Musical Theatre: Auditioning (for ages 12-17) – Online Course

This class will be taught online and you can take part from the comfort of your own home. The RCS campus is open with a limited capacity for degree students only to ensure a safe learning environment for all.

This intensive, one-day online course is designed for young people who are interested in auditioning and developing their Musical Theatre skills in acting through song and dance.

The course leader will introduce you to the process of auditioning, aiming to build your skills and confidence. You will examine song choices and dance technique, as well as learn techniques to best cope with audition nerves.

You will explore how to select audition pieces that are best suited to your strengths as a performer and how to identify original and contrasting musical theatre repertoire. In addition to developing technical performance skills, you will be led through the process of song preparation including experimentation and rehearsal.

You will also take part in a guided dance session aimed at improving technique and developing ability to pick up choreography quickly.

By the end of the course you should have:

• a thorough understanding of what to expect in a musical theatre audition
• learned how to select the best audition material suited for you
• been introduced to the interview process and how to deal with a direction from the panel
• taken part in a guided dance session covering technique and choreography
• received guidance on filming your audition material
• performed a song and received feedback on your performance
• grown in confidence and feel prepared for future audition experiences

Please note that this course will only cover song and dance work, we are also running Acting: Auditioning which will focus on monologue work.

This course is relevant for both students with some performing experience and for those with little or no previous experience. The course leader will ensure all course content is accessible for you in the rehearsal room so you can get as much out of the course as possible.

This course may be of particular interest to those considering applying to the BA Musical Theatre degree programme or  Junior Conservatoire of Musical Theatre at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Please read our Pre-HE Online Teaching Policy before signing up for a course. This policy states that young people under the age of 13 taking part in live online activities must have an adult present at that time. Before the online activity starts parents/carers will need to confirm that they are near by and available to support their young person if required. When booking the course you will be asked to agree that you have read and understood this policy.

**You may also be interested in our weekly classes for young people in drama, musical theatre or filmmaking.

Contact us

If you have any questions about this course before you book it, please get in touch with us at shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk.

If you would like to be kept up to date with developments and future courses, please join our mailing list

This is an open-access course is for those who wish to learn more about the process of auditioning. Now specific previous experience is required to take part, though some acting experience will be useful.

This course is suitable for anyone aged 12 — 17 who wants to keep developing their skills and stay creative at home.

We ask that participants are self-motivated and willing to undertake work at home through the days of the course, as well as contribute to sharings of the work achieved and group discussions.

In advance of the course you should bring two contrasting songs (no longer than 2 minutes each) from any musical theatre repertoire, the second choice can be from any other genre. You should at least know one of them off book and have access to a backing track. If you have a rep book please bring that with you but we recognise this might not be something you have yet.

You will need access to a device such as a desktop computer, laptop or tablet which allows you to access the internet with a screen large enough to see the group members during online sessions.

You will need internet connection which is fast enough to take part in video sessions (for example, like you would using Skype or Zoom).

You may need to have a device available to record videos of some of your work — for example, a mobile phone or tablet. This will just be required for some sections, not all day.

You will need pen/pencil and paper/notebook.

You will need space in your house to do some movement work including lying down on the floor for breathing exercises.

You may also want to consider whether you have a space you can use where you can work without interruption. Please keep in mind that the other students taking part in the course will be able to see what’s behind you when you are online.

We will ask that you wear comfortable clothes which are suitable for doing movement work — for example joggers/leggings and a t-shirt are ideal. Please also have access to a glass/bottle of water throughout the day.

If you have any questions in advance of booking, please contact us at shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk.

Promotional Offers

We offer a selection of promotional offers for our Short Courses, take a look!

To receive the promotional offer code, contact shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk before booking a course.

Agnes Allan Bursary

Agnes Allan was a teacher, passionate about inclusion, and this bursary scheme exists to offer support to students to participate in the performing or production arts.

The Agnes Allan Bursary provides some support to students who may require financial assistance to take part in a short course in dance, drama, music, production or screen.

Anyone who wishes to take part in our Short Courses and faces a financial barrier can apply for bursary support to help meet the cost of tuition fees.

More information about the Agnes Allan Bursary.

James McAvoy Drama Scholarships

Bafta-winning and Golden Globe nominated actor James McAvoy is committed to nurturing the creative potential of young Scots who experience barriers to access and participate in drama at RCS Short Courses.

James is a graduate of the BA Acting programme at RCS and Patron of the Junior Conservatoire of Drama. The Glasgow-born actor has funded the new James McAvoy Drama Scholarships to enable young people to experience the world-class drama training at RCS as he did.

The scholarship aims to support applicants who would otherwise find meeting the cost of tuition fees at RCS a barrier to accessing pre-Higher Education drama training at the Royal Conservatoire.

More information about the James McAvoy Drama Scholarship.

Our online courses have been designed to allow young people to continue being creative at home, and to gain confidence in their abilities to learn and create. If required, parents/carers will be expected to support their young person throughout the course to complete the tasks.

The course will run on Saturday from 10am – 5pm. We expect participants to log in to the online platform at 9.50am so the class can start promptly at 10am.

The course will run through Microsoft Teams and the ‘live’ online sessions via Zoom. In advance of the course you will be added to a class group within MS Teams. The links/password for the Zoom session will be posted in the Zoom Codes channel in this group. This will also be used as a place for discussion, sharing of materials and of course work.

You will need access to a device such as a desktop computer, laptop or tablet which allows you to access the internet with a screen large enough to see the group members during online sessions.

You will need internet connection which is fast enough to take part in video calls on MS Teams and Zoom.

You may also want to consider whether you have a space you can use where you can work without interruption. Please keep in mind that the other students taking part in the course will be able to see what’s behind you when you are online.

During the class, there will be sections when:

• the tutor will lead you through an activity or exercise, showing you what to do, and you take part at home
• the tutor will set an activity to undertake at home
• participants will be asked to share their work or take part in activities

If you have any questions in advance of booking, please contact us at shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk

How will the course be delivered?

The course will be delivered using a mixture of live teaching sessions and structured activities for students to undertake at home.

All students will be added to a Microsoft Teams class group where course resources will be available, and you can communicate with the class and tutor through posts.

The live group sessions will be delivered using Zoom which allows the group to see everyone who is taking part. Students may be put into discussion groups and tools such as ‘whiteboard’ or ‘screen share’ may be used to share visual information with students.

What safety precautions are in place?

The MS Teams groups which host each summer school group are private and members will be added by the RCS Short Courses team. Please note, students’ emails will be visible to other group members.

When using Zoom to teach the live sessions, our teaching staff will be using RCS licensed accounts and all meeting links and passwords will be posted only on the MS Teams group page. Each meeting will have a unique password, and our staff will use the waiting room function to ‘admit’ students to the session.

You may find it useful to read our Online Teaching Policy for detailed information about security and safeguarding.

I am in a different time zone, can I still take part?

As long as you are able to take part in the live teaching sessions throughout the course, you are very welcome to join our short courses from anywhere in the world.

Are there any resources that I will need in order to take part in the course?

The most important resources you will need are those that let you take part comfortably in the online activity. You will need access to a device such as a desktop computer, laptop or tablet which allows you to access the internet with a screen large enough to see the group members during online sessions. You will need internet connection which is fast enough to take part in video sessions (for example, like you would using Skype or Zoom) and to watch film footage.

You may also want to consider whether you have a space you can use where you can work without interruption. Please keep in mind that the other students taking part in the course will be able to see what’s behind you when you are online.

Can both of my children take part together?

We offer sibling discounts for classes — please contact us on shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk for more information. Depending on the course and age of your children, they may take part on the same or different devices.

What happens if I miss a class?

We will not record the live teaching sessions, but if you miss one, your tutor will do their best to help you catch up and continue participating in the course. There will be sections of activity that you undertake at home with resources and support from your tutor during which you can find out what you have missed and prepare for the next live session.

Do I (parent/carer) need to take part in the course?

Our Online Teaching Policy states that children under the age of 13 must be accompanied by an adult at the beginning of a live teaching session. For this age group parents/carers will be expected to be nearby and available to support their child if required. Parents/carers will be asked to read and agree to the policy when signing up to the course.