YAFTA International, founded by Charlotte Armitage in 2013, provides training designed to fit around your other commitments
Training to become an actor the traditional way can be a tricky and time-consuming process. It can involve giving up a job. It can involve moving cities and it can involve putting both livelihood and lifestyle on the line for a dream that might not happen. But, at the Leeds-based YAFTA International, none of those things are true.
“A lot of people have the raw talent to make it as actors in the film and TV industry, but they can’t commit to a full-time training programme,” says YAFTA’s managing director Charlotte Armitage.
“Maybe they can’t afford to leave their job. Maybe they can’t move to London. Maybe they can’t be apart from their family. At YAFTA, they don’t have to do any of those things,” she continues.
“At YAFTA, we provide comprehensive and accessible actor training that fits around other commitments. You don’t have to give up your job or move away from home, or anything like that. At YAFTA, training to be a professional screen actor is a viable option for everyone and anyone.”
YAFTA was founded by Armitage in 2013 to provide affordable and reputable actor training in the north of England for those who did not want to, or could not, tackle a full-time, three-year degree, but who were not satisfied with irregular evening classes as the only alternative. It has gone from strength to strength over the past eight years, and now boasts a range of training programmes at a variety of locations.
At the heart of everything, though, is YAFTA’s Acting for Screen Diploma – a Spotlight-eligible, 18-month programme designed to equip aspiring actors with all the skills they need to succeed as a professional performer in the film and TV industry. Students start as beginners in screen acting and, a year and a half later, are ready for their first paid roles.
“The proof is in the pudding,” says Armitage. “Our Acting for Screen Diploma has been running for seven years. It has had a lot of success in producing professional actors who have gone on to do great things. Students are automatically added to Spotlight’s directory when they graduate, meaning they can seek agency representation and be submitted for work.”
YAFTA’s Acting for Screen Diploma is based around a blended-learning approach. Students are required to attend three full contact days per month at YAFTA’s studio in Leeds, with the rest of the programme taught via online modules, self-directed study and a range of workshops, masterclasses, mentorship sessions, assessments and experiential learning through working as actors on student projects while training.
Screen acting, text analysis, characterisation, improvisation, voice, instinct, audition technique, working as a performer, psychological techniques for managing nerves – those are just some of the subjects on the diploma’s syllabus. They are just some of the skills that aspiring actors will pick up over the course of their 18 months at YAFTA. The overarching emphasis, though, is on appropriately preparing students with the skills for working as screen performers and teaching them what working in film and TV is really like.
“We try to get our students working as soon as we can, whether that’s on professional productions, low-budget movies or student films,” Armitage explains. “At YAFTA, we don’t think everything should be based in the classroom. We believe in putting learning into practice as much as possible. We believe in making sure students know what to expect in the industry.”
“Students at YAFTA learn genuinely useful information about how film and TV work, alongside everything else,” she continues. “They learn how to put a showreel together. They learn how to do self-tapes. They learn what the feedback process is like. They learn that the industry can be really tough at times, and they develop the psychological resilience to deal with that while they are training with us.”
YAFTA’s syllabus has been designed and is delivered by professional actors and acting coaches who have trained and worked at some of the world’s leading drama schools – and who also have plenty of experience working in the film and TV industries, whether in soap operas, studio movies or big-budget drama series.
“Students at YAFTA are treated like the adults they are,” says Armitage. “Some drama schools are known for their overly punitive, overly destructive teaching techniques, but we definitely don’t believe in that approach here. We pride ourselves on providing a very supportive, nurturing environment for all our students, whoever they are and wherever they come from.”
“One student said to me recently that they loved YAFTA so much because we were so human and had soul, and I was so pleased because that is exactly what we try to do,” she adds. “This is an organisation with integrity, and you can tell that as soon as you walk in the door. There is lovely, warm, positive, vibrant, confidence-building atmosphere at YAFTA.
Course fees for YAFTA’s Acting for Screen Diploma are £9,700, and there are several different payment plans to ensure anyone can afford to attend. The admissions process starts with a written application, followed by self-taped and in-person auditions, followed by audition-workshops. Applicants do not have to be perfect, polished or professional, says Armitage. They just need to have a spark of talent and, more importantly, the right attitude.
“Ultimately, we are looking for people with motivation and tenacity, because they are essential traits for any actor, and it’s important that people begin the course with the same mindset, ready to engage and learn,” she continues. “We can teach students how to act, how to feel comfortable on screen and how to navigate the industry, but we need them to be determined and dedicated from the start. We need them to really care about their training.”
“We don’t mind who you are, where you come from or how old you are, as long as you have that drive,” she adds. “We welcome everyone, from 16-year-olds who have just left school, to people looking for a career change, to people who have retired but still want to give screen acting a shot.”
“It doesn’t matter if you have another job you can’t give up. It doesn’t matter if you have other commitments that will take up a chunk of your time. It doesn’t matter if you have kids, parents or grandparents to look after. The course is designed to work around these additional commitments that we all have. Provided you have the passion and the raw talent, there will be an acting programme for you at YAFTA.”
YAFTA is currently accepting applications for its Acting for Screen Diploma starting in February 2022. For more information, visit yafta.co.uk
Invest in The Stage today with a subscription starting at just £5.99