Auditioning for 2022 entry

[lawn]

Has anyone else got a more actor singer applying?
She got rejected from Urdang (not sad just not there to make up the numbers), rejected from Mountview (unsurprising she looks very young despite being 18 she still meets casting criteria for school of rock). She has a callback at Conti at the end of the week, waiting to hear from Royal Welsh.
Final has Royal Scottish and Central uploads to go and PPA is attending her college in early Fen for an audition day.

I believe that both RCS and royal welsh are considered less dancey - I did a post about royal welsh that is further down the board and got some replies from people whose daughters auditioned for their MT courses. Central though you put your preference, they choose ultimately of the 3 courses you'd be best suited to if offered a place. Again it's less dance biased because the course is called something like Acting with MT. However as it's more in line with the straight acting courses, they may prefer the older applicant especially if this is her first year of auditioning. PPA daughter had a place at though for their acting degree, she turned it down at the last minute in favour of a foundation elsewhere! (that cost £500 in a lost deposit!)

I'd also say you never know what a place is looking for on the day. Due to the lockdowns my DD only did 1 in person audition last year. I'm not naming the place, but I've seen it talked about positively on here and the place's website even said how it was a triple threat program. That wasn't daughter's experience at all. They were clearly only looking for dancers . The only offer that day (those attending made a group chat) went to the strongest dancer - who has gone to Bird instead.

[Elle’smom]

I should have added she is just completing triple threat sixth form. She is a good dancer, but feels her acting and voice are her strongest features, particularly as she has a massive vocal range and a big high belt range.

[jacsrab]

Hi Elle’smom,I think my daughter would have said similar things about her skills as your daughter has!
Have you considered theMTA ? They run a brilliant 2 year vocational MT course with a max of 22 in each year group. It’s very intensive ( 40 hours a week, no ‘private study’) and at the end of every 10 week term, they put on a public performance. To give examples, DD is in her 2nd year , the college managed to do 10 /12 performances of panto in a theatre with a paying audience before Covid hit and the original screen musical that they did in the summer has been selected for a noted film festival , giving them all Imdb credits. I guess this is what they mean by a 50/50 stage/screen split !
Auditions are free ( deposit returned and decisions communicated on the day which means no dreaded waiting or waiting lists).- we’ve all been there :-/
If a degree is your thing, this can be topped up with a one year p/t course but presumably your DD is hoping to perform in the industry? I feel confident that DD will be well prepared when she finishes.
Oh , and they also have a 100% record of signings with independent agency reps before graduating ( not ‘in college’) which is encouraging too.

Happy to answer any questions or have a look at www.theMTA.co.uk.
Wishing you all the best.

[jacsrab]

I should have added she is just completing triple threat sixth form. She is a good dancer, but feels her acting and voice are her strongest features, particularly as she has a massive vocal range and a big high belt range.

Hi Elle’smom,I think my daughter would have said similar things about her skills as your daughter has! Have you considered theMTA ? They run a brilliant 2 year vocational MT course with a max of 22 in each year group. It’s very intensive ( 40 hours a week, no ‘private study’) and at the end of every 10 week term, they put on a public performance. To give examples, DD is in her 2nd year , the college managed to do 10 /12 performances of panto in a theatre with a paying audience before Covid hit and the original screen musical that they did in the summer has been selected for a noted film festival , giving them all Imdb credits. I guess this is what they mean by a 50/50 stage/screen split !
Auditions are free ( deposit returned and decisions communicated on the day which means no dreaded waiting or waiting lists).- we’ve all been there :-/
If a degree is your thing, this can be topped up with a one year p/t course but presumably your DD is hoping to perform in the industry? I feel confident that DD will be well prepared when she finishes.
Oh , and they also have a 100% record of signings with independent agency reps before graduating ( not ‘in college’) which is encouraging too.

Happy to answer any questions or have a look at www.theMTA.co.uk.
Wishing you all the best.

[Elle’smom]

I should have added she is just completing triple threat sixth form. She is a good dancer, but feels her acting and voice are her strongest features, particularly as she has a massive vocal range and a big high belt range.

Hi Elle’smom,I think my daughter would have said similar things about her skills as your daughter has! Have you considered theMTA ? They run a brilliant 2 year vocational MT course with a max of 22 in each year group. It’s very intensive ( 40 hours a week, no ‘private study’) and at the end of every 10 week term, they put on a public performance. To give examples, DD is in her 2nd year , the college managed to do 10 /12 performances of panto in a theatre with a paying audience before Covid hit and the original screen musical that they did in the summer has been selected for a noted film festival , giving them all Imdb credits. I guess this is what they mean by a 50/50 stage/screen split !
Auditions are free ( deposit returned and decisions communicated on the day which means no dreaded waiting or waiting lists).- we’ve all been there :-/
If a degree is your thing, this can be topped up with a one year p/t course but presumably your DD is hoping to perform in the industry? I feel confident that DD will be well prepared when she finishes.
Oh , and they also have a 100% record of signings with independent agency reps before graduating ( not ‘in college’) which is encouraging too.

Happy to answer any questions or have a look at www.theMTA.co.uk.
Wishing you all the best.

Thank you for that The MTA course is very similar to what she has done for sixth form she is specifically looking for a degree for a variety of reasons so it doesn’t really offer what she is after. Plus we have already funded sixth form and she will not be eligible for a DADA so degree is the best way forward.

[musicaltheatremum84]

So,have read a couple of things about Urdang, and hoped I could get some clarification and honest replies here….
1- that the final year is only 2 terms, then you choose whether or not to spend the 3rd term doing the showcase/shows etc…..
2- that if you do, that 3rd term is an extra cost…..
3- that, in fact, all 3 years only consist of 2 terms worth of teaching, so you only get 6 terms of teaching as opposed to 9…….

Any clarification GREATLY received!!
Thanks

Hello, I hope I can be of some help. My DD is currently in her first year of the degree course at Urdang. She is absolutely loving it!
There has been no mention of any extra costs at all for her course. The official degree finishes in May however they give all degree students the option to stay on for a 3rd to take part in the Summer Show term. This is totally optional and totally free of charge which I think is amazing!

[lawn]

Ellie's mum - I don't know if it's too late to add any more in, but I would have also suggested she try Trinity Laban. We went on an open day there in December 19, and I thought it a lovely place. There were students there who were more actor/singers. One ex student who is also more of a singer/actor and had also attended my daughter's sixth form mentored my daughter through some of her auditions, she's just been on a UK tour and I've also seen the news that she's making her west end debut this year. It's on Cukas which might be an advantage if you can add. My daughter ends up with more than 5 she wants to apply for on UCAS and has to decide which to leave off, but doesn't fill her Cukas applications up.

[MTDreams]

Has anyone else got a more actor singer applying?
She got rejected from Urdang (not sad just not there to make up the numbers), rejected from Mountview (unsurprising she looks very young despite being 18 she still meets casting criteria for school of rock). She has a callback at Conti at the end of the week, waiting to hear from Royal Welsh.
Final has Royal Scottish and Central uploads to go and PPA is attending her college in early Fen for an audition day.

Hi, has your DD thought about applying to GSA? While the dance training is excellent, its not the first thing they look for. They are definitely looking for actor/singers who can move. My DD goes there and she says there are varying degrees of dance experience amongst her year. They are looking for trainability. I think you still have time to apply if you have space on your UCAS? Good luck.

[Elle’smom]

Has anyone else got a more actor singer applying?
She got rejected from Urdang (not sad just not there to make up the numbers), rejected from Mountview (unsurprising she looks very young despite being 18 she still meets casting criteria for school of rock). She has a callback at Conti at the end of the week, waiting to hear from Royal Welsh.
Final has Royal Scottish and Central uploads to go and PPA is attending her college in early Fen for an audition day.

Hi, has your DD thought about applying to GSA? While the dance training is excellent, its not the first thing they look for. They are definitely looking for actor/singers who can move. My DD goes there and she says there are varying degrees of dance experience amongst her year. They are looking for trainability. I think you still have time to apply if you have space on your UCAS? Good luck.

She has maxed out her UCAS applications and was advised GSA was not the right fit for her.
She is just finding hard as her dancer colleagues are all getting offers. Yea

[Dillydaffy]

So,have read a couple of things about Urdang, and hoped I could get some clarification and honest replies here….
1- that the final year is only 2 terms, then you choose whether or not to spend the 3rd term doing the showcase/shows etc…..
2- that if you do, that 3rd term is an extra cost…..
3- that, in fact, all 3 years only consist of 2 terms worth of teaching, so you only get 6 terms of teaching as opposed to 9…….

Any clarification GREATLY received!!
Thanks

Hello, I hope I can be of some help. My DD is currently in her first year of the degree course at Urdang. She is absolutely loving it!
There has been no mention of any extra costs at all for her course. The official degree finishes in May however they give all degree students the option to stay on for a 3rd to take part in the Summer Show term. This is totally optional and totally free of charge which I think is amazing!

Thank you- that’s helpful. So does that just happen in the 3rd year? And 1st & 2nd years are 3 terms as ‘normal’ ?
Glad your Dd is loving it- My Dd has her recall audition soon for Urdang, i think it’s defo near the top of her list!

[lawn]

Has anyone else got a more actor singer applying?
She got rejected from Urdang (not sad just not there to make up the numbers), rejected from Mountview (unsurprising she looks very young despite being 18 she still meets casting criteria for school of rock). She has a callback at Conti at the end of the week, waiting to hear from Royal Welsh.
Final has Royal Scottish and Central uploads to go and PPA is attending her college in early Fen for an audition day.

Hi, has your DD thought about applying to GSA? While the dance training is excellent, its not the first thing they look for. They are definitely looking for actor/singers who can move. My DD goes there and she says there are varying degrees of dance experience amongst her year. They are looking for trainability. I think you still have time to apply if you have space on your UCAS? Good luck.

She has maxed out her UCAS applications and was advised GSA was not the right fit for her.
She is just finding hard as her dancer colleagues are all getting offers. Yea

Has she also maxed out her Cukas? If not see my comment about Trinity Laban above.

Something else to be aware of is some places is additional charges for degrees. Mountview (I know it's already a no) and Arts Ed you can only borrow £6K via student loans for the degree tuition fee (which is expensive). PPA's fees were an addition £1250 per year to the college on top of you being able to borrow the full amount via student loans. Just I saw you mention paying for sixth form already. We had to tell our daughter similar, though she attended a state funded sixth form, we said we'd got the funds to pay for either a foundation OR a drama school that charged top up fees. I had to mention this again to mine yesterday after her course tutor told her somewhere she'd be a good fit for.

On daughter's course (straight acting) she seems to have only been told where she would be a good fit for rather than where she wouldn't. Maybe it's just that she hasn't suggested anywhere that her teachers think that about. My daughter was offered a foundation place at your daughter's sixth form and something they strongly mentioned is they wouldn't take a cohort where they were all more suitable for the same place to stop them vying for the same drama schools. My daughter had to name 3 places she'd be interested in applying to for degrees at the end of her interview, to make sure they got a 'mix' of students. Could it be possible that it's not that some places aren't the right fit for your daughter, just they have students that they think are a better fit? If that might be the case then I wouldn't let it put her off any places that she can still apply directly or on Cukas if her UCAS is already full.

[musicaltheatremum84]

So,have read a couple of things about Urdang, and hoped I could get some clarification and honest replies here….
1- that the final year is only 2 terms, then you choose whether or not to spend the 3rd term doing the showcase/shows etc…..
2- that if you do, that 3rd term is an extra cost…..
3- that, in fact, all 3 years only consist of 2 terms worth of teaching, so you only get 6 terms of teaching as opposed to 9…….

Any clarification GREATLY received!!
Thanks

Hello, I hope I can be of some help. My DD is currently in her first year of the degree course at Urdang. She is absolutely loving it!
There has been no mention of any extra costs at all for her course. The official degree finishes in May however they give all degree students the option to stay on for a 3rd to take part in the Summer Show term. This is totally optional and totally free of charge which I think is amazing!

Thank you- that’s helpful. So does that just happen in the 3rd year? And 1st & 2nd years are 3 terms as ‘normal’ ?
Glad your Dd is loving it- My Dd has her recall audition soon for Urdang, i think it’s defo near the top of her list!

My pleasure! As far as I know, all 3rd years graduate after their musicals and showcase. We found out yesterday that the 3rd term is optional for degree students and is completely free, so that’s great news. This includes classes and their summer show. Good luck to your DD for her recall!

[Elle’smom]

Hi, has your DD thought about applying to GSA? While the dance training is excellent, its not the first thing they look for. They are definitely looking for actor/singers who can move. My DD goes there and she says there are varying degrees of dance experience amongst her year. They are looking for trainability. I think you still have time to apply if you have space on your UCAS? Good luck.

She has maxed out her UCAS applications and was advised GSA was not the right fit for her.
She is just finding hard as her dancer colleagues are all getting offers. Yea

Has she also maxed out her Cukas? If not see my comment about Trinity Laban above.

Something else to be aware of is some places is additional charges for degrees. Mountview (I know it's already a no) and Arts Ed you can only borrow £6K via student loans for the degree tuition fee (which is expensive). PPA's fees were an addition £1250 per year to the college on top of you being able to borrow the full amount via student loans. Just I saw you mention paying for sixth form already. We had to tell our daughter similar, though she attended a state funded sixth form, we said we'd got the funds to pay for either a foundation OR a drama school that charged top up fees. I had to mention this again to mine yesterday after her course tutor told her somewhere she'd be a good fit for.

On daughter's course (straight acting) she seems to have only been told where she would be a good fit for rather than where she wouldn't. Maybe it's just that she hasn't suggested anywhere that her teachers think that about. My daughter was offered a foundation place at your daughter's sixth form and something they strongly mentioned is they wouldn't take a cohort where they were all more suitable for the same place to stop them vying for the same drama schools. My daughter had to name 3 places she'd be interested in applying to for degrees at the end of her interview, to make sure they got a 'mix' of students. Could it be possible that it's not that some places aren't the right fit for your daughter, just they have students that they think are a better fit? If that might be the case then I wouldn't let it put her off any places that she can still apply directly or on Cukas if her UCAS is already full.

All the sixth form students are applying for similar places so not I don’t think it about better fit - no one is applying for GSA. The college tends to only have one person of a casting type in their cohort who are applying each year rather than number of applications.
I think I am just anxious as there is nothing I can do to help her at this point.

[MTDreams]

Has anyone else got a more actor singer applying?
She got rejected from Urdang (not sad just not there to make up the numbers), rejected from Mountview (unsurprising she looks very young despite being 18 she still meets casting criteria for school of rock). She has a callback at Conti at the end of the week, waiting to hear from Royal Welsh.
Final has Royal Scottish and Central uploads to go and PPA is attending her college in early Fen for an audition day.

Hi, has your DD thought about applying to GSA? While the dance training is excellent, its not the first thing they look for. They are definitely looking for actor/singers who can move. My DD goes there and she says there are varying degrees of dance experience amongst her year. They are looking for trainability. I think you still have time to apply if you have space on your UCAS? Good luck.

She has maxed out her UCAS applications and was advised GSA was not the right fit for her.
She is just finding hard as her dancer colleagues are all getting offers. Yea

I wonder why she was advised that GSA wasn't the right fit for her? I am surprised if she is an actor/singer that is wasn't recommended to her. Best of luck to your DD for her recall for Conti.

[Dillydaffy]

My pleasure! As far as I know, all 3rd years graduate after their musicals and showcase. We found out yesterday that the 3rd term is optional for degree students and is completely free, so that’s great news. This includes classes and their summer show. Good luck to your DD for her recall!
[/quote]]

Thank you Musicaltheatremum84!
So the optional 3rd term is only in the finsl year? First & second years are ‘normal’ ( ie 3 terms worth of teaching?)