News & Advice

Spotlight Prize winner Alyssa reflects on her acting journey and shares insights and advice for drama school graduates. Since winning the Stage Award at the Spotlight Prize 2024 for her performance of Many Moons, Alyssa has quickly become one to watch in the world of theatre. But her journey from an enthusiastic young performer to […]

Senam Akpokavi talks about his acting career since winning the Spotlight Prize in 2024, including landing a regular role in a BBC series and adapting to life after drama school. In 2024, Senam Akpokavi’s excellent performance of For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy saw him win the Screen […]

The 20 drama school graduates who’ll be performing at this year’s Spotlight Prize showcase. Once again, the Spotlight Prize is here to recognise and celebrate the very best drama school talent that the UK and Ireland have to offer.  65 drama schools and universities nominated a student from their graduating class to submit a self-tape […]

Performer Laura Dawkes on playing ‘Anna’ in Disney’s ‘Frozen the Musical’, going straight from drama school to the West End, and the process of recording the show for Disney+. Laura Dawkes has had an exceptional start to her career. Within weeks of graduating from Emil Dale Academy, she was cast in the lead role of […]

Maximise your drama school experience with these 10 tips for networking, making contacts, honing your self-taping skills, agent advice and more. If I could go back in time, I would’ve done my final year at drama school differently, and I’m sure plenty of actors across the country would agree. I thought the purpose of training […]

Six tips from our Spotlight Prize winners and finalists to help you get the most out of your drama school experience. So you’ve decided that drama school is the right path for you, you’ve succeeded with your drama school audition and you’re finally in. You now have three years (or less, depending on your course) […]