Transferring to the U.S to study Theatre from the UK

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

Hi everyone, hope your summer has been great.

I’m hoping to find some more likeminded people here in the Theatre forum, as a previous post in an alternative place garnered some cruel responses and downright disheartening statements.

So… my story is this. I’m a 19 (almost 20) year old British female, who has just finished her freshman year at the University of Edinburgh, studying International Relations. However, my true passion has always been performance. I had a bit of a rough time at high school identity wise (who doesn’t) and decided that my self-confidence was too low to consider applying to drama school in the UK, and instead I followed the grain and applied to university with the intention of completing a BA and then applying for an MA in Acting post grad.

However, things didn’t quite work out the way I wanted them to, and my time at Edinburgh was shrouded with deep regret and anxiety; whilst I watched as my peers were doing things that made them happy at college, I was stuck somewhere I didn’t feel I belonged. I remained academically average through out my time at Edinburgh, finishing with a 2:1 (somewhere between a B and an A). I struggled significantly with poor mental health towards the end of my academic year and decided, in agreement with the university, that it would be best for me to take a leave of absence for a year.

I spent my summer in New York, acting in an amazing program and finally had the courage to stand up and say “this is what I want to do and I’ll do everything in my power to get it”.

We come to today: I’ve decided to apply to theatre schools in the U.S, with a mixture of BA and BFA programs lined up. Of course, however, I am classified as a transfer student for the majority of these schools (though I believe schools such as CMU, BU and UMich require you to complete 4 years anyway).

I received relatively negative responses from other forums, saying that my mental health was not a “hook” for schools and that I shouldn’t bother because acting school is notoriously hard to get into. As if I didn’t already know that!

So I’m here looking for anyone willing to talk with my about my situation, if they know someone who has experienced a similar situation or just want to share their two cents! Please restore my faith in these forum’s being friendly communities :slight_smile:

Thanks for reading! And to anyone who has children or is attending drama school this year I wish you the best of luck and congratulations!

X

2

I am so sorry that you have had negatives experiences on other forums. I would like to think we are a more inviting bunch here… at least we are all supportive of the idea of a career in the arts!

I am confused as to what you mean about mental health as a hook… could you explain that further?

How do you plan to handle auditions? Do you intend to come over for unifieds? Or via video? You said you enjoyed your program in New York, are there particular areas of the US you are/are not interested in?

The more we know, the more advice we can offer

3

Hi toowonderful! Thanks for your kind words. It’s been pretty disheartening on here.

Essentially, I explained in one of my initial posts that I will have to mention the reason I left my previous university was due to mental health, as that was the reason why I was granted a leave of absence from Edinburgh in good academic standing. People seemed to construe this as me wanting to use my mental health issues as a way of getting in to schools! I by no means meant that at all, I was never intending to even mention my mental health on the entirety of my application, but was rather mentioning that it might be mentioned by Edinburgh to highlight why I left and why my grades were lower in the second semester.

I will be attending the Unifieds in New York I think, and then travelling to a couple of individual schools to audition as I’d like to see some of the campuses (UMich in particular I’d like to see). I am by no means restricted to New York, rather I just was inspired by the theatre scene there and realised I would love to study in the US!

4

bump ! would love some more advice :slight_smile:

5

The good news is - that depending on the schools/programs you are looking into academics may or may not play into things - so many BFA programs are “all about” the auditions.

Have you considered an acting conservatory like Stella Adler, AMDA etc - those might give you another option. Or are you specifically looking for a university degree?

6

Most Acting programs (but there are always exceptions - not all of them!) will have you start as a freshman, because specific classes are taken each year. It is not uncommon to have older students as freshman in Acting programs. If you want a degree, it sounds like you have a list of programs you will be auditioning for. Do you have at least one non-audition safety where you would be happy?

Hopefully you’ve read through the Acting forum threads going back at least a year - so much good information can be found here! The Musical Theatre forum also has a lot of information - many of us cross over between the 2.

Best of luck to you, and if you have any questions, ask - people in the Theatre and Musical Theatre groups are nice!