Useful advice please ...?

I have always wanted to be an actress ever since I was little. I can act, sing and dance and play the piano. I am grade 7 singing and grade 3 piano and I do jazz dancing. I am 17 years old (18 in September).

I want to go on to get an acting career and would love to go to a drama school in London like LAMDA, RADA or Guildhall. However, I am worried I won't be able to afford the living costs there with my boyfriend with me. I am currently living in Dorset so things are quite easy.

I have experience in an approx 400 seat theatre: I have played main roles in Cinderella, Treasure Island, Fiddler on the Roof, Wizard of OZ, Marriage of Figaro, Jack and the Beanstalk, Oh what a lovely war.

and I have also sung with the Berkshire Girls choir and Bournemouth Symphony.

I don't know if I should try for London or whether getting a drama degree at University would be better.

I would appreciate any useful advice that people could give me :) xxxxxx

Useful advice please ...?lyric opera

always wear protection.

Useful advice please ...?imax theater opera theater

i work with actors (part time work for while they are not doing acting work) and if you have done all that, then your going to get further then them!!

go to london, its the best city in the world and will look so good on your cv.

Dont worry about the costs, we all manage somehow. You can house share, and work part time....
'In your heart you want RADA or similar so go for it .So it is tough ,expensive ,hard all the things to help you understand life and variety of emotions necessary to act. whats with the boyfriend is he your pimp? why isn;t he going to provide for you.

Kids today want it all on a plate at 18 me and my partner came to London to achieve what we wanted it was an adventure living on Waterloo station ,St. James Park getting somewhere to live that was 40 yrs ago would not swop the experience . How can you be a great actress with no experience . You really do need to suffer something for your art . If you want it you will go for it or are you just scared rather be a little fish in small pond than swim in the ocean.......?
It might be worth taking a year out to try and earn some money to help support you in the future. I have linked you to the National Council for Drama Training website which has some great information and advice. I have found the page with grant maintained places. These might be an option and worth looking into. (Lamda and RADA are both on the list, so some funding may be available).

Wishing you the best of luck.

A Stage Manager who grew up in Dorset!
well you could also go to New York, New York where they have an acting program (they specialise in it) and also there is a special one in Toronto.

maybe try those ones. they should be less expensive.

Good luck! =)
Oh my goodnesss okay well I think that if it is something you want to get in to then deffidently start trying out auditions at local theatres to get started, lots of famous actors/actresses have been found at small theatres. Also I would say try it at london but if it doesnt work out you can always switch to a university, trust me it will look good to theM!

I hope I helped!
A drama degree at a (good) University is more practical - a degree is good for many things and allows you to teach if you would like - although the conservatory programs are better training. If theatre is all you ever want to do, I would go for the conservatories, suck it up, get a job on the side, and just get used to being poor. There will be others in the same boat.

Keep in mind though - Things change as you get older, and although you can't imagine it now, you may not always want to be an actor. For instance, if you found you wanted to direct, you would need a University degree to do that in an educational setting.
drama school would be better as thats most agents first port of call. Some performing arts courses at uni are a waste of time. Try for one of the big named schools e.g. stella mann where they offer all three (drama, singing and acting!) good luck and remember you can achieve anything if you set your mind to it xxxx
i think you should either get a degree and do some broadway....

i think london isn't necessary
GO TO LONDON. Dont pass up the chance for living your dream in a place like that.

Financial affairs always work themselves out. If your fixing to get out or already are of highschool. Get two jobs and try out for acting jobs till you go. Save as much money as possible and don't spend any of it. Apply for loans and build your credit.

Famous proverb:

Where there's a will there's a way!
do what you think is right
( You may have seen my on TV but I cannot reveal my ID, I love emails though! )

Go to a University! I want to soooo badly but right now my career is slowing me down..... Universitys are the highest thing you could do for your career! That will definately boost your chances of getting leads in theatre or screen acting!