Drama School Audition Classes in London: Why You Should Start Before Your Audition

What are drama schools actually looking for?

Audition requirements vary by course and school, and no outsider can tell you exactly what every panel wants. But strong preparation should cover more than learning your lines.

Can you listen properly to the person you're speaking to? Do you understand what's at stake for the character? Can you make clear choices, then change those choices when a director asks you to try something different?

Those are skills worth practising whatever drama school you're applying to.

Try this. Take a monologue you already know and perform it once with the aim of confronting the person opposite you. Then perform it again as though you desperately need that same person to like you. Keep the words exactly the same.

Notice how the pace, emphasis and moments of silence change when you're actually trying to get something from another person. That's much more useful than deciding beforehand which line you're going to shout.

Why a weekly class makes a difference

A one-off workshop can be brilliant, particularly if you need a fresh pair of eyes on your material. But it's hard to build confidence and flexibility in one afternoon.

In a regular class, you get the chance to try things, make mistakes, receive direction and come back the following week having worked on it. You also watch other actors explore the same problems, which can be just as useful as doing the work yourself.

A good drama-school preparation programme should help with:

• Classical and contemporary monologues and choosing suitable material.
• Understanding character, objectives, relationships and changes in a scene.
• Responding to direction without freezing.
• Self-tapes, eyelines and working with a reader.
• Interviews and speaking honestly about why you want to train.
• Performing in front of people without becoming trapped by nerves.

You should gradually reach a point where the audition room feels familiar enough that you can concentrate on the acting.

Learn from actors who have recently been through it

One of the things we're most passionate about is who teaches our classes.

Our tutors are working actors with recent training at leading drama schools, including LAMDA and ArtsEd, and professional experience across theatre, television and film. They can speak from experience about preparing for auditions, adjusting to full-time training and entering the industry afterwards.

That's valuable because the acting world changes. Advice from ten or twenty years ago isn't always wrong, but hearing from people who have recently trained and are working now gives you a useful additional perspective.

We combine group work with regular 1-to-1 mentoring, and our students can develop their camera technique with access to self-tape equipment. You get individual feedback without losing the energy of working alongside other performers.

Do I need experience before I come?

You don't need a professional credit or the perfect Shakespeare speech to start. Some people arrive already knowing which schools they want to apply for. Others are still working out whether a conservatoire or a university acting course would suit them.

What matters more is being willing to have a go and take feedback seriously.

If you're nervous about your first class, bring a short piece of material you know reasonably well and be honest about what you're struggling with. Nobody benefits from pretending to be further along than they are.

What should I do this week?

Start small. Choose one school you're interested in, read its official audition guidance, then find a published play that interests you. Read more than just the monologue. Film a rough version of a speech on your phone and watch it back.

Ask yourself: was I talking to someone, or was I just performing at the camera?

If you want a more complete plan, our 12-week drama-school audition preparation guide takes you through the process.

Come and try a class in Islington

We're a new, small and passionate team, and we genuinely believe we're building a useful place for young actors to prepare for drama school. We want people to join a session, meet the tutors and decide for themselves.

Our weekly class in Islington is designed primarily for ages 16+, with monologues, audition technique, self-tapes, interviews and individual mentoring all part of the work.

If drama school is something you're aiming for, we'd love you to come along and give it a try. We'll take your ambition seriously and work hard to help you improve.

See the Wednesday drama-school class and express your interest.