A Guest Blog from Joanne Thomson with Lenka Silhanova

Apologies for my recent absence, I’ve been away on holiday in the Midlands and I thought I should do my best to have a REAL holiday. I still squeezed a blog out but normal service will resume from here.

I’m starting back with a blog post from someone else’s blog. For a few months I’ve been chatting on Twitter with the lovely Lenka Silhanova, an actress living in London. She recently started a new blog looking at -getting into drama school and I was recently interview for this blog, check it out here.

Well, recently, they interview a former student of mine, the wonderful Joanne Thomson, and I thought the answers were so encouraging to others, that I thought I should re-post it here.

Enjoy

Mark

INTERVIEW: Joanne Thomson

Joanne Thomson is currently in 1st year of the BA Acting course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (aka RSAMD). Prior to that, she trained at Acting Coach Scotland and graduated from the Acting Diploma course at Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts with Merit.

Read more about Joanne at her website www.joannethomson.co.uk or you can also follow her on twitter.

How old are you?
- I’m 20 (turning 21 in Sept)

Where are you from?
- Uddingston, just outside Glasgow. It’s where they make Tunnock’s Tea Cakes and Caramel Wafers… pow!

Where did you audition at and how was it like? Why did you chose these drama schools?
- The first year I auditioned I was 17 and I auditioned for pretty much all of the CDS drama schools. I wanted to get as much experience as possible as I was purely looking at that year as a year to try it out, I didn’t think I’d get anywhere with it. I know now that was a bit of a mistake, not only did I waste a lot of money auditioning for schools I now know really aren’t for me but I think the fact I was auditioning to so many lessened my chances in the eyes of the panel.

Although in saying that, if I hadn’t went to so many schools the first year, I wouldn’t have known now what kind of school I really want to train at. After that I reduced the amount of schools I auditioned to and in my 3rd year only applied to 2. And that was the year I got into where I wanted to go.

I went solely for CDS schools because I know they are well regarded in the industry, for me going to one that wasn’t accredited wasn’t an option. That’s not to say they aren’t beneficial, I just think you have a bit of a head start with a CDS one when it comes to working in the profession.

In my 3rd year of auditioning I went for Guildhall and RSAMD. When I auditioned previous years I felt these were the most welcoming schools. I got into RSAMD so didn’t go to my recall at Guildhall. RSAMD was my first choice because they encourage you to work and network while you’re still training. This was really important to me as I’d spent a year out working professionally and to go back into a drama school which kept you under wraps until your showcase would feel like a huge step back for me.

First time or how many years have you been auditioning for?
- This was my 4th year of auditioning. What I hate about that is that people thought it took me 4 years to get in to somewhere. It didn’t. I got several places in my 2nd year and in my 3rd but after a long hard think, I decided they weren’t right for me. Instead I took a couple of years out and decided to go it alone, see how far I could get without going to drama school. I did really well, got myself a great agent and have been working/going to auditions almost non-stop. It’s all about who you write to. Write, write, write. If you don’t get in on your first try, if you don’t get in on your 7th, don’t sit on your arse waiting for the next year, see what you can do on your own. And do it. The panel think a lot more highly of you the next year if nothing else, and who knows you might end up being in the same position as I was, turning down drama schools because you’ve got work instead!

How many people of your age were at the auditions?
- When I was 17 I found most people were older and when I was 20 I found most people to be younger. I’d say the typical range is around 18/19. The amount of people at each audition varied from each drama school. I found Central had the most people on one day. And I felt like they did that on purpose. At my audition they even said “There’s 100 people here. Probably none of you will get in, maybe two will get recalled. Good Luck.” Horses for courses, but I didn’t want to go anywhere I felt got off on how much power they have over you.

Did you find your age to be for your advantage or disadvantage?
- When I auditioned at 17 I found it to be a huge disadvantage. I kept being told to go away for a year and get some more experience etc. At the time I found this frustrating because I thought I was so ready for it. Looking back they were totally right. Although I think having matured a lot and learnt a hell of a lot more outside of drama school first has put me in a weird position. I have a lot of opinions on the way drama schools are run now, opinions that drama schools won’t necessarily like. I also know what techniques work for me and what doesn’t which is really what you go to drama school to learn.

Now I’m older and more experienced I know I won’t be as gullible and open to everything they tell me which I think is how they want you to be. But I’ve watched friends go through drama school like that and it didn’t work for them – they learnt to obey, they didn’t learn how to actually DO it. I think you need to keep in your head that when you’re out there working you are 100% on your own. If you don’t have a sound technique and a lot of graft, you won’t get anywhere.

Unless you’re one of the lucky few that get picked up for Hollywood – and that’s usually all it is – luck.

Have you done any gap years or considered applying for college/university instead first? If you studied elsewhere, what did you study and why?
- In my first year auditioning, although I got a lot of recalls, I didn’t get in anywhere on the degree. At my LIPA audition they recalled me for the 1 year Acting diploma as they didn’t feel I was ready for the degree yet. I was on the waiting list at RSAMD that year but when I didn’t get in I decided to go to Liverpool for the year. I’d been advised by lots of schools to go do more training and live away from home. They told me to do an HND but that was the same amount of contact hours as the school I was already at part time. I thought I’d push the boat out, spend £10,000 only to return on my next year of auditions and do less well than the previous year. Ouch. I still got into places, but again, they weren’t my first choices.

Now I know I hadn’t got worse – looking back, I was dire at 17 and I couldn’t possibly have gotten any worse. It was an expensive way to learn that the majority of offers are based on so many things outwith your control. Their foreign student quota (I don’t blame them – they need the money), their cast for that year’s shows, and the fact there’s just a hell lot more of you than there is places.

That said, I learnt a lot from going to LIPA, I had great teachers and an amazing experience. And if you do a course at your favourite drama school it without a doubt puts you in a better position to get in there after it. I got into the degree at LIPA the next two years and turned them down twice – which felt awful – the place was great for me. But I wanted to go somewhere else if I could. I’d made all the contacts I needed to make there. I’d learnt a lot, there was a lot more to learn but I wanted to try learning it from somewhere else. At the end of the day, you don’t just work with one director the rest of your life. You need to get used to how different people work.

What did you do to prepare yourself for the auditions? Did you go to NYT or done the bootcamps at drama schools?
- I got into NYT but didn’t go, but a lot of people regard it really highly so I’d say go for it. As I said I did the 1 year foundation at LIPA. If you are going to do a short course I’d recommend you do it at a CDS drama school (if you can afford it – DON’T spend every last penny your family have on it like I did – I feel ridiculously guilty about it). If you CAN afford it it’s a great insight into how a CDS drama school works. At LIPA we worked a lot with the 3rd years which felt like we were in our final year already. I did 1-to-1 sessions with Mark Westbrook at Acting Coach Scotland which, if you’re in Scotland, is the best 1-to-1 training there is. Even if you’re not in Scotland, it’s worth the train fare lol. He’s got a brilliant no-bullshit approach. None of this artsy fartsy telling you to “be more purple” as long as you give me 50 quid crap. He’ll help you get better, and that’s all there is to it.

IF you think you’re ready and you’ve had some sort of confirmation that you are: start writing to directors and casting directors you’re passionate about working with. If nothing else they’ll know your name for when you graduate and they’ll remember (they always remember) that you had the balls to write to them before you started training.

How long have you been preparing yourself for the auditions for?
- Ironically it got less and less each year, and I got more and more offers each year. The most important thing is KNOW YOUR LINES. Do them backwards, do them on your head, do them playing ping pong, do them watching The Only Way is Essex. Whatever. If you can’t do them then, you don’t know them well enough. Yes, you will not get penalised for forgetting them – most drama schools will even let you have a prompt in with you but still – if you know them, it leaves you a lot more freer to take direction. I’d say practice your lines till your ears are bleeding but don’t practice your speech the same way. Try and make it different each time. It’s really important you leave enough room for direction – most panels will direct you to do it in the exact opposite way you’ll have practiced it. It might make no sense but you need to be able to do it. Pick your pieces as early on as you can so you can get familiar with them. Go in with something you’re comfortable with. Take a risk with which piece you choose if you think you can pull it off but I’d say risk taking is for when you’re in the school. You don’t want to screw it up before you get that far.

Do it for your gran, your dog, your chimp, whoever. But DON’T listen to what our dog tells you. You’re dog doesn’t know shit about Shakespeare. Unless it’s Shakespeare incarnate. If you can, do it for someone who DOES know what they’re talking about. If they tell you to do something that totally jars with you and you don’t agree, don’t do it. 9 times out of 10 you’ll probably be right. And if you do choose to do it and you know it jars with you, it’ll show. Especially under audition pressure.

Where and how did you find and chose your speeches?
- Read plays. Don’t buy plays and then read them, they might be rubbish and then you’ll just be poor and surrounded by shit plays. Go to a library, go to a drama school library if there’s one handy. Most let you in their library as a visitor. Start making lists of ones you hear in plays you go to see. I’d say choose one that feels most like you. I’ve heard most panels want to see you in at least one of your speeches. And that’s a task in itself so don’t feel like you’re bailing out by choosing something that doesn’t have you playing an aids-ridden mad man. I’d say choose one that has a simple task: what do you want from the other person? A lot panels will ask you that – you should know the answer.

And the speech should have some sense of that. Don’t pick something so off the wall that there’s no sense in it.

How are you going to fund your studies?
- When I got into Guildford School of Acting I was lucky enough to get a DADA which would have been a full scholarship and money to cover my accommodation – only some schools do them though – mostly for Musical Theatre or Dance courses. As I’m Scottish I’m super jammy in that I get my fees paid for me by SAAS if I go to a Scottish school. If I hadn’t got funding for a school I simply wouldn’t have been able to go. Although a lot of my friends have held fundraising events, no doubt you’re surrounded by talented people, including yourself, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get a show on the go. I know a few people that have written to famous actors and have asked them to sponsor them. And sometimes it works. But don’t do what I did and end up bleeding your family dry.
Although it might seem like the end of the world if you don’t go to drama school right away, it really isn’t the be all and end all. It’s only one way in. And if all else fails, there’s always next year :).