How I applied to (and got an offer for) East 15

People dare to believe fate plays such a big part in their lives, and I have to be honest with you, I do too.

The first time I applied for East 15 Acting School (part of University of Essex) back in 2019, I did not get an offer from any of the courses I was interested in (BA Acting and BA Acting International). That year, I sent auditions to some of the most prestigious acting schools in England and Scotland, but the reality was, I hadn’t done any previous training, so all my self-tapes were quite amateur.

I did have one thing going for me: faith. Every person that knew me at that time thought I was going to apply for either directing or writing, because no one saw me as an actor. I was a shy person who would start trembling when it came to public speaking. So what made me think I could be an actor? Well, besides my faith in my artistic strength, I also had a love for the film industry. I was raised watching action and fantasy movies with my father; Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lord of the Rings. These three franchises defined my passion for film, and got me thinking what if one day I can be part of that world?

Only two universities offered me a place in my first round of auditions. I accepted to attend Arts University Bournemouth, where I had the chance to learn the basics of acting (focusing on Stanislavski) and understand the craft works. At the beginning of 2020, I met with a East 15 alumni and who advised me to keep seeking my truth and what I believed to be better training. AUB was amazing, but I did not fit in. Something was telling meto keep moving. So I did. Right after I met with the alumni, I reapplied to only one drama school: dearest East 15. I applied for BA Acting International and, gloriously, BA World Performance (only because I heard the alumni saying that there is also a course where people get to learn how to play a range of instruments, and learn how to perform theatre styles from all around the world).

The email from Ramiro, the head of our course, came during an evening. A few nights before I had a dream that I got in. I guess dreams do come true after all. I knew I was going to accept, but it took me a day or two to actually send the confirmation. The thought of being a first year again was scary, and it felt as if everything that I had done to that point was for nothing. But I knew the first year at East 15 would only add to the experience of the training I was getting, so I reassured myself that even though it seemed as if I was repeating a year, I was actually engaging in a new journey.

So far, East 15 has been a rollercoaster. I will be graduating in a month and I am both cheering and commiserating, because I am curious to start working and putting myself out there, but I am sad to leave East 15. World Performance has given me life experiences, from Butoh classes to traditional Balinese dances, but most importantly it has given me maybe the greatest of friends I could ever have. Getting to know people from all around the world is a blessing, not only because your international awareness grows, but also because you get to see that the world is not as big as you thought it would be.

If I was a student in Romania, the borders would have stopped me looking further, but studying at East 15 has proven to me that I can have the whole world, for nothing is too far or impossible to achieve. If I had any advice I could give to myself in 2019, it would be that no matter how slow the process might seem, it will happen if you keep aiming for your goal.

Do not be scared to change your dreams, life is so much more than achieving one thing. As long as you dont stop, it will happen.