East 15 audition(contains a paragraph in which I preach):
Firstly this audition was a lot bigger than any I have been to before, almost 200-300 people?! We all arrived and were seated in the canteen in which you got to meet everybody else.
I have to be completely honest, I arrived at the school I didn't get the feeling I had at other schools. One teacher walked past a table, someone had obviously left some crisp packets etc on a table and the teacher made a comment that 'We must have a group of animals auditioning today' which I have to say when your already nervous about an audition...doesn't really help.
We where then called into the main theatre in which we where all split up into groups of around 15/20. We where taken over to one of the classrooms on site and got into a circle, both the teacher and one current student from East 15 settled us in by playing some games and some general warm up stuff (Warm up games usual always consisted of something to do with hand to eye co-ordination and I have to admit, mine is the worst. So if your the same do not sweat it at all!)
The warm up made me feel really comfortable with both the teacher who i knew would be assessing me and also everyone else in my auditions.
I have to be completely honest, I arrived at the school I didn't get the feeling I had at other schools. One teacher walked past a table, someone had obviously left some crisp packets etc on a table and the teacher made a comment that 'We must have a group of animals auditioning today' which I have to say when your already nervous about an audition...doesn't really help.
We where then called into the main theatre in which we where all split up into groups of around 15/20. We where taken over to one of the classrooms on site and got into a circle, both the teacher and one current student from East 15 settled us in by playing some games and some general warm up stuff (Warm up games usual always consisted of something to do with hand to eye co-ordination and I have to admit, mine is the worst. So if your the same do not sweat it at all!)
The warm up made me feel really comfortable with both the teacher who i knew would be assessing me and also everyone else in my auditions.
Hold up...
This brings me onto something I had realised throughout my auditions. Everyone goes into every audition with the attitude that everyone else is competition and they must shine above the rest and everyone striving to 'think outside the box'. I saw this so much throughout my auditions and honestly... I was probably one of those people towards the beginning of auditions. However looking back now and having had my first term at drama school I really am confused why we all think this?We all love acting (I presume seen as though your applying for a 3 year course), you all want to do the best you can, you all want to shine? Ok so, I think first thing you need to do is leave the whole 'These guys are competition' and 'That guy over there looks really unique he will probably get a place and i won't' attitude at the door.Look at it in a different way, your all young talent people who want to share their work, your time will come. (I met a student at my Lamda audition who had auditioned 5 years in a row who finally got a place at Lamda). Also trying to hard to be seen and to think outside the box normally isn't the best idea (one reason being the fact that your idea that is so 'outside the box' has probably already been done 10 times already) but also I bet the teachers can spot it from a mile off. One main thing i have learnt from my first term at alra is... being present, just be in the room, enjoy the activities and games your doing, enjoy watching other people perform (I mean we are paying for these auditions right?)... don't pretend... just be you.
Ok and back to the audition. We then one by one entered into the horse shoe shape (which was created by how the students where sat) and performed our modern monologues. Each person was then given a direction to follow by the teacher which i had not previously had in any other auditions so i was excited and nervous.
The teacher asked me after my monologue what my objective was...
The teacher asked me after my monologue what my objective was...
OBJECTIVES! FIND OUT WHAT YOUR CHARACTERS OBJECTIVE IS !
(I will talk more about this later in the blog)
My objective was to get my dad to listen to me, his son, and stop believing everyone else in the village and to just make him think for himself.
The teacher agreed that she thought this was my objective and then asked another member of the class to stand up and be my dad. She asked him to walk around the room and ignore me until he felt that i had met my objective in order for him to listen. I have to say this seemed easy but the student I was put with wasn't being as realistic to the situation as i think you would if you didn't have the (seeing everyone auditioning as competition) attitude. But that was fine because he made me work even harder to get my objective so i pushed and pushed so hard and i finally got it. ( If i was watching my performance i would have probably thought i was pushing to much? i was scared it could be seen as 'over acting') However the teacher nodded and said... ' there you go'.
We then went to another classroom to perform our Shakespeare. The guy that we had auditioning us was absolutely F*cking brilliant. He directed everyones Shakespeare monologues so well! literally we all walked in with our monologues being about a 4/10 and came out after his direction and scrutani with monologues twice as good.
I got up for my Shakespeare and all the way through everyone else's I kept running my lines (something i now regret) Like i said earlier, be present in the audition room don't be selfish because it will bite you back.
When running my lines in my head I kept stumbling on a line and forgetting the words (How this is possibly i have now idea because i knew my monologues and characters INSIDE OUT). Anyway i got up on stage and all was going well and then... I dried. The only person I had seen dry in an audition was me! The teacher however picked me back up and told me to go for it, but in my head i knew 20 other students where sat in their chairs thinking what a nob head (and possibly even the teacher to be honest)... because I definitely was.
The teacher did advise me on changing my Shakespeare as he wasn't keen on it, his points on changing it where valid, he said i made it to modern and updated. Although it seems arrogant, I took this advice on board but stuck with my monologue as I felt there was a lot more I could personal attach to in the one i had chosen.
We where then made to wait back in the theatre in which our names would be read out. I was abit hesistant to go back in as I felt I'd already dug a hole and jumped in. However, I did go in and I with another 50/60 students where took into a classroom with a new teacher and the head teacher, it had become clear to me that it was the shortlist for the Foundation course. We performed our modern monologue to the panel and everyone else once again and sat down.
My objective was to get my dad to listen to me, his son, and stop believing everyone else in the village and to just make him think for himself.
The teacher agreed that she thought this was my objective and then asked another member of the class to stand up and be my dad. She asked him to walk around the room and ignore me until he felt that i had met my objective in order for him to listen. I have to say this seemed easy but the student I was put with wasn't being as realistic to the situation as i think you would if you didn't have the (seeing everyone auditioning as competition) attitude. But that was fine because he made me work even harder to get my objective so i pushed and pushed so hard and i finally got it. ( If i was watching my performance i would have probably thought i was pushing to much? i was scared it could be seen as 'over acting') However the teacher nodded and said... ' there you go'.
We then went to another classroom to perform our Shakespeare. The guy that we had auditioning us was absolutely F*cking brilliant. He directed everyones Shakespeare monologues so well! literally we all walked in with our monologues being about a 4/10 and came out after his direction and scrutani with monologues twice as good.
I got up for my Shakespeare and all the way through everyone else's I kept running my lines (something i now regret) Like i said earlier, be present in the audition room don't be selfish because it will bite you back.
When running my lines in my head I kept stumbling on a line and forgetting the words (How this is possibly i have now idea because i knew my monologues and characters INSIDE OUT). Anyway i got up on stage and all was going well and then... I dried. The only person I had seen dry in an audition was me! The teacher however picked me back up and told me to go for it, but in my head i knew 20 other students where sat in their chairs thinking what a nob head (and possibly even the teacher to be honest)... because I definitely was.
The teacher did advise me on changing my Shakespeare as he wasn't keen on it, his points on changing it where valid, he said i made it to modern and updated. Although it seems arrogant, I took this advice on board but stuck with my monologue as I felt there was a lot more I could personal attach to in the one i had chosen.
We where then made to wait back in the theatre in which our names would be read out. I was abit hesistant to go back in as I felt I'd already dug a hole and jumped in. However, I did go in and I with another 50/60 students where took into a classroom with a new teacher and the head teacher, it had become clear to me that it was the shortlist for the Foundation course. We performed our modern monologue to the panel and everyone else once again and sat down.
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