Drama school hopes to ‘shift the dial’ by axing audition fees

Prospective students auditioning for diploma and undergraduate-level acting courses at Central School of Speech and Drama (CSSD) in London will no longer have to pay audition fees, a move the institution says will “push back” against perceived “elitism” in the arts.

The current audition costs at the school – £40 for its BA Acting course and £10 for its acting diploma – are being suspended for students applying from autumn 2024 onward.

“In these increasingly difficult times, training institutions such as ours are grappling with government policies that seek to undermine the arts and funding structures that continually ask us to deliver more with less," said Central Principal and CEO Josette Bushell-Mingo.

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"We must push back against a creeping narrative that says the arts are elitist, that they are only for a select few.”

In addition CSSD has established three travel grant schemes for applicants attending its open days and final round auditions.

A £20,000 travel grant will be used to encourage prospective applicants to attend undergraduate open days and will be available for events from June 2024. Two further grants totalling £30,000 will support travel costs for attending final round undergraduate acting auditions and on-campus events.

The conservatoire is also launching a campaign to raise funds for its Access to Central bursary initiative that automatically awards a £1,250 annual bursary to all eligible UK-based undergraduate students with a household income under £35,000 at the point of enrollment.

In its announcement, CSSD said that “working within the existing constraints of higher education funding structures”, it had a “responsibility” to “shift the dial” towards improving access to arts training "at the point of entry".

The decision comes at a challenging time for higher education institutions offering arts degrees, particularly non-conservatoire performing arts programmes, as dwindling budgets have led to a recent raft of job cuts and course closures.

Adding to those difficulties, earlier this month, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan outlined government plans to cut funding for performing and creative arts courses, a move the University and College Union said would significantly impact less affluent students.

Jo Grady, the union's General Secretary, said: "Arts subjects are increasingly becoming the preserve of the rich, and this latest attack will further shut down opportunities for working-class students."

Removing barriers

In recent years, many drama schools have reduced audition fees or started waiver programmes for applicants who can provide proof of meeting specific financial criteria. However, the process can still cost upwards of £55, in addition to a £27.50 UCAS application fee, which allows students to apply to up to six conservatoires.

The Federation of Drama Schools, of which CSSD is a member, says that audition payments are necessary because conservatories are nonprofit and the fee directly pays for the staff and facilities associated with the audition process.

However, critics have long argued that the fees exacerbate class divisions within UK theatre, particularly for prospective students who need to travel a long distance to audition or wish to apply to multiple institutions.

Several schools, including Manchester School of Theatre and Arden School of Theatre, have been free to audition for a number of years. Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) ditched its audition payments in 2022 and also offers travel grants that are applied automatically based on an applicant's postcode.

LIPA Principal and Chief Executive Sean McNamara said at the time he hoped the decision would allow "all aspiring performers and creative artists of the future to have the opportunity to undertake world-leading professional vocational training so they can further their ambitions and fulfil their potential in pursuit of developing a career in the creative industries.”

Audion fees

Where audition fees are requested, the cost varies considerably, with some schools charging for both initial auditions over video and for later callbacks.

At East 15 in Essex, prospective undergraduates pay £15 for a video first-round audition and £30 for an in-person callback. London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art also charges £15 for a self-tape to apply to its BA Hons in Professional Acting, with a recall fee for 2024 still to be confirmed.

Arts Ed doesn’t charge prospective students for their first self-tape audition, but an in-person recall costs £25, while Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, which does not use UCAS for admissions, has an “application fee” of £39 for its BA in Acting.

Elsewhere, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School charges £25 to audition for its BA in Acting, and Royal Welsh College and Royal Conservatoire Scotland charge £35 and £55, respectively.

Speaking about the impact of audition fees, CSSD graduate Martin Freeman said: "None of us wants drama schools to be the preserve of the well-off. Ideally, they are places where people from all backgrounds can come together and learn from each other. That seems to have become harder and harder in recent years; who knows how many young actors are lost to us due to lack of funds."