"Let's have a paint fight!"

I've got quite a few drama-type updates for you, some good and some bad. Life always seems to give you things in those kind of pairs - one door closes, another one opens.

So, I heard from both Mountview and LAMDA. And both of them said, "BUGGER OFF WE DON'T WANT YOU YOU'RE CRAP." Well, not quite that but it was a no nonetheless. That's okay - I knew my LAMDA had gone awfully (I was very, very late to boot) and I was so pleased to get to the last round of Mountview. I've made some sort of achievement, I'm not totally worthless. A little dent in the confidence but this industry is too tough to give up at the first hurdle. Anyway, I've begun looking at Foundation courses and I'm applying to Arts Ed for their Acting and Musical Theatre courses. Hopefully they'll give me something!

I also heard from Exeter University who said YES COME HERE which was nice. I'm not particularly interested in studying Drama at university but it was nice to get a yes after the many, many no's.

On another good note, I have an audition for an agency - its called Abacus and a few friends used to be represented by them. They also represented Keira Knightly and currently represent two of the cast of Spring Awakening which is showing at the Lyric Hammersmith. Which, coincidentally, I am going to see on Friday for free, thanks to A Night Less Ordinary. I can't wait! I've been listening to the soundtrack on repeat and I really love it. I'm considering doing a song from it for my audition - it'll show I've looked into the agency and that I keep up to date with new work. Hopefully. Either way, I'm excited.

Yesterday, I went up to the National Theatre to film part of an advert for their festival New Connections. The logo for this year is a high five with paint exploding behind it, so they picked a theme word from each play (such as hope, aggression or magic) and wanted the actors to come up with things to do with their hands to represent that. We had 'celebration' and did things such as dancing, a Mexican wave and clapping. All whilst having paint thrown at us. It was very fun and messy and I got to meet some nice people. Plus had a look around the backstage of the National which was really interesting. Saw some fascinating sets being made and I THINK I spotted a horse from War Horse.

Last week I went to see the Donmar's 'Twelfth Night' at the Wyndham's with Derek Jacobi with a few friends. Unlike other Shakespeare I have seen, which I've studied, I knew only a little about the play before hand so I was very interested to see how it translated. Of course, studying Shakespeare before helped with some of the language, but I did feel a little stupid in places when everyone around me was laughing hysterically and I was sat there looking blank. However, the rest of the audience did look about fifty years older than me so I think I'm excused. However, I did understand the play and found many parts very, very funny. Jacobi was amazingly hilarious whilst still exuding that magic that only a few older Shakespearian actors have (I'm thinking Ian McKellen and Patrick Stuart). Similarly the actress' playing Viola and Olivia were both stunningly gorgeous and immensely talented - sorry I don't know you're names!

However, one thing that did irritate my slightly was the staff. Admittedly we were a few minutes late but as we ran in, flustered and red-faced, they were very rude and condescending. Okay, we were a tad late but we're students paying quite a lot of money for these tickets - you could be polite and courteous! I know I would be if I were in their position.

I also saw On the Waterfront with Stephen Berkoff two weeks ago - but I'll write about that some other time.

Tomorrow, I am auditioning for the National Youth Theatre with two friends - I'm looking forward to it if not expecting to get in. I auditioned last year, and I know many people get in on their second or third audition but this time I'm not as bothered. Maybe its because I'm older. Who knows.

In other news, Sweeney Todd is coming along wonderfully. We had our third rehearsal last night and began the hardest song in the show, 'God That's Good!' and God is it hard! Luckily I'm not in it that much but even so I was assigned to the tenor section. What's that about!? I'm a frickin' baritone and I can't even squeek these notes. I'm quite scared. There's about five parts going on at once, with chorus having conversations whilst the leads sing vital stuff... its all crazy. However, it is sounding quite brilliant already so I've got hope!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

This is going to be a very short post before I return to my audience recollections, simply for a quick update.
Update One: SNOW! We've had about 10 inches of snow, and for the first time in my life I've had an official school day. It feels quite extraordinary. I met up with some friends and had less of a snow-fight and more of a snow-wrestle, but luckily my newly acquired skiing gear kept my dry and toasty.

Update B: I've been cast as Anthony Hope in an am dram version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street! I'm very excited as the part is a bit more demanding musically than I've done before, and a challenge is always good. So I'm very scared at the prospect of those top Es but I also can't wait! However, there's another youth am dram version of the play going on in the area, and some guys from my school are in both productions - rivalry in the drama department! However, this does provide me with a story to tell that has a moral! Oh yes, I'm trying to educate you as well as let you laugh at my endeavors. One of the members of the Other Play is called C and he's one of those actors who are just a little too over the top, a little too enthusiastic, a little too confident in their own abilities. Anyway, he auditioned for Sweeney and didn't get it; I however know the actor who did get it (O). I worked with him about three years ago, and even then he was very, very good. He's been at Arts Ed sixth form now for two years so I'm sure he's improved. C on the other hand believed that O didn't deserve the role. He made this view very clear on someone's Facebook wall, a someone who was 'Friends' with the director of his show, who obviously wasn't happy with this criticism. C has now been made to publicly apologise and been banned from all future roles in the company's shows.

Now, this says two things to me. One, it seems a little bit like karma and that he got his comeuppance, but I'm nice so we wont' say that. Secondly, sometimes it is really best to keep your opinion to yourself. The industry is very small and in this day and age with networking sites and suchlike, anyone can read anything. And thirdly, why put it on someone's wall! Seriously: email, private message, text, phonecall, MSN, letter, face-to-face, carrier pigeon - there are a hundred and one ways to let someone know something without making it very, very public. Fool.

NEXT!

Drama school auditions - the terrifying stuff of legend, for an actor at least. Everyone (or almost everyone) feels the same: the excitement as you send off your applications, the anticipation as you prepare monologues, and then the fear and nerves that set in as you sit outside the audition room, hearing the guy who went in before you scream Hamlet at the top of his lungs. Its all a part of the process but its a scary and sometimes unfair part nonetheless.

I've recently been auditioning and had four of my five auditions, and already had a 'thanks, but no thanks!' from three of them. Its obviously disheartening but I know how difficult the profession is, I know how rare it is to get into a good school straight from school, and I know how many people apply for so few places - I'm really not suprised. Nonetheless, its not going to put me off. I've always wanted a gap year, some time to myself where I can rest between 7 years of continuous academic study and then a potential three years of intensive dramatic training. I want to work, I want to travel, I want to work on my abilities and skills. So, although to get in would have been amazing (and hey, I've still got two possibilities left!) its definitely not the end of the world for me.

So without further adieu, I'd like to recount my experiences, thoughts and emotions at each of my auditions, with some sarcastic and possibly bitchy commentary.

First up was Central School of Speech and Drama. Now, I'm not trying to make excuses but this audition was on the 5th of January - I was still very much on New Year time, of getting up at about 12 and not being able to sleep until three. To get to Central in time, showered and looking presentable, I had to wake up at 5.30. So, unfortunately, I only got about 2 and a half hours sleep on the night before the audition. Luckily I woke buzzing with adrenaline and was practically bouncing around the house. True to British weather being unpredictable, it had also snowed the night before and walking through London was beautiful but dangerous. I somehow managed to make it to the North London site without any injury.

The school was quite modern and quite an attractive building. As I entered the nerves went into overdrive and I luckily found myself a table at the school cafe where I warmed myself with a mug of steaming water and began to mentally prepare myself for the audition. By prepare myself, I mean stick my headphones on and mouth along to 'Defying Gravity' whilst trying to believe that 'No Wizard that there is or was is ever going to bring me down!' Okay, substitute 'Wizard' for 'Bitchy Drama school applicant' and your halfway there. When the appointed time came, we were all led into the school's theatre, where I sat next to two 20ish year olds who proceeded to chat about how they had, "Been working with Yanek darling, over at Drury Lane," which promptly terrified me. Luckily the girl then mentioned, "When I was here last year..." which helped a tad. She might've been working with Yanek but Central had not wanted her last year!

Now, I'd heard stories about Central: about how you have to perform your monologues in front of everyone, and that you had to create either a dance or a story or even write an essay! So being led into a proper theatre was another panic-inducing experience but luckily I got chatting to some girls behind me who confirmed that, yes, you did perform infront of others but they would only be a small group of about eight with whom you would take part in workshops and a tour.

I think now I'd like to talk a little bit about the workshop: at Central, you can apply for Stage and Screen, Musical Theatre or Devising. I'd selected Stage and Screen with MT as my backup, as had everyone else in my group. Somhow, we were put in a workshop for Devising(!) and for the next hour had to pretend we were, amongst other things: a sea horse, a camel, a mosquito, 30% fire and 70% human, 50-50 fire-human, and the colours white and blue. This was all well and good and things I'd be warned to expect. However, we were then asked to perform our monologues as an element that matched the mood of the speech, and then subvert it with an element that did not match. This too, was fine. However, then the intstructor singled each of us out and asked us to, "Internalise the fire, take the fire inside your organs!" Now, if they'd told me what they wanted me to do, I'm sure I could of done it. But take the fire into my lungs? I'm sorry, do you want me to act like I can't breathe? That my lungs are burning?

The monologue performance was the last part of my day at Central and probably the one that everyone was most prepared for and yet most scared about. I have an unfortunate last name which means I was selected to perform first - oh joy! I actually thought that my performance wasn't bad and after talking with people later I gained a little confidence. I'd like to highlight two other performances, one for being very very good and one for being very very bad. A girl who I later came to be friends with and still talk to, was called after me and performed two very strong pieces which for the life of me I cannot remember the names of! Despite that, I was almost certain that, if any of our group made it to round 2, it would be her. Other people came and went and then came the next male. Lets call him D. D was performing the same Shakespeare monologue as me and performed it in a very different well, which is all well and dandy. I'd never say my performance was the only way to interpret a piece. However, the whole piece was soft and mopey, until he got to one line, which he screamed crazily. And it wasn't even one of angry or upset lines in the piece, it was actually quite a nice line. Anyway, D then proceeded to his contemporary piece which he duly forgot the lines of twice. And he didn't just forget - oh no! He came out of character and said under his breath, "Shit, shit, shit," for about half a minute, before resuming his speech. He did this again, and then skipped to the end where nothing made any sense and left us all confused.

Needless to say, I wasn't called back to the afternoon at Central but it was a really enjoyable day, an interesting and valuable experience, and a good way to dive into my period of auditions. Oh, and D? Yeah he got through the second round. Embarrasing indeed.

Next time - Bristol Old Vic!