Check out Marianthe’s vlog!
Spend a typical day with a first year BA (Hons) Musical Theatre student.
Check out Marianthe’s vlog!
Spend a typical day with a first year BA (Hons) Musical Theatre student.
ArtsEd’s Foundation Acting course students (led by Steven Kavuma) were treated to a brilliant workshop and Q&A session this Friday with actor, Dipo Ola.
Dipo made his screen debut in the critically acclaimed, and multi-award nominated Channel 4 Series, Baghdad Central. He has gone on to work with the BBC on the cult classic anthology show, Inside No.9 and is now in HBO’s true crime miniseries Landscapers, alongside Olivia Coleman.
For more information about our School of Acting, including the 1-year Foundation course, click here
ArtsEd Sixth Form graduate, Isabella Pappas, is currently filming a brand new sitcom for Disney+ called Meet the Mayhems, we are thrilled to report!
As announced in Hollywood’s Deadline last year, Meet the Mayhems is an original live-action comedy series from Lab Rats co-creators Chris Peterson and Bryan Moore. Production is underway in Los Angeles on the series about a family of raucous supervillains who recently ran afoul of the League of Villains and now must somehow beat a path to normalcy in a small Texas town.
The series is scheduled to premiere in summer 2022 on Disney Channel and Disney+ platforms worldwide. The plot focusses on Isabella’s character, teenager Havoc, who stands up against the leader of all villains, forcing her entire family to change their identities and relocate to a Texas suburb where she now goes by the name Amy. With the help of her effervescent new neighbour Hartley, she must somehow hide her superpowers and quell her villainous nature in favour of something she’s fought against all her life — being normal!
Isabella starred in the ITV drama Finding Alice last year, and is going from strength to strength since graduating from ArtsEd in 2020. We can’t wait to see her in action in this latest project!
PHOTO: Disney Branded Television
Applying to ArtsEd’s HE Courses couldn’t be simpler!
Watch this step-by-step video guide to our online application system and get started today on your drama school journey.
Visit our Courses page to explore our HE offering: BA (Hons) | Foundation | MA
Visit our Auditions page for all the information you need to apply.
Our SATURDAY ACADEMY is back in action THIS SATURDAY 8 January!
It’s the perfect time to join us as well – Musical Theatre students are working towards a studio performance, and Acting students will be working on a screen project.
We also give private lessons and tuition for LAMDA exams on Saturdays.
If you’re interested in checking out our weekend offering, see here for more info and to sign up!
We’re absolutely thrilled to see Musical Theatre alum Carly Mercedes Dyer feature in The Stage 25: Theatremakers to watch out for in 2022 and beyond!
Since graduating from ArtsEd’s School of Musical Theatre, Carly has added a string of West End shows to her CV – Rock of Ages, Dirty Dancing, Memphis, Chicago, The Lorax (at The Old Vic) and Hedestown at The National Theatre.
She starred as Anita in West Side Story at The Leicester Curve, and Erma in Anything Goes at The Barbican last year. She most recently played Cassie in A Chorus Line at Leicester Curve.
Carly was nominated for the award by Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire, who said:
“Carly Mercedes Dyer is a wonderful performer with an exceptional range of roles in her career to date. Indeed, she practically stole the show as Erma in our production of Anything Goes at London’s Barbican this summer – holding her own against hugely experienced performers like Sutton Foster and Robert Lindsay.
The critics agreed. The Times, Guardian and Evening Standard all praised her performance in the show. The Stage’s Tim Bano said she didn’t just steal the scenes, she “plunders and ransacks them”. Broadway World praised the “piercing comedy genius” throughout her performance, most notably in her number Buddie, Beware, which, according to the Financial Times “brings down the house”.
We have to say, we agree with the critics and can’t wait to see what the future holds for Carly!
Photo: The Stage / Will Haub
If you are auditioning for our School of Acting (BA Hons Acting, Foundation Acting, MA Acting) you’ll need to prepare and send a self-taped audition as part of your application.
Self-tapes are part of everyday life for a professional actor; they’ve been used in the TV and film industry for many years and are increasingly used for theatre auditions as well. But if you’re just starting out on your actor training journey, we understand that self-tapes can be a bit of a mystery, even quite daunting.
Don’t worry! We’ve got you.
ArtsEd’s Interim Principal and Director of the School of Acting, Dr Julie Spencer, has provided some top tips for auditionees applying to our School of Acting. Keep reading for her guide to a successful self-tape.
For details on what you need to present in your tapes, please visit our auditions page and select the course you are applying for.
You must record a brief ident to introduce yourself by stating your:
Your ident should be delivered straight to the camera, and my top tip is: don’t overthink this bit! Treat your ident as the equivalent of walking into a room and introducing yourself to the panel – show us a bit of your personality. Be enthusiastic about the characters you’ve chosen. If you’re engaging in your ident, we’ll be more engaged when watching you!
Let’s cover the technical aspects of filming your pieces:
For the classical piece, you should film yourself in a ‘wide’ shot (meaning we want to see you full-length or as much of your body as the space will allow). Your classical piece should be treated like a soliloquy, and be delivered straight to camera.
Your contemporary piece should be filmed as a close up of your face – but not too close! Head and shoulders are fine. The contemporary piece can be delivered in the same way as your classical, or it can be aimed just above the camera if that makes sense for the piece.
My main piece of advice regarding the positioning of the camera and body/face is that we don’t want to see the side of your face!
How to perform your monologues:
My first top tip is this: do not attempt to do ‘acting for camera’. We want to see a theatrical performance.
If you are recalled to the second round, which will be in-person, part of that audition will be a screen test. At the first self-tape stage we want to see how you would perform as if you were in the room with us.
Use your natural voice – don’t affect an accent or do a ‘voice’ to fit the character. We want to hear YOU.
Wear comfortable clothing. Don’t attempt to dress as the character or wear a costume.
No make-up, and hair should be tied back so that we can see your face.
Don’t use props.
Don’t use background music.
Please don’t overthink it or attempt to film multiple takes in order to choose the ‘best’ one. You should film each monologue no more than 3 times and choose the best one from the 3 to send to us.
Don’t copy a famous version of your chosen monologue from YouTube!
This is one of the most common questions we are asked regarding applications and auditions, and the answer is actually very simple.
We want to see YOU and who you are!
We want to see your enthusiasm (for the piece and for the process).
We’re looking for your commitment to the choices you make. We may not agree with your choices, but that’s fine as long as you commit to them.
Be bold!
We’re interested in the decisions that you make as an actor and how you have interpreted the pieces. Make them your own.
There is only one of YOU – we are looking for the unique qualities that make you who you are, so show us. We want to see your individual creativity.
Here’s my final top tip, and it’s a very important one:
We are not looking for perfection or for the finished product, meaning we do not expect you to be a polished, trained actor – that’s what drama school is for! We are looking for potential.
Be brave, be bold and enjoy yourself. I look forward to seeing your tapes.
Update – 22 October 2021
In June 2021 the ArtsEd Board of Trustees appointed Rebecca Tuck QC to independently investigate allegations of serious historic misconduct against both current and former staff members. This wrongdoing affected students 18 or over and mostly occurred during the period 2012-2017 in the School of Musical Theatre.
The response of the Board to Rebecca’s report can be found here:
ArtsEd – Statement from the Board of Trustees – 22 October 2021
Rebecca Tuck’s Public Statement can be found here.
Jane Morton, Deputy Principal of ArtsEd, will start her long planned retirement this autumn, thirteen years after joining ArtsEd. Appointed to the role of Deputy Principal in September 2017, Jane started her time at ArtsEd as Academic Manager in 2008, building on a well-established career across the performing arts and education sectors.
During her tenure, Jane has been central to the development of ArtsEd’s reputation as a provider of outstanding conservatoire training, expertly leading the organisation through inspections, validation panels and funding submissions. Her legacy is apparent in our outstanding Ofsted grading, our TEF Gold rating from the Teaching Excellence and Students Outcomes Framework and our consistently high ranking amongst drama schools in the annual National Student Survey.
Jane will be hugely missed by staff and students alike, not just for her expertise, but also for her patience, kindness and wisdom. We wish her well in all her future endeavours.
Commenting on Jane’s retirement Mark Burch, Chair of the Board of Trustees at ArtsEd added: “Jane has been an outstanding Deputy Principal and served her role with distinction over the last thirteen years. She will be missed greatly by students and staff alike, and I would like to pay tribute to her for everything she has done for ArtsEd. Jane has been instrumental in establishing ArtsEd’s outstanding training credentials and we wish her the very best of luck in the next stage of her journey.”
Jane Morton commented: “My years at ArstEd have been so varied and interesting and I am very grateful for all the opportunities I have had to work and develop lasting friendships with so many talented and creative people. I will miss all my colleagues and friends, and wish everyone well, and I will always feel a great sense of pride whenever I see ArtsEd graduates on stage and screen.”
Jane’s successor was appointed in May 2021 and will be announced in the autumn.
With the many challenges faced by pupils over the past two academic years, everyone at ArtsEd was already incredibly proud of our Day School and Sixth Form pupils’ achievements. The fantastic 2021 results are a further testament to the hard work, resilience and positivity of all our students and teachers. We are truly inspired!
ArtsEd Sixth Form enjoyed A-Level and BTEC success:
“We are thrilled with the results and extremally proud of all our students. After the last 18 months the resilience and commitment that these young people have shown has been outstanding. I cannot wait to see what the next chapter brings for our Sixth Form students in their exciting journey through life.” Mark Ferrington, Director of Sixth Form
Similarly impressive GCSE results included:
“These results reflect the hard work and commitment that our students and their teachers have shown over these difficult times. We congratulate our students on these excellent results and wish them the very best in their next step. We always believed that hard work will be rewarded.” Thamir Elzubaidi, Director of Curriculum
If you are interested in learning more about life at ArtsEd Day School and Sixth Form, we hope that you will join us at our upcoming Open Evenings this September – live and in person! Please register your interest today and share with others who might be interested. We look forward to seeing you soon!