With GCSE exams and A-Level exam season about to begin, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and underprepared. Often, there's a lot of pressure put on these few months and this can lead to anxiety. It's important to remember that exams are not the be-all and end-all of your life. However, it can feel that way how. If you're seeking some reassurance, then look no further! We spoke to some industry professionals and asked for their top tips for getting through exam season.
It is so important to emphasise that there is no one route to success - you are on your own path - life is so unpredictable, and it will happen when you least expect it. I highly recommend building your portfolio online, with a subject you’re most interested in and build experiences around it - reach out to people, there is nothing to lose!
Exams can feel like an impending doom! But that shouldn’t be the case. I treated my exams like an opportunity to give myself a pat on the back for all of the shiny new knowledge I’d retained throughout my schooling. You’ll be surprised by how much you’ve remembered once you get there. Everyone learns in their own way and at their own pace. Any nugget of knowledge is an achievement! Go easy on yourself and celebrate a job well done!
All you can do is your best. Trust that you'll be able to give your best on the day. Remember; no matter what happens this chapter of your life does not define you or your journey.
Speaking as someone who wasn’t particularly fond of exam environments, I know EXACTLY how daunting these times can be.
The level of pressure that is on your mind and body isn’t a nice feeling and then the dread of having to pick up your results. Thoughts like “Did I work hard enough?”, “Should I have listened more?” and “Will I be okay?” constantly running through your head as you walk towards the exam hall.
The worst part of all this? Is getting yourself worked up.
At times, It may seem like everyone around you is miles ahead, excelling beyond belief and understanding everything without any issues but I guarantee, you’re not alone. I’d recommend checking in with your friends and making sure you’re all supporting each other, they might be just as worried as you are!
Sometimes it can feel like everyone around you is expecting superhuman results and a clean sweep of A*’s from you - but I promise you that no one puts more pressure on yourself than you do. The people around you want the best for you and want you to succeed in your chosen field. Think of them as your cheerleaders or ensemble!
Here are three things I want you to remember:
1. Be prepared! (Read, write, sing, watch, listen - Give yourself the best chance at reaching your potential)
2. Try your best. (It's all anyone or yourself can ask for and it is more than enough).
3. Ease up and be kind to yourself. (You’re doing great – I promise.)
And at the end of the day, if it doesn’t go exactly how you planned it to, here’s some advice.
Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again. Put it down to ‘life experience’ - and that is GOLD DUST to an actor.
For more advice from industry professionals, click here.
(Image credit: (c), Michael Shelford, Adam Hill)
A forum theatre performance about reputation and expectation
Lewisham Youth Theatre is casting a touring young company for its 2024 'Live It Down' school performances.
This is a paid opportunity. Lewisham Youth Theatre is looking for 4 Actors aged 18 to 30, of any ethnicity to play multiple characters. This is a paid opportunity.
South London Actors preferred.
Rehearsals: 17 to 28 June, Monday to Friday.
Performances: Saturday 29 June followed by 5 performances in schools from 1 to 12 July
To receive an audition pack, please submit a headshot and CV to the email address below.
Dramatherapy is a unique method of psychotherapy that uses play, movement, improvisation, storytelling and dramatisation to facilitate positive change and personal growth. Dramatherapy helps develop creativity and imagination and aids during times of stress, emotional instability, and uncertainty.
Dramatherapy is an inclusive practice suitable for a wide range of client groups across ages, cultural or social differences, including physical and learning ability. Dramatherapy is a contained, active, collaborative process of discovery and change whereby the therapist supports clients by actively listening and responding with creative invitations. Dramatherapists work with creative activities, embodied experiences, and theatre practices to help their clients re-imagine, work through and make changes in their lives.
Creative Youth Network's Trainee Dramatherapist will work with the referred young person for 12 sessions on a 1-2-1 basis. Sessions will last for an hour each and take place at The Station (Bristol) or Kingswood Estate (South Gloucestershire).
Access to Work can help you get or stay in work if you have a physical or mental health condition or disability.
The support you get will depend on your needs. Through Access to Work, you can apply for:
The Performing Arts National Extended Certificate is a 2 year course equivalent to 1 A Level. It is aimed at developing skills in all of the disciplines associated with the Performing Arts - theatre, music and dance - both as an audience member and as a performer. You will study a combination of practice and theory in order to develop your academic and performing skills to a high level, and you will learn how to improvise performance and interpret texts as well as understand how performances are produced, directed and choreographed. You will develop conceptual understanding as well as team working skills.
This course aims to provide opportunities for students to develop a wide range of performance skills in music, drama, dance and a range of genres. It will develop your understanding of how performers work and how performance has evolved over time, as well as all aspects of the production of a performance - as performers, producers and the audience.
A significant aspect will be your development of team working skills, essential to any successful performance. You can expect to:
This BTEC is studied with 2 other A Levels or Level 3 BTEC equivalent. One of the other A levels should be in the Performing Arts area, specifically Drama, Dance, Music Performing, or Music Technology, other good combinations are Film Studies, Textiles, Fine Art, Graphics, Photography, English Literature and Media Studies.
The Performing Arts and Theatre industries are broad programmes that introduce you to the traditional disciplines of acting, physical theatre and dance, but also cover elements of technical theatre and production. The programme allows you to develop skills for traditional roles but also allows you to cover skills for recorded and digital work. The broad programmes are ideal to explore the kinds of performance or technical role that leads to your industry specialism.
The Performing Arts programmes are delivered in purpose-built theatre and dance studio spaces, designed to replicate both the stage and back-stage experiences of a working theatre. Students also have access to dedicated IT spaces for coursework. Our tutors all have relevant experience of industry bringing a wide range of experience and expertise to the programmes.
As part of one of our working theatre companies you will take part in regular performances throughout the year, and you will get the opportunity for a lead role as part of your Final Major Project. On some projects you may be expected to adopt a formal industry role. You are encouraged to consider what kind of industry role you might adopt after college or University or consider your own performance-related business venture.
The Performing Arts National Extended Certificate is a 2 year course equivalent to 1 A Level. It is aimed at developing skills in all of the disciplines associated with the Performing Arts - theatre, music and dance - both as an audience member and as a performer. You will study a combination of practice and theory in order to develop your academic and performing skills to a high level, and you will learn how to improvise performance and interpret texts as well as understand how performances are produced, directed and choreographed. You will develop conceptual understanding as well as team working skills.
This course aims to provide opportunities for students to develop a wide range of performance skills in music, drama, dance and a range of genres. It will develop your understanding of how performers work and how performance has evolved over time, as well as all aspects of the production of a performance - as performers, producers and the audience.
A professional development programme for early career dance and music artists. A programme of networking, intensive weekends, mentoring and access to studio space.
Thrive 2024, offered by Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, is a professional development initiative designed for independent dance and music professionals. Tailored to the needs of early-career artists, this programme aims to cultivate a fresh network of peers, equip participants with essential skills for sustaining their artistic careers, and foster an entrepreneurial mindset through a series of workshops, discussions, mentorship, and training sessions.
Over the course of four intensive weekends at the Trinity Laban campuses in South East London, attendees will engage in a variety of sessions covering topics such as self-sustainability in the arts (including managing a diverse career portfolio, enhancing social media and marketing skills, navigating arts funding, and mastering financial management including tax and contracts), as well as specialised workshops focusing on technique and skill enhancement within their respective art forms.
Networking opportunities, with guest speakers and facilitators providing platforms for creative exchange, skill sharing, and personal and professional growth. Additionally, participants will benefit from mentoring and Action Learning Sets, receiving three hours of personalised guidance from seasoned professionals either online or in person throughout the programme.
Access to studio space for research and rehearsals during the summer months will be provided, with potential avenues to showcase created works to the rest of the cohort.
The London School of Musical Theatre (LSMT) offers a one-year, full-time course, designed for those who wish to realise their full potential as musical theatre performers.
Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation Scholarship will be awarded by the School as part of the audition/selection process on the combined basis of merit and financial need. The Scholarship will cover course fees only and will be reviewed on an annual basis.
The Italia Conti BA (Hons) Professional Arts Practice (One-Year Online Top Up) is an innovative, unique, industry-leading programme.
The programme is designed to be completed entirely through distance learning, to fit around your schedule. Aimed at those who have completed their performing arts training, and may have already worked in the industry, the course is designed to help you reflect upon your journey to this point, research the avenues you wish to pursue next, and bridge the gap to take the next steps on your career journey. Through a wide variety of online resources, live and recorded webinars, group and individual tutorials, presentations, film creation, research projects and written work, you will deeply evaluate your own professional practice and personal qualities and attributes, extensively consider and research an area of the performing arts industry that interests you, and prepare a professional project that moves you towards that goal, through either the creation of a professional portfolio, an action research project or a written dissertation.
The programme focuses on you and your personal and professional development, training you in the reflective and research skills required to get you from where you are to where you want to be. We teach you how to critically reflect upon your life and work experience to date, intensively research the options you’re interested in pursuing and help you bridge the gap between where you are and where you wish to go next.
