Help?
My daughter is auditioning for a theatre school under a scholorship, however most dont seem to offer 100%. So we need to try and raise the extra to make her dreams come true. Anyone have a letter they have used in the past that i could look at or give me some tips. I just don't know where to start. thanks to everyone out there.

Get a job ?

Do you realise how expensive it is to go to drama school? I'm in the process of applying at the moment and will definately need fuinding. I come from a single parent family with no support form my father, I haev 2 younger brothers and my mum works full time,
Maybe you should check your facts before making nasty comments like that!

You're the same person who paid to see Marguerite 30 times, right?

Same advice.

All the young people I know who are in further education are managing to fund themselves through bank loans and jobs (with very occasional help from parents). They certainly wouldn't dream of sending begging letters in order to gain additional funds.

The original post refers to a child going to theatre school, so she may be under working age. In this case it may be better to wait until the parents have funds enough to subsidise the child's scholarship funding, or to wait unitl the girl is old enough to help herself.

Abalafae, perhaps you should have saved some of the money spent on theatre tickets in order to help with the expense of your education.

Topboy, out of interest how old is your daughter and what sort of 'theatre school' is it she is applying for? I agree with JR1 and would be wary of writing to businesses/organisations for sponsorship if I were you, particularly because in the current financial climate (and this is no reflection on you or your daughter), IMO they are unlikely to give money to support a child through drama school over, say, donating money to charity (and even they're suffering at the moment!).

HOWEVER, having said that, there are a number of scholarships, bursaries and charitable trusts that have been set up to help young people who want to train in the arts, and I think these are the best place to go if you need help. Some of them require you writing in to say why you think you deserve the scholarship, whereas some require the applicant to audition in front of a panel, so again, it depends on how old your daughter is and where she is applying for. Can't think of any off the top of my head I'm afraid but the CSSD website has a list of some of them here:

http://www.cssd.ac.uk/pages/pg_scholarships.html

Hope this helps!

It is quite common for drama students to receive funding from successful actors, directors and producers, often as a result of "begging letters". Many of those successful people benefited when they were training from generous individuals are are happy to continue the cycle of philanthropy. I have a feeling that Nick Hytner established a charitable fund from his Miss Saigon funds and you won't find out if you are eligible for funding from such a source without writing a few (or hundreds) of letters.
Going to the theatre is probably the best education a prospective actor can get. That's why a good parttime job for a budding actor is working as a theatre usher.

I would completely understand why a training actor (or indeed any student) would not wish to encumber themselves and their future families with mountains of student loan debt. See Alan Bennett's gracious comments on giving his papers to the Bodleian Library with regard to his thoughts on free education. And the earlier poster was quite right; tuition fees for Accredited Drama Schools can be extremely expensive - when living expenses and course equipment etc is included you can easily be looking at £60K over 3 years.

Personally I would much rather be on the side of the angels in this than the advocates of the School Of Hard Knocks.

"Going to the theatre is probably the best education a prospective actor can get"

The same musical 30 times? I don't think so.

I whole heartily agree - the best way is too see as much as you can with as much variety as you can! not the same tepid show 30 times!

That is the sort of statement that at first sight appears obviously true but on closer inspection turns out to be total rubbish. It's like saying that the best education for a prospective footballer is going to watch football - it assumes that doing something passive qualifies you for doing something active. If it were true I'd be a great actor, wouldn't I ?

Patrick Stewart is 68 - do you know how many productions of Macbeth he had seen in his entire life before palying the part excellently ? Two (2).

Your argument would work if an art were the same thing as a sport; with sport, you can't possibly get anywhere without the physical exertion. With art, it's perfectly possible to learn tons from observing. By reading books, you learn what makes for great (and less great) writing, and you can take that and become a writer without necessarily needing months of training. By going to the theatre, you learn what makes for a good production. I mean, if you go see 'We Will Rock You' a couple of times and just sit and enjoy the music washing over you, it probably won't help. But being an audience member doesn't have to be a passive act; you can put much more in, observation and analysis and the like, and get valuable things out of your attendance that you can't possibly get by never going at all. The training helps, but so does the attendance. (And, in all fairness, footballers have probably learned just as much from watching matches as playing in 'em.)

Seriously; if you're running a drama school and you have two equally skilled applicants for one place, and one of them has seen 'Chicago' twice and the other one goes to see something new every week, which are you more likely to go for? Which one's more likely to already have useful theatre knowledge in their brain?

Also, your Patrick Stewart example is ridiculous. You don't learn to act a single part, you learn to act generally then apply that to your roles. If he'd only been to the theatre twice, to see ANYTHING, then your example would work. But it really really doesn't.

Can I point out that I have seen a variety of shows over the past however many years! Yes I saw Marguerite a lot, but thats because I really enjoyed it!

I think the point Abalafae is that people may give you more advice and help on your 'sob' story about how hard it is funding a place at drama school if you hadn't paid to see the same show 30 times

Even at tickets costing £10 thats £300 almost a third of your terms drama schools fees, if you spent more on the tickets then again thats more money that you could contribute towards your school fees, what annoys the living hell out of me more than anything is people coming on here giving a sob story then, in a sweeping sentence next saying they have seen the same show 30 times.

As a drama student there are many ways to get tickets to the theatre for almost no money or even free (understudy performances, Public Dress blah blah blah!) now don't tell me you cant afford to help fund your drama school fees! There are people including myself who have been there and done it, worked bloody hard to do it, and funded it ourselves!

I apologise if I've offendedyou Laughingmonsta, my original post was not to tell a "sob story". I was just trying to defend the original poster. I'm not saying I can't afford to pay drama school fees, I'm just saying that I will need sme help towards them- and to set the record straight with Marguerite, yes I saw it 30 times, but a lot of those were free and the rest were reduced prices and paid for out of birthday and xmas money saved up so as I can afford to go to the theatre! I do also have savings put aside to help towards my drama school fees already.

Your argument is unconvincing. I can't imagine how simply watching actors is any help at all in learning HOW to act - it's been no help to me for example.

Incidentally, has anyone ever watched "Inside The Actors Studio" on TV ? - without doubt the strangest and most creepy host on TV - you don't learn much about acting from that supposed masterclass either.

Time for a new thread, probably, about learning to act. I don't know if you've been watching actors with the intention of learning to act, Jan, and have still learned nothing. Many actors, and indeed professional orchestral musicians, will tell you there's no substitute for doing it but it would be a very unusual classical musician who came to success without having listened acutely and analytically to the performances of the great masters. And maybe the student actors on this thread need to have some experience and training before being able to get the most out of watching others perform and learning how and how not to do it. In fact one of the biggest parts of drama school and conservatoire training consists of watching your peers get it wrong.

Enough of the thin skin, Laughingmonsta! If you get this wound up by a wannabee seeing a show 30 times and asking for a bit of charity how much more wound up will you get by reality-show casting and all the other slings and arrows of the acting profession?

I haven't been to drama school, nor do I work in the theatre. However, I do think that the original poster has been a bit unfairly treated here. He/She asked a polite and perfectly reasonable question and was immediately given a rather rude reply, written without any knowledge of their situation. For all we know, the poster could already have 2 jobs and be working every hour God sends and still not be able to pay the fees. This is a parent who clearly wants to do all they can to help their child and doesn't know where to begin. So I think they deserved a bit more help and a bit less bitchiness. And as for the argument that "I struggled in my time, so you should have to do the same" I find it mean spirited and bitter. I work in TV and it's often used as an argument for example for paying runners next to nothing. If something is unfair or harsh, then not wanting the situation to be eased, just because YOU didn't get that benefit, seems a bit rough to me.

Well said, Luce.

Thankyou, that was exactly what I was trying to say!

Totally agree, some one needs to get their priorities in order!!!

Okay, now y'all are being mean. If I'd had repeated easy opportunities to see the recent RSC 'Henry V' 30 times, you bet your life I'd've taken them. I see as many different productions as I can afford, which included two trips to 'Henry V', but if my friends had said "we were thinking of going", then despite having already seen it, I'd've gone with them. If someone said "want me to buy you a ticket for 'Henry V'?", I'd've taken it. If I'd found a huge stack of free tickets to 'Henry V' lying on the pavement, I'd've taken them (back to the box office and made whiny noises until I was rewarded for my honesty with a few ). If you find a show that strikes you so deeply, and you KNOW it's only going to be a limited run and you KNOW that it's THIS production you love and any future productions just won't be the same for you, then why *shouldn't* you indulge yourself and create unforgettable theatrical memories for yourself? The beauty and the bitch of theatre is its ephemeral nature; if you love it, see it now, because once it's gone, it's GONE.

Topboy was asking for advice on writing a sponsor letter, which is a very common thing for drama school applicants to do. He didn't ask for people to be rude, snarky bitches. He didn't even ask "do you think writing a sponsor letter is a good idea or is there a better way to get funds?". He asked for help on a specific subject, and all that's ensued is bitchery. Well done, guys. (Oh, but a genuine and non-sarcastic "well done" to the people who were actually kind and helpful. )

As for abalafae, so what she saw her favourite show a zillion times? She came to commiserate that drama school is expensive, even with careful budgeting (and honestly now; have you ever gone "I want to see that show that's on at the moment; but I want to buy a house/car/have a child one day in the distant future, so I'd better put ALL my spare money away for that NOW and not have ANY fun until my expensive future thing is fully paid for"?), and you leap all over her. Again, well done. Lovely.

Srsly, I've doled out more than my fair share of "being mean to people over the internet", and even I think this thread is unnecessarily negative. These are real people with real feelings, y'know.

Jan Brock, with regards to "I can't imagine how simply watching actors is any help at all"; the key word is "simply". If you are "simply" watching actors, you probably won't learn much. If you're closely observing actors, analysing what they do, and seeing what works and what does not work, you are going to learn. YES, you need the practical experience AS WELL. However, any fool can walk up and down a room proclaiming lines, but if you don't know how successful actors distill the walking and the proclaiming into creating a believable character in a believable situation, then all the walking and proclaiming won't be worth a hill of beans.

So, give me an example of how successful actors do it then ? I bet you can't, because the process is internal and can't be observed - that's why they are successful.

To Jan Brock.
All i can say is i believe that in this day and and to post a response to a decent question like "get a job" is quite sad. It does not say much for you as a person to dismiss a question not knowing any particulars. For many children go through theatre school with financial aid whether it be from indivuals / charties / trusts companies or your local LEA. All I asked was does anyone know where to start.

Fortunately most people are not like you and willing to assist if they can.


I really feel you because its very sad.

In my professional experience - which is considerable- it is quite common for many students on unfunded places to send out letters to major Film and Television stars.

I have always been pleasantly suprised to get a call or letter from a major actor or musical theatre performer asking about a student who has asked for help. I have known many students survive for three years on goodwill from established performers, and go on to make a career for themselves. There have always been many more places offered than there is funding, and as long as there are established performers of stature who do not forget their roots, it will continue.

Good luck Dad/Mum just don't make the letter too gushing and a little tip- it is always best if the letter is spontaneous and comes from the student, not the parents.




Regards RM

So at least you admit it's possible to learn what not to do by watching less-successful actors?

Jan, I'm confused. Are you honestly saying that the only way to become a good actor is to stand up (or sit down or whatever) and DO it? That only the movement and the speaking should come into it? That there is no analytical theory behind acting, and you should know instinctively what's good and what isn't good, without ever having a look at the craft and working things out from observation and analysis?

Do me a favour? Next time you run into an actor, preferably a successful one, please ask them how useful they found it for their craft to watch other actors perform. I'm confident they'll have found it VERY useful, but you obviously aren't going to take my word for it.