Interviews and Auditions - Undergraduate

Once we have received your application, you should receive an email invitation to interview or audition, depending on the programme(s) you have selected in your application.

Your invitation will be sent to the email address entered on your UCAS application form. Please note some courses will not issue an invitation until a reference has been received, so do make sure to include details of a referee in your application.

If you are expecting an invitation email, please allow up to 2 weeks from submitting your application, as there may be a delay in receiving your application via UCAS due to your referee not completing their section.

Please ensure to check your junk/spam folders as sometimes invitation emails can be automatically routed there because they contain links.

For the same reason, we suggest that you use a personal email address rather than a school/college email address, as sometimes your school/college firewall may block our invitation.

Please note that interviews via video call, and self-tape auditions are available for those who may find it difficult to travel to Central’s campus, such as overseas applicants, however deadlines for self-tape submissions may apply before you can attend.

Dates and times will vary each year by course, and will depend on the availability of our tutors. As such we are unfortunately unable to guarantee everyone an interview/audition at a date and time that suits them. We will have multiple dates available however, so hopefully there will be at least one that you’re able to attend.

In addition to interviews and auditions at our campus in London, we will also be running interview and audition days in locations around the UK. For 2024 entry, these will take place in the February half-term in the following locations:

• Birmingham
• Bristol
• Manchester
• Newcastle

If you would prefer to have your audition/interview day at one of our regional venues then we encourage you to apply as early as possible as places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. You book your audition/interview date at a regional location in exactly the same way as you would book a date at our London campus (detailed below).

The invitation email will include a link for you to book an interview or audition via Eventbrite so that you can choose the most suitable date for you from a list of available options. Please note Eventbrite is not affiliated with Central in any way - any links to other events on their site are their responsibility.

Despite multiple dates being available, we strongly recommend that you try to attend the earliest date possible for you, as certain programmes may fill up quickly. This is particularly important for programmes that go through several rounds for selection.

If submitting a self-tape audition for BA (Hons) Acting 2024 entry, there is a single deadline for submitting your tape. You will have until 4 March 2024 to share your tape with us, and must book this date via Eventbrite (the link will again be in your invitation email). You are of course welcome to submit your tapes earlier than 4 March, however they will not be viewed by panellists until after this date, and so you should not expect feedback any earlier.

Once you have booked an interview or audition, you will receive an automated confirmation email from Eventbrite. It will detail exactly what you will need to prepare for your audition/interview.

Again, please ensure you check your junk mail for this email, as it contains links and may be filtered by your email provider.

Please ensure that you carefully read the whole email – which may be long as it contains a lot of information – before responding with any questions, as it may be that your question is already answered in the email.

For detailed information on the audition/interview process for each programme, please see the below links:

BA (Hons) Acting audition process, including:

• Acting

• Acting (Collaborative and Devised Theatre)
• Acting (Musical Theatre)

BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice interview process, including:

• Drama, Applied Theatre and Education
• Experimental Arts and Performance
• Writing for Performance

BA (Hons) Theatre Practice interview process, including:

• Costume Construction
• Design for Performance
• Production Lighting
• Prop Making
• Scenic Painting for Stage and Screen
• Set Construction for Stage and Screen
• Stage Management and Technical Theatre
• Lighting Design
• Sound Design and Production

Your interviewer will have carefully looked at the information you have provided in your personal statement, your academic history and reference and will ask you questions based on these. For this reason, it is important to complete the form with great care. It’s also a good idea for you to have a read through your application again yourself, before your interview, simply to remind yourself what you wrote, and so that you can highlight any changes or developments in your interview. 

The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama reserves the right to withhold or withdraw an offer of a place on a course if information provided by any applicant on their UCAS form is incomplete, inaccurate or could be considered misleading.

2024 Entry

Please note that where fees apply, these go towards the cost of recruiting panellists, and helpers as well as other running costs on the day. We strive to keep fees to a minimum where possible.

• BA (Hons) Acting courses: £40 audition fee (for the entire process, whether remote or in-person)
• BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice courses: No interview fee
• BA (Hons) Theatre Practice courses: No interview fee

Free Auditions (England-based applicants only)

Many undergraduate applicants based in England may be eligible for a free audition.

In addition to students engaged through Central’s Outreach work as part of its Access and Participation Plan, the school also provides free auditions to applicants based in England who may face barriers in accessing specialist performing arts training. To find out more please contact our outreach team:outreach@cssd.ac.uk

Please note that postgraduate applicants are not eligible for this scheme.

2025 Entry

From 2025 onwards our process is changing, and we are removing our audition fees. This means that anyone who applies to start at Central in 2025 and is invited to attend an audition will not have to pay a fee.

The development is part of a process aimed at widening opportunities for people of all backgrounds to access theatre training.  You can read more about this change here.