Drama School Auditions

Drama School Auditions

Interested in applying to drama school? From choosing audition pieces to an overview of the typical process, our guide covers everything you need to know about auditions.

What are the Top Drama Schools in the UK?

If you have decided a drama degree is for you, the next step is to decide where to apply.

There are several drama schools which tend to come out on top each year, including Guildhall School of Music and Drama, RADA (Royal Academy of Drama and Acting), LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art), Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, RSC (the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), and RWCMD (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama).

However, a more useful way of approaching this decision is to instead look at various factors and weigh up the value of each based on your own interests.

Some of the factors you might want to consider include location (inside or outside of London, for instance, and the costs associated), financial elements (e.g. financial assistance, scholarships, etc on offer), the strength of the alumni network (and the extent to which the drama school in question proactively connects you with them), and the specific content of the course (e.g. more classical, more modern, more practical, more academic, and so forth).

The preferences you will establish here are personal to you and should ultimately take priority over any ranking table (just as for those applying to traditional university courses in general).

For more information on the best drama schools in the UK, check out our comprehensive guide Best Drama Schools in the UK .

What is the Typical Process for Applying to Drama Schools?

Most UK students applying to university (after sixth form, usually) will be using the UCAS portal, via which you can submit an application (including one shared personal statement) to 5 different institutions. The process for drama schools, many of which come under the ‘conservatoire’ category (similar to music students applying to institutions like the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, etc), is slightly different.

For some drama schools, you will still submit an application via UCAS, but you will then need to go further by completing their school-specific application process separately – including auditions.

Some drama schools (including RADA, Guildhall, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Oxford School of Drama, and Mountview) may have an entirely private application process. This is ultimately a positive as you free up a space on your UCAS application but does require extra research and preparation.

Either way, you will ultimately end up needing to complete various other stages within the application process – the most important of which, for a drama school, will be an audition (or multiple auditions).

What is the Typical Process for Drama School Auditions?

Ultimately, the process for auditioning to drama schools in the UK varies quite significantly from school to school. It is therefore imperative that you check the specific requirements for the schools you are applying to (and remember that they can, and often do, change year on year). However, it is possible to generalise a little just to give you a rough idea.

Often the process will start with a recorded video tape audition. This will often take the form of a ‘self-tape’, whereby you deliver a monologue to the camera and send this off independently. If you pass this stage, you will likely move on to some kind of in-person audition (this might be at the campus of the drama school, or sometimes you can be offered a regional centre to audition at instead for convenience).

After this, some schools might move on to a group in-person audition (whereby you workshop a scene with a few other applicants and are assessed on how you play off each other), whereas others will go straight to a ‘recall’ (final) audition.

What Should Applicants Prepare for Auditions?

The key decision to be made, of course, is which audition pieces you should choose.

First, make sure that your pieces show some sense of variety. This might mean one serious piece and one more comedic one, or it might mean one piece where the character moves between a variety of emotions. This shows your range as a performer in a way that is difficult to convey otherwise. Do not aim to show off with an esoteric monologue: choosing one with an objection you can understand and portray will be more effective than one of more meandering reflection.

Second, you should choose pieces which you feel you can personally connect with. This does not mean you need to have direct lived experience – but it does mean you should ‘feel’ something and try to find material that you can connect with in some way (whatever that means for you).

Third, you need to check the requirements/preferences of the institution you are applying to in regard to genre of audition piece. You could end up picking anything from Shakespearian monologues to scenes written for a theatre play released weeks before the audition (although, if in doubt, opting for variety between pieces is again a safe option).

What are Drama Schools Looking for in Auditions?

When you are preparing for your upcoming auditions, you need to consider the perspective of the interviewers themselves – ask yourself what you would be looking for in a promising drama student if the roles were reversed.

The key aspects that most drama schools will agree on include a genuine passion for drama, an ability to convey emotion via your performance, and the potential to learn and develop further. This ultimately means appearing confident but not arrogant, emotive but not over-the-top – in short, it is all a balancing act.

Key Takeaways for 2024 Drama School Auditions

To conclude, aspiring students looking to apply to drama schools in 2024 should do their research around specific courses/institutions, understand the application process thoroughly, and put a significant amount of time and effort into preparing for auditions. Start the process early and set yourself manageable deadlines throughout.

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