Get Francesca to Guildhall

My name is Francesca and I am a 24 year old aspiring actress. After a highly rigorous and costly 7 month audition process during which I worked two jobs to fund my auditions,  I have just  been awarded a place to train at Guildhall School of Music and Drama on the 3 year MA Acting Course full time -  2,500 applied, and I am one of 24 to secure a place. Ranked as one of the top ten performing arts institutions in the world (QS World University Rankings 2020), the opportunity to train at Guildhall has been my life’s ambition. However, despite having won a partial scholarship (reducing my first year of tuition fees from £9250 to £4250), I need to cover the remaining cost of my tuition fees and living expenses for my first year of study, out of three (my course is not eligible for student finance). 

Throughout my studies, I have balanced my working life with my education, which has required the upmost discipline, time keeping, work ethic, and ruthless sacrifice. As of this year, I have balanced two jobs in order to support myself through the drama school audition process, fund trips to the theatre as part of my education, and to fund supplementary actor’s training in a range of different institutions. Having worked so hard to get myself to this point, the impact of Covid-19 has meant that I have been unable to continue working and saving in anticipation of drama school, instead earning a fraction of what I would have earned otherwise. This has fundamentally disrupted my plan to save to cover my shortfall independently. In addition, due to the intensity and demands of the full time schedule, Guildhall has actively advised against MA students taking up part time work during term time, as referenced in the Guide to Postgraduate Student Finding 2020/2021 https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/files/Fees_and_Funding/Postgraduate_Funding__Guidance_202021.pdf.

My dedication to acting is a lifelong, unwavering commitment, and I believe that the MA in Acting offered by Guildhall will provide me with an invaluable opportunity to formally consolidate my acting experience gained thus far and would develop my technical craft as an actor in preparation for a professional career in the performing arts. As a woman of colour, access to funding would mean that I can have an equal opportunity to train in a space that has all too often failed to represent racial minority groups. In addition, being able to focus entirely on my training without the financial worry of having to drop out would mean the difference between being able to pursue my dramatic training, or having to confront the heart-breaking possibility of withdrawal from the course.  I have now decided to crowdfund in order to help me to cover the significant shortfall. While I am seeking a total of £9000 to cover my course fees and living expenses, the deadline for the first installment of my tuition fees is due on Monday 14th September (£1062.50).

Thank you so much for taking the time reading my story. Any contribution would mean the world, however please don’t worry if this is not possible – a share would make all the difference. Please find the relevant links to the full breakdown of my tuition fees: https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/about_the_school/shared_left_nav/fees_and_funding/.   In addition, the full budget of costs for the year is available if requested!