Auditions for RADA’s world-leading acting course are coming to Plymouth

The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) will return to Plymouth this year to hold auditions for its BA (Hons) in Acting. The world-leading drama school regularly auditions across the UK to find the most talented young performers from all backgrounds, and this year returns to Plymouth to meet budding young actors in the south west.

First round auditions for RADA’s BA (Hons) Acting course will then take place in Plymouth on 21 February 2020 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).

Actor Sofia Oxenham graduated from RADA in 2017 and made her screen debut in ITV’s Grantchester, before winning the role of Tess in the final season of the BBC’s Poldark. She will also appear in the BBC’s upcoming adaptation of Dracula.

Sofia grew up in Cornwall before moving to London to join RADA, and welcomes the opportunity for young people across the country to audition in their local area: “For those potential students deterred from making the lengthy and expensive trip to London, this is inspired. There is undoubtedly a rich seam of acting talent here in the West Country and this would open up the process to those who maybe otherwise unable to attend.”

Financial support To further support budding performers from low economic backgrounds, RADA offers the opportunity to audition for free. If you are new to higher education, applying to an undergraduate course and have a household income of less than £25,000, you will be eligible for a free audition.

The audition process consists of four rounds in total: applicants who pass the initial audition will be invited to participate in further workshop rounds at RADA, giving students an opportunity to meet more of the staff and students and visit the Academy.

Travel bursaries are available for these rounds for eligible applicants, to assist with the cost of travelling to and from London. Finding the best talent With just 28 places available on the BA (Hons) Acting each year, RADA is committed to finding the very best talent from across the UK and internationally, regardless of social or financial background.

This year Plymouth joins Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Dublin, Los Angeles and New York as a RADA audition venue, enabling potential students from these regions to participate in auditions without high travel and accommodation costs in London.

Edward Kemp, Director of RADA and member of the audition panel, spoke about the importance of casting a wide net in the audition process: “We receive thousands of applications for our courses each year, but we are always striving to make sure that these come from students from across the country, from all kinds of backgrounds. That’s why we are committed to travelling beyond our local area, to places where we know there is exciting young talent, who may not know about RADA or be able to travel to us to audition.

“Applications to all London drama schools remain weighted towards students from London and the south-east, and we are keenly aware of the time and financial pressures of travelling to open days and auditions, especially if you’re applying to several schools. Our regional auditions, free audition scheme and travel bursaries are all created to help remove some of these barriers to higher education drama training.”

Anyone interested in auditioning should first submit an application form, which can be downloaded from RADA’s website, indicating which city they would like to audition in. To find out more about RADA’s BA (Hons) in Acting, including how to apply, the audition process and eligibility for your free audition, please visit www.rada.ac.uk