MFA Acting

The locations, dates and preparation information for the U/RTA auditions can be found on their website.

You can audition as a ‘walk-in’ candidate free of charge if you wish to audition solely for the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Acting. If you wish to audition for other U/RTA hosts then you will also need to register with U/RTA on their website which will incur a fee.

If you wish to audition in person either as a home/EU or International applicant resident or staying in the UK at the time of the audition, please follow the audition guidelines and submit an online application form. 

Upon review of your application by the Course Director we may invite you to an audition, for which you should prepare the below criteria. Members of both academic and admissions staff will be available to answer questions at all stages of auditioning.

Your personal statement should cover your interests, accomplishments, personal ambitions, and your reasons for wishing to study the course. You should outline your previous acting experience, identify the main reasons why you are interested in further study, and outline what your research interests may be.

Your personal statement should be about 500 words in length and written in essay style.

Your referee should not be a family member. Your referee should focus their comments on your suitability for study at postgraduate level and your suitability to pursue a specialised course in acting.

Your initial online audition recording should consist of the following 3 elements, and should not exceed 6 minutes in total:

• An introduction, of no more than two minutes about you, your interest in pursuing an MFA, previous experiences and any context for the pieces you feel is relevant
• A Classical monologue
• A contemporary monologue

Your initial audition recording link should be sent as an unlisted YouTube link via uploading a completed the audition form to the mySRS portal (instructions on how to submit an audition recording will be in the acknowledgement of application communication that you will be sent shortly after applying).

If successful at the initial stage, you will be invited to attend a virtual Recall audition and can alternatively request for an on-campus Recall audition if you wish. Please note that you may be asked to present your speeches again live via the Microsoft Teams or Zoom platform link with the Course Director.

If you move forward to the recall audition stage either in-person or by a one-to-one virtual audition, you will have up to ten minutes with a panel consisting of the Course Director and possibly other staff to discuss your choice of speeches and your motives for attending drama school.

You must prepare and memorise two contrasting speeches from different plays, one of which must be from a contemporary play written in the last 100 years. The other must be from an Elizabethan / Jacobean play or Spanish Golden Age.

Each selection should be no more than two minutes in length and suitable for your age and experience (you may be stopped if a speech exceeds two minutes in length).

All speeches should be from published plays. Excerpts from film script, television dramas and unpublished plays are not advisable.

You should have read the whole of the play from which a speech is taken and be able to provide the correct title, name of the writer and translator if relevant. You may be asked questions about the play and your character’s journey within it (i.e. their intentions etc.).

It is preferred that the content of the speeches should be something to which you can relate and understand.

Any performance choices you make should be justifiable within the text. The performance should reveal an understanding of the scene and character and an ability to create and share appropriate emotions and atmosphere. Try to make sure that any vocal and physical interpretation you do is strictly relevant.

We recommend you provide the following traits in your speech:

• Energy
• Choice of speeches
• Spatial awareness
• Creation of environment
• Suitability of physicalisation
• Use / handling of language
• Identification with character
• Power to hold an audience
• Achievement of contrast
• Potential for development through training

The audition may be followed by an interview with the Course Director where you will be invited to discuss:

• the way you have approached your prepared speeches
• why you are interested in the course
• your research interests

A voice tutor may wish to see you individually to assess more fully your vocal potential.

Auditions in the USA

The University will contact you directly via email regarding the outcome of your audition after the date that the U/RTA association agrees we may contact you, which is usually mid-February and is when U/RTA permit decisions to be made. You will receive a decision within 10 working days from this date.

As you will not have submitted a formal application for this course at your audition, the University will use the information on your resume and send you the link to make a formal application. Once submitted, this will generate an application form and you will receive an acknowledgement email.

Following the above, you will be notified of the outcome of your audition on your applicant portal.

Auditions in the UK/online auditions

The assessment of each candidate is based upon a set of criteria used consistently by staff. The staff on the panel – guided by the Course Director – make the decision whether to offer a place. You should receive confirmation by email of the result within 10 working days. If you have not heard within 21 days please contact the admissions department on acting.admissions@bcu.ac.uk (Home/EU).

Decisions for international students applying via video link may take longer, but you should hear within 30 days of our receipt of your application.