Drama Personal Statement Example 1

Here is mine. Better than yours I think

"People who choose to live within their means suffer from a lack of imagination", I think out of all Oscar Wilde's quotes, this one is my favourite. It inspires me to believe that I do not have to accept my surroundings and that we can change our lives if we wish, one just needs to apply ones self to do so. By studying Drama, we can explore a variety of different situations and become a mixture of characters, each with their own personality and poison. Within theatre we can go further than flesh and blood to inspire and engage audiences. There is no feeling quite like knowing someone is watching you perform something you had placed your blood sweat and tears in for however long and for them to actually understand what you are trying to portray. The most profound thing I have found when studying Drama is that we can become any single thing we choose in the entire universe, whether it be something from our minds or something that actually exists and still be us.
Since coming to Birmingham Theatre School in 2006 and studying for my BTEC ND in Performing Arts, I have develpoed a very professional attitude and enhanced my understanding of Theatre. I didn't realise just how passionate I would become about Theatre before the course started. In what feels like such a short space of time I have already learnt so much. I have taken part in classes such as, Voice, Musical Theatre, Devising Theatre, Classical Theatre, Physical Theatre and Performing Arts in Conext. I feel I owe some thanks to my tutor Hannah Phillips for inspiring me to think differently about Theatre and for her unique teaching methods. I feel stronger now than ever that this is the career path I wish to choose and there still is so much I wish to learn. Outside of my curriculum I have taken part in several professional performances. Two of which were from the work of Martin Crimp. I have taken part in a Promenade performance of Scrooge with Higher National Diploma students and collaborated very well together. I have also had the priviledge of working with Graham Vick, Birmingham Opera Company, in the rehearsal process of La Traviata.
Such experience has increased my performance skill on a whole and expanded my knowledge of the world of Theatre immensely, thus providing me with a greater sense of professionalism. I feel your course would be perfect for me as not only could I gain so much from the intense training you could provide, but I feel I would also gain a greater understanding of the world of theatre and of my craft. I have so very much to learn and a strong drive to push me. There are many options out there open to me in the terms of Higher Education, but I feel only your course would provide me with the tools and key skills that I do not quite yet have to maintain a successful career as an actor. After the course my objective is to act, I am not after fame, I have a passion for theatre and film and the only wish I have is to never be out of work.
Thank you for taking the time out to view my Personal Statement, I hope that you find me an interesting candidate for your course and would consider me for it.

granted i used one or two sentences from yours, they worked well. Mine kicks ass!cant say ive copied you at all! because literally one or2 sentences were used ha

I think that in order to get into university, the person writing the statement has to have some gramatical skills.there are simple mistakes such as missing words and incorrect grammer.plus, half of the sentences have been drowed in the art of theasaurusing(is that a word?).Every single word in the piece has been changed making it sound like upper middle class twoddle that no1(not even the person who wrote it)can understand.
dont get me wrong, its impressive alrite, but its impressive to the point of insanity.

Great PS no words to describe!!!

people who put this down need to realise that people are different and not all personal statments have to follow guidelines! those are the most boring ones to be honest!

Your personal statement is very good and shows excellent understanding of practitioners etc, however, it is a pity that you did not describe your past experience in more detail. You rush over it a bit towards the end. Also you evidently didn't proof read your final draft. Other than that it looks like you got several auditions so well done...good luck for the future

this has helped me so much, i have been writing ideas and didnt know if i could take that approach, but your writting stuck out to me because you seem to have the same phlosophy ideas as me in drama, and i think that appeals as a major reason to be a good actor, so thanks

I think this personal statement really has something to say. It's very powerful and your passion, understanding, and most of all, enthusiam for acting is quite moving. I like it. However, I also felt that you went a bit too much into detail when a more ideal thing for a PS would have been to talk more about yourself and your experiences. The bit about your previous experiences could have been done in more detail, I think. Overall, though, if it got you where you wanted, then that's what really matters.

I'm interested to know how much this statement influenced their decision to offer it's writer a place since I'm sure they would also have needed to attend an audition.

I'm trying to write a personal statement right now but I have only about a third of a page. (I'm applying overseas.)

It's very impressive and it's given me some inspiration.

Congratulations.

for a start bob fosse does not show horror and sorrow. his shows, such as pajama game, were for cabaret and the likes of chiago styles followed this, so i would take that out of your statement as you clearly dont know what you are talking about on that part.

well i think its brilliant. i think it shows you have clearly learned something from your experiences, your passionate about the subject and are more than willing to learn more. congrats.

Initially I thought the use of quote and first sentence was abit messy; however in reading the whole statement your passion shines through and with a drama PS thats the most important thing.
Overall I think its really good and it must have taken some time!

The first sentence is so cliche

i think its brilliant!

i can see what everyone is saying, this is to the person who said a personal statment is ment to to personal how do you know what this person is writing is not whats person to the???....sorry if i made spelling mistakes in a rashh!!!!!

i was very impressed by this statement and enjoyed reading it ... however i will offer you some personal constructive criticism points of my own...
I have read some of the other comments and i have to say this is a fantastic piece of writing in general however it doesn't give a sense of who YOU are as a person its seems as though its just writtin to impress a reader (although it is) it seems slightly fake.
great read though !!!

i think this is good, but it is true what people are saying. it is a bit OTT. but then again you never know, who ever is reading it might like it.

i reckon, in ur personal statement u shud just be honest. obviously there are a few rules to abide by, but at the end of the day if this person speaks like this or has these things on their mind, its not over the top... etc its just their thoughts and feelings. And ur not the judge the university is

Grammatically.....some parts make no sense.....its a bit disjointed in places, looks like it was just written in one go...there's no thought or planning gone into it.
But you sound like you'd make a good drama student!!

Superb. Anyone thinking this is OTT etc, obviously has not released the point of being a student. The quote, etc all shows an in depth knowledge. In Performing Arts, many quotes can have a direct influence on your creativeness and work, the slightest thing can create a stimulus for you, I think the quote is brilliant, and a great way to start off the PS, I have started mine off with a quote from Freud, that is in Meisners book 'On Acting' which ends with 'The he has won - throught his fantasy- what before he could only win in fantasy; honour, power, and the love of women' a quote that in its fullness decribes so accurately the dreams of an actor, and how these dreams bare fruits once successful.

take no offence to this comment but starting a drama PS with a "famous" quote that just so happened to inspire you to take drama is so cliche, thats the one thing i avoided because i bet most drama universities get the exact same type of PS. but good luck cos im applying right now for drama aswell.

I think this is an extremely good personal statement, and not knowing this person personally who has written it, makes is difficult to make a judgement on the person. I am unsure if this person is being honest about who they are. As I read it I find it very informal and intellectual but not passionate and exciting. Apart from that it is impressive and clever.

You sound a bit unbalanced mate. It's also important to communicate coherently, get your sentence struture looked at! First thought: this is pretentious. Second thought: this is pretentious AND badly written. Thank God you were applying to drama school, where it's based mostly on audition! Your PS reads like a lesson on how NOT to communciate with your audience, it cerntainly put me right off. I don't want some uppity school pupil telling me how much he/she knows, when I'm the one in charge.

um where did you apply with this because no offence cause you obviously worked hard but it comes off way to strong and wordy. But then again that is just my opinion

um where did you apply with this because no offence cause you obviously worked hard but it comes off way to strong and wordy. But then again that is just my opinion

You cleary have a strong passion and that comes through, however it seem's like your using phrases for the sake of sounding smart.

kid you really have tried too hard you sound too desperate sort your head out get a grip you could have got on the course easier without all that 'wise man' nonsense

i dont understand why everyone is saying this is over the top? your meant to show yourself off, and if you havnt notcied, they got an offer made at the universitys they applied for, top unviersitys! liverpool only offers about 30 places so they obv did something right! well done, it inspired me.

You do indeed express yourself and show your passion, but anyone can do this, tell them about you, what makes u click and get up in the morning apart from being on stage, tell them u love all aspects of the industry, give more examples of people,plays, places that have inspired you, dont sound desperate, make them want you even more than you want it, a personal statement is a time to show off, but be true to youself, let them decide this however, dont push it in their face, however it was moving and i did want to read on, go you

This had really helped me to write my own personal statement. Thank you for posting this, it has really helped.

it was really good, but you seemed like quite a pretentious person. i do however understand how hard it is to communicate a passion for acting without seeming pretentious or cheesy as that is what i am trying (and failing) to do

I don't really think there's any right or wrong way to write a personal statement - if you're a flamboyant person there's no sense in pretending not to be. On a technical note though, I don't think this has been mentioned before, you should work on sentence structure and grammar. Sometimes your meaning is confused as you haven't expressed yourself concisely. Being concise is key in writing a personal statement and there are definitely sections here that need work in this sense.

Firstly, to "Well":

You are arrogant. You should learn to spell simple words such as 'privilege' before claiming your statement to be superior to others. You are trying to get into a profession where arrogance will be punished. Instead of showing off, you should work for each other. Have you not come across the idea of an 'ensemble' in all this 'professional' work?

Anyway, rant over.

I would warn potential drama students against the original statement. It is passionate, but very unfocussed. It lacks discipline, and lacks a decent amount of experience to back-up the passion. How can you know or explain why you act if you have little experience acting? You say something personal about your passion, but it is the same type of thing that others will say. Time and time again.

Oh, none of this "A Wise Man once said..." business. The quote itself is a bit of a stretch, and who is this 'wise man'?

Passionate certainly though.

Actually, there was one other thing I wanted to say to Well's statement:

You will be out of work most of your acting life. You absolutely must know the figures of things like this, surely? The vast majority of the profession are out of work the majority of the year, and NO actor is never out of work. Write about what you would do when you are. What use would you put your acting skills to?

It was ok, in parts. Reads a lot like a breathless 'luvvie' and a little unprofessional. Also put the DREADED LINE you should never put 'This is what Ive always wanted to do since I was little etc..' Drama schools have thousands of applicants, thousands whom say exactly the same thing.

Not that good, did you get anywhere?

Quote is very pretentious at the start.

I have been reading all your personal statements and all sounds good.I have recently applied and been accepted for a short acting course which is very benifical and also a great opportunity.There are lots of give aways and certificates,i recommend this opportunity to all of those persueing a acting carreer its definetly a great start.The course starts on the 6th july 2011 no time like the present be a winner like me contact the studios remember to state my name which is Princess to get short listed.Places are going very fast theres still a few slots left so be quick.Here are all the details you will need to proceed good luck and i look forward to acting with those who apply.
we would like to inform you of the new venture that we have coming available for all of our actors at DEWAR studios.

We are working in conjunction with a BAFTA nominated director and experienced talented award winning professionals for a one day 8 week course held at our exclusive studios in London's west end.

Successful applicants will star in a ten minute short film launched at BAFTA to which participants and guests along with industry VIPs and celebrities will be attending.

Following the premier the film will be entered into film festivals around the world.

As well as this fantastic opportunity you will receive a show reel, professional photo shoot and a complimentary goodie bag as well as great exposure and much more!!

Please let us know if you are available and interested in this fantastic opportunity.
Best Wishes

Louisa Dewar
Managing Director

Dewar Studios
59 Great Titchfield Street
London W1W 7PW
Phone:0207 580 5744
Mob: 07860539005
Email: louisa@dewarstudios.com
www.dewarstudios.com

"Humanity has helped Drama so much to produce narrative of such calibre" wtf?? surly it should be the other way around. anyway without humanity drama would not even exist (let alone the "such calibre" of humanity) so you really do sound overly pretentious and a little dim in your statement.

i like it bruv init

Appreciate you sharing, great article post.Much thanks again. Want more.