A chance to get involved...

February has been an exciting month for Read College, with the announcement of our new building and also lots of training going on for the Reading Half Marathon.  With both of these things coming to fruition in early April, we have never needed people to get involved in our work than we do now, so please read on for a moment longer...

The college became registered as a charity last year, for the simple reason that 100% of the money we take in as tuition fees is then spent directly back on training the students.  There is no profit margin for any company directors, and there are no support staff or admin staff who don't directly have an effect on training - just two very full-time Directors who deliver a large proportion of the course and run ALL of the office-based end of the college between them, and a fantastic team of expert tutors who each come in for their allotted hours each week.  In our opinion, that's exactly how it ought to be, too.

Our charitable fundraising means that we can support talented young people who, for various reasons, would otherwise be unable to afford training to get a start in their career.  Without the fundraising, some fantastic young people would be unable to access full-time vocational training and would therefore miss out on a potential career in the industry purely due to their family's financial circumstances.

Thanks to the support of the University of Reading's estates department with our new home, we will soon be able to concentrate just as much of this money directly on our students, whilst having spacious and purpose-built theatre training facilities to benefit them as well.  Fantastic!

Once we have moved in though, our fundraising mission gets even bigger.  We need to raise over £1,500 for new training mirrors for example, so that our dancers can get the most out of their classes.  We also need to fundraise for dance floors for some of the studios, and on top of this we need to make sure that we still have enough funding coming in to benefit the students who so badly need it.

If you think you can help in any way at all - anything from volunteering a bit of time or an idea, sponsoring one of our marathon runners a couple of pounds, right through to having your name attached to one of our new studios as a benefactor to the college - now is the time to get in touch.  Remember, the money that you help us to raise doesn't go to a company or an individual, it goes directly to help the talented young students who need it most.  Every single penny.

You can donate to us right now, by simply clicking here (and remember, if you're a UK tax payer you can help us even more by typing 'Yes' into the Gift Aid box so that we can claim tax relief on your donation) -

and even if you can't donate anything right now, you can still do us one favour... Could you forward this on to as many people as you know, to help them find out about the work that Read College is doing?

Thank you all so much.

Jamie & Helen Read

Our New Home

Dear Friends,

It is with great excitement that I can announce the relocation of Read Dance and Theatre College to our very own site for the first time in our history.

Our new site is very exciting for us in many ways…  It is a former campus of Reading University, having previously been their Film, Television and Theatre block know as the Myra McCulloch Building.  It is located at Bulmershe Court, about 10 minutes from Junction 10 of the M4 and on a major road/public transport link from the town centre.  The building comprises a fully-equipped drama studio, and vocal teaching room, a large storage area which will become our wardrobe department, various reception areas and offices etc, and – at its heart – a former 150 seat, 1900 SqF, studio theatre complete with sprung floors, huge windows, and a very theatrical atmosphere!  There is also an old dressing room block which will become private tuition/practice rooms for the students.

Our move will be taking place during the Easter break and we will be opening at the new site during April.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank Michelle at The Performing Arts Institute, which has been our home for the last 2 years, for everything that she has done for us - it has been a fantastic place to work!

I look forward to posting photos of the new building as we have them.

Jamie

Please Sponsor us!

On April 1st, a team of us from Read College will be running Reading Half Marathon.  Jamie Read, Neil Missing and Read student Lowri Hughes will be running the full distance, with a fantastic relay team consisting of Helen Read, Eva Blanco, Michelle Legg and Seamus Allen all running a section each.

We are running to support the Read Dance & Theatre College Student Hardship Fund (charity no. 1142899), which has been set up to support young people through their training in the Performing Arts.  These are talented and deserving young people whose talent we really want to be able to support and nurture, so please help us to help them!  All you need to do is click here -

...and don't forget that we can claim Gift Aid on your donation if you are a UK tax payer, which adds around another 25% to your donation at no extra cost to you at all!  All you need to do is say 'yes' when the donation page above asks you if we may claim Gift Aid on your donation.

Thank you for your help for these terrific young people...

Jamie, Helen, Michelle, Eva, Seamus and Neil

Fundraising Marathon...

Wow, first blog of the year, and it's almost February!

Since I last posted, I am pleased to say that I have officially started training for Reading Half Marathon on Sunday, April 1st 2012 to raise funds for our Student Hardship Fund.  The fund is a major part of why we became a charity last year which, in a nutshell, is to ensure that we can take students based on their talent and not on their bank balance.


We have been very lucky in the past to have been able to help some really fantastic young people achieve their potential and go on to great things in the Performing Arts, and running the miles for my training at the moment is oddly reminiscent of being back on stage in my dancing days - little did I realise over a decade ago when I was kicking my heels up in Spirit of The Dance, that I would be using the fact that I'd survived that tour to motivate myself running around the streets of Berkshire!  Funny how life goes around isn't it?

2011 Graduates Joshua Pinder, Tommy Fox and Talitha Rye

I'm not alone in my running either - I am being joined by a relay team of college teachers: Helen Read, Seamus Allen, Eva Blanco and Michelle Legg all of whom are running a quarter of the course each to assist in the fundraising mission.  What a fantastic bunch of people we get to work with!  Talented, dedicated, bonkers.

You can sponsor us via facebook on the Read Dance & Theatre College wall or by emailing in to the college address admin@rdtc.org.uk, and by doing so you know that the money we raise is going directly to help train talented young people who really need your help.  Every little helps as they say, so go ahead and pledge a few pounds now!

Many thanks,

Jamie


www.rdtc.org.uk
Foundation Course in Musical Theatre
Foundation Course in Acting

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.

Making a Statement

Today, I received an application for 2012 through from our website.  The box marked 'Tell us why you want to audition for this course' read as follows (their use of capital letters, not mine):


"because i want to train more to be able audition for drama schools"


Short and snappy?  Concise and to-the-point?  Well, maybe.  But more honestly, for an answer that usually helps us get to know that candidate before their audition, it's lazy.


When colleges - or anywhere else for that matter - ask that question, it's so that we can get some idea of who the applicant is; what they want, what they know, what they care about.  It is the applicant's chance to show us what knowledge they have of the industry and what they know about the course, because if they're serious about attending they will have done some research and will know how they could fit in.  After all, it's no good applying to just anywhere, without having any idea about what to expect on the course and even whether it would provide you with what you're looking for.


Here are some tips for putting together a meaningful answer or personal statement:

1.  Always do your research so that you know what the course will offer you and what the audition panel are going to be looking for, and make sure you cover some of this in your answer.


2.  Don't be too much of a sales person.  It's great if you have a passion for your subject, but don't over-use that word and don't use dozens of exclamation marks...  Although you want to let the audition panel know what you can do and how much you love it, don't ram it down their throat on the form.


3.  The main thing that colleges want to know is that you are going to be a successful graduate if they take you on.  In our case, that means that you will be motivated, trainable, and have a good chance of getting into a top 2 or 3 year course when you graduate.  In the case of the big 2 or 3 year schools, they want to know that you are going to be employable and good to work with, and carry the name of their college forwards into the industry.


4.  Don't get hung up on the West End.  It is prestigious, rewarding and considered the top of the tree in Musical Theatre, but it is not the be-all and end-all and unless you are very lucky it won't make up the large majority of you early working life.  Instead, know your industry.  Regional theatres, touring theatre companies, lesser known writers, older more 'legit' shows - these all show an audition panel that you have a clear understanding of a career in the theatre world, and that you're not just a hobbyist who enjoys dancing and has seen one or two blockbuster shows in Town.


5.  Finally, make sure that you sound like 'you' in your statement or answer.  Don't over-write it so that it becomes complicated and rambling, but equally don't be so brief that they have no idea about who you are or what you're about.  Maybe get someone else to read it through and see if they could guess that it is you talking.


If you're thinking of a career in the Acting or Musical Theatre, you can apply online at www.rdtc.org.uk/apply_now.php - maybe using some of the tips above.  I will look out for your application form!

2010 Graduate, Natalie Issitt, now studying at Urdang Academy

Friends, foundations and fundraising

What an amazing few weeks this has been in the life of Read College.  Our first official fundraising event has raised an astonishing £1365.00 towards the 2012 Student Bursary fund thanks to some wonderful friends and supporters, and we have even had a cheque arrive through the letterbox from a movie star.

Recently, we've been contacting people with whom we have worked over the years to tell them about the work of Read College and the charity that we have established, and - on an off chance - I got a bit confident and emailed Judi Dench's agent (I was lucky enough to work with her eons ago as a child!).  The agency were good and thorough enough to forward the message to her PA, and her PA was equally efficient and passed the email along to Judi Dench herself.  It was a shock and a delight to receive a return email apologising that Dame Judi was unable to answer the email personally, due to being on set filming but that she would like to become a supporter of Read College and donate some money to fund our audition preparation master-classes for the season.

Meanwhile, we were also planning our first fundraising event for the college - An Evening of Cabaret with Jamie Read & Stars of The West End.  In other words, I managed to convince some wonderful friends with whom I worked on various shows as an actor, to give up their time for free and sing to help raise funds and awareness.  And that is exactly what they did.  Juliette Caton (Martin Guerre), Shaun Dalton (Les Mis), Helen Power (Chess) and Ellie Verkerk as MD (Jersey Boys), all gave up their precious day off to come out to the wilds of West Berkshire and help us fly the flag.

The event was an incredible success, bringing together our students past and present, their families, our families, friends, colleagues and strangers, and showing them what we do and why we do it.  People were incredibly generous with their time and money, and for both we are very grateful indeed.

So, in a time of austerity measures and funding cuts I am pleased to report that people's generosity of spirit seems to be as strong as ever.  Thank goodness for great friends!

www.rdtc.org.uk