Expert: Richard Freeman - 1/27/2008

Question
Dear Mr. Freeman,

I am 22 years old and have recently graduated with a good BA Hons degree in writing and music (It was classed as humanities) from a UK university. When I left school I did not have much confidence in myself, and thought I would try and forget about wanting to be on stage- if I hid behind a computer I might forget! But now I am older and wiser would love to try and just go for acting before I regret it. However, I am worried about finances and what my family and friends will think. I would have to take a year out to save, and I'm sure they will think I am mad! But wanting to be on stage is my secret passion and has been since i was a child! I have quite a lot of performance experience. Is it worth auditioning for a post graduate course in acting? I want to take it seriously, but I know its really competitive as a career. Do you need a BA in acting before you apply for a post grad in acting? I couldn't afford or cope with another 3/4 year degree!

Would love some advice.

Sincerely,
Sinead

Answer
Hi Sinead,

Thank you for your question. It's an honest and searching one, which is nice to see.

Firstly, you're right - it is extremely competitive, but there are no real right answers to how it works. I have friends who have studied acting for many years, some of whom are jobbing actors and others for whom it never worked out.

It's fantastic that you care about acting - and could be to your benefit that you also have some training in other arts subjects. You wouldn't need to do a BA in Acting before applying for a PGDip - where would you apply? Different centres offer quite different standards of training.

Becoming a professional actor is a mix of luck, bloody hard work and getting the right jobs that lead to others. Expect to work for free for some time, and expect to juggle jobs and auditions at some very strange hours.

But then, good actors generally make a good go of it and get somewhere. Keep wanting it, keep grounded and there's no reason not to go for it at all.

I think you should go for it, and I wish you luck.

Richard