Skills Audit

I have looked back at the skills I've developed  from last year, and feel I have really developed these skills itself and added more.

I feel I have a good sense of emotional memory, whereby I think of a past memory to determine how I will then act in that scene. I am working on A Christmas Carol and I am very angry towards everyone in the play I have learnt to use my emotion of anger to portray this. I thought of a time where I have been angry for example missing a bus, or when I can't get something right and the feeling it makes me feel. I also have to think of a time when I needed to change my ways, this could reflect to a personal memory this year and I can use that emotion in a urge to change for Scrooge in becoming a better person.

Warm ups are also important being able to let the body and mind focus and come into the right space is important. This is a warm up I follow from the National Youth Theatre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFXqyl4C1J4

I also like doing Script Analysis, as it allows me to break down the text and understand my characters wants, needs and actions. It is important to do so, so that you then can really begin to build your character and deliver the best version of them. For a Christmas Carol I have labelled my actions wants and needs for  Scrooge helping me dive in what is my objection and how i treat others which will be affected by my wants and need. This work helps me build character acting levels to Scrooge and having a better understanding of Scrooge's journey for myself.

Furthermore, I have worked on articulation also, as I am playing and old posh man I must make sure I pronounce each word correctly. I have warm exercises to warm up my to tongue, mouth and vocal cords. This video includes my mouth warm up and articulation exercises, I enjoy this video as it relaxes the jaw, helps me with pronunciation and helps me to over pronounce each of the lines in my script.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qjr9nWh5cU&t=320s

I have also improved my vocal projection, performing in big spaces means I have to reach back row of the audience therefore if i want the audience to follow my story I have to make sure I say everything clearly. I have a few exercises to get my vocal projections strong, this video contains a few of the exercises we do at college to help us prepare for the stage we need to make sure we are able to reach the back row of the audience and that they are following the story throughout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eub7MzfsbdM&t=205s


I have maintained my confidence from the first year which has reflected in my stage presence, I have made sure to give 100 for each of my characters which allows me to perform to a high standard. I ensure to bring the audience in for the performance and play my character with heaps of energy.

Working on my through line was important, it gave me a sense of direction for where my character is starting and finishing. It's crucial that I understand what my character is going through at each point to know my emotion and judgement. I feel a through line is important and helps me in A Christmas Carol, understanding my thoughts through the play  and where exactly I go and I how I feel is extremely important not only to have a better understanding of my character but knowing every ins and out of my journey.

Monologues

Contemporary

My first run through of my monologue in class was not my best performance, I had not dug deep enough into the monologue itself and I could feel that within myself. However, the class gave me some positive feedback, commenting on my high energy throughout the monologue, showing a good connection between me and the character. Although, I needed to keep my character Phil in one position and not look in different directions whilst talking to Phil. Therefore, I went back and thought about where my scene was and where I would place Phil in the scenario.

We were then given the opportunity to perform in the Soho site in front of the screen, this was important to do as it allowed us to practice showing the story through our faces and voice rather than body. We could also get used to, working on not moving our body and what it may be like for some drama schools. The main feedback from this session was to slow down my thought process and allow myself time to think about each point that I am making.

From this feedback it was useful to then have a session with one of the judges on the audition panel from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She really made me tap into what I wanted from Phil and why I was saying that speech, did i want comfort ? or reassurance ? But I needed to understand why I was saying that speech. I then continued practising what that speech means to me and using emotional memory to connect it with myself. I went through each thought process, labelling my actions to now making it clear what my character wants Phil to feel and what I hope to gain from this speech.

We then had one more practice on our speech in class before going to Young Actors Theatre Islington to perform our monologue to professional actor Nicholas Khan. After performing in the class, my teacher rob mentioned how I had improved my eye contact for where I set Phil and my speech had more meaning to it, I could now think about playing around with the text and seeing in what areas I could try something different.
Whilst at YATI the feedback Nicholas gave me was really encouraging. He mentioned how my pace and breath throughout my speeches were extremely good and that I would comfortable and relaxed whilst performing. He also commented on how he enjoyed watching me perform and because I was relaxed he also felt relaxed and comfortable and that he knew exactly where each character was within the scene; which I really appreciated from Nicholas to know that someone in the profession enjoyed what I produced and worked on.
I will continue to work on my monologue and find a second which I can feel truly connected to.

Classical

I have been having difficulties with finding a classical monologue that I feel fits me best, whilst working with UAL Drama centre we have been working on the monologue from Henry the IV part 1 and I have been able to really create this speech to make it my own thinking about the thought process and detail needed to go into this.
When I fist performed it for the class they commented on how they had clarity in who I was talking to and felt that I had a story behind what I was saying. My feedback was to become more confident in the speech as it was still new to me so rather than it looking like I was trying to remember the lines be able to be strong throughout the whole speech. Nicholas gave me the same feedback for both of the monologues.

Is Higher Education Necessary For The Success Of Actors?

Some people say it may or may not be necessary to go to Drama School to follow their career as an actor, however this is not the case for some students. I have been researching the pros and cons of higher education and if it is really useful. Research has shown, that it is twice as hard to get into Drama School than it is Oxford. 80% of actors who have succeeded in the profession, earn less than £10,000 a year which is less than what an average person from middle class annual salary would earn.Whilst at university you may lack what is considered basic skills of acting although, at drama school some schools have never been in a devised show and don't know how to work in that context. So is it worth three years of training for a low income and gaining the skills that someone to in higher education receives?

Pros 

TV Producer Richard Jordan said that even among drama school students, when he asked students "what they'd like to do after graduation? some answered that they wanted to be famous". I think if someone just wants to be famous they should not consider going into drama or will not get as far as they believe because the dedication that is needed is through the passion of drama and the love that you have for it, once seeing how intense the profession is they wont stick it out to be famous in that way. However, being trained properly is crucial, not just acting techniques but getting a job, building a career and surviving long term. Higher education delivers this type of training working on you to create the best version of you, the courses allow you to learn about yourself and who you are first before giving you all those phenomenal skills. Moreover, young actors are no longer in the profession just six months after leaving this could be due to, being great actors but not having gained the skills to survive the harsh realities that drama school is able to teach. This can be due to the students working with professional directors and actors who have been in the industry a long time meaning they know the standards that they must work at and not only deliver consistently but the discipline needed with it and if someone is not naturally driven and disciplined within themselves they may have a hard time adapting and therefore leaving early. Jonathan Holloway is a theatre director for over twenty-five years, he mentions that University brings training that produces performers with a Capital P with skill based training. On the other hand students who were trained at drama school produce actors with a Capital A. This could reflect the intensity of drama school whereby they focus more on the acting, using trainees from the profession and longer hours.Whereas university have more written work involved and may not offer the same connections and level of training received at drama school.


Iain Reekie a programme director from Rose Bruford College said "At showcase people are looking at the person in front not the degree", however in his experience those with good degrees often do better in the profession, this could be due to understanding they have been disciplined for the industry and have been given the toolkit for theatre and screen, also they have the voice and movement training which means they may be able to get into roles much easier and quicker as they use their toolkit that they have been training with for three years to help them build new characters much quicker. Compared to someone who hasn't had that training and depending on the director they may want to progress faster than what that person can handle. He continues to say ,"We are not going to produce actors who just service the industry like puppets, but also help change it". This statement could mean he does not like actors who have all been trained in a specific way therefore their acting is the same, however actors who bring something different and create history in theatre.



A source from spotlight told us about her experience from going to drama school. Katie Elin-salt was a student who went to drama school and spoke about her experience. She has no idea about television, theatre or how the industry worked. Katie wasn't sure about acting as an art form, how to make it a career, getting hold of an agent, knowing the UK theatre production and creative people and for that she needed the training. Drama school helped spell this all out for her and push her in the right direction. For me I am similar to Katie as I do not know a whole heap about the industry and am having a difficult time finding an agency. I feel I need to expand my knowledge with the industry and drama school would help extremely for this.
From drama school Katie gained a lot including connections in the industry, an agent, met important casting people, worked with directors who later employed her. She also learnt technically for herself gaining a toolkit for life, work on voice,body to create characters, tackle Shakespeare and classical texts as a whole. Modern text was also a big help and just working with different casts and creative people. All these skills are really useful to help her with casting she may not have had those opportunities and important toolkit which also helped with auditions if she did not attend drama school and I need to consider the connections gained from that.Shakespeare is a very difficult language to manage and getting the right training can help massively with getting roles in theatre and also just understanding the old English language which is important to me. Drama school was emotionally and physically demanding, with 12 hours a day for 3 years straight put with 20 strangers is extremely tough. Katie finished by saying that those who do not attend drama school face the realities of struggling for money, paying bills and rejection much sooner. Those who did not attend drama school are wise and tough as old boots. Expressing the grind they have to go to is hard and they are chucked into the deep end much sooner, preparing them for the industry.

 I am currently working with UAL Drama Centre Insights course and recently had an Q&A with the first and second years. I asked a few questions about what the first year entailed, how they found life at drama school and how they look after their health and well being through the course. They told us that their year included gathering all the skills that they needed to then take in to the second and final year, they break themselves down and begin to build themselves as actors, including voice, movement, Ballet, analysis, script work etc. After looking onto the website myself I saw the first year summary included Unit 1- Introduction to study in higher education. Unit 2- Foundation, exploration and work on the self, Unit 3- Rehearsal methods for realism and finally unit 4- analysis one, archetypes and storytelling. This course already sounds phenomenal and the right path to create and  become a brilliant actor. Looking after themselves is crucial they said being able to balance all their work and never letting it pile up, knowing when to take a break and getting enough sleep. Their life at Drama school is "Amazing" they said, learning about themselves and doing what they love every day is a great experience for them. Although it is extremely hard and intense they know it is for a good cause and the end result is going to be worth it. Speaking to the second years was inspiring to see they were a few of thousands who were able to experience this journey and be so grateful for the opportunity reminded me why drama school was important and how much discipline that I need for myself in and skills I could learn.
I began to look at the few actors I looked up to and saw if they attended drama school or not, to help me understand if it was more about the training or the raw talent. Viola Davis studied at Rhode Island College, which focused on theatre and graduated in 1988. Following graduation, she attended the Juilliard School for four years, and was a member of the school's Drama Division Group 22  from 1989–93. Furthermore, Idris Elba attended school in Canning Town, where he first became involved in acting, before he dropped out. He gained a place in the National Youth Music Theatre - thanks to a £1,500 Prince's Trust grant. These actors that I look up to who are unquestionably talented have both had the training to help them get to where they are today. Drama school can really prepare you for the outside world and build you up as an actor it breaks you down to build your character back up again which is really important in finding who you are as an actor, it allows you to showcase your skills to agents and begin to get work for them, to continue you are able to build confidence within yourself and learning new things about yourself. I feel just from my Insights course I have learnt so much and the work that is put in before even bringing it to life and this is only a snippet of what I can learn at drama school. It can provide you with the skills for life and it is concrete within you, giving you opportunities you may not of had elsewhere.

Cons

Paul Roseby who is an artistic director from the National Youth Theatre controversially said most actors do not require drama school. He told cultural and educational leaders at an event that people "can either act or they can't" training is how they sell themselves. I also believe this statement, I have seen actors act and when redirected to follow simple direction struggle to follow to do so and do not listen. Whereas watching someone else being redirected they were able to do so straight away. Some people need a short term course to give them that drive to know they can achieve their goals and skills to allow them to build their acting already and the rest coming with experience. He added "drama schools are incredibly expensive and majority of actors don't need three years training". furthermore, just to audition is expensive I want to apply to LAMDA and their online application fee is £54 and Drama Centre fee is £50 alone and myself and others wont be able to audition for five or more drama schools. Luckily through the Insights course at UAL we are able to get a free audition to Drama Centre and Central. I feel there should be foundations that are able to fund students who are less fortunate to be able to pay for their auditions, because many people can act but are not given the opportunity to do so because of the fees and therefore have to work straight through the industry to get to their position. Actors can use various modular course every so often but they don't need three years worth of training, you do learn how to act you need to learn how to sell yourself.

Another source from spotlight Katie Redford has told us why she never attended drama school saying she did not attend drama school due to the lack of knowledge and awareness of the schools and choice, not forgetting the financial side. After a year of graduating for university she applied for an MA however things were quiet. She then got a job working in a TV set as a floor runner in various TV shows. Later on she was offered a place at drama school although Katie was not ready to pay £14,000 a year for the school so decided to turn it down. Luckily Katie was given the opportunity  to work with the National Youth Theatre REP company. She landed her first job 4 years after graduating from BBC Norman Beaton Fellowship, specific for actors who haven't trained at an accredited drama school. By not going to drama school it gave Katie opportunities which arose elsewhere, also winning BBC NBF wouldn't have happened if she went to drama school. It allowed Katie to push herself to explore other avenues and gave her first hand experience of working behind set I feel in this case it showed Katie's hunger to succeed and how hard she had to push in order to make this happen. I feel although drama school helps with training I think coming up with no ones help and just getting opportunities is just as impressive because you don't have that line of say that you went to a drama school and that casting member sees the raw talent that you have. However, Katie felt that not going to an accredited drama school she was frowned upon. Because their is not much on your CV its something casting directors look out for , almost a stamp of approval. When it came to final year shows it was difficult filling the audience with contacts and industry professionals and networking is a huge part of this industry. However, with those set backs and difficulties seeing there is still a way to continue your career shows guts and strength. 

Keira Knightley nor Sheridan Smith went to drama school, Keira Knightley but had been in drama from an early age, training on the job in early TV roles she also worked very closely with her sixth form school teacher. Smith was singing, dancing and acting part time at Lincolnshire and trained extensively in his teens at the National Youth theatre. This continues to back the point that if you have a natural talent you will strive to reach your goals and having part time help may be the best option. Famous actors such as Tom Cruise, Nicholas Hoult, Henry Cavill and Jennifer Lawrence did not attend drama school and have all had successful careers. 
This could show those who are really dedicated and driven will find a way to succeed in this industry and will take the time to find high-quality training, those who are hungry for success and are willing to take risks in order to reach their goals. 



Part Time 

In part time drama school they work on auditions, directing, voice, acting moment to moment, screen craft and marketing for screen. Part time schools cover a broad range of topics in a short time that offers you a degree and still flexible with time, this allows students to work regular jobs to fund the training and auditions. They offer agents when they perform their showcase, which is offered at drama schools also. After hearing about part time drama schools I begun looking at a school called Identity School of Acting which provides on going and intensive acting training for students from all backgrounds. 'Identity helps actors develop their individual skills and creativity, and prepare them for a career in acting. Students work with specialist acting coaches to learn a wide range of styles and techniques for acting on stage and screen. Students participate in an annual showcase or film-case.

Identity School of Acting offers both a two and three day curriculum for students. The two day curriculum is where students participate in six hours of training a week. The three day curriculum is where students participate in nine hours of training'. This school sounds like it condenses a lot of courses that would be delivered at drama school and the fees aren't as expensive at drama school it is £9250 for one year at UAL whereas on a two day curriculum it's £500 per term. A part time drama school may be an option for me in the future until i am certain that I want to attend drama school. 

To conclude I think it is not necessary to go into higher education to succeed in acting, people have managed to create a career without the three years of training.If it was crucial to attend drama school then all the actors would have gone right? I feel you can gain so much more insight through experience on set and get used to theatre and screen much quicker. Famous Actress Oprah Winfrey was born into poverty, was raped and had a miscarriage at 16 and much more and was still able to find the hunger to create a very successful career.  As I am currently applying for Drama schools with UCAS I have been thinking very carefully about what I want to do in the up and coming year. I am going to apply for 3 drama schools and if I do not get accepted I will have the experience of what to expect for an audition. Since thinking about part time drama schools, Identity which is based in Hackney also grabbed my attention, it will be affordable I can attend and still work and out of it will be a showcase where I can show my talent to an agency. From that if I feel I need to go to drama school then at least I will be financially stable to attend. I believe it is crucial to be hungry, determined and ambitious to become an actor and accepting failure is also important. However, I feel that Higher education can train you and give you a toolkit for your career and you can really find yourself as an actor. So yes, I agree with the statement 'If you can act you can act', but I do think you need a little bit of training and that can also come with experience.

Plans for after College
I have applied through UCAS to 5 different choices including Drama Centre, Rose Bruford, College, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Met Film School and St. Mary's University. I chose the three drama schools, because I was interested in what skills they had to offer, theatre is a career choice I would like to take. I have been working on the insights course with Drama Centre and a lot of their work is surrounded with movement and they also work with Stanisvlaski who is a practitioner I really enjoy his work and theory. The insights course showed me a snippet of what Drama school will be like and the environment feels perfect for me. I also put down the choice of Met Film School because I am very interested in screen acting as well, I want to see the clever way in which they use the camera and also how I would perform in front of it. Television and Films are paths that I want to go down in the future so gaining this experience is crucial. I also put down a university, because I still want to have the feel of what University life is like and they still offer me the same course, working with professionals in lessons, it is also close to home. If unfortunately I am not accepted into any of my choices I will go on to do independent work, including setting up a theatre company so that I am free to express myself. I will also take on many diverse courses to further my skills as an actor, making sure I am prepared for auditions the following year.


References
https://www.arts.ac.uk/subjects/performance-and-design-for-theatre-and-screen/undergraduate/ba-hons-acting-csm#apply

https://www.lamda.ac.uk/our-courses/all-courses/acting-courses/ba-hons-in-professional-acting

https://www.spotlight.com/news-and-advice/tips-and-advice/drama-school-to-be-or-not-to-be-the-pros-cons-of-formal-training/

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/jul/15/highereducation.uk1

https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/2012/do-you-really-need-to-train/

http://www.identityschoolofacting.com/about-idsa/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0252961/bio

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205626/bio