Auditions and interviews process

Fees

Fees must be paid prior to audition (where fees are applicable) and cover the entire audition process. For BA Acting and PGDip/MA Acting there is a one-off UCAS Conservatoires application fee of £28.50 payable to UCAS on submission of application form. In addition, a non-refundable audition fee of £46 is payable to the Conservatoire; this is collected through the UCAS system (see amounts below). 

For Applied Theatre and Stage Management, which are applied for through the mainstream UCAS system, there is a one-off application fee payable to UCAS on submission of an application form. For both a single course choice and for two to five choices, the cost will be £28.50. There is no additional audition fee payable to the Conservatoire for these courses.

In certain circumstances we may consider waiving audition fees. Please see our page about fee waivers. You should make your fee waiver request prior to making your audition payment with UCAS.

Audition Process

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BA Acting

For the BA (Hons) Acting course, auditioning is a two-stage process - Initial and Recall.

This helps to ensure that we give you a fair opportunity and we have the best information on which to base our choice of candidates. We receive hundreds of applications each year and course entry is competitive.

Once you've paid your audition fee via UCAS, you will be sent an acknowledgement communication which will also ask you to submit an online recording as a YouTube link. Please submit this 2 weeks in receipt of receiving your acknowledgement email. For the Recall Audition, you will be invited to attend an audition. This will cover all the recall audition elements.

Initial and Recall auditions

How to prepare

Initial and Recall Audition Guidance

 

MA Acting

For the MA Acting, auditioning is a two-stage process - Initial and Recall.

This helps to ensure that we give you a fair opportunity and we have the best information on which to base our choice of candidates. The one year MA Acting is a fast track industry led course and we receive a high number of applicants each year for each place. Please note that we are not able to give feedback on a your initial audition, and during your audition you may be asked about your prior theatrical education and experience.

Once you've paid your audition fee via UCAS, you will be sent an acknowledgement communication which will also ask you to submit an online recording as a YouTube link. Please submit this 2 weeks in receipt of receiving your acknowledgement email.

For the Recall Audition, you will be invited to attend an in-person audition (if you are resident in the United Kingdom) or a virtual audition via Zoom (if you cannot attend an in-person audition). This will cover all the recall audition elements.

Audition Guidance

Application Form Guidance

What happens in interviews

The interview process gives you the opportunity to tell us who you are, show us why you're passionate about taking the course, and see the spaces you'll be working in.

You will meet some of the people who'll be teaching you and get answers to any questions you have. You may be involved in a short workshop or practical exercise as part of this.

Detailed guidance regarding the application and selection procedure for each course is available in our Guidance for Applicants packs under the 'How to Apply' tab of your chosen course.

Offering you a place at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Following an audition and/or interview, one of the following outcomes is possible:

• You are offered an unconditional place This means that you have a place on the course for which you applied. This offer is only for the year in which you apply.
• You are offered a conditional place This means that you will have a place on the course for which you applied if you attain the required academic qualifications. This offer is only for the year in which you apply.
• You are offered a reserve place on the course This is the most common outcome. It indicates that you have reached an acceptable standard, but because applications and auditions/interviews happen throughout the year we cannot allocate all places on a course until the auditions/interviews have been completed.
  Our auditions come to an end in June, and the reserve pool will normally stay ‘live’ until 31st August. Applicants in the sector finalise their choices through UCAS by their reply by date so it is not uncommon for further places to become available at that time. If we are unable to offer you a firm place by this date you may wish to start the audition process again for the following year’s intake when the UCAS Conservatoire application process opens again in July. 
• You are not offered a place on the course You cannot re-apply for a place on the same course in the same academic year.

Appealing against an unsuccessful audition

If you wish to appeal against a decision you should contact the admissions team within 14 days of notification to receive a copy of the Appeals Policy.

An appeals panel, led by a senior member of staff who was not involved in your audition, will investigate thoroughly any grounds for appeal and will notify you of the outcome.

Applicants with Disabilities

Like all of Birmingham City University, the School is committed to equal opportunities.

It is important that you tell us about any disability you may have. Once we are made aware of any disability we can try to support your individual needs.

If you feel additional support is required at your audition/interview, please email admissions at acting.admissions@bcu.ac.uk and also contact:

• the Mental Health and Wellbeing Team at wellbeing@bcu.ac.uk who support those with mental health conditions
• the Disability Support Team at disability@bcu.ac.uk who support applicants and students with disabilities, medical conditions and specific learning difficulties e.g. dyslexia, ADHD etc.

Please also note; If you wish us to take dyslexia or dyspraxia into account at your recall audition, you must bring with you a copy of your assessment/report confirming the condition.