That's my goal

Recently I've been thinking about what I'd like to have achieved in the next 12 months, and I thought it might be a good idea to come up with a list on here so that there's no avoiding it! Hopefully, in a years time I'll be able to look back on this list and think about all that I've accomplished. So without further ado:


1.Get into drama school
This is the big one, obviously there are no guarantees with the application process but I am trying/hoping/praying that this year will be my year

2.Do the splits- both sides and box splits! 
I'm taking dance classes and attempting to improve my rather limited flexibility as we speak. Gonna get there eventually!

3.Run a half marathon
Given that I struggle to do parkrun, this is currently looking less likely than me getting into every school I apply to. But I guess it's good to have dreams!

4.Get 2000 views on this blog
I'm already so chuffed with the number of you who've been reading, and to reach that goal would be absolutely amazing
- Achievement unlocked 30/4/15!
Genuinely so moved by the number of you who have followed this journey with me, thank you so so much! 

5.Become a half decent dancer
Not asking for any miracles here, just hoping that at some point I'll feel less like an elephant with an ingrown toenail when I'm at ballet...

6.Be paid to act

I've been to a fair few pro auditions, and it would be amazing if just one of these could actually translate into some work!

7.Become a semi-proficient musician (again)
For those of you currently unaware, I was once a pretty good pianist but in recent years I've let myself go. A lot. I really ought to try and get those skills back, who knows- they might help me get a job one day!

8.Be content with where I am
This is another big one, and I know it's pretty vague. I can't help but feel at the moment, that my life is on hold waiting for the results of another application cycle. I hope that, in a year's time, I'll feel like my life is slightly less directionless and that I'll be making some progress towards my dream career.

I'm going to publish this post, and then not look at it until either
a) the date is 27/10/2015 or
b) I accomplish one of my goals and get to strike it off the list!

Fingers crossed, I'll be back here before the end of the 12 months!

Yours faithfully,
the post-grad app

Sing!

It's fairly obvious that if you're applying for a Musical Theatre course you're going to have to sing, but it's worth remembering that you'll have to sing during parts of the audition process for straight acting too. With that in mind, I'd like to run through some basic do's and don't s for picking songs for auditions.

• DO pick a song you enjoy performing. You're going to have to rehearse it and perform it A LOT so don't pick something you hate or are immediately going to become sick of
• DON'T pick a song that is inappropriate for you. If you're a young teen auditioning for  NYMT, please recognise that singing "Not A Day Goes By" from "Merrily We Roll Along" might very well make you look like you don't understand your casting type. It just won't be believable that you could have the experiences that the character had. Likewise, if you're not an 8 year old girl, don't sing "Tomorrow".
• DO pick a song with a character journey- acting through song is amazing! This is particularly important if you're conscious that you might not be the best singer out there as it gives you a chance to show off your acting chops through song. There are lots of songs that are great for character singers so do some research and find one that suits you. 
• DON'T turn up without appropriately laid out sheet music (Yes, I have seen this happen...the offending person was promptly told off by the drama school panel). I am a pianist as well, and playing the piano is quite enough to do without having to keep track of loose pieces of paper. Also, remember to bring your music in the first place- don't just assume the pianist will know it (Yes, I have seen this. Multiple times. Sigh)
• DO pick off a song that shows what you can do technically. If you have a fantastic range, find a song that really shows it off rather than just sitting in one place. Likewise, if you have a great belt or some fantastic top notes, find songs that incorporate them. If you got it, flaunt it!
• DON'T pick a song which is out of your range. If you aren't comfortable hitting the money note in a song, don't risk singing it! It really is awful to hear someone sing a song with a well known money note and abruptly miss it (Vanilla Ice Cream, I Could Have Danced All Night, Green Finch and Linnet Bird etc.)
• DO read the instructions. Whether you're auditioning for drama school, a professional production or an amateur show there will be some indication of what you need to prepare. If they say to prepare 2 contrasting songs of your own choice, make sure you do! I have seen people turn up to auditions having only prepared 1 and it makes you look like you can't read, which is hardly ideal. If a show tells you not to sing something from the show then don't sing something from the show. I know this seems like a fairly obvious point but I always see someone who has ignored the instructions at auditions- make sure it's not you!
• DON'T belt an entire song. Yes you have a wonderful belt, we get it! But when you belt an entire song it gets very boring, very fast. Make sure you have somewhere to go in the song vocally.
• DO have a safe song prepared that you know you can sing if you've lost half your range. Unfortunately illness often strikes at the crucial moment so make sure you have an emergency song that you know you can nail if you have lost your voice. Vocal rest is obviously the best thing for you in these situations, but I recognise that if you have an audition date that cannot be changed sometimes you have to sing. Better to minimise the damage by singing a song you won't hurt yourself singing; if you try and sing a harder song whilst ill, it may sound terrible anyway so don't risk it!
• DON'T focus too much on what you think the other actors will audition with. Focus on making your song your own, and then if someone else does happen to sing it, your versions will be distinguishable from one another. Own it.

That's all I have for the moment, if you're interested I could write a bit more about specific shows/songs to avoid in a later post, but I hope this one has been helpful! As always, feel free to let me know if I can help you at all!

Until next time!

Yours faithfully,
the postgrad-app

Thank you for the music

I know that some of my readers may be slightly perplexed by the way I have discussed my experience and applications for both musical theatre and straight acting. The two are fairly distinct areas of performance, and if I'm completely honest, I've only just become certain of what I see myself doing.

Most of my performing experience is in straight theatre, but I've always been drawn to musicals. For a while I thought the sensible thing for me to do would be to train in straight acting then try to make the leap from straight acting to working in musicals, but I suddenly became aware that this wasn't really what I wanted to do.

My lightbulb moment came, when I thought about all my dream roles and realised that the vast majority were in musicals. If I want to work predominantly in musical theatre, then it makes no sense to train in something else. I know that singing and movement are integral part of straight acting courses, but given the specific nature of musical theatre I know it is far better to train on a course where I can immerse myself in developing the three core skills as much as possible, and become a true triple threat.

With that in mind, I am going to only be applying to one year MT courses, with one notable exception. I'm still in love with the two year acting course at LAMDA and so will be applying there as well...in the extremely unlikely situation that I get into LAMDA and one of my MT courses, I will have a very difficult decision to make!

Right now, the shortlist is looking like (in no particular order) : GSA, Mountview, LAMDA, LSMT and RAM. I would love to apply for more, but given how expensive it is, I am somewhat restricted.

Thank you to my readers so far, I've been bowled away that people are actually reading my angsty-actor rambles (outside of my family)! If you have any suggestions for things you'd like me to write about then just let me know!

Until next time!
Yours faithfully,
the postgrad-app

Dealing with rejection

This post was particularly hard for me to write. As much as I would love to be able to tell you to that after each audition you simply have to put that job to the back of your mind and forget about it, I'm all too aware that in reality it's just not that easy.

I tweeted the above, nearly a month ago and so far those auditions have translated into a big fat nothing. This shouldn't be alarming to me  (and it isn't) but unfortunately I let one of those auditions get to me. I can't put my finger on exactly what happened that made this job so hard to let go of, but I think it was a combination of a few things:

1)It was the first audition I had had in months (and I mean literally months)

2)It was an audition to play a real historical character

3)It was an audition for the kind of part I never normally get seen for, and probably won't anytime soon! 

4)The person auditioned me assured me I would be contacted within a week, at the latest

To be honest it was probably the last of those that got to me most. I accept that people are busy, but don't make promises about contacting me by a certain time if you can't do it! Eventually I found out it was a no over a week past the "deadline", by which point I had accepted it was probably going to be the case. I actually find it easier when you're told at an audition, or a job interview, that you will hear back by a certain point if you're successful (or not if you aren't). This enables me to forget a lot more easily and get on with my life! My frustration about this job has now passed, and I've been to other auditions since and am keeping busy.

My top tips for anyone in a similar situation are:

1) Keep busy, it'll keep your mind off it! Watch a film, read a book, go for a walk or look for more work. Whatever works for you

2)Don't constantly refresh your e-mails, it's only going to drive you mad when you've received nothing but spam!

3)Don't beat yourself up over it. Enjoy your audition as a performance in itself, but always be ready to accept that the role doesn't always go to the best actor, but often to the person the auditioner thinks is best for the role. It's extremely important to remember that these two aren't the same!

I hope this entry has been helpful to some of you out there, until next time!

Yours faithfully,

The postgrad app