Perhaps you have been treading the boards for years. You’ve made a few short films, even a few small parts. You spent years in dutiful study, grabbed a handful of highers in drama and were off to face the world, bitten by the bug.
For some it’s always been there, deep down, you’ve always wanted to be an actor. You want to take those next steps in your craft, but are without a solid idea of where to begin. You might want more training, or perhaps prep before you take on an audition at a top tier drama school? Taking those first (often terrifying) steps into the world of further discovery can be helped with a year long HND Acting and Performance course. An intensive course that solidifies your professional development and sets your focus as you tackle the industry at large.
So where can you go?
In Scotland alone there are ELEVEN colleges that offer an HND in Acting and Performance. Dundee & Angus College, New College Lanarkshire, West College Scotland, Inverness College, City of Glasgow College, and Ayrshire College ( to name a few) all offer a comprehensive program of study in a traditional setting. Where as this may be initially appealing to a developing actor familiar with traditional educational
settings, large campuses often come with large class sizes, and very little personal investment in you as a developing professional. With many of them having class sizes upwards of thirty plus students, and only one or two productions a year it's easy to fall through the cracks.
Alternatively there are two private institutions that are offering an HND in Scotland that are fully accredited by SQA. These studios offer two distinct expertises and experiences. MGA in Edinburgh offers an HND in both acting and musical theatre performance with the latter being at the forefront to produce some truly epic productions of both traditional and new musical theatre. Acting Coach Scotland based in Glasgow offers an intensive acting studio experience in the city that serves as the epicentre of Scottish theatre, television and filmmaking. Similar in setup and size to the famed Actors Studio in New York City, ACS’s course intensively creates actors who know themselves and their craft and prepares them to take the next step in the ownership of their education and careers through grit and growth mindset.
There are so many ways to take those next steps into exploring an art form that you love. Be it in a traditional collegiate setting with a large group, or in an intimate studio setting. Ultimately it comes down to the individual, how they learn best and what they want to get out of their year. Regardless of how you move forward, it’s your passion as an artist and what you put into honing yourself that will reap the benefits.
Imagine what you want, work hard, go for it.