Just wondering-- Did anyone here audition for RCS at NYC or Chicago Unifieds? If so-- How’d it go?
My S auditioned yesterday. They were very friendly and pleasant. He went in the room and they introduced themselves. They asked him to sit down and began discussing his application. I guess many students walked in and so had no application on file so the interviews were quite different.
My S had already applied as this is one of his top preferences. After a few questions about his application details they told him that he could begin at any time. One of the auditors said he would record the audition and then came the monos. After he did the monos, there were some questions about the what was happening in the monos specifically about the contemporary one. They then asked more questions about him as an artist and what his goals were. They also asked about his desire to live in Glasgow and whether he had ever visited Scotland.
One thing that my S noticed was that the area of the interview was fairly noisy as the attendants outside were talking loud and laughing and just kind of unprofessional. At times when the auditors were speaking they looked a bit annoyed that they had to talk so loudly just so they could carry on a conversation. In one of his monos, there was this loud yelling outside right by the door, as I was sitting right there, I knew that it was the two attendants overseeing the registration and one of their friends. Not cool. The auditors were great! they just told him to keep going but they did look a bit annoyed.
In all he felt it went well and thought that the auditors were quite casual. He commented that they were so informal that he didn’t feel that heart pounding sensation and hoped that the ruckus outside didn’t impact what was happening in the room.
Did your son audition for Acting or MT? My son’s audition was recorded too, and quite casual. The auditors had him change things up… I think they wanted to see how quickly he adapted to their input. That’s too bad about the interruptions… I can understand how disconcerting that might be.
Let me know if you have any Qs about the MT program, or Glasgow in general. Good luck to your son.
I was there yesterday as well; they seemed rushed and discombobulated because their flights had been moved up. They changed the dance call from 5pm to 3:15 but didn’t notify you until you showed up at your audition time.
Probably not indicative of anything except the crazy schedules we were all faced with this week.
@SU88BFA my S auditioned for Acting. They gave some directions to S as well. He really enjoyed meeting them and hearing about the school. I don’t think they had much control over the attendants and really it didn’t reflect on the school or the auditors. They were really nice and did a great job talking about the school. This week has been crazy, I’m just glad its all over! Best of luck to yours as well!
While searching for RCS info I came upon the old (2009) thread, where one of the posts said:
" Our son attends the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) and three out of the four kids from the USA in his Freshman class of (22) total are from Interlochen. There are other Interlochen kids at the school. RSAMD recruits at Interlochen as they know that the students are prepared and mature enough to go to school overseas. Myt son says that they get good acting training. "
Is this still the case and most of the USA kids at RCS have Interlochen background :(?
My son is a first-year MT student at RCS. His class has 18 kids in it-- of which 5 are Americans (2 boys/3 girls). Out of those 5, only 1-- the other boy-- went to Interlochen. I don’t know the students from any of the other classes or majors.
Thanks @SU88BFE!
Hello everyone, I’d like to ask if getting into the RCS (BA Acting) requires previous experience or some acting school degree? Also, I am 24, does that make it harder to pass an audition? Not much of experience in acting, but would definitely like to try. Any suggestion/tips are welcome. Thanks
RCS is like the other schools on this forum-- you need to be a high school grad. You also need to be very prepared at your audition. By no means is RCS a safety/fallback school. It’s very competitive. My son tells me that several kids in his class have auditioned for RCS for several years before getting in. So, that would make them in their early 20s. There are many “older” students there, in all of the disciplines.
I have a question that I’m hoping someone who’s child goes to RCS could answer. My daughter has an acceptance to Royal Welsh (and is wait listed at CMU) for acting, not MT. If she doesn’t get into CMU which is her first choice, she is really leaning towards Royal Welsh. I realize this is a RCS thread but there’s a lot more discussion about RCS than Welsh and my question is more UK generic. We keep hearing from the cc board in general that the UK schools are a bad idea because the kids can’t work there and then will have no connections in the US. Did those of you with kids at RCS worry about that? Thanks.
@kjd111 - My son is a first year MT at RCS. Yes, it is true that the kids can only stay in the UK for 4 months after graduation, unless they get work and are classified as an “exceptional talent” on a work visa. (Supposedly very difficult to get.) The connections to the US are few-- but many kids intern during the summers (in the US) to try to get those connections. There are more and more US students graduating from RCS and coming back to the States, so they’ve got those alumni. RCS makes great effort to put on a NYC Showcase for the American students. Summer stock work is difficult to get because of the 1+ month difference in school schedule (end of Sept to mid June)
Our son knew all of these things going into this RCS adventure. We weighed all pros and cons with the schools he got into here in the States and he still made the decision to go to RCS. Training there is excellent. Glasgow is affordable, compared to London area schools. (Not sure about area around Royal Welsh). He will graduate in 3 years with a BA.
What REALLY were the reasons he chose RCS? 1. The experience of living in Scotland/UK for 3 years. 2. Not wanting to have regret later in life saying to himself…“What if… I really wish I had…” How many people really get the chance to live overseas for more than 1 semester? Travel to Europe during breaks? They’re once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to have. And when you’re 18-- Well, go for it! Isn’t part of being an actor drawing from life experiences? He’s getting those.
If he’s to become successful later on in life, it’s going to be his talent that carries him through-- not the school he graduated from. (Yes, I know, school and connections can help… that topic is a whole other thread…)
To answer your last few Qs: Going to any school is not a bad idea-- it’s what you make it of and what you learn from it. Does he worry about after graduation? Well. of course-- don’t all the kids? If Royal Welsh feels the the right place for your D, then maybe it is.