Level 3 Acting Week 2: Business Homework - My Five Year Plan: Course Option 1

Nathan Stokell's Five Year Plan: Course Option 1

How Do I Get There? (University/Drama School I Want To Study At)

1. Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts

Course Name: BA (HONS) in Performance - Acting Diploma in Professional Acting (3 Years)

What Modules Do They Offer?

Year 1 & 2: The focus of the first two years is on practical exploration of the many skills required of an actor. Students work in small groups exploring the full potential of their natural abilities and expanding their range of physical, imaginative, intellectual and performance skills.

Training includes regular classes in:

Acting | Screen Acting | Actor & Text | Animal Movement | Clown Work | Dance | Improvisation | Movement | Radio Technique | Sight Reading | Singing | Stage Combat | Verse Speaking | Voice

Students work on a number of performance projects across these two years including contemporary writing, Shakespeare, European and American drama which are presented to colleagues. Students also have the opportunity to devise and create original work.

Students receive feedback on their work throughout the course, with performance strengths and weaknesses examined and advice offered on areas of future development.

Year 3: Public performance is the focus of the third year and students present a range of productions and a professional showcase to agents, casting directors and other industry figures as well as the general public. Roles are cast to highlight individual talents with students given a range of different-sized roles over the year. Opportunities to engage in film work and a musical are included in the final year’s repertoire to prepare students for a diverse performance career. Third year students also create a show reel and work closely with Mountview’s industry liaison team to hone their CVs and prepare for agents’ interviews and auditions. Qualification assessment is based on the final year’s performances. Students are also marked on a working notebook in which they reflect on and examine their practice. Students who receive a Dance and Drama Award, funded by the Education Funding Agency, will follow and be awarded the Trinity College London Diploma in Professional Acting. They will additionally complete the BA (Hons) in Performance. 

Entry Requirements:

* One Shakespeare monologue

* One monologue from a modern play (written after 1979)

The monologues chosen must not last no longer than two minutes each.  Be from published plays and should not be extracts from poems, novels, films or television scripts.  Must Involve a character chosen from your own gender and close to your own age.

Entry Fee: 

£11,950

Within the completion of this course, an agent will be recommended to you by the college to pursue any given role in performance.

Is This Course For Me And Why?

"No one learned to be a good actor by reading a book: experiment, practice and performance are key."  This is one of the quotes that follow upon this course to tell candidates what they are getting into.

When I first looked upon this course at this Drama School to further my education in my Acting career I was instantly hooked.  I have heard many good things come out of Mountview by certain Actors I have come to watch.  This course in particular, is an engaging and thorough training in the arts that will prepare students for work in contemporary theatre and its associated industries.  Study for this course is carried out through direct engagement in practical work.

For the 3 year duration on this course, lecturers will be looking at each candidate to discover their skills in the arts of performance and will build upon them so each Actor on the course has their own unique attributes and traits.

With the grades I have already achieved through my educational years, I feel that this Drama School would accept my prior education in the arts and will help me become something I have dreamed to be for several years, a professional actor.

* I feel that Mountview would be a great choice for me to decide because of the research that I've gone through for both the Acting course and the whole institution.  Through the research, I know that Mountview offers brilliant facilities for all of it's students and that the training within the course I wish to study here is heavily related towards my already achieved skills and expereinces within the performance industry.

* Through choosing this institute of study, it would also allow me to further explore and increase my overall understanding in more of the practical and academicals sides of the acting industry.

* I will be able to expand upon my current skills, and also train towards gaining new techniques and skills in performance, all of which will be given through opportunities where I would have to present through stage, screen and radio productions.

* I would have opportunities to meet and work with past graduate students and professionals working within the performing arts industry which would, once again, allow me to extend my understanding in the acting industry and show how much more I can learn and train towards gaining professionalism in the performing arts industry.

Having seen some of the performances from the previous students of Mountview, I feel even more confident that choosing this institution of study will lead me onto a good path within the Performing Arts Industry and also towards my professionalism as an Actor. 

What Skills/Requirements Do I Need To Get In?

Students wishing to apply to Mountview should have past knowledge with Contemporary Writing and should also have experience's with all of the listed modules included on the course.  Strangly, students don't need any past qualifications to apply to the course, but having some experience in the performing arts industry would help a ton throughout the duration of the course.

Students wishing to apply should know full well what they are getting themselves into since having little to no abilities in the performance industry would leave them struggling.  Luckily for me, this is not the case, and I'm sure Mountview won't hesitate in enlisting me on this course.

The audition process for this course, which requires the student to perform both a Shakespearian and Modern monlogue, should include some useful acting skills and techniques which would of been gained from past studies in performance from College education.  With the knowledge and skills that I have achieved through my education as an actor at South Downs College, I feel confident that I'll give an outstanding performance by not only presenting the lines from the monolgue, but also interacting with the improvised environment and using physical emotions to deliver an even better performance.

With the modules that I'll be partaking in whilst on this course, I'll be further developing a range of skills, to which I already have experience, within my performance as an Actor.  This will all hopefully lead me onto a good path to becoming a professional actor and have a good standing for the rest of my career.

Post Training:

Once I have completed this course, if I choose to apply for it, I can see myself being set on a good self leading path for my career as an actor within the performing arts industry.

I'll come out of this course with an agent, which is recommended to me by the institute, to be set on my way to major productions being presented in the area or elsewhere.

When the time comes to picking a next place of study in my education to becoming a professional actor, Mountview is going to be one of the higher choices for me to decide on, and I'm sure many other successful actors have done the same when encountered with their decisions.