Course Outline
This course lasts for nine terms, which may vary in length from eleven to twelve weeks.

The three year BA in Acting is a training for students who wish to earn a living working not only in the more traditional outlets but also in the many alternative areas of theatre, film, television and radio. It is an arduous course with a minimum working day of 9am to 6.30pm with individual classes in the evening. When public performances take place the working day can be from 10am to 11pm. Students are continuously assessed and regular feedback sessions with individual tutors are an integral feature of the course. The objective of the actors’ training is to encourage development of individual skills at the highest level and to utilize those skills in contributing to the development of the group.

The course divides itself roughly into two parts: intensive work on individual skills, and the application of those skills to work on group projects and productions for public performance. The individual work is on voice, movement and physical skills. In voice, you have the opportunity to develop projection, range, clarity, strength and flexibility, without losing your individual characteristics of speech. The study of dialect and phonetics
enables mastery of new, perhaps unfamiliar, speech patterns. Rudiments of music are taught and you have individual singing lessons. A complex of movement skills, combining group work and individual classes in Alexander Technique, forms the basis for interpretative expression and the ordered movement of armed and unarmed combat and dance. Movement and voice are brought together as the course develops.In the second year, you are also taught radio, television and filming techniques. Throughout the course, professional links are established through a series of lectures and workshops on career enhancement, information and guidance.

The course is flexible enough to allow changes of emphasis according to the needs of a particular group. In your final year, you will benefit from the RADA Buddy mentoring scheme. This scheme aims to facilitate and support your transition from student to professional actor, through a graduate support system. Your graduate Buddies will provide professional advice, feedback and networking opportunities for you throughout your final year and in the early stages of your professional career.

“EVERY DAY IS DIFFICULT – I THINK WE WOULD QUESTION IT IF IT
WASN’T – BUT IT’S THE HARDEST DAYS THAT PROMPT THE
BIGGEST BREAKTHROUGHS”
LEAH WHITAKER
FINAL YEAR STUDENT BA IN ACTING

During the first term, you are introduced to Stanislavsky-based acting exercises, alongside your vocal and physical skills classes. In the subsequent terms you go on to explore the application of your developing
skills in a series of ‘in-house’ presentations of texts, including:

• 19th and 20th century realist plays
• Shakespeare
• Style/Tragedy
• Style/Comedy

The strong classical element in the training is complemented by classes involving improvisation, devising and contemporary text. During the third year, you work with a number of guest directors drawn fromthe profession.

Public Productions
Your first opportunity to perform in front of the public occurs at the end of the summer term of the second year. You will work with a professional director on a production for young audiences, staged in one of RADA’s own theatres and also toured to primary or secondary schools. In the course of your final year you will spend the majority of your time rehearsing and performing in professionally directed productions staged in our three
in-house theatres. You will be offered the opportunity to play a wide range of characters and roles in plays of different periods and styles, as well as as in at least one film and one radio play

The RADA Tree
The Tree performance by final year students takes place in April each year and is directed by Academy Associate Director Geoff Bullen.You are given the opportunity to choose your own material and present two contrasting pieces to an invited audience of agents, casting directors and industry professionals.
Graduates from this course have gone on to achieve success in theatre (including National Theatre, RSC, Royal Court, Theatre Royal Drury Lane and Shakespeare’s Globe), television (including BBC, ITV and Channel 4),
film (eg Harry Potter, Venus, The Chronicles of Narnia, Pirates of The Caribbean) and BBC radio and to forge careers in alternative arenas such as directing, writing and teaching.

For general information on entry requirements and admissions, click here

Admissions
• Late applications will not be considered under any circumstances
• Intake of up to 34 students in September each year
• Auditions run from late October until June, with an option of auditioning in London, Manchester or New York

• Candidates auditioning in Manchester should be prepared to attend subsequent recalls and workshops in
London if required
• A list of audition guidance notes will be sent to all applicants
• It is a lengthy and rigorous audition process and may span several months
• Candidates may be called for an audition at short notice
• Candidates may only apply for the BA in Acting once per academic year

Audition Procedure
1. Preliminary audition – October to April
2. Recall audition – December to May
3. Short evening workshop (6pm-9pm)
4. Workshop day (9am-6pm)

“MY RADA TRAINING IS THE BEDROCK OF MY ACTING LIFE. IT ALLOWED ME TO CHANGE FROM ONE KIND OF PERSON TO ANOTHER. THERE IS NOT A JOB GOES BY WHEN I DO NOT RELY ON IT”

FIONA SHAW
ACTING GRADUATE 1982

1. Preliminary Audition
Candidates must perform two pieces of their own choosing, neither of which may be longer than THREE MINUTES. One piece must be a monologue from any play by Shakespeare or other Elizabethan/Jacobean
playwright, the other a monologue from any play by a modern author. Only one of the two pieces may be a direct address to the audience. All candidates should have an alternative classical piece prepared.
This may or may not be called upon.

2. Recall Audition
Speeches presented at the preliminary audition are repeated at the recall audition, unless candidates have been recommended to prepare a new audition piece. They are also required to sing a prepared unaccompanied song.

3. Short Workshop
A three hour workshop, often in the evening, where students follow a carousel of classes:
• Shakespeare scene work
• Chekhov scene work
• Work on audition speeches

4. Workshop day
This is the final stage and all candidates are required to prepare a new audition speech of their choice, either classical or modern.

New York Auditions
Candidates can attend auditions in New York and this can be indicated on the application form. The New York auditions usually take place during a week in March and are administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in New York. Applicants will be notified of the time and place of their audition by the IIE,
to whom an audition fee of $100.00 will then be payable, in addition to the registration fee payable to RADA. Candidates opting for the New York auditions should ensure that they are available for a recall on the same day if required. Candidates may also be requested to attend a workshop in London at a later date.

“THE ATMOSPHERE IS RELAXED AND FRIENDLY WITH A STRONG SENSE OF COMMITMENT, DEDICATION AND CARE FROM BOTH STAFF AND STUDENTS ALIKE”

DEE CANNON
ACTING TEACHER

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