FAQs

Yes, we hold open days for creative and technical courses. For full details see Opportunities to Visit. 

Where COVID-19 restricts our ability to hold regular in-person open days, we will run virtual open days online. 

We are unable to offer feedback on auditions or interviews.

Yes, we are part of UCAS and UCAS Conservatoires.  Full details can be found in the ‘How to Apply’ section of your chosen course.

Details can be found in the ‘How to Apply’ section of your chosen course.

Yes, but you may wish to consider which course you are best suited for. If you are uncertain as to which course you should apply, please contact the School by email: [email protected] or telephone 0117 973 3535 for advice.

No. We only accept one application, per applicant, per year.

You can only apply for a course for up to four consecutive years (and only one course each year).

• For UK Acting courses, applications will be accepted from mid July each year until the last working day of February the following year. We do not accept any late applications.
• For Technical and Production BA Hons, FdA and MA courses, applications will be accepted from early September until the last working day of February.
• For the Non-UK MFA Acting course, applications will be accepted between Mid July each year until the last working day of February the following year. However, if auditions are required in North America or Australia, applications should be submitted by 1st January.
• In some circumstances, we may extend course closing dates, so please continue to check individual course pages on our course finder.

• All applicants must be aged 18 or over at the start of the course.
• Every applicant is seen for audition or interview regardless of academic background and previous experience
• The current maximum number of students accepted each year is as follows:
• Undergraduate Courses
• Acting (UK):
• BA Hons (3 years) – up to 28 students
• Production Arts:
• BA (Hons) (3 years) – up to 24 students
• FdA (2 years) – up to 5 students
• Costume:
• FdA (2 years) – up to 8 students
• BA Hons Top-up (one year) – up to 4 students
• Postgraduate Courses:
• Acting (non-UK) International:
• MFA (1 year, 40 weeks) – up to 14 students
• Scenic Art:
• MA (1 year ) – up to 4 students
• Theatre Production Management:
• MA (1 year) – up to 2 students
• Drama Directing:
• MA (1 year) – up to 8 students
• Performance Design:
• MA (1 year) – up to 8 students
• Screen Acting:
• MA (1 year) – up to 14 students
• We have approximately 210 students at the School in any year.

• For Acting courses there is no deferred entry.
• For Technical courses deferred entry may only be offered in exceptional circumstances.

Application fee details can be found in the ‘How to Apply’ section of your chosen course.

The Conservatoire for Dance and Drama (CDD) are now able to offer a number of free audition places across the Conservatoire schools. Places are offered on a first come basis and interested applicants must meet specific criteria. Please check the CDD website for further details on this page.

No. The fee is non-refundable.

No. Students rent through private landlords/letting agents in the Clifton/Redland area of Bristol, close to the School. Our Accommodation Officer is available to assist students find accommodation prior to the start of their course and throughout their time at the School and we can supply her mobile number upon request.

• Please refer to the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama guidelines on tuition fees as these change annually.
• If you are new to higher education, you will not have to pay anything up front.
• If this is your second degree, you may be entitled to some support from the School. Your financial status will not affect how we view your application.

More information about our fees can be found here.

• *The CDD does not currently offer financial assistance for postgraduate courses.

• UK Students applying for undergraduate courses, BA (Hons) and FdA courses, are normally eligible for funding through Student Finance England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. See this page.
• Students applying for postgraduate training or students who are doing a second degree can normally apply for a career and professional loan. See this page.
• Non UK international students will be required to pay the full cost of their tuition.
• We would advise all students to look a the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama’s student information page regarding funding on this page.

Due to changes in government funding to UK Higher Education institutions, graduates can apply for our undergraduate BA Hons courses, however please remember that applicants will not be eligible for student funding and will have to fund the course themselves. Graduates are also able to apply for our two year FdA Production Arts (Stage) course. The cost of this course will be at the standard undergraduate tuition fee cost, as advertised by the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama (currently £9250 per year).

There is very little room for part time work in the first year. A Saturday or Sunday job with a flexible employer may be possible in the second year, if you can manage your workload efficiently, although there will be times when you will have to work on school productions over weekends. Be prepared to work unsociable hours and be aware that work experience is often fitted into school holidays.

We operate a two-stage process for admission. The first is a preliminary audition, which will be held over Zoom for 2021 entry, with a panel of two auditioners. If you are successful at the first stage, you will be required to attend a recall workshop at a later date. We hope to hold recalls in-person at the School, but this is subject to lockdown and social-distancing measures.

Preliminary auditions are normally held between November and April. Recalls are normally held between January and June.

See the Audition Process section on the course page for more information.

In previous years, the School has auditioned across the United States, Canada and Australia, as well as in Bristol. Due to Covid-19, our plan at present is that first round auditions will be held over Zoom. Our ambition is to hold final round auditions at venues in the above countries as well as in Bristol during spring 2021, but where this is not feasible due to Covid-19, the selection procedure will be completed virtually.

The School will endeavour to ensure that no applicant is unfairly disadvantaged through Covid-19 impacting their ability to travel to an audition destination.

See the Audition Process section on the course page for more information.

See our auditions page for full information.

• We operate a two-stage process for admission. The first is a preliminary audition, which is normally held over Zoom (or other online platform), with a panel of two auditioners. If you are successful at the first stage, you will be required to attend a recall workshop, which is normally held in-person at the Theatre School.

  Preliminary auditions are normally held between November and April. Recalls are normally held between January and June.

  Each preliminary audition lasts for roughly fifteen minutes. You need to perform two contrasting monologues. Each piece should last no longer than two minutes; if you exceed this time limit you will be stopped. We aim to make these auditions as informal and friendly as possible.

  Your monologues should be from a play and should not be extracts from poems, novels, films or television scripts. We no longer specify when these speeches should have been written. However, contrast is important for us to assess your acting potential and you should choose your pieces carefully. There are further tips to help you below.

  To complete your preliminary audition, you will need access to a PC, laptop or tablet computer with a webcam and stable internet connection. You will also require a quiet space to perform freely without disruption or distraction. We aim to provide a choice of days and times to help ensure this is possible for you. Please note that we are unable to offer feedback on your audition.

  Tips for your preliminary audition

  • 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 very different characters.

  • Your speech can be translated from another language and may be for either male or female actors.

  • 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 you 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’s a change of direction in the speech

• For MFA Acting course: Each audition lasts between twenty-five and forty-five minutes

  At your audition, you will be required to present:

  • A speech from a classical English play (written before 1800 – Elizabethan, Jacobean, Restoration or Eighteenth Century – Shakespeare is always appropriate).
  • A piece in prose from a modern play (written in the 20th or 21st Centuries).
  • A short, unaccompanied song – we suggest avoiding contemporary pop songs.

  Each piece should last no longer than two minutes; if you exceed this time limit you may be stopped. For the song, you may wish to perform a verse and chorus from your chosen piece.

• Where this is not feasible due to COVID-19, the selection procedure will be completed virtually.

Acting applicants will be offered a maximum of two audition dates in most cases. To guarantee an alternative audition date, applicants are advised to apply before January, as limited audition dates are available after this time. We also encourage applicants to let us know of any dates they cannot attend on their application.

The School will endeavour to ensure that no applicant is unfairly disadvantaged through Covid-19 impacting their ability to travel to an audition destination.

We operate a two-stage process for admission. The first is a preliminary audition, which will be held over Zoom for 2022 entry, with a panel of two auditioners. If you are successful at the first stage, you will be required to attend a recall workshop at a later date. We hope to hold recalls in-person at the School, but this is subject to lockdown and social-distancing measures.

Preliminary auditions are normally held between November and April. Recalls are normally held between January and June.

No. Unfortunately we are unable to accept an application to our UK courses (BA (Hons) Acting course unless the applicant has lived in the UK for three years prior to an application, but not for educational purposes. International students are encouraged to apply for our one year MFA in Professional Acting course. Please see this page for more information.