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By OB Freya Lloyd Davies
"I am Freya and I’m sharing my passion for acting and my experiences within the industry so far - to inspire and encourage any actors just beginning their journeys.
From the harsh reality of training to be an actor, to the absolute thrill and euphoria you can feel performing, I hope my story and what I’ve learned along the way confirms that you absolutely can achieve success - if you put determination and love into your career.
Being back at Bedales recently to speak to the students, made me feel very emotional.
The building we gathered in was where my love for acting and being on stage truly began. My time at Bedales revealed important truths about myself, igniting a passion for performing, as well as researching, and gave me friends for life. I am eternally grateful for having the privilege to study at Bedales and for the amazing teachers who played a pivotal role.
One of my teachers once told me that acting is 99% research - and that has truly resonated with me.
At Bedales you get the opportunity to fill your mind with so many different subjects and pieces of information - so hold on to that. Whether it’s philosophy, history or geography - although it might not seem likely now, these subjects will come in to play and become unbelievably useful if you begin a career in acting.
I always knew that I wanted to widen my intellect as well as become an actor, but I wasn’t sure that this was possible - as drama schools are often presented as being places to just ‘act’. However, when researching my options I came across the course I am studying now - American Theatre Arts.
My course doesn’t only focus on acting, it also looks into directing, movement, de-colonization through storytelling, context of practitioners as well as the importance of African-American roles and how they are often undermined and overlooked. This broad spectrum of learning allows students to head into a career with extensive intellectual capabilities, and strengthening their potential for casting. I also have the opportunity to study abroad in America in my 3rd year. I believe that experiencing different cultures firsthand gives us so much more than reading could ever do so I’d definitely say that if you get the chance to travel abroad on a course, take it!
To help me achieve my goal of becoming an actor, I researched extensively during Christmas 2024.
At the time, personal circumstances stopped me from auditioning for all the places I wanted to. However, through research, open days and talks with pupils and teachers I set my mind on 3; Bath Spa, Performance Preparation Academy and Rose Bruford. Through the audition process I read endless books on ‘contemporary women’s monologues’ and researched popular monologues from plays and films I was fascinated by.
The research aided me in many ways, however I had yet to find a monologue that truly spoke to me. I believe it is vital to always put the effort into finding something that really resonates with you.
It is a key action through acting, not necessarily to rely on personal traumatic experiences but to use your imagination to create a deeper reality that resonates with a character’s experiences. For example, finding lines of text that encourage your imagination to ignite and creativity to expand is key. Using this idea, I eventually found a monologue that truly meant something to me – Rita’s monologue from, ‘Thanksgiving in the Wilderness’ by Kellie Powell.
To prepare for my audition for Bath Spa and Rose Bruford which were both face to face auditions, I exercised my skills previously learnt and used Stanislavski’s 7 questions to build a believable character set on my chosen text – this exercise allowed me to find the core truth behind the performance and conveyed to my audience that I knew exactly where I was, what I was doing and what I wanted.
Looking back, I see ways I could have improved my character and what techniques truly work for me, however at the time I didn’t have these skills – and that was OK.
Audition panels don’t necessarily expect you to know everything or be a ‘natural actor’ - you are there to grow and learn. Just having an audition adds to your growth as a person, regardless of the outcome.
We all know as actors learning lines is one of the most agonizing parts – however, being ‘unsure’ or expecting yourself to just wing it in the audition room is the worst thing you can do for yourself. Being unsure of the character, the lines, their aims and what they’re doing makes you immediately awkward, and it completely destroys the world you’re hoping to draw the audience in to. So learn those lines everyone!
As well as the importance of lines, your physicality in a room takes a vital role.
Everyone will know you are nervous going into an audition, it is completely understandable. You just have to dig deep and imaginatively surround yourself on all sides, manifesting the environment in which your character lives. To deal with the ‘gaping hole’ – the audience, create a fourth side and interact with it.
Whilst acting, play around. Use your mind’s eye to see landmark objects relating to your imagined landscape and anchor them to something you can see in the room. And try to have fun. I know this sounds insane and you’re thinking, “How can I possibly have fun in a room where everyone is judging my every move and dictating my value on one tiny performance?” But it is true, letting fear overcome you will be no use, remember you are the one in control of how you feel. Other people can create impact, but you creating your own sense of fun and grounding in the room can never be actively taken away from you.
I remember, in my audition for Bath Spa, as well as performing my monologue, I was instructed in a movement class. Through this class I had to participate in walking around the room pretending to be all kinds of different animals. At the time I couldn’t have thought of anything worse and the embarrassment I felt throughout this exercise was like no other. I remember looking at the clock every minute just praying it would be over. However, what I didn’t think about, was the fact me being awkward in this moment was actually so much more embarrassing than it would have been for me to just let loose. I should have experimented and made the most of having the opportunity to be as weird as possible. Whatever people throw at you just show you’re comfortable and confident. Fake it until you make it. Be as crazy and wonderful as you can be. You probably won’t see most of the people so my advice is to jump right into it. Before you know it, it will be over.
For PPA (performance preparation academy), I had to hand in a self-tape which I would say is far easier than an audition in real life. You can re-do and retake to your heart’s content. The down side is that it also gives you the opportunity to continuously criticize yourself and spend hours on end attempting to get the ‘perfect shot’. But over rehearsing is not the best way forward. Once you have found the groundwork, play around and feel those natural emotions surface and rise, treasure them and implement them through your physicality and voice. When that happens, you will see the depth in the recording once you play it back. That’s the moment to have faith in yourself and press ‘send’.
During my audition day at Rose Bruford, as well as performing my monologue I also had to take part in a discussion on ‘The Crucible’. This was quite a new, unique exercise that challenged stereotypical audition processes; however, it allowed me to show that I’m multi-faceted and have a deep appreciation of literature. I realize now why this aspect is important as throughout this term, deep analysis of plays, texts and stories is required, which really makes you question topics and ask ‘why?’ leading you to revaluate systems and structures in society. We all deserve to be able to ask all the questions we need to. Question themes in acting for development and character building but also in life generally. As long as you do that you will never stop expanding your knowledge and understanding.
As I’ve learnt from personal experience, unfortunately in this industry, you will have people making you feel as if you’re not good enough, shutting you down before you even finish your piece, or saying you just don’t have that ‘something’.
When I was auditioning, I found that 90% of the candidates had all come from drama schools or grown up with classes after classes, filling their free time with acting but without the opportunity to pursue other things. I first believed this meant they were bound to be than me, but just because opportunities haven’t always landed on your plate, it doesn’t mean you cannot create them for yourself now.
I soon recognized that the fact I was more raw to this industry could be a benefit because I didn’t have many rigid structures to break.
When you reach professional training in acting, you are encouraged to break down any habits and start living in ‘truth’ – you cannot form an emotion and show it, you have to let it come naturally as a reaction. Because I hadn’t formed acting habits, I was able to work in a more naturalistic manner.
Believing in yourself, as clichéd as it sounds, is truly what will get you through. Try not to take anything personally. You’ll have to be the one to console and support yourself – and that can equip you with strong resilience and independence, great tools for life.
It is also good to know that that drama school experience is typically very different from a university experience. The days are long with often double the number of working hours than at Uni. You may not find that the social life is as wild a typical drama school either. The rigorous practices prepare you for the future, when you attempt to build a wider career – and the sacrifice is definitely worth it as far as I’m concerned. I’d also say it’s important to find time on weekends and in the evenings to build some sort of personal life outside study – the people you are working with for 3 years will become your family and it’ll really help your acting if you build a connection with your peers. The whole class will depend on each other through the course, particularly during ensemble work, so it’s really important to be reliable.
Choosing the right course and school is important - but don’t get too stuck on one place.
Try not to romanticise your life there, imagining who you will become and what you will do – because you might end up not getting in.
This happened to me. I was so set on Bath Spa that when I didn’t get in, it overshadowed the fact that I was accepted to Rose Bruford. I’d erased how much I’d liked the Rose Bruford course and the school just because it wasn’t my first choice.
LuckiIy, I was eventually able to clearly think back to how I felt at that audition day, surrounded by endless opportunities for creativity. I realized that Rose Bruford was where I was supposed to be. I realised that finding a place is not simply about where you believe you will find your people, where you think is the most prestigious, is close to home or what you feel is the ‘easy option’.
I learnt that you should choose the school that you feel will push you out of your comfort zone, the school where you have that feeling of belonging and will love their morals and values and what they are looking to achieve. I’ve already made lifelong friends at Bruford that I wouldn’t have seen myself connecting with before. I’ve been pushed out of my comfort zone many times, which has left me with an overpowering sense of self-achievement and pride, and I have found the overall meaning of acting – ‘living in truth’.
Make sure to go to endless open days, ask questions upon questions - to pupils as well as teachers. Research past pupil’s experiences, find an initial sense of connection in what you will be learning …and go for it!
Don’t ever be afraid to just go out there and find something that challenges you because that’s what makes you grow."
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