Helpful, practical careers advice for students considering applying for drama school.
John Abbott was a successful actor before turning to teaching, first at Mountview and then at ArtsEd, and he knows – really knows – what he's talking about. In his foreword Leo Woodhall, an actor who trained at ArtsEd, points out that he needed help at the beginning and John Abbott provided it, just as he is now offering it to readers of this book.
First you have to choose schools to apply for, bearing in mind that audition fees may limit the number you try. How do you narrow it down? Each school has a website telling you how wonderful it is so you have to read carefully and develop a gut feeling. All Abbot's advice is presented in bite-sized chunks as if you were in conversation with him.
Then there are auditions. Choosing speeches can be a minefield. You must be prepared to take off your safety belt and experiment creatively. Then he suggests open-ended responses to questions from the audition panel you don't know the answer to, so everything he writes is really useful and supportive preparation.
Abbott goes on to lead the reader through the three-year drama school experience in the same friendly, down-to-earth way as well as making lots of suggestions on how to prepare for (and deal with) those all-important third-year meetings with casting directors, agents and directors – the first step into the world of professional work. Third-year shows are important because industry professionals will be keenly looking for exciting new talent. ‘Most drama schools try to give each student a decent part during their final year,’ Abbott writes, but then explains that – obviously – not everyone can have a leading part and, even if you do, it can be a mixed blessing.
Finally, beneath all of this is the advice that, although you're an actor, you should never – in real life – pretend to be something you're not. Just wear clothes you're comfortable in and be yourself. It's a very competitive world to penetrate but no one succeeds in it by posturing or pretending.
It is often said that students wanting to work in the performing arts industries get little or no helpful careers guidance. Access to John Abbott could help to put that right, so a couple of copies in the drama department library would probably be a sensible investment.