Counting the pennies: how can you fund your time at drama school?

Shakespeare

There's been an increase in financial concerns from students. Photo: Shutterstock

After managing to gain a place at drama school, the next biggest challenge for aspiring theatremakers is often how to fund their time there, especially for those from low-income households.

Most drama schools are affiliated to universities or set up as higher-educational organisations, which means they offer the same student loan services as universities.
Some also require students to pay additional tuition fees that are not covered by the loan. Sometimes a portion of these costs can be covered by the Dance and Drama Award, which has helped many access support for tuition fees.

However, tuition fees are not the only financial barrier to accessing theatre training at a drama school.

As the cost-of-living crisis worsens, student accommodation and living costs are increasingly adding to an aspiring student’s financial concerns. What funding is available, in addition to tuition fee awards or loans, for students who need extra financial support?

Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts is based in Peckham, London. Its registry manager Harriet Downing says: “We have definitely seen an increase in financial concerns from students following the cost-of-living crisis. Students have also found it more difficult to find rental properties within their budgets.”

Ben Leventhall, access and schools/ colleges liaison manager at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts echoes those concerns. “The main concern for students who already have a place will be living costs, accommodation and food,” he says.
“But, some students will have to buy materials, particularly designers and technicians, or certain clothing requirements for dancers.”

Travel can also present an additional hurdle. “Transport can be expensive if you cannot walk to classes, particularly during darker winter months,” says Anna McNamara, director of internationalisation, participation and outreach at Guildford School of Acting.

All this is worsened by the fact that – for many students – there has been a shift in the level of parental support available. “Some students have reported that they feel they cannot rely on their parents for occasional help as much as their older siblings perhaps may have done,” says McNamara.

‘Be sure to ask, to research and to fully investigate what funding is available to you’ – Anna McNamara, GSA

Food, travel, rent and bills have always been concerns for young people from low-income households, but these concerns are increasing.

Location can play a role in lessening some of the concerns around living costs. Leventhall explains: “It is helpful that Liverpool is a relatively cheap city to live in, especially compared with the South East of England.”

However, while this is true, many of the UK’s drama schools are based in the capital.

“London is an expensive city to study in. There is no sugar-coating that,” says Mountview principal Sally Ann Gritton. “However, it is also a phenomenal city in terms of creative opportunities once a student has completed their course.”

Access to student halls can make a big difference, alleviating some of the additional expenses that come with living costs. “Students tell us access to accommodation in halls of residence is far preferable to private renting at present, as this means there are no bills or unwelcome surprises,” says McNamara.

For example, RADA offers a small hardship fund, where “students can make a direct request to student services for assistance for emergencies or general hardship”. ArtsEd offers an internal “student support fund to provide timely and flexible support to current students who find themselves facing unexpected financial constraints”. Mountview offers the Judi Dench Fund for Access to Drama Training to enrolled students. Downing says: “These emergency grants help tackle unforeseen problems and ensure students are supported through difficult times.”

The Student Loan Company provides a repayable loan intended to cover tuition fees. In addition to this, students from low-income households also have an opportunity to apply for an income-assessed maintenance grant of up to £5,185 per year. Students who have been awarded the DADA can also access the maintenance grant.

‘We have definitely seen an increase in financial concerns from students’ – Harriet Downing, Mountview

Other sources of hardship funds that can be applied for include those run by organisations such as the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, Equity or the Lilian Baylis Award, to mention a few. Some drama schools encourage students to access the fund directly. Others, such as the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, ask students not to approach these bodies independently and to access extra support through the drama school.

A recent graduate of Trinity Laban Conservatoire, Becky Sanneh explains how the system worked for her: “I had access to the extra maintenance grant on top of my student loan and without that I do not think I would have been able to move to somewhere as expensive as London. I also accessed Trinity Laban’s extra grant, which meant I received £1,000 a year, as I was from a low-income family.”

This isn’t an option for all and, even if it were, it may not cover all costs. So, many students have to work in part-time jobs while they study at drama school. From bar work, ushering and teaching at a weekend drama club, there are all kinds of jobs that drama school students undertake to support themselves.

Sanneh worked to help fund living costs, first as a sales assistant and then teaching at a theatre school. She says: “My job was based in my home town, so I was waking up at 5am to get there. My weekends felt like they were not my own while training. The only time I had outside of classes to put in some extra work was in the evenings.”

Gritton explains: “The majority of our students will need to work alongside their studies to afford fees and living costs. However, there has to be a careful balance of priority when it comes to juggling work and study.”

She continues: “We always remind students that their studies must come first. We suggest a zero-hours contract so that they are in control of the amount of hours they commit to.”