Regional Audition Opportunity (Summer School)
A new, collaborative initiative between two acclaimed drama and musical theatre schools, Fourth Monkey Actor Training Company and READ College, has launched. Providing a regional opportunity for young people based in or around two locations (Belfast and Stockton-on-Tees) to audition without the potentially prohibitive experience of travel to London or Reading, this collaboration reflects an ongoing commitment from both schools to ensure their auditions and training opportunities are as accessible as possible. In short, they are coming to you!
Fourth Monkey and READ College will be bringing their panel to two regional locations; The Crescent in Belfast, on Sunday, 26 April* and ARC Theatre in Stockton-on-Tees on Saturday, 2 May* for a free, full audition day at each venue to be shared between both schools. Prospective students can expect to be in attendance from around 10am-6pm and, during this time, will be given an insight into both drama schools’ respective approaches to training.
Jamie Read, joint Chief Executive at Read College says: “With most ‘top’ performing arts colleges being based in London, all too often there are pockets of areas from around the UK that are under-represented within them. In an attempt to ensure that ALL young people who have ever dreamt of performing are given the chance to train, we are delighted to be bringing a collaborative audition panel to Belfast and Stockton-on-Tees providing ‘Access To The Arts’ for all.”
Read College provides Foundation Training for students wishing to pursue a career in the Performing Arts, whether purely as an actor or as a triple-threat (acting, singing, dancing) performer. Their intensive vocational courses are unique in their approach, with students able to study full-time on their two-year vocational 6th Form in Performing Arts, one-year Foundation Course in Musical Theatre or their one-year Foundation Course in Acting.
Steve Green, CEO and Artistic Director at Fourth Monkey said; “2020 is our ten-year anniversary and as we look forward to the next decade, we want to ensure our auditions and ultimately the school are as accessible as possible. It is why we decided to abolish all audition fees in September 2019, it is why we will be providing a number of travel bursaries for any recalls offered following regional auditions and it is why we are proud to be joining in this collaborative endeavour to bring our panel to Belfast and Stockton-on-Tees with READ College to make sure that accessibility truly starts at audition.”
Fourth Monkey is taking its innovative, ensemble-focused approach to actor training to Belfast and Stockton-on-Tees, where prospective students will be able to audition for both programmes offered by the London-based drama school; the BA (Hons) Acting accelerated two-year degree and the Year of the Monkey one-year intensive actor training programme.
Anyone wishing to take advantage of this exciting free audition should register in advance at www.fourthmonkey.co.uk/training/regional-auditions and select their preferred date via the electronic application form, or at www.readcollege.org via the ‘Apply Now’ link.
*Due to the current health crisis, please confirm the published dates have not been cancelled or postponed prior to attending any audition events.