BA (Hons) Professional Acting

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is an associate school of the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), a Higher Education Provider registered with the Office for Students. On successful completion of this course, you will receive an award from UWE Bristol. Because of their vocational nature, BOVTS does not award degree classifications – all assessment is completed on a pass or fail basis.

This course is taught predominantly at the School’s main site at Downside Road. Audio and film work is taught at the School’s centre for recorded media at Christchurch Studios, and on-location across the city of Bristol. Read more about the sale of Christchurch Studios.  

The School stages theatre productions at venues across Bristol, and the productions you work on will be based in one or more of the city’s many performance spaces. Recent venues have included Bristol Old Vic, the Redgrave Theatre, the Wardrobe Theatre, Circomedia, Tobacco Factory Theatres and the Malcolm X Community Centre amongst others.

From time-to-time, rehearsals and teaching may take place in alternative spaces in close proximity to the School.

In your first year, you will follow a structured timetable made up of a range of specialist and practical classes. Most classes are normally taught in groups of 14 and will be with both the core acting staff and visiting specialists and directors, particularly for text projects. 

In-house projects and performances with invited audiences of staff and students will help consolidate your learning and allow you to become confident in your performance abilities. Your scheduled learning will typically be around 25 hours per week and you would normally be expected to undertake at least 10 hours per week of independent study, which may include reading, learning lines, practising vocal warmups and self-reflection work. 

From second year onwards, your learning will increasingly be structured around the theatrical and recorded media productions that you work on. When you are rehearsing for productions, you will have fewer timetabled classes and will follow the daily rehearsal schedule according to the production’s needs. The School’s theatrical productions are presented for public audiences and therefore there is evening and weekend work expected throughout your course.      

This course is led by the Head of BA Acting.  Text projects and final year public performances are often directed by visiting industry professionals, meaning you will benefit from working with a range of different practitioners.

You will also have the opportunity to practise auditioning for a range of industry professionals including agents and casting directors.  You can find further information about all our core teaching staff on our staff pages. You will have the opportunity in final year to work on a student-led production, working closely with a student director from the MA Drama Directing course.

The BA (Hons) degree in Professional Acting is an unclassified bachelor’s degree. This means that on completion of your course, you will receive an honours degree but without a classification (first class, 2:1 etc). 

Assessment at BOVTS is continuous throughout each year and all your modules will be marked on a pass or fail basis. All timetabled classes are compulsory and your tutors will monitor your progress closely, providing you with regular feedback to help you develop. This includes both verbally in class and in individual tutorials, as well as detailed written feedback at the end of each module or final year production. You will also receive feedback from visiting external professionals – for example directors on final year shows, or casting directors observing your practice auditions.

Nearly all of your assessment will be based on practical work in classes, rehearsals and performances. You will be assessed against relevant industry standards and your ability to bring together all aspects of your learning. There are no written exams, although in your final year, you will need to complete a career launch plan.

Year 1: Each module is worth a specified number of credit points. All modules are compulsory, enabling you to cover key subject knowledge while developing your own interests. 

Acting Practice (40 credit points)

This module explores the fundamentals of acting through classes, workshops and text projects. Through themes of imagination and play, self and character, and ensemble and autonomy, you’ll explore a range of acting methodologies and approaches. 

Movement for Actors 1 (30 credit points)

You’ll develop foundational physical skills in the fundamentals of movement for actors including both historical and contemporary dance, stage combat and intimacy training, and nurture self-awareness of your individuality.  

Reflective and Creative Practice (15 credit points)

This module will support you in understanding the relationship between theory and practice. Through a variety of classes and workshops, you’ll develop a critical awareness of systems, power structures and narratives that may impact you as an actor and give rise to different forms of artistic expression. 

Voice and Singing 1 (35 credit points)

You will learn the anatomy and physiology of the voice, understanding your own speech sound system in relation to geographical, linguistic and cultural background, and how to use your voice creatively and appropriately in different playing spaces and media. 

Year 2: Each module is worth a specified number of credit points. All modules are compulsory, enabling you to cover key subject knowledge while developing your own interests. 

Acting and Professional Practice (40 credit points)

You’ll acquire a more sophisticated understanding of the demands on the actor in rehearsal, performance and across industry and also undertake text projects, exploring and questioning terms such as realism and naturalism. In screen work, you’ll acquire an understanding of production conventions, studio/location etiquette and self-taping.  

Children’s Theatre (20 credit points)

You’ll learn and apply the processes, procedures and disciplines required for effective delivery of a piece of children’s theatre, exploring elements of storytelling, audience interaction and synthesis of acted and musical elements to create a play that tours into primary schools. 

Epic Stages (30 credit points)

In this module, you will rehearse and perform a fully realised ensemble production for a public audience, developing your understanding of heightened dramatic situations and human dilemma and integrating text analysis, voice, movement, character and ensemble work. 

Movement for Actors 2 (10 credit points)

In this module, you’ll integrate your learning so far to build on your movement techniques, coordination and partner work with a focus on safe practices in dramatic combat and intimacy work.

Voice and Singing 2 (20 credit points)

You’ll deepen your understanding of effective and expressive use of the actor’s instrument with more challenging voice, dialect and speech requirements, coming to appreciate how voice, body and movement integrate to create embodied performance. 

Year 3: Each module is worth a specified number of credit points. All modules are compulsory, enabling you to cover key subject knowledge while developing your own interests. 

Film and Audio Production (15 credit points)

Working to industry protocols and standards, you will act in filmed scenes, and undertake a variety of audio work, including narration and voice-over. 

Launch (25 credit points)

In this module, you will integrate your understanding of the drama industry to produce a personal business plan and take part in an industry-facing showcase, as well as meeting with agents and casting directors. 

Main House Public Productions (50 credit points)

You’ll synthesise the skills and techniques acquired throughout your training and be cast and perform in public-facing productions to learn the practices and etiquette of professional theatre productions (including technical and dress rehearsals). 

Student-led Production (30 credit points)

Creative relationships that develop at the Theatre School can last for many years in the industry. In this module, you will be cast and perform in a small cast play, directed by a student from the MA Drama Directing course and designed by a student from the MA Performance Design course.

Applicants are normally expected to meet UWE Bristol’s minimum entry requirements. However, BOVTS welcomes interest from applicants who may not have the standard entry requirements. We will consider evidence of personal, professional and educational experience which shows an ability to meet the demands of the course. Please see “selection process” for further information, or contact our admissions team for further advice. 

If English is not your first language, you will need to demonstrate English language proficiency through a relevant qualification, such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). For this course, an overall score of 7.0 is normally required, with a minimum of 7.0 in each component of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Please contact our admissions team for further advice.

Please note that there is a £25 audition fee for this course. We operate a three-stage audition process for admission. The first stage is to submit a self-tape as part of your application. Your self-tape will be viewed by an auditioner and if you are successful at this stage, you will be invited to take part in an individual preliminary audition, which will be online. If you are successful at the second stage, you will be invited to attend a recall workshop day, which is held in person at the Theatre School. 

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is pleased to be able to offer a number of free audition places for the BA Professional Acting course via its fee waiver scheme. Please see the Fees and Financial Support page for further information.

Please download our self-tape and preliminary audition advice which has guidance on selecting and presenting your audition pieces.

Applications for our BA (Hons) Acting course will open at 9am on 1st September 2024, via our website, and will close at 4pm on Friday 31st January 2025

The BA (Hons) Acting audition process is comprised of a three staged process:

Stage 1 – Self-tape

Stage 2 – Online audition

Stage 3 – In person recall

After we have processed your application we will email you further instructions on the self-tape stage, this could be within one to two days of you applying. You will have 14 days to submit your self-tape.

Stage 1 – You will need to perform two contrasting monologues. Each piece should last no longer than two minutes. The choice of plays is for you to decide, we no longer advise which plays you should choose. However, your monologues should be from a play and should not be extracts from poems, novels, films or television scripts.
Your self-tape will be viewed by members of the audition panel. Tips for your submission are below;
Tips for your audition pieces
• Contrast is important for us to assess your acting potential. This could be achieved by performing a classical and a contemporary speech, a comedy and a drama piece, or by choosing two different characters.
• Your speech can be translated from another language, but must be performed in English.
• You may choose a speech in any gender.
• Speeches should involve a character close to your own age and at least one speech should be performed in your own accent.
• It will help if you’ve read the whole play and understand the context of the speech.
• Think about who your character is speaking to and where they are.
• Think about what your character is trying to achieve, and see if there is a change of direction in the speech.

Tips for your self-tape video
• Your audition video can be recorded using a smartphone camera. You do not need a professional grade camera.
• When recording your video, try to use a room that has privacy, some space to move around and which is as quiet as it can be.
• Record your audition in landscape orientation
• Do not stand too far away from the camera, but also don’t stand too close.
• Do not sit or stand in front of a window as that will create a shadow.
• If you are using a smartphone please use a stable surface to create a steady image.
• Take some time to practise before finally submitting your audition pieces.
• Please film your submission as one continuous take.
• Start your submission with your name and tell us the speeches you are going to perform.

A member of the admissions team will check that your self-tape has been successfully sent to us and the admissions team will watch the first couple of seconds of the self-tape to make sure we can see and hear the video. It will then be passed on to the panel for viewing.

Once the self-tape has been viewed a decision will be sent to the applicant – please note that there may be some delay in viewing the self-tapes. If there is an issue with your self-tape the admissions team will contact the applicant. All self-tapes for unsuccessful applicants will be deleted at the end of the application cycle.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide feedback for Stage 1 audition videos

Stage 2 – if you are successful in Stage 1 you will be invited to an online second round audition which will happen from February onward.
Each Stage 2 audition lasts roughly 15 minutes.
In this second-round, applicants will be asked to do a third monologue – which has to be a classical piece. It must also NOT be one of the audition pieces chosen in Stage 1.
You will also be asked to do a duologue chosen by the school and sent to the applicant when they are advised that they have passed Stage 1.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide feedback for Stage 2 auditions

Stage 3 – Applicants who progress to Stage 3 will be invited to an ‘in person’ recall here at the Theatre School in Bristol. You will be required to attend for one day. Applicants attending the recall audition should be prepared to repeat their original speeches from their self-tape, plus their classical piece.

Applicants will take part in classes in the following subjects; singing, improvisation, movement, acting and voice and there will also be an interview with the Director of Acting Courses and the Director of Drama.

There will also be time for applicants to meet with current students and ask questions about the School and the course.

After the recall audition, we will let you know if;
• You’re successful and we’d like to offer you a place on the course
• You’ve not been successful this time
• You have been shortlisted for a place on the course

Please note: Recall dates for 2025 should be taking place in March or April 2025.

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is pleased to be able to offer a number of free audition places for the BA Professional Acting course via its fee waiver scheme. To be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:

You are a current UK resident
You have no previous degree qualification
You have an annual household income of less than £25,000 before tax

Fee waivers are processed on a first-come basis, so you are advised to apply early. 

Please note: Upon applying for the fee waiver, you will have two weeks to complete and submit your application. Following the submission of your application, you will then have an additional two weeks to provide your self-tape.

The fund closes to applications at 12 Noon (GMT) Friday 24th January 2025, but may close earlier if funds are exhausted before this date.

You should apply for your fee waiver before submitting your application.

Please click this link to apply for the fee waiver: https://fs6.formsite.com/CtgtAs/2vjl7skkt7/index.html

Applications for this course will close completely at 4pm (GMT) on Friday 31st January 2025

There are some additional costs associated with this course that are not covered by your tuition fee. Costs given in brackets are to help with budgeting and are indicative only. These are likely to include:

• Travel costs to and from performance venues for tech rehearsals and production weeks (c. £100-150 per year, based on £5 bus fare)
• Clothing and footwear for acting and movement classes (£150)
• Recommended books – before buying your own copy, you may wish to see if you can borrow through the School’s library or view through the Drama Online portal (available to current students) (up to £100)
• Stationery, photocopying and printing costs (£50)
• IT equipment – it is recommended that you have your own laptop or computer. Please see the School’s recommended IT specifications for further information (PDF, 52 Kb)
• Self-promotion costs in third year – for example headshot photography (from £150), registering with Spotlight (approximately £120), and travel to auditions and casting as necessary

If you are facing financial hardship, then the School may be able to loan you equipment or help you meet these costs with a bursary. New students should contact admissions for further advice.

Due to a recent change in the Theatre School’s governance, our Higher Education provider UWE Bristol is unable to issue Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) documentation for BOVTS courses. Regrettably we are therefore unable to consider applications from students requiring a visa to study in the UK for 2025 entry.

The Theatre School is able to consider applications from international students who do not require a visa to study in the UK. If you are unsure of your tuition fee status, please consult the UK Council for International Student Affairs guidelines or contact our admissions office for further guidance. Prospective international students for future years of entry are encouraged to join our mailing list to learn more about training at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

In the meantime, there are several ways that prospective international students can undertake training with BOVTS:

• We run a series of online masterclasses throughout the year, which are accessible wherever you are in the world. Find out more about what’s coming up on our short courses webpages.
  
• We offer intensive, in-person short courses for adults throughout the year in acting, creative and production disciplines. These currently range from day-long masterclasses to a ten-week acting foundation course. International students for these courses can normally visit the UK on a standard (holiday) visa, where required. Find out more about what’s coming up on our short courses webpage.
• We run acting international masterclasses in selected destinations throughout the year. Sign up to our prospective student mailing list or follow us on social media to be the first to know when new dates are set.