BBC NORMAN BEATON FELLOWSHIP
BRISTOL WORKSHOP 2016: FAQs FOR ACTORS
· What is the Norman Beaton Fellowship (NBF)?
Established in 2003, the NBF aims to broaden the range of actors working in Radio Drama and particularly encourages interest from underrepresented sectors of the acting community. At the end of the process, at least 2 actors will be awarded a five-month binding contract with the BBC Radio Drama Company based in London, starting on 23rd July 2016.
The first stage of the NBF is the regional workshop and auditions; followed by the Semi-Final on16th February 2016; and then the Final on 14th – 15th March 2016. Both the Semi-Final and Final will take place in London.
Since 2009, BBC Radio has partnered with Theatre Bristol to run the South West regional workshop and auditions for the NBF. The NBF 2016 workshop and auditions will take place on Wednesday 13th January 2016, in Bristol.
For details about workshops in other regions and information about the history of the NBF, please visit www.bbc.co.uk/soundstart/nbf.shtml
· What is the Radio Drama Company (RDC)?
The celebrated RDC has been at the heart of BBC radio drama projects for over 70 years – and has featured in thousands of productions, many of them landmark projects such as The Lord of The Rings, The Mahabharata, The History of Titus Groan, James Joyce’s Ulysses and 2013’s Prix Italia winning dramatization of 1984. RDC actors are contracted on a full-time basis for a fixed term, to play as cast in roles for BBC Radio drama projects, readings, news and magazine-style programmes. For more information please see www.bbc.co.uk/soundstart.
· What can I expect from the Bristol workshop?
The workshop will be an informal morning session, led by BBC Radio Producer, Alison Crawford and Theatre Bristol Artist Associate, Lucinka Eisler. There’ll be an introduction to the process of making BBC Radio Drama and the chance to try out some practical group exercises.
It’s always a small enough group for there to be lots of conversation. It’s a great way to get some insight into how BBC Radio works, and to warm up before the afternoon auditions.
· How should I prepare for the audition?
The first thing to do is read through the ‘Tips for Selecting Your Monologues & Audition Prep’ document. This has lots of really helpful info and is very clear about what we’re looking for in the auditions. You don’t need to memorise your monologues, but you should have worked at them sufficiently to know the texts well and to be able to anticipate every word.
The auditions will take place in the afternoon, after the workshop. Your two monologues should last no longer than 3 minutes in total. We’re not going to take a stopwatch to you, but each audition slot is only 10-15 minutes so if your monologues are too long, we may not have time to hear your sight-reading more than once or hear how you take direction.
The sight-reading will most likely be a short piece of prose or poetry, and you’ll have a few minutes to familiarise yourself with it before your audition.
It’s definitely worth listening to some BBC radio drama and book readings. You can find plenty of examples on BBC iPlayer.
· Can Theatre Bristol or the BBC help me select my audition monologues?
I’m afraid we can’t offer one-to-one advice on selecting your monologues, but the ‘Tips for Selecting Your Monologues & Audition Prep’ document has lots of excellent advice.
We’re looking for two contrasting monologues. Try and find pieces that suit your natural voice, and only offer accents if you’re totally confident with them. Please don’t choose material you’ve written yourself, and please avoid song or poetry.
· Does the BBC pay travel expenses for attending the workshop?
There is no charge for applying but unfortunately there are no expenses provided by the BBC for travel or meals at the regional workshop and audition stage.
We recognise that this might be a genuine barrier to some people applying at all. If this is the case for you, please email to let us know. We can’t change the offer at this point, but as the NBF is about the BBC broadening the range of actors they work with, we can certainly let them know if the lack of expenses is significantly affecting the reach of this scheme.
Actors who are invited to the Semi-finals or Finals stage will be reimbursed reasonable expenses by the BBC as advised at the time.
· Am I eligible?
1. You must be eligible to work in the UK.
2. You must be a professional actor, by which we mean at least 2 paid acting jobs for professional companies. You are asked to provide details of your recent professional acting work on the application form.
3. Anyone who has graduated from a full-time course run by an accredited drama college cannot apply for the NBF. However, actors who have undertaken short course or masterclasses at an accredited college are eligible to apply. The list of accredited colleges is below.
BBC Radio Drama runs a scheme in partnership with the Conference of Drama Schools called the BBC Carleton Hobbs Bursary Award for students at accredited Drama colleges.
4. If you have acted for Radio Drama before, you are still eligible.
5. If you have auditioned for NBF in a previous year, you are still eligible. But former BBC NBF winners are not permitted to re-apply.
6. You must be at least 18 years old on 23rd July 2016 to enter. There is no upper age limit
ACCREDITED COLLEGES
If you are currently studying or have graduated from a one or three year fulltime acting course accredited with the Drama UK or Conservatoires UK at one of the listed schools you are not eligible. However if you have only done a short course or masterclass at one of the schools below, or attended a school that is not on this list you are eligible.
ALRA / LIPAArts Educational London Schools / Manchester School of Theatre
Birmingham School of Acting / Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School / Oxford School of Drama
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama / Queen Margaret University College
Drama Centre London / Rose Bruford College
Drama Studio London / Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA)
East 15 Acting School / Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Guildford School of Acting (GSA) / Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama / Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts / (before it merged with Central School of Speech and Drama in 2006)
LAMDA
· I’m committed to acting, but haven’t worked professionally. Can I apply?
The NBF is not an entry-level opportunity and is only open to actors who have proven professional experience.
We know acting is an incredibly competitive profession and there’s no easy way to make it through. Make sure you’re looped into any local networks for actors, filmmakers and theatremakers. Keep an eye out for opportunities with independent companies as well as established theatres.
If you’re based in Bristol and want to introduce yourself to Theatre Bristol, we hold regular Open Office events where local artists can meet our team and get connected. These are friendly, informal, drop-in sessions. You can find upcoming Open Office dates here: www.theatrebristol.net/dropinsession
· How do I apply for the Bristol workshop?
What we need from you is and email application, which includes all of the following:
· A completed application form
· A brief personal statement (max 300 words) which talks about your most recent professional acting experience and what you believe you can bring to Radio Drama.
· An up to date CV
· A recent headshot
· A completed monitoring survey (this is anonymous and completely separate from the shortlisting process). You can link to it here: http://survs.com/survey/ha6u0muq2j
Please read through all the guidance documents and make sure you have read and understood the BBC NBF 2016 Terms & Conditions before applying.
Please email your application to with the subject line: “NBF Application: your name”. Please include all your attachments in one email.
Deadline for applications: 10am, Friday 27th November 2015. We’ll be processing all the applications on that date, so I’m afraid we cannot accept late entries.
Successful applicants will be informed by Friday 11th December 2015.