RADA brings auditions to Plymouth

The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) will bring its audition process to Plymouth for the first time this year, looking for the most talented young performers and technical theatre practitioners in the south west.

With just 28 places available on the BA (Hons) Acting each year, the Academy is committed to finding the very best talent from across the UK and internationally, regardless of social or financial background. Plymouth is one of the latest cities in RADA’s expanding audition process, which enables potential students from the area to participate in auditions without high travel and accommodation costs in London.

To further support performers from low economic backgrounds, RADA has this year introduced 100 audition fee waivers alongside those already offered by the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama (CDD), of which RADA is a founding affiliate school. For those auditionees who reach the third and fourth round of this four- stage audition process, RADA also offers travel bursaries to eligible students.

First round auditions for RADA’s BA (Hons) Acting course will take place on 6-7 February at Theatre Royal, Plymouth, where applicants will perform two speeches – one classical (by Shakespeare or another Elizabethan/Jacobean playwright) and one modern (written after 1960).

RADA trains more than just actors: the Academy’s technical theatre, stage management and design courses have produced many award-winning designers and technicians. RADA will also hold interviews at the Theatre Royal on 1 March for the FdA in Technical Theatre and Stage Management. This course offers training across the breadth and depth of technical theatre, including lighting, sound, scenic arts, props, make-up, costume, scenic construction and stage management, with the option of further specialisation in a BA progression year.

Director of RADA Edward Kemp, who sits on the audition panels, spoke about the importance of casting a wide net in the audition process: “Diversity in the arts is as much about geographic differences as class or economic. There are many more opportunities for a white middle-class person in the south east to experience, and be inspired by, theatre than elsewhere in the country, and in recent years this has been reflected in our applications.

However, RADA’s remit is to find the most talented performers and theatre practitioners, and this means expanding beyond one area of the country. We know there is a wealth of talent and potential out there, and by expanding our regional auditions and interviews we are able to find the best talent and give more young people the opportunity to experience the transformative powers of the arts”.