If you are selected for an audition for a place on any of the BA (Hons) Acting courses - Acting, Acting (CDT) or Acting (Musical Theatre) - we will require you to prepare the following. All candidates must prepare all requirements, regardless of their preferred course:
· A memorised contemporary speech (written after 1960 and no more than two minutes in duration). Speeches are not to be chosen from film scripts.
· Two memorised songs. One song must be from a musical (please bring the sheet music, in the key you wish to sing, for the song from the musical - this should be arranged for easy use by the pianist, i.e.; pages joined together, not in book form. The second song can be of your own choosing and is sung unaccompanied. Neither song should be more than two minutes in length; if the song is longer than this it should be cut to 2 minutes or you should choose a 2 minute section from the song). PLEASE NOTE: a trained singing voice is not required for admission.
We recommend that you do not select extracts from audition speech books. You must be prepared to answer questions about the entire play from which your selection is chosen. Therefore, an extract will not help in the preparation of the chosen piece, so please make sure you read the whole play. We are not able to discuss the choice of audition material prior to your audition date. Please note that the two-minute time limit for each speech and song will be strictly adhered to.
Candidates are asked to wear/bring sensible, plain clothes and comfortable flat footwear that provide for a freedom of movement (i.e. flexible and comfortable). Please do not wear jeans, skirts, hipster trousers or revealing tops. Candidates should wear no make-up and also have only necessary jewellery (preferably only earring studs and no rings). We advise candidates to eat well before their audition day.
First Round Audition (All Applicants)
The First Round audition begins with a short morning talk, which provides information about the structure of the audition day and further information on the curriculum of the course offered. During the talk you will be assigned to a specific audition group and asked to fill in a form indicating the speeches that you have chosen.
Following the talk, you will be involved in (in no particular order) an orientation and tour, a pathway specific vocal and physical workshop, and a panel audition.
The orientation and follow-up tour provides the candidates with an opportunity to ask questions about the curriculum and see Central’s facilities. The physical and vocal workshop allows the panel to observe the candidates working in a group situation.
All candidates will audition before an audition panel to perform their contemporary speech and one of their speeches chosen from the set classical list.
Following lunch (not provided), candidates being asked to stay for the afternoon will be notified.
Afternoon Session (Selected Applicants)
You may be asked to stay for the afternoon (until 6.00pm at the latest) so that panellists can investigate your suitability for the course in more detail. You may be asked to do any or all of the following in your second round audition: repeat your audition speeches, perform the second speech from the classical speeches list, workshop your speeches, undertake improvisations, participate in a physical and vocal workshop, sing unaccompanied, participate in a vocal assessment, participate in a brief interview. Those candidates selected by the Acting (Musical Theatre) course for the afternoon session will be required to sing their accompanied songs.
Candidates who are successful at the initial audition day will be invited for a final recall audition at a later date.
If you are called for a final recall audition, you will normally participate in further intensive workshop sessions involving voice, movement and acting, and focus further on your original choice of speeches. You may be asked to present a self-devised physical theatre piece and those selected for the Acting (Musical Theatre) course will be required to prepare two accompanied songs from the musical theatre repertoire. Selected candidates will be notified by email, which will also detail exactly what they will need to prepare for the session.
We reserve the right to vary the content and structure of the auditions without prior notice.
All applicants will be notified of the final outcome of their application through UCAS, which may be several weeks after their audition.
Criteria and Qualities for Acceptance
In auditioning and interviewing potential students, we look for:
Essential
Evidence of:
· a serious, ongoing commitment to an acting career in the professional theatre
· fluent written and spoken English (equivalent to IELTS level 7.0)
· a trainable vocal, physical and imaginative/emotional skills
· potential benefit from the study in acting offered at Central
· an ability to understand, interpret and embody a dramatic text
· an ability to participate actively in group or ensemble situations.
Desirable
Presence of:
· a readiness to take risks, and an open, receptive and enquiring mind
· enthusiasm and readiness for hard, rigorous work requiring sustained concentration
· a sense of language and rhythm, and the potential for identification with the thought process of a dramatic text
· the ability to portray and inhabit an imagined or fictional situation
· physical, vocal and imaginative/emotional skills with significant theatrical potential.
International Auditions
Central hosts international auditions for many of its undergraduate and postgraduate courses. In the past auditions have taken place in Singapore, Hong Kong, Toronto, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santiago and Sydney. Dates for these auditions will vary, but they generally take place in the spring (typically February/March/April). Check our Event Finder for details of upcoming audition dates.
Those attending auditions for Acting, BA, Acting (CDT), BA or Acting (Musical Theatre), BA are expected to prepare two speeches from the list below.
These speeches are listed by the gender of the character as originally written. All candidates should feel free to choose speeches from either list. We would always recommend that candidates select speeches which best demonstrate their strengths and abilities, and that alone should be your guiding principle when selecting your speeches.
Speeches for Male Characters
King Richard III: ‘Was ever woman……with some little cost.’ King Richard III (Act 1 sc.2)
Romeo: ‘But soft what light……cheek.’ Romeo and Juliet (Act 2 sc.2)
Macbeth: ‘To be thus is nothing……utterance.’ Macbeth (Act 3 sc.1)
Leontes: ‘"Gone already……feel it not.’ The Winter's Tale (Act 1 sc.2)
Angelo: ‘What's this? What's this? ……I smiled and wondered how.’ Measure for Measure (Act 2 sc.2)
Edgar: ‘I heard myself proclaimed……Edgar I nothing am.’ King Lear (Act 2 sc.3)
Hamlet: ‘Look here upon this picture……O shame, where is they blush?’ Hamlet (Act 3 sc.4)
Romeo: ‘Tis torture and not mercy……that word banished?’ Romeo and Juliet (Act 3 sc.3)
Ferdinand: ‘Let me see her face again……thou hast done much ill well.’ The Duchess of Malfi – Webster (Act 4 sc.2)
Monticelso: ‘Shall I expound whore……all that receive it.’ The White Devil – Webster (Act 3 sc.2)
Hamlet: ‘O that this too too solid flesh……hold my tongue.’ Hamlet (Act 1 sc.2)
