On Course: Fourth Monkey Actor Training Company
Sunday, May 1, 2022
Based in Bristol, Fourth Monkey offers professional training to aspiring actors, artists and theatre-makers in the South West region; the school outlines its training, delivered at the company's centre of excellence, The Bamboo House.
Fourth Monkey
The Bamboo House opened in September 2021 as part of Fourth Monkey's commitment to making drama school accessible and inclusive – decentralising the school's training to reach a broader spectrum of talented young creatives. Training with Fourth Monkey in Bristol directly reflects the training provided by the school at their established London centre, The Monkey House.
Courses offered
Fourth Monkey delivers two full-time professional actor training courses at The Bamboo House in Bristol:
- CertHE Acting & Theatre Making
- MA Collaborative Theatre
An overview
CertHE Acting & Theatre Making – 1 year
A one-year, full-time actor training course, the CertHE Acting & Theatre Making provides rigorous foundation training, designed to suit students at the start of their creative journey. Students ‘learn through doing’, exploring and experiencing a variety of performance techniques and disciplines so that they graduate equipped with the skills and tools needed to step into the contemporary industry or further professional training, including on Fourth Monkey's BA (Hons) Acting accelerated degree delivered at their London base.
MA Collaborative Theatre – 1 year (full-time) or 2 years (part-time)
Launching in Bristol for delivery from September 2022 onwards and created to bring together performers, makers, and artists from a variety of creative disciplines and backgrounds, the MA Collaborative Theatre is designed to provide an opportunity to develop the skills required to build a sustainable career within the contemporary theatre sector, learning from renowned national and international theatre practitioners and companies in the process.
This unique industry-bridging course places an emphasis on forming companies, initiating collaborations, and nurturing proactive, imaginative, entrepreneurial makers, capable of generating their own work. It has full-time and part-time pathways to allow students to juggle existing professional or family commitments alongside their training.
Fees, bursaries, and other finance information
Tuition fees for Fourth Monkey's foundation-level and postgraduate training courses differ, and full details of all course fees can be found on Fourth Monkey's website. All courses qualify for student loans to support with the cost of tuition fees. Additionally, Fourth Monkey are proud to be able to offer financial aid to students who would otherwise not be able to access the training without their support and a number of Fourth Monkey Scholarships are awarded each year to students across all training courses.
Accommodation options
Fourth Monkey students in Bristol either commute from home or live in shared private housing within a short distance from The Bamboo House. Fourth Monkey do not have halls of residence; however, the admissions team provide suggested areas to search for rented accommodation when enrolling incoming students.
Entry requirements (qualifications)
All applicants must be aged 18 or over at the start of the course. Specific previous formal academic qualifications are not essential, and Fourth Monkey assess all applicants at audition solely on merit. For full entry requirements and information for all training courses, please visit Fourth Monkey's website.
Application method
Applications for CertHE Acting & Theatre Making and MA Collaborative Theatre are submitted directly online via Fourth Monkey's website. Applications open in early October and remain open until the end of June for all training courses, with in-house audition days held at The Bamboo House monthly from January to July. Postgraduate-specific audition days for MA Collaborative Theatre applicants are also available on selected dates. Fourth Monkey auditions are free of charge, to all applicants across all training courses and across all audition formats, and are designed to be supportive, welcoming, and inclusive.
Audition process
All applicants are asked to prepare and perform two short audition speeches, one classical and one contemporary, of no more than two minutes in length per speech. MA Collaborative Theatre applicants are additionally asked to provide a short portfolio piece or presentation (maximum 3 minutes) plus examples of previous performance, creative and theatre making experience when submitting their application. Full audition information, including how to prepare and what to expect, can be found on Fourth Monkey's website.
Outreach
Designed to provide an interactive, accessible and engaging insight into drama school training for young people aged 16 years and over, Fourth Monkey provides a variety of free outreach workshops for schools and colleges. Further information about the outreach workshops, plus how to book a session for students and young people, can be found on Fourth Monkey's website.
To learn more about Fourth Monkey's professional actor training in Bristol, visit fourthmonkey.co.uk/training or get in touch with the Fourth Monkey team via admissions@fourthmonkey.co.uk
