The dust seems to scarcely be settling from Showcase and we're in final preparations to start back with the class of 2012/13. Anyone who thinks we get the summer off is wrong :)
We've been lucky enough to have to lay on extra auditions this year to see everyone, and it looks like a record year for the college with at least 16 students studying with us. We can't wait to start working with all of them!
We've also had a very inspiring meeting with our Board of Trustees who oversee everything that college does. They're a fantastic bunch of people - I should introduce you...
David Ashley (Head of 1st Year and Deputy Head of Music, Arts Ed)
Elizabeth Flintoff (Director of Outreach, Watermill Theatre)
Nick Flintoff (Creative Technical Associate, National Theatre Studio)
Roger Missing (Owner, Missing Link DVD)
Anne Munn (Chief Executive, The Mobility Trust)
Between the Board, Helen and myself, there are some really exciting plans in place for the future of the college, including some great fundraising events which I will be blogging/tweeting about soon, so keep up to date and come and visit us at any of the events whenever you can!
Let's see how many futures we can change this time around...
www.rdtc.org.uk
Showing posts with label Read College. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Read College. Show all posts
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Lists, lists, lists
At this time of the year, Read students are pretty much focussed on one of the most important elements of their year with us: Auditions. A couple of hours, or in some cases even a couple of minutes, is how long they have to show the big dance and drama colleges that they are worthy and, ultimately, employable students.
This is a difficult task in itself, and there are many do's and don'ts that students have to watch out for to maximise their chances. But now, and increasingly, on top of all of this there are... The Lists. Variant, secretive, seemingly unending and totally unnecessary (in my opinion) lists. Lists of songs to sing, and lists of songs not to sing. Lists of speeches you should not choose. Lists of writers who's work they do not want to hear. Lists of speeches from which you may choose. Lists of writers from whom to select your speech. Even, in one notable case, a list showing other colleges' lists and refusing to see any of them. And to top it all off, the majority of these lists will not be given to anyone until after they have applied for an audition, so you're flying blind until your audition date comes through.
The whole idea of an audition is, surely, to judge whether a potential student is talented, hard working, has a knowledge of their chosen industry and a decent chance of working in it. I don't think it is sensible to audition anyone based on their administrative skills and their ability to navigate rules that neither help nor encourage them through the process. Or maybe that is the idea of the lists. Are we now in an industry so over-populated that we have to start ruling applicants out based on repertoire rather than talent or determination?
The major focus of the September to December term at Read is helping students to successfully prepare for their auditions. That means that we currently have some students working to so many lists for their chosen colleges that they are learning and rehearsing up to 5 Shakespeare speeches and 5 contemporary speeches at the same time, as well as preparing their 4 items of singing repertoire and all of their dance technique/knowledge - a feat that would make an old-school rep actor shudder.
It seems to me that the Theatre Training industry should show rather more cohesion and open-mindedness instead of this bias and confusion, or else we are in danger of losing some very talented young people from this industry on a point of technicality. None of us want to see the same old audition pieces over and over again, but equally I don't want to see any more theatrical off-side rules invented that act as stumbling blocks for talented young people.
This is a difficult task in itself, and there are many do's and don'ts that students have to watch out for to maximise their chances. But now, and increasingly, on top of all of this there are... The Lists. Variant, secretive, seemingly unending and totally unnecessary (in my opinion) lists. Lists of songs to sing, and lists of songs not to sing. Lists of speeches you should not choose. Lists of writers who's work they do not want to hear. Lists of speeches from which you may choose. Lists of writers from whom to select your speech. Even, in one notable case, a list showing other colleges' lists and refusing to see any of them. And to top it all off, the majority of these lists will not be given to anyone until after they have applied for an audition, so you're flying blind until your audition date comes through.
The whole idea of an audition is, surely, to judge whether a potential student is talented, hard working, has a knowledge of their chosen industry and a decent chance of working in it. I don't think it is sensible to audition anyone based on their administrative skills and their ability to navigate rules that neither help nor encourage them through the process. Or maybe that is the idea of the lists. Are we now in an industry so over-populated that we have to start ruling applicants out based on repertoire rather than talent or determination?
The major focus of the September to December term at Read is helping students to successfully prepare for their auditions. That means that we currently have some students working to so many lists for their chosen colleges that they are learning and rehearsing up to 5 Shakespeare speeches and 5 contemporary speeches at the same time, as well as preparing their 4 items of singing repertoire and all of their dance technique/knowledge - a feat that would make an old-school rep actor shudder.
It seems to me that the Theatre Training industry should show rather more cohesion and open-mindedness instead of this bias and confusion, or else we are in danger of losing some very talented young people from this industry on a point of technicality. None of us want to see the same old audition pieces over and over again, but equally I don't want to see any more theatrical off-side rules invented that act as stumbling blocks for talented young people.
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Why audition for a Foundation Course?
Last week, we had our termly Advisory Board meeting with representatives of various sectors of the industry, who help us to ensure that Read College stays at the top of its game in Acting and Musical Theatre Foundation training.
One thought that we spoke about with them was the difficulty that we face with the dozens of small scale, unaccredited three-year courses popping up all over the country at the moment. There is no harm in new colleges starting up - many have done a fantastic job and gone on to great things, but what happens to the students who enroll at less successful establishments which do not go on to get the respect and recognition of the industry?
A quote from top Musical Theatre agent and Read College advisors, James Beresford:
"Going to just any three-year course is a waste of time - no agents or casting people will see you at the end of it. Make sure you go to one of the colleges that the industry recognises".
And that is why we do what we do at Read. Last year 100% of our students were offered further training at schools including Urdang, Laines, Millenium and many others and they WILL get that industry exposure. That's why making the right choices early on, and spending the time to train at Foundation level is so important.
One thought that we spoke about with them was the difficulty that we face with the dozens of small scale, unaccredited three-year courses popping up all over the country at the moment. There is no harm in new colleges starting up - many have done a fantastic job and gone on to great things, but what happens to the students who enroll at less successful establishments which do not go on to get the respect and recognition of the industry?
A quote from top Musical Theatre agent and Read College advisors, James Beresford:
"Going to just any three-year course is a waste of time - no agents or casting people will see you at the end of it. Make sure you go to one of the colleges that the industry recognises".
And that is why we do what we do at Read. Last year 100% of our students were offered further training at schools including Urdang, Laines, Millenium and many others and they WILL get that industry exposure. That's why making the right choices early on, and spending the time to train at Foundation level is so important.
So, if you are considering training in the industry, remember - do your research, and make sure the places that you audition at are going to get you to where you want to be. If they're not, or if you don't get in to those courses first time round... Well, you know what to do.www.rdtc.org.uk/courses.html
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