r/ActingUK

I'm looking for some compassionate yet honest advice on a life dilemma I'm facing at the moment.

I got a place on an MA acting course at a top drama school. We started three weeks ago but I'm really struggling with whether the course is right for me.

A little about my background:

I don't have any formal actor training but have been involved in grassroots and community theatre for the past two years. I also have a BA in therapeutic arts and an MA in Applied Theatre, and am really passionate about developing as a writer and producer of queer shows.

I believe I'm already making inroads in terms of networking in a large city adjacent to mine.

I was able to produce my own show, on a small scale, last year and again this summer. It sold very well and got good reviews. I'm very proud of it.

I do dream of acting at a high level however, and also of representing my community as a queer actor. I would dearly like to make some kind of a living from theatre (I realise this is probably not something experienced by the majority of actors but I'm determined nevertheless).

I've been in uni' for the past 5 years, with an occasional 6 month break between courses, and have found the drama school classes so far quite overwhelming. It doesn't feel so much that the content troubles me but rather that I feel agitated that I have no time or energy to keep writing and getting involved in local, grassroots queer productions.

I'm also neuro divergent, and it would be fair to say that I struggle with 9-5 structures that have little flexibility.

I feel pulled in two directions and am constantly catastrophising about whether I'm throwing a fulfilling career away by quitting the course.

I've looked into part time, Spotlight accredited training, and wondered whether that would give me the same kind of momentum as Conservatoire training would (I imagine not but perhaps it simply comes down to hard work in the end - something I'm absolutely prepared to put in.)

I do want to become an accomplished actor. I've spent the past two years studying and getting experience, with the explicit purpose of going to drama school. To drop it feels incredibly foolish but I just don't know if it fits me.

I'm not asking for people to tell me the right answer but I'd very much appreciate knowledge and advice.

Thank you.

Hi everyone,

I'm from South America and I've been trying to figure out how someone in my situation could realistically pursue acting in the UK.

I've been studying acting on my own and, over time, I've also worked quite a lot on developing what I believe is a convincing British accent. I have zero professional acting experience because I've never actually tried to pursue acting professionally before. The reason is that I never really had any interest in building an acting career in my home country. My dream has always specifically been to do this in the UK.

And yes, I know how difficult and competitive this is.

I'm not under the illusion that I'll arrive in the UK and immediately get an agent, auditions and roles. I know there will probably be rejection, frustration, periods of nothing happening, and a lot of work involved. I'm completely aware of that, and I'm prepared to deal with it.

At the same time, I genuinely believe I got what it takes to pursue acting. If I didn't believe I was capable of doing it, I wouldn't be trying to build a plan around it. There are plenty of things in life that I would love to do but don't feel capable of doing — acting just isn't one of them.

My biggest problem, however, is the practical and legal side of actually getting started.

I'm not British and I'm currently outside the UK. My biggest question is: how can I legally get myself into the UK and actually start pursuing acting there?

I also don't have the money for expensive acting schools or years of costly training. I'm trying to find a realistic route that doesn't require me to have a huge amount of money behind me.

By February, I expect to have around £3,500 saved. My current idea is to use that money to spend roughly six months in the UK. I don't expect those six months to magically turn me into a working actor. My goal would simply be to finally get my foot in the door, experience the industry in person, meet people, learn how things actually work, and — most importantly — get myself out of zero.

But I'm honestly quite lost about what I should actually be doing.

For example:

• Should I be sending self-tapes or acting videos to UK agencies while I'm still abroad?
• Is it realistic to contact agents before I arrive in the UK?
• Should I be submitting myself for auditions even if I'm not currently based in the UK?
• Are there legitimate ways for someone in my situation to get representation?
• What should I be building right now — a showreel, headshots, self-tapes, credits, training, something else?
• If I eventually spend six months in the UK, what should I realistically try to accomplish during that time?
• More importantly, what are the legal immigration/visa limitations that someone in my position needs to understand before making plans?

I'm also worried about time passing and me eventually looking back and realizing that I let this dream slip away because I was too afraid to start.

I'm not asking anyone to tell me that this will be easy. I actually want the opposite. If you've been in a similar situation — especially if you're not British, started from outside the UK, had little or no experience, and tried to break into acting there — I'd really appreciate hearing how you approached it.

If you were in my position, what would you do right now, while still living outside the UK?

I'm looking for a path, even if it's a difficult one. What would the first few steps realistically look like?