i think she would be open to applying again next year. She really liked Central, and has asked for feed back.
Thanks for replying,she's feeling down at the moment

The advice is keep going. My ds is doing the rounds this year, he has had both offers and rejections, and still more auditions to go. Once he has answers from everywhere he will make a decision over what to do. There are many different routes into this profession and is it a hard path to take so rejections will be part of the life they have chosen. I think it comes down to whether they can cope with living this lifestyle or not. Whether you get into a great drama school or not you still have to compete for few jobs once you come out. I guess it is just nice to have someone appreciate what you can do and everybody needs a little bit of encouragement. I take my hat off to all these kids who are prepared to do this. Good luck to all those auditioning this year.

jaybeeyellow wrote:HI Welsh Mum.
She still has to audition for most of the ones you mention, so we'll see how she goes.
I think she should be encouraged by her re call, but agree, it may be a maturity thing, she needs more life experience. As i say, we'll see how the others go, but i think she would be open to applying again next year. She really liked Central, and has asked for feed back.
Thanks for replying,she's feeling down at the moment

It's understandable if she feels down, especially if like my DD her friends have uni places lined up etc

We did not consider foundation route largely due to cost but also felt it would be good for her to work for a year. She was def ready for the hard lifestyle of full time training (which is tough) after her year out.

Unfortunately rejection is par for the course in their chosen profession, so learning how to cope with it and move on is essential.

She has had her share of disappointments, so she knows what rejection feels like. Fortunately,she tends to bounce back pretty quickly.
She does have a part time job, and i assume she could convert this in to a full time one next year. i do wonder, though how she is going to continue with her singing and acting. She will have left college and the youth group of which she is a member has an age limit of 18.

jaybeeyellow wrote:She will have left college and the youth group of which she is a member has an age limit of 18.

I am wondering exactly the same for my DS, singing will be fine, he has a private lesson at least once a month but the drama and dance is a concern. He does do some am dram musical theatre but it is not quite the same as his college training!

Have you thought of NYMT or NYT? My doughtier auditioned last year, but didn't get in. Hasn't done it this year due to college work, auditions etc.
Also regional theatre. Idon't know where you are, but the Everyman in Liverpool has a youth section, i think

Hi there, Just to add to that, I agree with trying out for NYT, my DS has been a member for 3 years and has had lots of work from them including two lots of work in London. Its extremely good experience and also good networking. In addition NYT now also provides another route to entry in the market as they also offer auditions for their REP. This is considered as good as Drama school as the 15 students they choose will be in London productions for a year. All the chosen students got agents last year and 2 had to leave for Hollywood half way through the year. NYT summer course is indeed hard to get onto and I think auditions have closed now for this year, but if you are lucky you may sneak a last minute audition. I know that casting of members closed a couple of weeks ago. Hope thats useful.

Thanks for your reply. I think we've missed auditions for this year. She tried for NYMT last year, got recall, but wasn't successful.
At the moment she has an offer for East 15, for the Foundation course, and a recall for RADA, again for the Foundation course. She's excited about RADA, but there is a huge cost implication. She also has a final recall for Manchester Met.
Arts Ed was a strange audition. A dance call, and one minute of a song. Didn't get through. Think it was too dancey. Long way to go though, and the audition fee too. They must be raking it in!!. Must admit, not too sure how they accurately assess singing ability on one minute's worth of a song, but I suppose they're the experts.
Still waiting on Guildford.

If straight acting is of interest, you can still apply for the NYT until 1st March (DS only applied last week and has an audition on the 14th). It's the most confusing website, and a confusing system even once you've found the right page on the website, but the way it works is that you book to go on an audition to go on an Intake Acting course. If you get through and do the course, then for a year you are a 'member' and can then apply for various productions and opportunities, including the rep company. The link to book an audition (£35) is here: http://www.nyt.org.uk/events but there's plenty more info on other bits of the website.

Thank you very much for pointing this out. I will definitely tell my daughter. She looked on the website and thought she had missed the date.