The fifth, and final, of this years drama school auditions was for LSMT (London School of Musical Theatre )- if you hadn't worked that out from the title already! The first round is pretty unremarkable, but slightly different to other schools, in that you only sing. After singing your two songs, the panel will decide if they want to recall you and they (as far as I know) will tell you if they want to give you a recall that same day.
The recall stage was pretty similar to the first rounds at other schools. I sang my two songs first, and as I was losing my voice it was not fantastic. Not as bad as it could have been, but I was running at about 60% capacity, so it was nowhere near the performance I would like to have given. Still, it was much worse when I woke up that morning so I am relieved it went as well as it did.
After singing, I performed a (modern) monologue, and then some people were asked to sight read an extract from a novel (these were provided by LSMT on the day). We were then free to go until the dance component of the audition, which took place that afternoon. As usual, I tried my best in dance and pretended to be enthusiastic about the routine, despite getting about half of it wrong. It was a (very) quick routine to "Thoroughly Modern Millie", followed by a few corner exercises to check our technique. As usual there was a real mix of dancing levels, from the clearly trained to the even-worse-than-me, so don't let that intimidate you from auditioning, if that's the fear that's holding you back.
LSMT don't give too much info on their website, but I think the application deadline is in March, with the last first round auditions taking place in April. Currently, you have to apply by post, so make sure you allow plenty of time to apply before the deadlines.
LSMT let you know the result of the deadline via post, a couple of days after the audition. Unfortunately my letter was a no, but I wasn't too disappointed.
I guess this concludes my posts on the actual events of the auditions for now, but I'm going to continue writing about my journey and advice that I have picked up on the way. Keep reading for more stagey-ness!
Thank you so much to all of you for tuning in!
the postgrad-app
Thursday 21 May 2015
Thursday 7 May 2015
Presenting your sheet music, for dummies
Far too many times I have turned up to an audition to see other auditionees presenting the pianist with sloppy music. This is deeply uncool, both for the pianist and for you!
It makes it harder for the pianist to read, which may affect how well they can accompany you, and therefore how well they perform. Additionally, the pianist may be part of the audition panel so it's worth keeping them sweet by making sure your music is clear and well laid out. Here's what you ought to be doing when preparing your music for an audition.
Mark any cuts clearly in your music so the pianist knows exactly where to go from and too (and if you cut part of a song with a key/temp change, make sure to make a note of the new key or time signature). Also make sure that you have practiced this cut, rather than just singing along with the cast recording, or you'll be in for a nasty shock come audition time. I would always advise practising a few times with a pianist anyway, just so you can get a feel for how it is performing with another person rather than a recording, and also to check that there are no wrong notes in your sheet music. It goes without saying that your music should be presented in the key you want it played in, and that you must take the time at the start of an audition to go through the tempo,dynamics and any cuts you would like with your accompanist.
When actually laying out music, I favour the concertina fold. You can achieve this by laying the pages of music (obviously page 1 next to 2 etc) flat next to each other so that the longest sides are just touching, then taping the edges together on the back. This enables you to keep the pages either folded like a book, or to expand them concertina style.
I've seen people try various other methods, but I'm not convinced by them- particularly being a pianist myself! I've seen people just bring loose pages...seriously don't do this. I saw a girl get told off in front of everyone at Mountview for doing this, it's such a pain for the pianist and so so easy to lose a page! Another popular method is a binder folder with the sheets in plastic wallets. I wouldn't recommend this either, for two reasons.
It makes it harder for the pianist to read, which may affect how well they can accompany you, and therefore how well they perform. Additionally, the pianist may be part of the audition panel so it's worth keeping them sweet by making sure your music is clear and well laid out. Here's what you ought to be doing when preparing your music for an audition.
Mark any cuts clearly in your music so the pianist knows exactly where to go from and too (and if you cut part of a song with a key/temp change, make sure to make a note of the new key or time signature). Also make sure that you have practiced this cut, rather than just singing along with the cast recording, or you'll be in for a nasty shock come audition time. I would always advise practising a few times with a pianist anyway, just so you can get a feel for how it is performing with another person rather than a recording, and also to check that there are no wrong notes in your sheet music. It goes without saying that your music should be presented in the key you want it played in, and that you must take the time at the start of an audition to go through the tempo,dynamics and any cuts you would like with your accompanist.
When actually laying out music, I favour the concertina fold. You can achieve this by laying the pages of music (obviously page 1 next to 2 etc) flat next to each other so that the longest sides are just touching, then taping the edges together on the back. This enables you to keep the pages either folded like a book, or to expand them concertina style.
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| Some of my finest work... |
1) You have to buy a tonne of plastic wallets
2) The shiny plastic wallets can reflect the lights, making it hard for the pianist to read the music
3) The plastic wallets are also far more awkward to turn than paper
However, you don't need to throw out your folder just yet! I have one, but it's where I keep all my audition music. Each song goes in an individual wallet, after I have concertina folded it, and I keep the music in an organised order so that I can find it quickly.
I hope these tips are helpful, auditions can feel like such a scary thing, but if you lay out your music well, you'll make the pianist's life that much easier, and hopefully get them on your side. Remember that they (and the rest of the panel) want you to do your best, so don't let a silly thing like poorly laid out sheet music get in the way!
Until next time!
Thursday 23 April 2015
2015: MA Musical Theatre Audition #3: Mountview
Mountview, we meet again....
Unfortunately this audition was scheduled for the day after RAM- universe why so cruel???
However in spite of the previous days events and not knowing the result from RAM at this point, I travelled to Mountview in good spirits. I arrived 20 minutes before the audition time (You must know my mantra by now, always early!!!), got changed into dance clothes and was taken to a dance studio. Here's where my audition process dramatically differs from last years...
So last year, I auditioned only with other postgrad hopefuls which was nice as there were only about 13 of us and the day felt extremely personal. We even got individual feedback which was something I wasn't anticipating. This year however, I went into that studio and joined about 150 other auditionees. You read that right, 150. I can only really describe the audition day as a cattle call, because that's what it was. Granted, most of the auditionees were not there for the postgrad course (Mountview were also auditioning for the BA and the foundation that day), but the sheer volume of people was a tad overwhelming. We listened to a speech, did a (very) brief vocal warm up and were then asked to stream ourselves in terms of dance ability. Naturally, I opted for the less dance-inclined group!
We then were split into further small groups and I went off to act first. I performed my modern speech in full and half of my classical. This was probably the most personal bit of the day, given that the acting teacher actually asked us quite a bit about ourselves. I felt my speeches had gone okay (though I always find it so hard to tell!) and enjoyed watching everyone else's. Next we went to sing, which I had previously thought would be my strongest part of the day. My song went okay, it wasn't the best I had ever sung it (is it ever?) but I felt I had done myself justice. The studio we were in was absolutely boiling (it was a pretty warm day anyway but the studio was like a furnace!) which was not terribly great for singing.
Finally we progressed to my most feared part of the day: dance. I needn't have worried so much though, bizarrely it was my favourite part of the whole audition. The panel teaching and auditioning us were absolutely lovely and I really enjoyed getting to show off some of the improvements I had developed from ballet classes. It was a pretty standard audition process; some cardio, technique, stretching, corner work and then learning the routine. I used all my worldly acting powers to pretend I a)was enjoying the dancing more than I was and b)knew what was going on. When it came to performing the routine (a jazzy number from White Christmas) I knew I hadn't done it perfectly but I'd done my best and hopefully had captured the feel of the number. If nothing else, I was proud of myself for how far I'd come on dance-wise since last year.
All of the auditionees then came together in the dance studio to wait whilst Mountview decided who to recall. I wasn't timing how long they took, but it felt like forever- and yes this may very well have just been the heat/stress. Every time a door opened into the studio, the room would go silent and everyone would crane their necks to see who it was before realising it was just another auditionee coming back from the toilet. Unfortunately for me, another auditionee had a similar look to me and absolutely nailed their song, so I saw it was going to be a long shot to get a recall from Mountview. When they finally announced that I hadn't been recalled I wasn't surprised, but I was disappointed. In many ways, I felt like I'd let myself down since I was so close to being recalled last year (http://journeytodramaschool.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/drama-school-audition-2-mountview.html) but after having a day to dwell over it I've realised I mustn't think like that. I'll post more on staying happy and dealing with rejection in later posts, but to anyone out there going through a similar hard time, just stay strong and remember it gets better. This is just a hurdle in my life, and yours, and we will get over it!
All the best to those of you out there auditioning, keep the faith!
Yours faithfully,
the postgrad-app
Unfortunately this audition was scheduled for the day after RAM- universe why so cruel???
However in spite of the previous days events and not knowing the result from RAM at this point, I travelled to Mountview in good spirits. I arrived 20 minutes before the audition time (You must know my mantra by now, always early!!!), got changed into dance clothes and was taken to a dance studio. Here's where my audition process dramatically differs from last years...
So last year, I auditioned only with other postgrad hopefuls which was nice as there were only about 13 of us and the day felt extremely personal. We even got individual feedback which was something I wasn't anticipating. This year however, I went into that studio and joined about 150 other auditionees. You read that right, 150. I can only really describe the audition day as a cattle call, because that's what it was. Granted, most of the auditionees were not there for the postgrad course (Mountview were also auditioning for the BA and the foundation that day), but the sheer volume of people was a tad overwhelming. We listened to a speech, did a (very) brief vocal warm up and were then asked to stream ourselves in terms of dance ability. Naturally, I opted for the less dance-inclined group!
We then were split into further small groups and I went off to act first. I performed my modern speech in full and half of my classical. This was probably the most personal bit of the day, given that the acting teacher actually asked us quite a bit about ourselves. I felt my speeches had gone okay (though I always find it so hard to tell!) and enjoyed watching everyone else's. Next we went to sing, which I had previously thought would be my strongest part of the day. My song went okay, it wasn't the best I had ever sung it (is it ever?) but I felt I had done myself justice. The studio we were in was absolutely boiling (it was a pretty warm day anyway but the studio was like a furnace!) which was not terribly great for singing.
Finally we progressed to my most feared part of the day: dance. I needn't have worried so much though, bizarrely it was my favourite part of the whole audition. The panel teaching and auditioning us were absolutely lovely and I really enjoyed getting to show off some of the improvements I had developed from ballet classes. It was a pretty standard audition process; some cardio, technique, stretching, corner work and then learning the routine. I used all my worldly acting powers to pretend I a)was enjoying the dancing more than I was and b)knew what was going on. When it came to performing the routine (a jazzy number from White Christmas) I knew I hadn't done it perfectly but I'd done my best and hopefully had captured the feel of the number. If nothing else, I was proud of myself for how far I'd come on dance-wise since last year.
All of the auditionees then came together in the dance studio to wait whilst Mountview decided who to recall. I wasn't timing how long they took, but it felt like forever- and yes this may very well have just been the heat/stress. Every time a door opened into the studio, the room would go silent and everyone would crane their necks to see who it was before realising it was just another auditionee coming back from the toilet. Unfortunately for me, another auditionee had a similar look to me and absolutely nailed their song, so I saw it was going to be a long shot to get a recall from Mountview. When they finally announced that I hadn't been recalled I wasn't surprised, but I was disappointed. In many ways, I felt like I'd let myself down since I was so close to being recalled last year (http://journeytodramaschool.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/drama-school-audition-2-mountview.html) but after having a day to dwell over it I've realised I mustn't think like that. I'll post more on staying happy and dealing with rejection in later posts, but to anyone out there going through a similar hard time, just stay strong and remember it gets better. This is just a hurdle in my life, and yours, and we will get over it!
All the best to those of you out there auditioning, keep the faith!
Yours faithfully,
the postgrad-app
Thursday 16 April 2015
2015: MA Musical Theatre Audition #2: Royal Academy of Music
When I was first thinking of applying to the Royal Academy of Music's Musical Theatre course I did what any other applicant would do and scoured the internet for any information about the application/audition process. To my surprise, I found absolutely nothing! Although this makes it harder for you to know what to expect from RAM I feel that in a way it's actually quite good and adds to the mystery of the audition process. I do appreciate that for the un So without further ado, here is my recap of my audition day:
I arrived at RAM to join a group of about 15 auditionees for that day. We listened to a brief talk from the course leader about what the day would entail and were given a form to fill in and a list of answers to (pretty much) any potential questions we had.
After this, we took part in what was hilariously described as a "movement workshop" on the website- DO NOT BE TAKEN IN BY THIS GENTLE SOUNDING CLASS, IT'S A DANCE AUDITION WITH A FANCY NAME!!! *breathes* now that I've got that out, it's worth mentioning that it wasn't that awful a dance audition (I actually quite enjoyed it!) but it was quite technical in places. If you're a dancer already, great! If you're not, taking some dance classes to familiarise yourself with picking up a routine would certainly do you no harm with RAM. I'll write a separate post about dance auditions for non-dancers (from my extensive experience!) soon, so won't discuss too much more on this subject for now.
Next we had acting, which was pretty unremarkable. We each went and performed a modern monologue to the panel. They didn't give much away, but I felt mine had gone reasonably well. I always get more nervous about performing a monologue than singing and so was pleased that I had managed to perform mine with few noticeable hitches (I fluffed a line but covered it well, and you wouldn't know unless you knew the show...).
Then we had a lunch break of about 20 minutes before going to sing. RAM ask you to bring 3 songs along, but as far as I know they didn't ask anyone for more than 2. I sang 2 of my 3- incidentally not the 2 I was expecting, but I guess the occasional surprise is good for you! I felt one had gone okay and one sounded the best I had ever sung it, so it was a complete mixed bag. The room we sang in had seriously brilliant acoustics, I remember hearing myself sing and thinking "wow" and this sentiment was definitely echoed by the other auditionees.
Once the performing aspect was over, we each had individual interviews. This was something that I had been both dreading and looking forward to. On one hand, I know the rather forced interview setting doesn't show me in my best light, but at the same time I was excited to talk to the course leaders. At all the schools I have auditioned at so far (bar LAMDA), there is no interview at the preliminary audition stage and since I haven't been recalled yet (we live in hope still!!!) this cycle I hadn't actual had to endure an interview. The questions were pretty standard, nothing out of the ordinary; just a bit about myself and my experiences and my desire to do the course. I don't feel I came across brilliantly here so perhaps that's something to work on.
Overall I really enjoyed the experience of the audition day at RAM. They go out of their way to make you feel as comfortable as possible in what is obviously a tense situation and they did manage to put me (slightly) at ease. Unfortunately, a few days after my audition I was informed that my audition had been unsuccessful. I was gutted, as I really liked the Academy and could genuinely see myself there, but I'm going to use this experience to help me grow as a performer and strengthen myself. If I don't get into anywhere this cycle, I will definitely be applying next year so watch this space to see what happens!
Thank you to all of you reading this, I know I haven't been blogging particularly regularly but I want to get back into it- mostly not to let you all down! I try to write what I would like to read myself, so seeing that other people seem to enjoy the same thing is wonderful! To anyone in the same situation; keep your chin up and hold your head up high- we'll get there someday!
Yours faithfully,
the postgrad-app
Then we had a lunch break of about 20 minutes before going to sing. RAM ask you to bring 3 songs along, but as far as I know they didn't ask anyone for more than 2. I sang 2 of my 3- incidentally not the 2 I was expecting, but I guess the occasional surprise is good for you! I felt one had gone okay and one sounded the best I had ever sung it, so it was a complete mixed bag. The room we sang in had seriously brilliant acoustics, I remember hearing myself sing and thinking "wow" and this sentiment was definitely echoed by the other auditionees.
Once the performing aspect was over, we each had individual interviews. This was something that I had been both dreading and looking forward to. On one hand, I know the rather forced interview setting doesn't show me in my best light, but at the same time I was excited to talk to the course leaders. At all the schools I have auditioned at so far (bar LAMDA), there is no interview at the preliminary audition stage and since I haven't been recalled yet (we live in hope still!!!) this cycle I hadn't actual had to endure an interview. The questions were pretty standard, nothing out of the ordinary; just a bit about myself and my experiences and my desire to do the course. I don't feel I came across brilliantly here so perhaps that's something to work on.
Overall I really enjoyed the experience of the audition day at RAM. They go out of their way to make you feel as comfortable as possible in what is obviously a tense situation and they did manage to put me (slightly) at ease. Unfortunately, a few days after my audition I was informed that my audition had been unsuccessful. I was gutted, as I really liked the Academy and could genuinely see myself there, but I'm going to use this experience to help me grow as a performer and strengthen myself. If I don't get into anywhere this cycle, I will definitely be applying next year so watch this space to see what happens!
Thank you to all of you reading this, I know I haven't been blogging particularly regularly but I want to get back into it- mostly not to let you all down! I try to write what I would like to read myself, so seeing that other people seem to enjoy the same thing is wonderful! To anyone in the same situation; keep your chin up and hold your head up high- we'll get there someday!
Yours faithfully,
the postgrad-app
Thursday 9 April 2015
2015: MA Musical Theatre Audition #1: GSA
And so begins the trials and tribulations of the PG drama app in 2015!
My first audition of the season was for GSA. As I've mentioned in a previous post, they don't give a whole lotta helpful advice about getting there (See http://journeytodramaschool.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/getting-to-gsa-for-dummies.html), but nonetheless I found the GSA building and had time to change into my dance clothes and relax a bit before the audition began.
The day started quite normally, we had to bring a passport photo (don't forget this!) along and hand it over when we registered at the start of the day. If you arrive early, you'll have plenty of time to calm yourself, and limber up if you so desire. I was initially a bit alarmed by the sheer number of people in the dance studio, before realising that they were auditioning students for both the BA and MA courses that day. We split into two groups and did a pretty standard warm up before going into our stretches. After this they split us up into groups of about 4 to check our technique with pirouettes etc.
We learnt two separate routines, one fast and one slower but longer and more lyrical. Both were not (in my opinion) horrendously complicated, but then I have danced quite a bit this past year. Despite this, my dancing here was less than perfect but I felt I had done okay as a 'non-dancer". After dance, we had a short break in which to get changed before singing.
We did a thorough warm up, then heard a short speech from a member of the singing staff. After this we each sang one of our songs (our own choice) in full, and then 16 bars of another song. Unfortunately I think I let my nerves slightly affect by vocals; I hadn't performed my song publicly before and I think perhaps I got slightly spooked doing it on this occasion. It wasn't bad, it was just frustrating as the sound was a bit breathy and not as full in some places as I know it can be. This doesn't normally happen to me though, so I'm hoping that it was just a fluke and I'll be better next time. We had another break and then each performed one of our monologues (again our own choice). The monologue went well, I got a real buzz out of performing it and got a few laughs from my fellow auditionees, which is always encouraging! After another break we were then brought back into the room to find out who had been recalled.
I expected not to be recalled as I didn't feel that I had done particularly amazing in any of the sections, and I thought that a couple of other girls had done really well in all the different sections that day. I was pretty surprised to find out that a) they only wanted to recall one person from our entire audition group and b) it wasn't one of the girls that had stood out to me, but another completely different girl. I guess this just shows that you don't and can't know what the drama schools are looking for... the only way I could have been more surprised is if they had recalled me....haha
Despite not getting recalled, and being a little shocked by the brutal nature of the cut (I mean, 1 out of an entire group!?!), I wasn't upset by the outcome of GSA's audition. I met some lovely auditionees, discovered some potential new audition material from the others and felt I had done well, all things considered. As said before, I am by NO MEANS a dancer, and I felt there was a big emphasis at GSA on your dancing skills being up to scratch. Gotta keep working at that, I guess!
Cheers for tuning in, until next time!
Yours faithfully,
the postgrad-app
My first audition of the season was for GSA. As I've mentioned in a previous post, they don't give a whole lotta helpful advice about getting there (See http://journeytodramaschool.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/getting-to-gsa-for-dummies.html), but nonetheless I found the GSA building and had time to change into my dance clothes and relax a bit before the audition began.
The day started quite normally, we had to bring a passport photo (don't forget this!) along and hand it over when we registered at the start of the day. If you arrive early, you'll have plenty of time to calm yourself, and limber up if you so desire. I was initially a bit alarmed by the sheer number of people in the dance studio, before realising that they were auditioning students for both the BA and MA courses that day. We split into two groups and did a pretty standard warm up before going into our stretches. After this they split us up into groups of about 4 to check our technique with pirouettes etc.
We learnt two separate routines, one fast and one slower but longer and more lyrical. Both were not (in my opinion) horrendously complicated, but then I have danced quite a bit this past year. Despite this, my dancing here was less than perfect but I felt I had done okay as a 'non-dancer". After dance, we had a short break in which to get changed before singing.
We did a thorough warm up, then heard a short speech from a member of the singing staff. After this we each sang one of our songs (our own choice) in full, and then 16 bars of another song. Unfortunately I think I let my nerves slightly affect by vocals; I hadn't performed my song publicly before and I think perhaps I got slightly spooked doing it on this occasion. It wasn't bad, it was just frustrating as the sound was a bit breathy and not as full in some places as I know it can be. This doesn't normally happen to me though, so I'm hoping that it was just a fluke and I'll be better next time. We had another break and then each performed one of our monologues (again our own choice). The monologue went well, I got a real buzz out of performing it and got a few laughs from my fellow auditionees, which is always encouraging! After another break we were then brought back into the room to find out who had been recalled.
I expected not to be recalled as I didn't feel that I had done particularly amazing in any of the sections, and I thought that a couple of other girls had done really well in all the different sections that day. I was pretty surprised to find out that a) they only wanted to recall one person from our entire audition group and b) it wasn't one of the girls that had stood out to me, but another completely different girl. I guess this just shows that you don't and can't know what the drama schools are looking for... the only way I could have been more surprised is if they had recalled me....haha
Despite not getting recalled, and being a little shocked by the brutal nature of the cut (I mean, 1 out of an entire group!?!), I wasn't upset by the outcome of GSA's audition. I met some lovely auditionees, discovered some potential new audition material from the others and felt I had done well, all things considered. As said before, I am by NO MEANS a dancer, and I felt there was a big emphasis at GSA on your dancing skills being up to scratch. Gotta keep working at that, I guess!
Cheers for tuning in, until next time!
Yours faithfully,
the postgrad-app
Saturday 14 March 2015
Getting to GSA, for dummies!
If you've received an invitation to audition from GSA, then you'll know their info for their location and how to get there leaves a lot to be desired. Additionally, if you've had the misfortune to have looked up GSA on google maps whilst trying to find it you'll have discovered this leads you to the old building, on the opposite side of town.
1) Get the train in to Guildford Station making sure that the train you arrive on will leave you with AT LEAST 20 minutes to get to GSA
2)When you get off the train, go up the stairs at the station, turn left and exit out of the small exit with only ~3 barriers. If you find yourself going out of the large, main entrance with an M&S and a Costa, you've gone the wrong way.
3)From here you have two options:
a) you can get the bus from the stop just opposite the station entrance. You'll want the 17,27 or the 37 and make sure you get off at the Twyford Court stop (just after the Austin Pearce stop). The bus will take you through the car park, onto the uni campus, past the lakes (on your right). Once the bus stops, simply get off and continue to walk the way the bus is going on the path. As you follow the bend of the road round and go past a car park you will find GSA on your right and the Ivy Arts Centre on your left (pretty easy to spot; it's covered in Ivy as the name suggests).
NB. I had a plusbus ticket, so I don't actually know how much the bus costs and therefore I can't really advise on its value for money. Also, if you have an audition on a Saturday morning, it's not worth getting the bus as there are hardly any at 8. I ended up waiting about 30 minutes for mine- not worth it!
b) Walking- when you've exited the station, turn right and walk along Guildford park road until you reach the second turning on the right.
Follow this road, bringing you into a car park and walk to the other side of it. You're now on the University of Surrey campus- make sure you keep on the main road. If you find yourself with student accommodation on your right and a GP practice on your left, you're going the right way!
You'll pass a big grey building (faculty of health and medical sciences) on your left and as you continue on this road there'll be some nice greenery on your right.
When you get to Senate house, follow the road round as it bends to the right, and keep walking with the lakes and the various sculptures on your right. Keep on this path, walking the same way. There is student accommodation on the left and you'll pass the Twford Court bus stop.
Eventually this road curves around, you'll pass another car park and a mini roundabout and discover GSA, the first building on the right.
I hope this advice is helpful to some of you out there, as always make sure you leave plenty of time to get to your auditions- better to be 30 minutes early than 5 minutes late! Apologies for the lack of recent writing, have had rather a lot on, but hoping to resume normal service shortly!
All the best!
the pg drama app
Fortunately, I had been warned about this by the lovely babybeazle (http://babybeazletakesondramaschool.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/gsa.html) otherwise I would certainly have fallen into this trap and ended up there too.
With all that in mind, I have put together some directions to help you arrive at your audition as easily and as stress free as possible, because lets face it- who needs extra stress on audition day?
I apologise for these only being useful if you travel by public transport but a) I haven't driven to the uni so am really not in a position to advise and b) in my experience most people get the train in anyway.
2)When you get off the train, go up the stairs at the station, turn left and exit out of the small exit with only ~3 barriers. If you find yourself going out of the large, main entrance with an M&S and a Costa, you've gone the wrong way.
3)From here you have two options:
a) you can get the bus from the stop just opposite the station entrance. You'll want the 17,27 or the 37 and make sure you get off at the Twyford Court stop (just after the Austin Pearce stop). The bus will take you through the car park, onto the uni campus, past the lakes (on your right). Once the bus stops, simply get off and continue to walk the way the bus is going on the path. As you follow the bend of the road round and go past a car park you will find GSA on your right and the Ivy Arts Centre on your left (pretty easy to spot; it's covered in Ivy as the name suggests).
NB. I had a plusbus ticket, so I don't actually know how much the bus costs and therefore I can't really advise on its value for money. Also, if you have an audition on a Saturday morning, it's not worth getting the bus as there are hardly any at 8. I ended up waiting about 30 minutes for mine- not worth it!
b) Walking- when you've exited the station, turn right and walk along Guildford park road until you reach the second turning on the right.
Follow this road, bringing you into a car park and walk to the other side of it. You're now on the University of Surrey campus- make sure you keep on the main road. If you find yourself with student accommodation on your right and a GP practice on your left, you're going the right way!
You'll pass a big grey building (faculty of health and medical sciences) on your left and as you continue on this road there'll be some nice greenery on your right.
When you get to Senate house, follow the road round as it bends to the right, and keep walking with the lakes and the various sculptures on your right. Keep on this path, walking the same way. There is student accommodation on the left and you'll pass the Twford Court bus stop.
Eventually this road curves around, you'll pass another car park and a mini roundabout and discover GSA, the first building on the right.
I hope this advice is helpful to some of you out there, as always make sure you leave plenty of time to get to your auditions- better to be 30 minutes early than 5 minutes late! Apologies for the lack of recent writing, have had rather a lot on, but hoping to resume normal service shortly!
All the best!
the pg drama app
Tuesday 23 December 2014
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
...a truly awful cold that then spread to my lungs. (http://www.badum-tish.com/)
Apologies for my absence, but I have been a) quite poorly (see above) and b) extremely busy. Despite meticulous planning months in advance, Christmas seems to have snuck up on me this year- why are there never enough days in December? However with the presents wrapped and under the tree, the food all bought and the wine stocked up, I am now feeling a lot calmer.
Here's what you missed whilst I was away:
- me COMPLETELY losing my voice and having to follow my own advice on vocal health
-me cutting out all dairy, caffeine and alcohol out of my diet (sob) in an attempt to help my throat
-me having a chesty cough for a stupid amount of time
-me managing to get tendonitis whilst running gently
-me starting rehearsals for a show that I'm part of (then subsequently missing 1 because of the above health problems...not ideal)
-me running a 10k (yes really!)
Whilst I was unwell, I had plenty of time to think about both musical theatre and this blog. I realised that there are a silly amount of musicals that I haven't seen and I want to make an effort to see more, both for enjoyment and to educate myself on bits of musical history that I'm not all that familiar with. With that in mind, I am setting up a separate blog. My aim is to watch a new musical ('new' here meaning an adaptation of a show I haven't seen before rather than an original show) each week, and then to give my thoughts on it. In an ideal world, all the shows would be showing live right now, and I could afford to see them all however this simply isn't the case in this reality. For the most part, I shall be watching either filmed versions of staged shows or film adaptations of the musicals. I hope that this will open both our eyes to the wide variety of shows out there as well as keeping me busy writing!
This will probably be the last post here in 2014 for me, but I hope that you'll continue to follow me in 2015 on my journey!
All the best for the festive season!
the pg-drama app
Apologies for my absence, but I have been a) quite poorly (see above) and b) extremely busy. Despite meticulous planning months in advance, Christmas seems to have snuck up on me this year- why are there never enough days in December? However with the presents wrapped and under the tree, the food all bought and the wine stocked up, I am now feeling a lot calmer.
Here's what you missed whilst I was away:
- me COMPLETELY losing my voice and having to follow my own advice on vocal health
-me cutting out all dairy, caffeine and alcohol out of my diet (sob) in an attempt to help my throat
-me having a chesty cough for a stupid amount of time
-me managing to get tendonitis whilst running gently
-me starting rehearsals for a show that I'm part of (then subsequently missing 1 because of the above health problems...not ideal)
-me running a 10k (yes really!)
Whilst I was unwell, I had plenty of time to think about both musical theatre and this blog. I realised that there are a silly amount of musicals that I haven't seen and I want to make an effort to see more, both for enjoyment and to educate myself on bits of musical history that I'm not all that familiar with. With that in mind, I am setting up a separate blog. My aim is to watch a new musical ('new' here meaning an adaptation of a show I haven't seen before rather than an original show) each week, and then to give my thoughts on it. In an ideal world, all the shows would be showing live right now, and I could afford to see them all however this simply isn't the case in this reality. For the most part, I shall be watching either filmed versions of staged shows or film adaptations of the musicals. I hope that this will open both our eyes to the wide variety of shows out there as well as keeping me busy writing!
This will probably be the last post here in 2014 for me, but I hope that you'll continue to follow me in 2015 on my journey!
All the best for the festive season!
the pg-drama app
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