NotaPushyMum.Com

Hi everyone,

Sorry to post ANOTHER thread on this section of the site but I now have a new dilemma.

I went to a friend's parents' party yesterday where there happened to be a few people from this industry and one ex-casting director kindly agreed to talk to me about my aforementioned uni/drama school dilemma (basically I really want to be a professional actress but I am also desperate to read history at uni).

Thanks to much contemplation, my AS level results and all the very helpful advice given on this site I had made up my mind to go to uni now and think about drama school later.

However talking to this woman yesterday made me re-think my decision slightly.

What she basically said was that when trying to become an actress your greatest concern is being seen by casting directors and agents (I have a great agent now but I can't know whether they will be prepared to keep me on during uni as they are a London based agent and I will be moving out of London so I suppose I will have to make this decision assuming I will leave uni agent-less).

She said that the problem with doing a post grad at drama school is that the casting directors don't have time to see all the post grad shows so you are much less likely to be seen as a post-grad student than as an under-grad student. She said that casting directors will, however, also visit some drama society performances at some universities, namely, ones put on by the Cambridge Footlights. However when I visited Cambridge recently I really didn't feel like it was the university for me.

So I guess this is what I want to know:

1. Basically what I want out of university is to learn some really fascinating history and to enjoy my final few years of being young and sitting around with other young people watching 'Friends' and laughing and eating junk and just enjoying myself. I don't necessarily want to go to a big party university but I do want to enjoy the last few years of being really young and care-free. Do you think I could get this experience at Cambridge?

2. What other universities do you think casting directors will visit? The woman I spoke to yesterday said not Durham (which was one of my favorite universities up until now). What about Nottingham or York?

Thanks so much to everyone for all the help and advice they have given me before. I don't want to seem ungrateful but if any of you have any more advice or knowledge up your sleeves then I would much appreciate it.

As for point 1, I have known a lot of young people who went to/are at Cambridge. They have a good time and enjoy student life - but it IS a more intense experience study wise. There is a LOT of pressure and work there - though if you love your subject and enjoy academic study that should not be a problem. Like you my eldest DD did not think it was what she wanted - she was glad she went to another uni (Exeter) where she certainly experienced the "full uni experience" - I have seen the FB pictures to prove it

Point 2 I have little knowledge of. I do know one of my DD's friends went to Edinburgh Festival when at Exeter, where he got great reviews and an agent for whn ehe finished his degree, though thats not quite what you need to know. My friends DS has been to EF twice when at medical school training to be a dr. He has also been approached though its a BIG decsion to opt out of medicine.

It's awful when you think you have made your mind up then the dillema rears its ugly head again

I agree with Welshmum that this is very difficult for you when you thought you had made your decision.

This is the problem when you ask for advice and opinions you get so many different views!

I think this goes to show that there is not one right answer and that no particular set of circumstances will lead to the same result each time. This applies to lots of things in life - but in the performance industry, where supply (of actors) outstrips demand so dramatically (excuse the pun), then the potential outcomes of a particular way of trying to get work are so numerous as to be almost totally unpredictable. It's because the actor is the product - and every actor is different, so you can't train and market each actor the same way and get the same result. Not only that, but the need for a particular type of actor will be present one week and not the next. It's not like selling beer, or perfume or cutlery sets...

It's not like trying to get a job in computer sciences or engineering either where, if you equip yourself with the most marketable qualifications, you can significantly improve your chances of getting work. Just because you graduate from a top drama school and are good, it doesn't mean you will get any kind of steady employment.

I did a post-grad (one year) course and we did get some agents and casting directors coming to our showcase - however, we shared the same showcase as the three year students, so this may have been why. Lots and lots of people did NOT get agents though - they had to work at that after the showcase. This is true of most student showcases to be honest. Even at those where there are lots of agents in attendance (e.g. RADA), students don't necessarily get represented straight away. I agree with the CD that you are giving yourself the best chance to be spotted by doing three years at a good drama school BUT, it doesn't guarantee anything and NOT going to drama school doesn't mean you won't do well.

I also think that there is something that is so often forgotten in these debates (University v drama school) and that is that drama schools do provide training! So you graduate (hopefully) as a more accomplished and knowledgeable actor than you started - therefore you are also probably more employable. This is the main reason that CDs and agents go to productions and showcases at CDS schools - because they expect to see good/marketable actors. They may also go to other hotbeds of talent and they will also go to plays and film festivals and so on. CDs and agents know that drama schools are not the only places to find talent - but they obviously provide a very good pool of talent because a) there has already been the very thorough filter of auditions to start with and b) the actors have spent years working at their craft full time.

There will always be cases that contradict (and back up) any advice or information you are given. There are actors who attend Universities and get spotted (and not just Oxford and Cambridge). Matt Smith went to UEA for example (though according to Wiki he landed an agent through NYT). There are plenty of actors who don't get picked up though. There are actors who do three years at a top drama school and are launched straight away by top agents and do well and there are plenty of actors who don't do well straight from drama school.

I would recommend talking to your agent. If they are prepared to keep you on through University (or keep a place for you) then you will graduate with an advantage that many other graduates will not have. You also already have a professional CV. If your agent is a good one and they believe in you, then they won't want to lose you to another agent later - so they may well be prepared to wait for you.

I still think, from your posts, that your gut is telling you to study History at University. Gut instincts are usually good ones to follow. You could apply for one year courses after that. If the funding situations are still the same then OSD for example has the potential for funding for a one year course even if you have already had funding for a degree.

The difficulty will come if you struggle to get work when you graduate - you will not be able to be sure whether this is because you didn't go to drama school. However, if you go to drama school and don't enjoy it, you may wish you had studied History - especially if you don't get work when you graduate.

I know this is a rambling and inconclusive post - and I do apologise for that - but (apart from my tendency to ramble) this is because there is no single correct answer to your dilemma.

I didn't have this problem with DS - this was largely because he didn't feel he could do anything else. DD, however, who is good at many different things, did have trouble deciding what to do and has changed direction a few times - this is not uncommon. In fact I think the "single track" view is the uncommon one and it brings its own advantages and disadvantages.

What do your parents think? Are they encouraging you to do History?

How do you see your life in 5 years time or 10 years time? Where would you like to be? Whose career do you aspire to emulate? Do you see yourself as an actor? As a film actor? A theatre actor? Can you imagine touring and putting up the sets and lights and living out of a suitcase? Have you thought what you might be able to do to earn money in between acting jobs?

Remember that your decisions now do not have to dictate the rest of your life. It may help to take the pressure off yourself if you remind yourself of that! Sometimes you do have to plunge in and do something before you know whether or not it was the right decision for you. You are being very wise to try to weigh up all the pros and cons before making a decision, but in the end you do have to take the leap.

Good luck!

How I feel for you. Good luck deciding.

I know of a young person who wanted to direct and write and went to York. He put on something for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and got good reviews but was then off to London to try to break through there. Don't think he had an agent yet... but directing is probably different. I'm sure student forums could give you a good idea of which universities have active and well respected drama societies. Maybe you could get in touch with individual universities to ask the societies themselves about visiting casting directors?

Thank everyone. This has all been very very helpful.

PG - my parents want me to go to university because they believe that is where i'll have the most fun and they want me to have a 'back up' although they are still very supportive about me wanting to be an actress and if I told them I definitely wanted to go to drama school they wouldn't try to stop me. In 5 or 10 years time I ideally see myself as being steadily employed as an actress but I know that is unlikely. My idols are people like Emily Watson (not Emma Watson although she seems nice too) - people who are incredibly successful actresses but somehow manage to keep themselves from being 'celebrities'.

Thanks so much again everyone.