<p>threed: Yes. He is leaving Sept 9 for London to attend Guildhall. I think there are 2 or 3 American (US/Canadian) students accepted each year. </p>
<p>There are several good schools in London (in no particular order) - Central, Rada, Guildhall, and Lamda come to mind, plus a few others that are on the regular lists. Some have first auditions in US (NY, SF or LA). Please be aware that your daughter will likely have to attend a final audition in London if she passes the initial stage. Also the final decisions usually come after US schools have announced their acceptances.</p>
<p>Obviously, London is very expensive and schools themselves are not cheap, but you should note that it is 3 years for undergrad in England vs 4 in US. Dollar/Sterling exchange rate is not bad right now at 1.52. </p>
<p>The good news for Guildhall is that they have just completed a large new building with theatre, rehearsal rooms etc. Also they do have dorm/bedrooms for students in year 1. </p>
<p>My son attended a RADA summer school. He very much enjoyed it. It is probably too late now for your daughter to attend one of the courses this Summer. </p>
<p>Please let me know if you have any specific questions. I would direct message you if I could but I am too new to the site.</p>
<p>Just got home from the Guildhall Drama Summer School. I had an absolutely incredible time there. I felt I really jived with the training style there rather than what I’ve been taught in America. The school itself is really nice and what I’ve been able to see of the new building is really really nice. I fell in love with London as well as the training and the general theatre scene there. The faculty at Guildhall is beyond amazing. It looks like I’ll be auditioning at Guildhall, Lamda, Rada, Central, RCS and RWCMD next year as well as a few schools in the USA.</p>
<p>oakdad; thank you for your response and the information. I am hoping to PM you soon.</p>
<p>It would be great to find out more about Guildhall from an insider’s prespective so please keep in touch. </p>
<p>We are aware of having to go to London for callbacks, although I did speak to one parent whose child was picked after auditioning in NY which I would assume is rare. It would be nice to go there anyway to see what it is like. In the past I have been offered the opportuntiy to work there on a short term basis, however, did not pursue it due to a number of reasons. Maybe I will consider it again:)</p>
<p>It is encouraging to know that Guildhall has a dorm, I do not recall any of the other schools having that option.</p>
<p>josh703; Please share what it was specifically that you liked so much about the training style at Guildhall. Also, did you take a gap year this year? Just wondered because I thought Guildhall was one of the summer programs where you have to be 18 to attend. Could have been RADA, my apologies if I have it wrong. You do not have to announce your age:) Just wondered. I really wish we would have looked more into these schools prior to this summer so my daughter could have checked out one of the summer programs but…She did have the opportunity to attend BUTSI this summer which was a wonderful program, thank you to all of those who recommended it:)</p>
<p>We will definitely consider these programs next summer if she ends up having to take a gap year which is quite possible. </p>
<p>I am glad you had that opportunity and it looks like it has given you direction. If I may ask, what other schools in the US are you looking at?</p>
<p>ALSO</p>
<p>What does RWCMA stand for this is not one I have heard of.</p>
<p>Answer to my own question:
Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama</p>
<p>josh703; I am impressed by what I read online about this school. I will have to check it out further and do more research but one thing I can tell you is that they have a wealth of information on their website including everything you need if you want to apply to the school for Fall 2014 along with just about everything you need if you are accepted. Unbelievable, some of the US schools really need to take a page out of this book. I looked up this school right after I posted my question to you and right now after 15 minutes of research I have a folder on this school with enough information to make a small book. The only information left to find out is the audition time!</p>
<p>Most interesting of all is that this program has a one year postgraduate program; MA acting for stage, screen, and radio. Incredible training it seems on paper. So if you decided to continue on and are chosen for this program you essentially would have your BA and MA in acting in four years. Unbelievable. I am done talking.</p>
<p>If anyone has direct knowledge about this school please feel free to chime in. I would love to hear from you.</p>
<p>“josh703; Please share what it was specifically that you liked so much about the training style at Guildhall. Also, did you take a gap year this year? Just wondered because I thought Guildhall was one of the summer programs where you have to be 18 to attend. Could have been RADA, my apologies if I have it wrong. You do not have to announce your age Just wondered. I really wish we would have looked more into these schools prior to this summer so my daughter could have checked out one of the summer programs but…She did have the opportunity to attend BUTSI this summer which was a wonderful program, thank you to all of those who recommended it”</p>
<pre><code> I feel the training at Guildhall and at least my understanding of the other major schools in the UK provides a large focus on words and the technical skills required for Acting. In the US, most of the methodologies are very much focused on psychology. Feeling emotion and emoting: different approaches to manufacturing emotion, be it a Meisner repetition exercise or a Grotowski movement based approach for example. For me, it always seemed like I was trying to force myself to feel and almost guilting myself into believing that these methods were helping.
At Guildhall, most of the focus is on the words. A lot of time is spent on throwing away any preconceived notions you have of the text and just simply speaking the words. There is a great amount of work on playing the punctuation in a script. A lot of focus was spent on Voice work as well as movement to get your body (aka your instrument) to the best place it can be so you can just let the text take you where it wants to go. It's acting without really acting. At Guildhall there is a huge emphasis on ensemble, which I absolutely loved and it's all about being generous and connecting with your scene partners and really being present. If you want to get a better sense of some of the training I'd suggest reading
<pre><code> It’s a lot easier to talk about it than write and I hope that answered some of your questions/made any sense whatsoever. If you have other questions feel free to private message me or email me through the site.
I am one of those pesky summer birthday guys so I had turned 18 a couple of days before the course. I am going into my senior year of high school. I actually did BUSTI last summer, loved the program and I learned a lot, again another school with a great ensemble emphasis. As for US programs I'm going to apply to Juilliard, Carnegie Mellon, CalArts, Minnesota/Guthrie, North Carolina School of the Arts, and Atlantic Acting School.
<p>Thank you for the explanation of the fundamental difference in UK and US approaches to acting. I’ve heard people try to explain it, but yours made the most sense and was the most succinct and clear of any I’ve heard!</p>
<p>My daughter (a hs junior) is on her way back from a summer at RADA, which has clearly changed her life. She feels she finally found acting teachers who “got” her and who could help her develop a process that works for her, and now really wants to go to London for college in 2 years. A long way to go and a lot of lucky breaks needed for that, of course!</p>
<p>But just wanted to say thank you for weighing in here – very helpful! And I’m checking out the books you linked to!</p>
<p>Just wanted to add that I’ll be attending that MA acting course at RWCMD that threed mentioned!
I also went to the LAMDA 4 week Shakespeare program in 2011 and absolutely loved it.</p>
<p>^Thank you so much! I’m so excited- I can’t believe I leave a month from today!
Hopefully when I get settled I can add some info here about the course/ answer questions anyone might have.</p>
<p>Here’s what I know now that I didn’t know then about LAMDA!</p>
<p>My S received an induction pack in July which included everything that he would need to know about being a student at LAMDA and what the Academy expects of their students. This included the Academy’s regulations, general info on finding housing (websites with listings and letting agents), transportation, healthcare, what to pack for the weather, travel expenses, how to find funding and visa requirements.</p>
<p>As for summer break, I am not sure what acting opportunities are available or if there are any. It seems that a lot of students go on vacation or stay in London to work (non-acting). The Academy’s regulations states that “students are expected to devote their whole attention and work time to the Academy’s Course. They are not to undertake outside professional or amateur engagements during term time without the Principal’s/Course Director’s written approval, nor engage in outside employment in other areas during term time where it might impede their studies.” Term starts late Sept and ends mid July with breaks for winter (1 month) and spring (1 month).</p>
<p>Once you have accepted a place and send in your deposit, they will apply for your CAS (confirmation of acceptance for studies). Once you receive this you can apply for your visa. This is the part that scared me the most, lol but it wasn’t that bad. It is a lot of information to read but necessary in insuring that you are applying for the right kind. Once we filled out all of the forms, registered his biometrics and mailed everything, it took less than two weeks to receive the visa.</p>
<p>That’s all I can think of right now but I hope I have answered some of the questions that many may have been wondering about!</p>
I’m so excited- I can’t believe I leave a month from today!