By Darren Brownlie

 

Darren began his training on the Musical Theatre Course at The Dance School of Scotland, he then went on to the Arts Educational Schools London, completing his training at the RCS.

Darren has worked in Scottish Theatre for over 15 years, some of his theatre credits include:

 Rapunzel, Tin Forest (National Theatre Of Scotland), Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing (Bard in The Botanics), Mammy Goose, Alice in Weegieland, Snaw Queen, Sleeping Betty, Miracle on 34 Parnie Street, Aganeza Scrooge, Peter Panto, Flo White, Ya Beauty and the Beast, Cannibal Woman of Mars (Tron Theatre), Meet me at the Knob, Punocchio, Spuds, Vinyl Idol, Tap Dancing with Jean Paul Sartre, First Dance, Crocodile Rock (Òran Mór), Witness for the Prosecution (Dundee Rep), Still Game Live 2 -Bon Voyage, Still Game Live Final Farewell (SSE Hydro), Bingo! ( Stellar Quines/Grid Iron), The Rise and Inevitable Fall of Lucas Petite (Sleeping Warrior Theatre Company), Nijinsky’s Last Jump and Dance Derby (Company Chordelia), Dragged Tae the Steamie ( Dragged Tae Productions), Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Peter Pan (Kings Theatre Glasgow for Xroads) and Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Kings Theatre Edinburgh for Xroads).

Darren’s film and TV Credits include Dregs, Scot Squad, My Barmy Aunt Boomerang, Love Me Tender (BBC/CBBC), The James Gang (Polygram Films). Darren is currently playing series regular, Mikey Duffy, in BBC 1 Scotlands River City. 

Darren is a graduate of The Dance Of Scotland. 

 

Auditioning for Drama Schools/Musical Theatre Colleges/Dance Colleges

Auditioning for Drama College or any kind of further education while at school can be really daunting. Whether you’re on the Dance Course or Musical Theatre Course, it’s very easy to get caught up in what other people in your year are doing, or where they are auditioning for. Personally when I was at The Dance School of Scotland I was blind sided about London and wanted to be there in whichever capacity possible. However, what I thought I wanted and what I actually wanted were two very different things I quickly discovered. I wish I hadn’t got caught up in the whirlwind of auditions and took time to answer these three questions.

Remember, you are an island, there is no one like you and the only person you can control is you. 

What do I want?

What do I want from my next period of training? Do you have a clear idea of what it is you would like from a college and if so, are you auditioning for the ones that offer that. Where do you want your career to go? Do you require further dance training? Do you need a better understanding of text? Do you want training for stage and for screen?

You should be thinking about your future, what you’d like to see yourself doing at the end of training.

 

Where do my skills lie? Truthfully.

You need to be absolutely truthful with yourself about the things that you do well, and the things that you know need improving. You might be an absolutely brilliant dancer but need more training in acting, you might be a phenomenal singer but need more training in dance and acting, you might be an amazing actor who needs to focus on singing – whatever your unique ( because we are all unique) combo of talents are, you also need to be aware of the skills you will need in order to achieve your goals. It’s about being truthful, realistic and honest with yourself.

Am I ready for this?

Ask yourself, “am I ready to take on all the obstacles that moving away from home entails.”

Moving away from home is really hard, within one summer I had moved from Scotland to London and was having to manage my own finances, negotiate living with people who I knew but hadn’t lived with before, having to feed myself, take on responsibilities that my parents had only ever done for me, all whilst trying to settle into a new educational environment. This also included a huge study workload. Having a year out is not a bad thing, taking a bit longer to work out who you are is not a bad thing, being absolutely positive and aware that you are making the right decisions is not a bad thing. You do not need to go to further education immediately after school, it will be there when you decide that you’re ready to audition. You have time.

 

Finally, please please please be kind to yourself.

 

A lot of scary, wonderful, emotional, testing, euphoric, joyous things are about to happen to you when you leave school. You will meet the best and the worst people, you will make mistakes, you will fall in love, you will fall out of love, you will be late for things, you will thrive in some things and fail in others, one day your pirouettes will be on point and the next you’ll fall out of a single. You’ll nod your head in agreement with your acting teacher when they ask you if you knew what Shakespeare meant in Julius Caesar, but in reality you don’t have a clue, you’ll think you’ll never be able to belt that high note and then one day you’ll do it and instantly forget how you managed it, but it will always be ok, and you will always have your Dance School family to support you.

Don’t forget to live, don’t forget to find joy in the things you are doing, forgive yourself quickly and move on.

Don’t dwell on the things that have happened or are about to happen, always be present in the present moment.

Find another thing that you love so that your life doesn’t become about only training.

If you need help – ask. If you don’t understand – ask. If you need time – ask.

No matter how stupid or embarrassing or difficult things might sound in your head, when said out loud with a good friend, the weight of the world can be taken off of your shoulders.

Right, away ye go and change the world!!