The Actors’ Workshop Part-Time Foundation Course
Do you want to maximise your chances of getting into drama school?
90% of our students are offered places on BA/MA courses at accredited UK Conservatoires every year.
(You can see our results for the past eight years here)
Auditions for 2024-25 are open!
Our next audition day is on Saturday 11th May at our studio in central Bristol.
Apply below to reserve your slot…
Our incredible team of experienced industry experts will give you the professional training you need, advise on the right portfolio of auditions for YOU, connect you with our extensive alumni network - and most importantly, help you develop your own unique voice as an artist.
With a curriculum that is personalised and flexible, we are completely focused on helping you to build your future.
This course is for you if you are 18+ and applying for BA/MA courses at drama school in the coming year.
In addition to school leavers, we welcome students who have gone through drama school auditions in the past and want to get in this time round, graduates, career-changers, international students and more.
Why Drama School?
Although it is possible to get into the profession as an actor without going to drama school, in today’s saturated industry it is extremely difficult: most of the time you just won’t get through the door – for jobs or representation – unless you have accredited professional training.
UK drama school training is world-renowned and extremely competitive: with odds of around 5000:1 for every place, you need high level skills, thorough professional preparation in your craft and an insider’s understanding of the audition system to succeed.
Whether you took a gap year, auditioned unsuccessfully for drama school before, are just finishing your BA at university or are planning to change careers and train as an actor, The Actors’ Workshop guides you through the whole process – from choosing the right drama schools all the way to the final recall. We have a proven record of excellence: every year more than 80% of our students are offered BA/MA places at top drama schools.
As experienced, highly-trained working actors/singers/dancers ourselves, all our tutors understand the changing demands of the profession and know what the colleges are looking for from year to year. We are dedicated to helping you acquire the skills you need to achieve your personal best.
Image © Vanessa Dennett Photography
Why Train With Us?
Top Professional Training from Industry Insiders.
Our unique ten-month Foundation Course is rigorous, demanding and joyful! It’s training for the profession, by the profession. Unlike most other courses, it’s not about getting a qualification, it’s about developing YOUR potential and teaching you the key skills YOU need to continue your creative journey at drama school and beyond.
We Beat the Odds
Year after year, 90% of our foundation students are offered places on BA/MA courses at accredited UK conservatoires. Yep, that’s 90% Many drama schools have foundation courses; only about 15-20% of their students successfully gain places for onward training anywhere…
It’s Part-time, So You Can Work as Well
With 12.5 hours per week of core training, you can work part-time alongside the course to pay fees and save for auditions.
You Are Not Wasting a Year of Student Funding
Student loans only cover a maximum of four years of study; each year generates significant debt, which you will have to pay off later. Since our fees are just one third of what you would pay for a whole year’s training elsewhere, you will embark on the next stage of your training without debt.
Scholarships and Bursaries
At The Actors’ Workshop Bristol, we believe that everyone with the talent and drive should have the chance to achieve their dreams. Fees are as low as possible; scholarships and bursaries are available where needed.
An Individual, Responsive Curriculum
One size does not fit all! Over the years, we have always resisted becoming accredited as this allows us to shape our curriculum in response to the individual. Instead of offering an (often meaningless) qualification, we meet you where you are and offer bespoke, personalised training to develop your practice and maximise your chance of success. Though most of our students are offered places on BA/MA courses at UK drama schools every year, we commit to you for the long haul: students who don’t get in often return for a second year, knowing they will be consistently challenged and set up for success next time around.
Masterclasses and Short Courses
Students get discounted rates for our Industry-led workshops and short courses - on everything from Commedia dell’Arte to screen acting – that run throughout the academic year. These extend your skills and help you start to build your professional networks.
Singing and Dancing
We offer extra dance, body-conditioning and small-group singing classes for those who want to develop these crucial skills.
Performance Opportunities
The course ends in a fully-staged showcase at a major Bristol venue. After this, there is the chance to audition for a classical play (this year, we are doing Macbeth at the Loco Klub, Temple Meads) which gives you a valuable professional credit.
“The Actors Workshop has ignited a fire in me that I don’t think will ever burn out. The staff will go to the ends of the earth to ensure that every single person in the class is challenged, motivated and nurtured, giving them a real shot at being successful in their drama school auditions.”
— Lucy Buncombe - BA Acting at Mountview
Fees for our Foundation Course are kept as low as possible in order to make the training accessible.
We are committed to training those with the talent, commitment and work ethic needed to succeed,
regardless of financial circumstances.
*If you are accepted onto any of our courses but demonstrably lack the means to pay full fees,
we will always help you by offering a full or partial scholarship or bursary. *
Minimum age
18 +
Academic requirements
None
Course length
One academic year: September - June.
Course Hours
12.5 hours per week: Monday evening; Tuesday/Friday & Sunday daytimes.
Tuition Fees for academic year 2024-25
£3,000 (Tuition fees are payable in monthly instalments of £300)
Applications
Applications for 2024-25 are now open.
Admission process
Application and audition/interview
“I just wanted to say thank you. I wouldn’t be here without your support and training.”
“Thankfully, I found The Actors’ Workshop! I was able to get guidance, advice, support and care from their wonderful tutors, all of whom have been to drama school and know the process inside out.”
“The Actor’s Workshop has completely transformed my performance skills in such a short period of time.”
Preparing for Drama School Auditions
We believe that preparing you for drama school auditions should be a key component of your training. We support our students all the way through this process, from choosing the right monologues and the most appropriate portfolio of colleges right through to final recall. We specialise in individual mentoring, empowering you to make good choices and own your personal creative decisions.
Preparing for Auditions Includes:
Speeches
Finding the right speeches can be daunting. We know which ones are overdone, how to negotiate the college lists and how to pick the right ones for you. Our extensive library of modern plays and our detailed knowledge of Shakespeare and his contemporaries are excellent resources
Songs
For acting, you may need an unaccompanied song; for musical theatre, you will need to focus equally on your songs and your speeches. Expert and appropriate vocal coaching (Estill-based) is one of our great strengths. We will teach you how to avoid the clichés and perform a song that is as technically accomplished and truthful as your speeches.
Movement/Dance
Our actor movement (Elements, Laban, Lecoq, Feldenkreis) and optional extra dance classes ensure that you have understanding and control – freeing you to express yourself with fluidity and imagination, whether in character or in dance.
Screen Acting and Self-Taping
With almost all the first round auditions now online, we give you in-depth training in how to present yourself and your work in the best possible way in self-tapes and Zoom auditions.
Showcase and Shakespeare
The Course runs from September to June and culminates in a professional showcase at an iconic Bristol Venue. Students are then offered the chance to audition for our Shakespeare production in July.
Further Skills
From audition and interview technique to devised pieces and theatre reviews, we are there to prepare you, helping you understand what works and why. Our extensive alumni network (we have ex-students in practically every accredited drama school in the country) is also available to you for advice and support.
More Info:
Course Schedule: Although the course is designed to allow you to work part-time alongside your training, it is extremely rigorous. You will have to commit to at least 10 teaching hours per week; most of our students do more than this. On top of this, you will be expected to engage in significant independent study – researching and watching plays/characters/situations, practising voice, singing and movement exercises, working on monologues & songs etc.
Entry Requirements: You must be completely fluent in English to apply for this course. As well as students from all over the UK, we welcome applicants from overseas (recent alumni have hailed from the USA, Australia, South Africa, France, Italy, Romania and The Netherlands) but you must have legal residency in the UK before you apply.
From September 2022 all in-person classes will be held at our new studio on Chatterton Street, Bristol BS1 6PR - just 3 mins walk from Temple Meads Station.
Fees and Funding: Tuition fees for the academic year 2023-24 are £2,750, payable in ten monthly instalments of £275. There is no UK government funding available for this course. If you're thinking of applying, you will therefore need to be self-financing. We have kept fees as low as possible to encourage inclusion and diversity and always help those with the talent and drive who cannot otherwise afford to train with us. In addition, each year we offer one full tuition fee bursary (The Ariane Orenstein Award). All bursaries and scholarships are awarded at the discretion of The Actors’ Workshop and are based on both potential and financial need.
Assessment: There is no formal assessment on this course: your achievement will be measured by your success in gaining a place on a BA/MA course at a UK drama school. Each year, more than 80% of students go on to train at degree level at prestigious conservatoires. Although this course is non-accredited, you will, however, receive ongoing verbal assessments, feedback and mentoring throughout the course, so that you can track your progression through the training.
Tutors: All tutors at The Actors Workshops are experienced, active industry professionals. Many also teach on BA/MA Acting courses at conservatoires up and down the country.
Academic Support, Health and Wellbeing: We strive to provide appropriate academic support for learners with dyslexia, dyspraxia or other learning challenges, so that they can access all course materials and activities fully. We underpin all our work with an emphasis on mental health – both through our hugely popular Stress Management classes and on an individual basis.
Auditions: Entry to The Actors’ Workshop Foundation Course is strictly via audition and interview.
We do not charge audition fees.