My Plans
I plan to go into higher education to help build my skills as a performer. Through UCAS I have applied to three schools:
- University of Arts London (drama centre)
- Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
- University of Essex (east 15)
- Rose Bruford College
Friday 12th October
started UCAS process
re-doing personal statement
- too much detail in the experience
- not enough extra-curricular
- add a conclusion
Thursday 22nd November
Session at YATI
Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare monologue)
Goodbye Charles (Contemporary monologue)
Pros + Cons of Higher Education
\https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/pros-cons-performing-arts-degree-according-experts-2566/
PROS
- A degree is representative of something larger.
One reason that people decide to go to drama school or university for training in the acting industry is because a degree can give an actor a, sort of, prejudice status (especially from a renowned school, such as Julliard). This is because degrees from schools shows agents and producers that one has had extra training. This help producers pick out who is best for their production. It also shows how one has matured in the industry, while also adding to their skills set making an actor more versatile. Actor and producer, Joanne Baron, says ‘Personally, I have always thought that a college degree was more than the degree itself. It represents a time to mature and grow and take a variety of courses that enhance an actor’s skill set.’ What I believe she is saying here is that a degree is proof of one's commitment to the industry because in a degree course there is rarely only one type of class that one would be taking, for example, if on an acting course, it is not uncommon for one to have movement classes as well as acting classes. This builds up a heftier skill set making that actor more desirable than one who is self taught.
Another pro of attending Higher education and obtaining a degree in performing arts is that degrees help in either other parts of the industry or outside the industry. Harvey Young, a professor of theatre at Northwestern University,IL says ' A theatre degree prepares a person to enter the business of creating art'. I believe that what the professor is saying is that performing arts training outside of degrees only teach the show part of show business instead of mixing the two, which doesn't prepare a performer for some of the struggles of the industry / real world. Another Pro that relates to this is that degrees in performing arts don't just lead into the acting industry (especially drama and theatre studies). For example, a performing arts degree directly relates to being an actor, or a dancer, but the degree is also useful in other occupations including:
- Drama therapist
- Community arts worker
- Broadcast presenter
- teacher (secondary,further and higher education)
Having this ability to branch out is very beneficial because if a performer doesn't have an agent it is quite hard to find work in their field of expertise, so for those times of 'quietness' it is good to have another source of income to keep a stable lifestyle.
CONS
- Neither will make or break you. (waste of time)
- College is not the only place where you can study performance.
- A degree in no way guarantees work.
skills audit
Before college
- confidence - the ability to be self assured and appreciate the skills I have
- teamwork and collaboration - the ability to work cooperatively in a group situation
- an open mind - the ability to move beyond boundaries and experiment with different ideas
- communication skills - the ability to clearly communicate ideas with both he audience and other cast members
- time management - the ability to organise my time well so i had time for rehearsals and relaxation time
After first year
- self-presentation
- organisational skills
- spacial awareness
- self-discipline
- analytical, critical and research skills
- the ability to cope with criticism and learn from it
Personal Statement
I have found that through performing arts I have learnt to be more confident in myself and my
skills. It has always been a subject that interests me because it gives me a release from the
real world for a while. Before I started my journey in the world of Performing, I had very low
self-esteem, but through acting, I was able to not be myself for a while which actually made
me feel better about myself.
The area of Performing arts that interests me the most is Film, both the acting side and the
production side of a film-making. This is because I feel like Film is more influential,
especially to younger people. Through research I have found that children aged 5-16 spend an
average of 6 and a half hours a day in front of a screen. This means that film/performing arts
will help me to meet my target to be a positive influence on younger people.
I started off my Dramatic journey through drama in St.Edwards C of E primary school where, in
year 5, I joined my first drama club. During that year we put on a production of 'Robin Hood',
I Played the part of Little John (one of the three merry men). From there I was hooked because
of all the praise I got from parents and teachers watching the play.
I took on many different characters and roles in many different productions in my time at
school and College (including productions outside of education), this includes musicals such
as Hairspray (in which I had a lead role) and Oliver Twist. It also includes theatre plays
such as Romeo and Juliet and Fugee (in which I also had a lead role). My most crucial
performance (the one where I learnt the most and boosted my desire to get a career in the
world of performance) was for the Shakespeare school festival. For a college project, we
performed a shortened version of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' at the Shaw Theatre. I
played the part of Romeo so I had to get a little out of my comfort zone for this production.
We decided to make this production as real as possible, including the kissing (this was a
hurdle). Since I had never kissed either inside or outside of performing arts, I had to go
through it and learn new skills in the process. I believe my dedication to this show was
something that made my performance much more believable. I was even congratulated after the
performance for how believable it was. I have also performed in multiple theatres such as the
Donmar and the Brentwood Theatre. Being a part of these plays taught me a lot of things but
also helped improve skills I already possessed. For example, having the lead role in some of
the productions was hard for me because sometimes I had to do things which I would not
normally do (mainly in Romeo and Juliet and Fugee), but since I am committed to the arts I
choose to release myself and totally give in to my character. At times I had to bring myself
into my character to make the play a lot more believable. Being in these productions also
taught me that being an ensemble character can be just as important as being a lead. This is
because the ensemble as a whole creates the atmosphere of the play. When I was an ensemble
character, my skill of reacting to situations was in play while when I was a lead character my
skill of leading was in play.
In my free time, I mostly enjoy helping people through multiple forms of creative work. This
includes teaching basic editing skills to children, teens and volunteering as a helper at
Digilab. Digilab is a Technology Hub for young people to learn a vast range of digital skills
such as Coding, Adobe Photoshop, Film-making, Social media, and digital marketing whilst
learning to build their interpersonal skills. I also enjoy a lot of performance related
pastimes, such as being part of the Camden Youth Theatre and being a YouTuber, I have taken
time off youtube to start writing scripts for short films, I would like to work on in the
future. These pastimes have helped me to pick up skills like time management, creative writing
and social skills.
skills. It has always been a subject that interests me because it gives me a release from the
real world for a while. Before I started my journey in the world of Performing, I had very low
self-esteem, but through acting, I was able to not be myself for a while which actually made
me feel better about myself.
The area of Performing arts that interests me the most is Film, both the acting side and the
production side of a film-making. This is because I feel like Film is more influential,
especially to younger people. Through research I have found that children aged 5-16 spend an
average of 6 and a half hours a day in front of a screen. This means that film/performing arts
will help me to meet my target to be a positive influence on younger people.
I started off my Dramatic journey through drama in St.Edwards C of E primary school where, in
year 5, I joined my first drama club. During that year we put on a production of 'Robin Hood',
I Played the part of Little John (one of the three merry men). From there I was hooked because
of all the praise I got from parents and teachers watching the play.
I took on many different characters and roles in many different productions in my time at
school and College (including productions outside of education), this includes musicals such
as Hairspray (in which I had a lead role) and Oliver Twist. It also includes theatre plays
such as Romeo and Juliet and Fugee (in which I also had a lead role). My most crucial
performance (the one where I learnt the most and boosted my desire to get a career in the
world of performance) was for the Shakespeare school festival. For a college project, we
performed a shortened version of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' at the Shaw Theatre. I
played the part of Romeo so I had to get a little out of my comfort zone for this production.
We decided to make this production as real as possible, including the kissing (this was a
hurdle). Since I had never kissed either inside or outside of performing arts, I had to go
through it and learn new skills in the process. I believe my dedication to this show was
something that made my performance much more believable. I was even congratulated after the
performance for how believable it was. I have also performed in multiple theatres such as the
Donmar and the Brentwood Theatre. Being a part of these plays taught me a lot of things but
also helped improve skills I already possessed. For example, having the lead role in some of
the productions was hard for me because sometimes I had to do things which I would not
normally do (mainly in Romeo and Juliet and Fugee), but since I am committed to the arts I
choose to release myself and totally give in to my character. At times I had to bring myself
into my character to make the play a lot more believable. Being in these productions also
taught me that being an ensemble character can be just as important as being a lead. This is
because the ensemble as a whole creates the atmosphere of the play. When I was an ensemble
character, my skill of reacting to situations was in play while when I was a lead character my
skill of leading was in play.
In my free time, I mostly enjoy helping people through multiple forms of creative work. This
includes teaching basic editing skills to children, teens and volunteering as a helper at
Digilab. Digilab is a Technology Hub for young people to learn a vast range of digital skills
such as Coding, Adobe Photoshop, Film-making, Social media, and digital marketing whilst
learning to build their interpersonal skills. I also enjoy a lot of performance related
pastimes, such as being part of the Camden Youth Theatre and being a YouTuber, I have taken
time off youtube to start writing scripts for short films, I would like to work on in the
future. These pastimes have helped me to pick up skills like time management, creative writing
and social skills.
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