Drama Schools

Hey all, Well, it's almost August, time to really put my head down and find a drama school for next year! I'm a Melbourne boy, however i am more then willing to move to Sydney. Just wondering if anyone has any comments on: The Actors Centre The Australian Academy of Dramatic arts (aada) and; Actors college of theatre and television (actt) Do you know how many people apply for these courses, and how many are sucessful? Do you feel that they are well know in the industry and can produce an industry trained actor? And if anyone has any experiences with the National Theatre in Melbourne, could you also please sgare your views, and answer the above questions and whatever more you can. I am being realistic here, and yes, I know the whole NIDA, VCA thing, but I know I am far to young for these places. Thanks alot for your time guys, all answers are greatly appreciated. :) Adrian

Adrian, you may want to look into NMIT, Swinburne (both offer a course that does acting and tech), Deakin, RMIT, and Monash. They all offer acting courses. Deakin seems to be fairly popular, but I have no experience or anecdotal information for it. Same with Monash. I want to Swin, so I'm a bit biased towards them. NMIT offer a pretty similar course, but I think Swin's is better (more to offer I think). They all provide a very good basis for going onto NIDA and VCA. I know some of Swin. students have successfully entered NIDA courses. It might be easier to try one of these courses before heading off to another state to try your luck. However I wish you all the best no matter what you do! The Prompt Copy Networking emerging theatre professionals www.thepromptcopy.com Sticky Apple Legs http://stickyapplelegs.artsblogs.com

Adrian how old are you? Age isnt necessarily always an impediment. There are plenty of people who have graduated from NIDA / VCA at 22 and 23 years of age (eg Sam Worthington). Im currently at the actors centre in their one year course (The Power of Acting). It has radically changed my perception of acting, but that is largely to do with the fact that i was fairly new to it when i started the course at the beginning of the year (i had no interest in acting until my second year of uni). Their philosophy revolves largely around the individual, opening up your emotional, physical and intellectual being so to encourage organic and truth based acting. As a place to train i can recommend the actors centre. It is gaining quite a recognised place in the industry, in particular its full time course. For instnce Hugh Jackman all those years ago did the journey programme (their full time course). The best advice i have ever received was from a NIDA grauduate - it doesnt matter where you go, because its how much you as the individual make of the place that you are in. For instance the Actors centre doesnt have anywhere near the amount of facilities that NIDA has but that doesnt necessarily matter, because if you put in the work for the time that you are there then you will reap what you sow. ACTT and AADA are both quality actor training places. My tutor at the Actors Centre also teaches at ACTT and i know of one graduate of AADA who has had a steady stream of work. This though can be said of most actor training institutions. When i audition for the major performing arts courses im going to go everywhere because there is no certainty. Id follow naomis advice do a medium length course maybe over a year and set yourself up for a full time course. That way you put yourself in a better position to show them what they are looking for. With my course its a reduced version of the full time programme, so i know that ill have something to show when the auditions start up. But its purely up to the individual. Success is achieved through training (in some cases) and largely hard work. Along the way enjoy the ride... Paul Mclaughlin.

Hey Paul, Thanks alot for your post. I'm 18. Your right, all places sound fantastic. For me, i personally feel that ACTT and The Actors centre would suite me rather well. Do you know much about the audition process for these 2 schools? Just how compeditive are they. Thanks For your time Adrian

I believe that places in the Actors Centre full time programme are more competitive purely because they offer the option of digital (ie video / dvd) or online audition for those people that cant make it to Sydney. That means that a larger number of candidates are able to apply than at ACTT. Also the Actors Centre has been around longer than ACTT so it has a longer history and therefore a greater reputation. BUT like i said find the place thats right for you. I know people who are at both and have gone to both. AND its the right places for them. Leanna Walsman who was the lead int he mini-series Jessica and is currently in Peribanez for the Belvoir St theatre at the moment trained at ACTT. So they are quality institutions. You can take a look at the respective sites for either full time course here: Actors Centre website for the journey programme: http://www.actorscentre.com.au/page/the_journey.html ACTT website for their 3year programme: http://www.actt.edu.au/pages/acting.html#perfprac As for the actual auditions they are much the same as NIDA one shakespeare and two contemporary showing a range. So read lots of plays and find characters that you like and feel you could play and get stuck into them. Alot of it is in the preparation, my first ever acting tutor gave me a gem: proper preparation prevents poor performance. GOOD LUCK. Paul Mclaughlin.

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