DRAMA school!
Mon, 5 Jan 2004, 11:36 amWalter Plinge7 posts in thread
DRAMA school!
Mon, 5 Jan 2004, 11:36 amThis is just a warning to fellow actors out there who intend on going to drama school in the future: DO YOUR RESEARCH!
I've just finished two years of training at the VCA in the full-time Bachelor of Dramatic Art course and I wanted to share some of my experiences.
I think the training at the VCA is unbelievable. The staff are talented and excited about their work and the students are commited and totally supportive of one another. Some of the best productions I have ever seen have been at this school. But, unfortunately, I feel that the school still has a few issues to deal with before it can be the truly wonderful place that it could be.
I'm prepared to say that the VCA's often denied 'culling' rumour is entirely true. And even if you do associate the word 'culling' with slogging a few baby seals over the head with a club I think the analogy is still fairly accurate. I'm not sure if it's because of money or because the staff are desperate to create 'elite' graduates by taking more than they want to graduate and slowly whittling them back, but basically for a student there it sucks. No one has a clue as to how many of us will not be accepted into the next year, and most of the time I think that mosy of the students have no idea if they're even at risk of failing.
In first year 2003 the first (and only) warning that anyone was 'at risk' came in the middle of the year where we all received an interview and then a one page report that had a paragraph or so summary of the interview and a result: "unsatisfactory, needs improvement, satisfactory, excellent". For many people who received an unsatisfactory or needs improvement this was the first they had heard that they weren't up to scratch, and for some people at this stage it was even recommended that they leave the training - even though for a whole semester they had no idea that they were even at risk of failing! But all this was a luxury, because there was no other warnings, interviews, or results until the end of the year, a month after we completed, when many of us (I've heard 7 so far) found out we had failed. You could request interviews with the teachers during the year, but only a few of us did so because I think only a few of us expected what was coming. I don't think many of the people who failed were prepared for it. And I think most of us were shocked to hear of some of the people who did fail. By the way, I completely support failing people based on their lack-of-commitment to the training (which I don't believe was the case for any of the students there this year) or perhaps their total unsuitability to the training, which maybe could have been a few people. But if in a year of 31 first years, at least 7 have failed and 2 have left what sort of super-actor are they looking for? And last year from a company of 28, 6 left and 7 failed (2 were asked to repeat first year in 2003 and of them one left and one failed...). Second years aren't safe either. I've heard horror stories of students repeating second year and at the end of three years of training being told that they "weren't an actor".
It's not the same for everyone, some people glide through with satisfatory's and excellents the whole way. But it seems like the majority weren't so lucky(I think the largest graduating company since Lindy Davies was head of school was 13 in 2003 and the average intake seems to be around 29...).
So please be prepared and do your research on the drama schools (although I believe NIDA and WAAPA give you more warning and fail a lot less people than VCA...). This may sound a little harsh but unfortunately I feel that there is a general lack of care towards some of the students at the VCA; if you are failing, too bad that's your problem and I don't believe much is done to warn them, help them or even clearly explain why they are failing. I feel there is also an atmosphere of fear among many students, and how can one take risks and make mistakes and therefore LEARN in a situation like that? I could go on forever, so if you want to know any more info feel free to email me.
Micky.
micky_s@astroboymail.com
I've just finished two years of training at the VCA in the full-time Bachelor of Dramatic Art course and I wanted to share some of my experiences.
I think the training at the VCA is unbelievable. The staff are talented and excited about their work and the students are commited and totally supportive of one another. Some of the best productions I have ever seen have been at this school. But, unfortunately, I feel that the school still has a few issues to deal with before it can be the truly wonderful place that it could be.
I'm prepared to say that the VCA's often denied 'culling' rumour is entirely true. And even if you do associate the word 'culling' with slogging a few baby seals over the head with a club I think the analogy is still fairly accurate. I'm not sure if it's because of money or because the staff are desperate to create 'elite' graduates by taking more than they want to graduate and slowly whittling them back, but basically for a student there it sucks. No one has a clue as to how many of us will not be accepted into the next year, and most of the time I think that mosy of the students have no idea if they're even at risk of failing.
In first year 2003 the first (and only) warning that anyone was 'at risk' came in the middle of the year where we all received an interview and then a one page report that had a paragraph or so summary of the interview and a result: "unsatisfactory, needs improvement, satisfactory, excellent". For many people who received an unsatisfactory or needs improvement this was the first they had heard that they weren't up to scratch, and for some people at this stage it was even recommended that they leave the training - even though for a whole semester they had no idea that they were even at risk of failing! But all this was a luxury, because there was no other warnings, interviews, or results until the end of the year, a month after we completed, when many of us (I've heard 7 so far) found out we had failed. You could request interviews with the teachers during the year, but only a few of us did so because I think only a few of us expected what was coming. I don't think many of the people who failed were prepared for it. And I think most of us were shocked to hear of some of the people who did fail. By the way, I completely support failing people based on their lack-of-commitment to the training (which I don't believe was the case for any of the students there this year) or perhaps their total unsuitability to the training, which maybe could have been a few people. But if in a year of 31 first years, at least 7 have failed and 2 have left what sort of super-actor are they looking for? And last year from a company of 28, 6 left and 7 failed (2 were asked to repeat first year in 2003 and of them one left and one failed...). Second years aren't safe either. I've heard horror stories of students repeating second year and at the end of three years of training being told that they "weren't an actor".
It's not the same for everyone, some people glide through with satisfatory's and excellents the whole way. But it seems like the majority weren't so lucky(I think the largest graduating company since Lindy Davies was head of school was 13 in 2003 and the average intake seems to be around 29...).
So please be prepared and do your research on the drama schools (although I believe NIDA and WAAPA give you more warning and fail a lot less people than VCA...). This may sound a little harsh but unfortunately I feel that there is a general lack of care towards some of the students at the VCA; if you are failing, too bad that's your problem and I don't believe much is done to warn them, help them or even clearly explain why they are failing. I feel there is also an atmosphere of fear among many students, and how can one take risks and make mistakes and therefore LEARN in a situation like that? I could go on forever, so if you want to know any more info feel free to email me.
Micky.
micky_s@astroboymail.com
Re: DRAMA school!
Mon, 5 Jan 2004, 07:24 pmJust wanted to say that I was made aware of that recently as well after talking to a few friends and a few ex-students who didn't make it through themselves.
But like you said, its a different experience for everyone and some will have no difficulties and others will struggle with the system and hierachy.
I've found WAAPA, NIDA and VCA to be 3 distinctly different drama schools now and people may be suited to one school but not the other.
Anyways, good luck with your endeavours Micky.
Crispy.
But like you said, its a different experience for everyone and some will have no difficulties and others will struggle with the system and hierachy.
I've found WAAPA, NIDA and VCA to be 3 distinctly different drama schools now and people may be suited to one school but not the other.
Anyways, good luck with your endeavours Micky.
Crispy.