Memorandum 102
Submission from Conservatoires for Dance
and Drama
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. The proposed policy to cut funding for
ELQ students will have a detrimental impact on the Conservatoire
for Dance and Drama's ability to deliver its high-level vocationally-focused
training. For many Conservatoire students academic study is a
precursor to this training rather than an alternative. The diversity
of student experience is also critical to the training of artists.
2. The case studies attached are drawn from
ELQ students past and present. The students and graduates share
an absolute belief that the timing of their training, and the
flexibility which the current funding policy affords, is, or was,
critical to their success as artists.
INTRODUCTION
3. Founded in 2001, the Conservatoire for
Dance and Drama comprises eight specialist vocational schools:
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Central School of Ballet, The
Circus Space, London Contemporary Dance School, Northern School
of Contemporary Dance, Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary
Dance, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and the London Academy for
Music and Dramatic Art. Each of these institutions has an international
reputation for high quality training, aiming to produce artists
who will match the world's best and, on entering their professions,
shape the future of dance, drama and circus arts. The Conservatoire
only delivers vocational education and training.
IMPACT OF
THE ELQ POLICY
4. Critical to the effectiveness of the
Conservatoire is the diverse range of students who choose to study
with us. At present, this includes some 22% of "ELQ"
students whose previous study is directly relevant to gaining
Conservatoire entry (eg degrees in drama, dance studies, design).
In effect, for these ELQ students the Conservatoire's training
is part of a single sequence of preparation for entry into their
professions. The training of performers at the highest level is
an exceptionally demanding physical and intellectual process and
it is important to make available training of this type and intensity
only to the most talented students, and then only when they are
ready for it.
5. The unintended consequences of the Government's
proposed ELQ policy are potentially severe for the Conservatoire.
At present, the Conservatoire is able to draw its students from
the widest talent pool, regardless of their financial circumstances.
Withdrawal of public funding, however, would have a significant
impact on the Conservatoire's ability to recruit the most talented
students, affecting not only individual ELQ students but also
the entire student cohort, all of whom benefit pedagogically from
the balance of younger and more mature students, especially in
acting. This includes the participation of disabled students who
have, almost without exception, been prepared for Conservatoire
entry standard through the completion of a prior degree.
6. The proposal to withdraw funding for
ELQ students, with no certainty about the replacement of lost
student numbers and the very tight timetable, represents a real
problem for the Conservatoire. There is little or no scope for
charging what would be very high full-cost fees without reducing
access and diluting the quality of entry, and with exactly sized
cohorts and precisely balanced company numbers, many of the Conservatoire's
courses would deteriorate in quality or, worse still, be rendered
unviable.
CONSERVATOIRE ELQ
STUDENTS PAST
AND PRESENT:
CASE STUDIES
Tom Riley, LAMDA alumnus, currently starring in
"The Vertical Hour" at the Royal Court Theatre
7. "I have always wanted to be an actor,
but upon leaving school, felt I lacked the life experience and
the intellectual capacity to do the profession justice. I chose
to take an English Literature degree in order to achieve this,
with every intention of applying to drama school the minute I
graduated, if I could afford it. The knowledge that there may
be funding there to help me when the moment came kept my hopes
alive.
8. "When I did eventually go to LAMDA,
I realised that waiting was the right choice. I had used university
to broaden my analytical skills, and as a base from which to start
theatre companies, try my hand at directing, and to increase my
life experience. It was from this ideal launch-pad that I was
able to make the absolute best of what LAMDA had to offer in the
three years that followed, and I truly believe it is the combination
of the two institutions that has been responsible for my success
since leaving drama school. I have worked pretty much non-stop
in numerous films, television, and some of the greatest theatres
in the country, and I am sure it is the unique mixture of an academic
bent polished at university and the talents honed at LAMDA that
have made me appealing to potential employers.
9. "I could not have afforded to go
to drama school without the funding available to ELQs, and there's
a strong chance my career would never have taken off. Withdrawing
financial aid is a grave mistake which will undoubtedly affect
the opportunity for some of Britain's most talented actors to
fulfil their potential. As a consequence it may well prove highly
damaging to the future of the arts in this country."
Sorrell Moore, current student at RADA
10. "I graduated from Royal Holloway,
University of London in 2005 with a First-class Honours degree
in Drama & Theatre Studies. My degree has been absolutely
invaluable to me in my current training in Technical Theatre Arts
at RADA. I have been able to achieve what I see as a "whole"
understanding of the theatrical world—I have extensive knowledge
of theatre history, theory, and technique as well as the practical,
creative experience of stage craft I am gaining at RADA. This,
I am certain, will be of enormous benefit to me throughout my
future career.
11. "My first degree was extremely
diverse and made it possible for me to focus my areas of interest
and to realise that I would need to train further in order to
find practical ways to harness my passion professionally, and
to plan an effective career. RADA's Graduate Diploma in Theatre
Technical Arts seemed the perfect "add-on" to the degree
I had already achieved, and I am now able to bring three years
of academic technique to my practical work. I constantly utilise
my research skills and apply my previous knowledge in my RADA
work. I am also able to inform/assist my colleagues from other
backgrounds, just as many of them are able to assist me with practical
techniques. It is this variety of backgrounds and personal knowledge
that is so vital to RADA—every student comes with their
own unique experience that, pooled together, enables every other
student the benefit of an extensive network of theatrical knowledge:
practical, academic, work-based, theory based, West End, regional,
fringe, touring, British, American, European . . . the list is
endless."
Charlotte Newell, BOVTS alumnus 2006, currently
working on "Major Barbara" at the National Theatre
12. "Last year I graduated from the
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS) with a BA in Professional
Stage Management having already completed a BA (Hons) in English
and Drama at the University of Bristol.
13. "My first degree choice was motivated
by my love of literature, plays and theatre. Through doing this
degree, and through the experience of theatrical production that
it gave me, I was introduced to the role of Stage Manager and
discovered an enthusiasm and a dedication to pursue the career
myself. My research into the courses which would help me train
for this profession led me to my second degree at BOVTS.
14. "There is absolutely no doubt that
without the Conservatoire funding I would not have been able to
afford the excellent training which, because of its deservedly
high reputation, has enabled me to go straight into jobs at the
Royal Court and National Theatre. Without Government subsidy,
many potential second-degree students will be unable to afford
the high level of training I was lucky enough to receive. Our
profession will be at a loss for highly qualified arts professionals
and this will undoubtedly be detrimental to the standard of future
theatre production."
Timandra Dyer, LAMDA alumnus, currently Production
Manager for English Touring Theatre
15. "My first degree was in Politics
and Economics at Bath University. Although I loved theatre and
wanted to pursue a career in theatre, I had no idea courses such
as the Stage Management and Technical Theatre course at LAMDA
existed and, at eighteen, did not know what I wanted to do. Eight
years later, I found the LAMDA course, applied, and was offered
a position. Without the Government financial assistance provided
to "mature", second degree students I could not have
afforded the course.
16. "Since leaving LAMDA I have successfully
utilised my LAMDA training and networks to work at the Royal National
Theatre, on numerous West End productions and, currently, as Production
Manager for English Touring Theatre.
17. "In a way, I wish I had known about
LAMDA and gone there at eighteen, but I probably wasn't in the
right frame of mind or at the right level of maturity at that
point and was better suited to the course subsequent to other
studies. I am, therefore, someone who has made a success of the
investment in my retraining as a direct result of Government help."
Tom Hiddleston, RADA alumnus 2006, currently starring
in "Othello" at the Donmar Warehouse
18. "I am in no doubt that I would
not be doing what I am doing now without both of my degrees.
19. "After school, I went to Cambridge
to continue my education, and the value of my experience there
is immeasurable. It gave me intellectual and personal independence,
breadth of choice, self-possession, I read a lot of Greek and
Latin, met some very interesting people, and had a great time.
But I went to RADA to become an actor. Cambridge could not, nor
did I expect it to, deliver that opportunity. Actor-training involves
total, near-professional commitment, intense rigour, and physical
dedication, and in many ways it was infinitely more demanding
than my first BA, but I knew that if I wanted to become an actor
I had to undertake the same training as all those actors who had
inspired me to make that choice in the first place.
20. "RADA gave me a craft: a rule-book
for consistency of quality, professionalism, physical conditioning,
philosophical validity and emotional propriety; a rule-book learned
not intellectually, but through the experience of practice. All
the work that I have done to date—in theatre, television,
and radio—has come partly through my employers' trust (and
my own) in the quality of that training.
21. "If the government stops funding
students with a first degree, our theatres and our films will
suffer. Too many will not be able to afford it and they will not
apply. It's that simple."
Katie Green, LCDS alumnus 2006, currently working
as a freelance dance professional and founder of Green Bean Dance
Company
22. "I graduated from LCDS in 2006
with a First class degree in Contemporary Dance having completed
a degree in English Literature at Cambridge University in 2003.
I am now a professional freelance dance artist with my own contemporary
dance company. I attribute my professional success to the excellent
training I received at two of this country's leading institutions,
training which I could not have afforded if the fees for my second
course had been higher.
23. "I took a first degree prior to
dance training for two main reasons. First, knowing that professional
life as an artist could be unstable I wanted to equip myself to
deal with all eventualities. Second, given the opportunity to
study at Cambridge, I wanted to make the most of working with
talented peers, teachers, in excellent theatres, and with a professional
Dancer in Residence at my college. Also, research indicated to
me that I might be at an advantage applying to dance schools later,
given that they, like drama schools, would welcome students who
were more comfortable in themselves and therefore more able to
express themselves physically. The additional maturity, breadth
of knowledge and experience, and the extended network I began
to establish during my first degree (there are many people from
Cambridge with whom I now collaborate on a regular basis) have
proved essential in my professional life.
24. "In retrospect, I was naive and
not necessarily well-suited when I was eighteen to the physical
and emotional challenges of three intensive years of professional
dance training. I could not have fully understood the scope of
my work and my potential to succeed as a dance artist during a
first degree. During my second degree I was able to consolidate
the things I had begun to discover about myself. Now I feel much
better equipped to take on the challenging and exciting world
of the arts."
Danny Lee Wynter, LAMDA alumnus 2005, recently
starred in Stephen Poliakoff's "Joe's Palace" and "Capturing
Mary" for the BBC
25. "I arrived at LAMDA at the perfect
time in my life. Having known I was stage-bound since childhood,
but being intimidated earlier on in my journey to take the leap
of faith and apply for drama school, I concluded to go to university
first and learn about life. I'd barely been encouraged to pick
up a classical text before going. Studying for my first degree
gave me a hunger for life, a hunger which hadn't been installed
in me earlier. It was this hunger and determination which spurred
me on to fill out an application form for LAMDA, and I got in.
26. "The proposed ELQ cut poses a significant
threat to individuals, like myself, who are compelled to pursue
a career in the arts. Without financial aid the number of people
attending drama school from financially-challenged backgrounds
who already have a degree will diminish because they simply won't
apply in the first place. Such a thing would prove damaging for
teaching in drama schools because the teacher would ultimately
be catering to an elite palate, thus reinforcing the age-old belief
that those with money can fly and those without are destined to
remain on the ground. The great success of my own training was
that the wide and varied cultural make-up of the class fed the
training given by the professionals.
27. "Without Government subsidy I wouldn't
have enjoyed the success I have so far in my career."
Nicholas Taylor, current student at LAMDA
28. "After my A-Levels I was torn between
going to Drama school, studying literature, directing, or creative
writing, or joining the Foreign Office. My school had many inspiring
teachers and I was full of ideas, but I was eighteen. I was advised
by my teachers to study at university first and those three years
were incredibly important in helping me understand what I wanted
to do and why. I was involved with a large number of plays, collaborating
with others my age as well as learning from both academics and
professionals in the entertainment industry. Many of us had plans
to come to LAMDA after doing a degree.
29. "I am now delighted to have been
offered a place at one of the top drama schools in the country,
with a course perfectly suited to my needs as a graduate. My background
enables me to marry the academic and practical aspects of drama,
and the path that I am following is part of a British system that
has allowed us to consistently produce world-beating, diverse
drama. Our performers and practitioners are renowned for their
innovative and intelligent work, often arising from their collaborations
before, during, and after university.
30. "We cannot afford to deny students
the chance to discover themselves and each other for the sake
of stream-lining them into an economically beneficial system.
I hope we shall continue to afford our eighteen year olds the
same opportunities that I had and that the time will not come
when drama in this country becomes just a career choice rather
than an evolving art form."
Graham Alexander, current student at LCDS
31. "I only began dancing in my late
teens and as a school leaver with a strong history in the sciences
and no formal dance training, I barely gave going to dance college
a second thought. While studying Physics at Oxford University,
however, I danced and choreographed increasingly, joined a youth
dance company and established a university contemporary dance
society still running today. In my second year I considered leaving
to study dance but felt that to have left then would waste years
of work by my teachers and myself. I also recognised that the
performing arts is a precarious profession, and an injury could
leave me with nothing had I not finished my degree.
32. "There are many benefits to my
having taken a degree prior to my current vocational training
in Contemporary Dance at LCDS. I have a degree of self-knowledge
and direction that I do not always see in my younger comrades
and that makes me determined to get the best from my course and
teachers, and three years of trial and error have schooled me
in working efficiently and getting the best from my learning,
time and finances. Also, the time I spent discovering that dance
was the vocation for me was invaluable. I am gaining more from
this second degree than my first because I have already learnt
the life-lessons that enable me to put my all into the course.
33. "I have had an opportunity to change
the course of my life by coming to LCDS, and I gladly work in
two jobs to be able to afford the current fees and living expenses.
I genuinely do not believe, however, that someone could follow
in my footsteps paying anything greater. The ELQ proposals thus
threaten a very important demographic in the next generation of
artists, preventing many others like me from reaching their potential.
We cannot expect to retain our world class status while limiting
artistic input or compromising our standards when we should be
striving for greatness."
January 2008
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