No I didn't go to Drama School

Recently I have noticed a number of castings for no pay/expenses only productions that specify explicitly that only trained actors need apply.

This has angered me but not because I have an interest in applying for said jobs. Frankly if I had spent the last 3 years in training instead of working as an actor and came across such a casting for an unpaid production then I would be insulted.

Obviously there are other factors involved when considering a casting such as whether or not the company or directors are people you would particularly like to work with. Let's put all this aside for one moment.

I am interested to hear how other actors - trained and untrained alike feel about this.


  • 11 years ago
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In answer to your initial posting. It seems the industry is over subscribed in this country. It isn't only difficult for graduates out of Drama schools but also well known or seasoned actors, I have met and know a few who have mentioned this. We all have to strive in this competitive and cut throat industry. Directors,.producers, film makers all trying to get their projects realised. I'm a trained actor,.producer, writer and many other attributes that have nothing to do with this industry. I trained at Drama School and graduated in 98, worked and trained in Musical theatre before then, and through my experiences in this profession I have learnt alot. Whether being on a large budget commercial, TV show or no budget film, it has taught me collaboration and respect goes a long way for you as an actor. However having said that there has also been lots of abuse as companies with small budgets especially target the actor, mostly when unknown. Now what's good and what I advocate is if you are working on a no budget production for no pay, make sure an agreement is signed, covering your expenses and food and DVD copy. This is through experience.

So, yes, actors like other industries should be paid, however to get known, respected and grab experience in the Reel world, excuse the pun, then there is the necessity to grab that job to build experience and build profile. Me? I have done jobs for nothing, however would look at script first. Now, I would only do no pay with a percentage on a promising production with good script, crew and some good cast.


  • 9 years ago
  • 21

Boils down to choice.
No-one is forcing anyone to do anything.
There's not that many roles that ask this.
If you've not trained, but picked up a CCP credit list, because you've been to auditions, castings, and have been rejected and accepted like everyone else, then good on ya.

However. Training is good. If you've gone to professional drop-in classes, done a P/T or F/T course, you'll get the value of training.

If you've spent 3 years working as an actor, and haven't trained, congratulations. You saved a fortune on fees and are a natural.

Don't get angry. Be happy. It's not important.
But if you haven't already, maybe get a course or two on your CV. They do help.


  • 9 years ago
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In the end of the day, you are either right for the part, or not. If your headshot is what they are looking for then that will speak for you.


  • 9 years ago
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There is a bias not just between trained and untrained but also Drama School and University trained. I trained in a University and don't see why my training is any less than that of a Drama School graduate, but all the perks such as Equity registration goes to Drama School graduates and not University graduates. At the end of the day where you trained if you trained is irrelevant are you right for the part.


  • 8 years ago
  • 24
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These are a few questions I have been thinking about for some time. Do you really need to go to an Accredited drama school to entertain people? What exactly do drama schools teach us that you can't learn on your own through an inexpensive route? Do drama school graduates think they're better? Do employers think they're better? Why is the class system so prominent in such a human endeavour? Why the bloody hell would I go to drama school if I'm a working class male? What exactly is wrong with going to any old drama school anyway... Accredited or not... Which I would have done... Or maybe not. The point is... It seems as though there's a bit of snobbery from snobbery and unsnobbery doughnuts who think a=c when really a & b = c. Get your calculators out. I'm rich despite not going.


  • 8 years ago
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I for one would have loved to be able to afford to have my training at a Drama School but due to the fact that I could never afford it, and now being of a 'mature' age, I had to do the next best thing I could - go to University to study Drama.

I hope that in the future my skills and versatility as an Actor will help me get roles, and not hinge on the fact that I couldn't afford Drama School and 'proper training'.

There are so many Actors out there that are really talented but haven't gone down the route of expensive Drama Schools. More fool the people advertising these jobs for possibly missing out on the right people by not taking a chance on someone who may be perfect for the role!


  • 8 years ago
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Karen Brooks
Actor

I'm going to be brave and say something that a lot of people will object to....Personally, I think many Drama Schools these days are a con.
I believe they make their money through auditioning and fees are sky high! I would be surprised if they ever turn down an audition judging by how much one costs! How do most actors pay that back once they leave? Or, are they told they will get their 'lucky break' one day?!
So if you don't get an audition maybe one should consider themselves lucky - you've not wasted your money!
Any school is only ever as good as its teachers after all!
I've seen trained and untrained actors and, sometimes, it is hard to tell the difference!
A few actors out of drama school have strange ideas on work ethic too. So I rather wonder what exactly is being taught in Drama Schools these days and how well students are being prepared for the outside world.
I went to drama school yonks ago, but if I could do it all over again, I would say 'on the job' training is far more beneficial...if you can get it, of course! In truth, much of my best training came from actually being in work. There, I said it! Apologies to those who I may have offended but I'm talking from personal experience.


  • 8 years ago
  • 27

Karen you are right! I went to Uni first moved to Cardiff as one of my tutors said I should be at drama school, got rejected for being too old. I learned a lot about theatre at university but nothing about film and television, anything I learnt was on the job. That being said, I did learn a lot at the University of South Wales, radio an instead of being talked to about different theatre we performed it also public performances of our dissertations and 2 other full scale productions open to the public.


  • 8 years ago
  • 28
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Its interesting to know how companies still advertise on the likes of The Stage, Mandy and certain other sites, proclaiming to be professional but have claims to have no money to pay actors. This is obvious exploitation and those casting sites claiming their professionalism, should have two divisions, non paid and Professional, as my learned friend had quite rightly stated, professional means, paid with contract!!! Anyone therefore proclaiming they are advertising professional, should make sure they have money aside for payment.


  • 8 years ago
  • 29

Just thought I would add my ten pence :

The sad reality is that drama schools are still held in high regard by a certain clout of casting director and very often they make decisions about an actor depending on where they trained. It's completely unfair and a form of bias but I've come to the opinion that this is how they sift the net. You'll rarely see actors from smaller drama schools at the national unless they have a certain clout of agent.

Times are a changing and drama school is completely unrealistic to many actors due to cost. The fact is people have to GTF over themselves and stop thinking actors aren't worth anything if they're not from drama school.

Many tv and film agents will take on people with no training because they are more natural and less "mannered ".

You need technique to do stage but that's not exclusive to drama schools only.


  • 8 years ago
  • 30

Yeah. I'm looking at doing an MA at a drama school and two of the ones I'm looking at only do MAs for international students! One I called up and was told it's not the level of education its where you train so why don't you do the 2 yr foundation degree. I already have a degree I want to do an MA!


  • 8 years ago
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Just ordered "the actor within. Conversations with great actors."

I think it was pretty easy to get into drama school in the medieval times but now that everyone has a television in their room there are more and more people who want to reach celebrity status. Drama school is a good way to filter out the true actors from those after fame and money but not entirely necessary.

My training is going to be a long day whilst I read what acting is really about.


  • 8 years ago
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Toni Brooks
Actor

You don't pay commission to Equity! You pay a yearly fee (which can be paid monthly or three monthly). It is a union - not an agency.
It is due to Equity that there are certain standards in the profession which safeguard the actor. If it wasn't for Equity, these would not exist. Equity is a union and and such, is only as strong as it's members. The individual is part of the whole - just like any union. Thatcher all but smashed the unions but they clung on - and watch out for this lot, they're on the same path. Join your union and work for better deals for ALL.


  • 8 years ago
  • 33
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Develop a thick skin, but hold on to who you are.


  • 8 years ago
  • 34
Michelle Ashton
Actor, Singer

I am going to weigh in here as one of those drama school trained people and try to answer some of the questions that people have posed.

What is the difference between drama school and university?
The main difference is contact time. At drama school you will receive around 40. There is also a much higher percentage of practical work. Personally I spent 3 hours in lectures a week and had to write about 7 essays the entire 3 years. The rest of the time is spent in voice classes, dance classes, alexander technique, dialect classes, singing classes and of course 3 hours of acting classes per day. Speaking to my friends who went to university they did some of that, but would get 10 hours of it if they were lucky and had to do a lot more written work. The aim of going to drama school is to prepare for a career as a professional performer. The aim of a university degree is to study drama. It is only better in the sense that it gives you more practice and practice makes perfect!

Does drama school just prepare you for theatre?
NO! This idea that drama school just does lots of Shakespeare is complete nonsense. We spent 10 weeks on it. We also spent 5 weeks doing Joe Orton plays and 5 weeks doing Ayckbourne. Admittedly, theatre is the main focus, but most drama schools have caught up. In the second year we created a scare attraction at a National Trust property. My third year was the “professional year”. We performed 3 full theatre productions and had a showcase for agents and casting directors, but alongside that we had acting for TV classes and acting for radio classes. We each came out with a voice reel and in pairs made a short film (which had a professional director) but a crew made up of students from the Film and TV production course. I remember going for my first commercial casting and sending a message to my TV acting teacher to thank her. Everything was exactly how she taught us it would be.

Do people who go to drama school accept what they are taught as gospel and believe everyone else is wrong and bad actors?
Some of them do. They are usually terrible actors. I found that my training introduced me to lots of different methods and practitioners so that I could choose what works best for me.

Does drama school make you a better actor than someone who doesn’t have training?
No. It makes you a better actor than you were when you started. I was a naïve little girl without a clue of how to make a living in this business and I left a confident and positive young woman equipped with the tools I needed to start my career. That being said – drama school was right for ME. It is not right for EVERYONE. I would recommend some kind of formal training such as evening classes or one off workshops with The Actors Centre and the like to improve your skill set. Of course I still do those too. I certainly don’t know everything there is to know about acting or the industry. I am still learning new things every day.

How do drama school graduates feel about working with untrained actors?
Some of them are snobby about it. Some of them are snobby about which school you went to (I went to the Arden in Manchester which was not NCDT accredited, but followed the same training). Some of them are idiots! As far as I am concerned if you can do the job, you deserve to be there.

What do you learn at drama school that you can’t learn on the job?
Absolutely nothing. Drama school just means you learn it much faster. There is also the advantage that you can fall flat on your face and it doesn't matter. Your living is not dependent on it!

Sorry that was very long!


  • 8 years ago
  • 35
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Hey guys,
Interesting feed!
I trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
There were people in my year I considered to not be very good.
There are 'untrained' people i have worked with who are some of the best actors I have had the privilege of working alongside.
Talent is talent you either have it or not, and the people i thought were the best in my year on arrival, were the best on leaving.
In this day and age with this shity government people cannot afford higher education.
Applying for unpaid roles, student films, writing and putting on one's own show - this is as good training as any drama school to prepare you for the industry.
In fact i would argue Guildhall - or the Guildhell Gruel of Music & Truama as i like to affectionately call it - did little to not enough to prepare us for the industries realities. There was no mention of self promotion or PCR (the self casting publication of its day - this was 2005) I remember my friend clare saying 'you know when you are waitressing in between acting' and was scolded for even suggesting she would work as a waitress. Of course - we know, what she was being was not self defamatory merely realistic.
So go for your dreams my dear, and stick at it and work very very hard.
You'll get there.
And yes, any 'company' who expects trained actors to work for free, or untrained ones who've had a few years to build up a decent CV are a pisstake and should be avoided at all costs
xxx


  • 8 years ago
  • 36
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Just depends who trained you. Myself it was Prison Officers and then in a secondary capacity LAMDA. Didn't do me any harm!
But if you want to be PC about this, some people will be very elite and bring Drama Schoolism into casting...............BC


  • 8 years ago
  • 37

I do believe as a trained actress , that training does come from various parts of our everyday life.. I also belive if anyone is to be good at what they do, would 100% benefit from the training, discipline, technique, personal vocal development, accent development and many more.. If you wanted to be a Dr, Shopkeeper, we would train and think nothing of it. We would attend what was nessasary, in order to acheive..

There are Casting roles that are very natural and easy for some people. comedy , drama, ect.. At drama school you learn development and lots of other things....

I belive if your a director and you have put time and effort into a script, why shouldn't you be fussy and say what you want.. We don't have to apply... Maybe a director doesn't want to have 20 people saying they can do something they clearly can't do... Wasting everybody's time.. In this industry time is money..

I love the fact I trained and think no less of anyone who doesn't train.. It will always be loads harder if you haven't put in the training. If you have trained, it should be recognised in the industry. How can we be really good at what we do without proper training?

I love acting and will continue to train because you can only get better at what you do. It is also nessasary to sharpen your tools. I continue to go to workshops and work with like minded fellow actors.

All meant positively enjoy the rest of your week
Bernadette


  • 8 years ago
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Alex Nagle
Actor

I like clear chowder(Rhode Island chowder) more than white(New England Chowder).


  • 8 years ago
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