Equity’s student activists have secured a win for their Break Down Barriers campaign as the International School of Screen Acting (ISSA) have agreed to scrap audition fees for their courses. The campaign aims to remove barriers to the performing arts by ending audition fees for performing arts courses as well as hidden course costs.
The latest win is not just a win for the campaign but for future generations of performing arts students, especially the two-thirds of working-class students put off applying because of audition charges.
ISSA now joins other institutions that do not charge audition fees including Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), the Central School of Speech and Drama and Manchester’s Arden School of Theatre.
Mari Stracke, Director at ISSA said: “We’ve decided at ISSA to abolish audition fees because we wanted to make our auditions more accessible – that was really the driving force behind it. We want everybody to be able to come and audition with us and we don’t want there to be any more barriers than there already are.”
Our Break Down Barriers campaign petition has already amassed nearly 5,000 signatures, all calling for an end to audition fees and hidden course costs and for institutions to cover expenses for accessing auditions and open days.
Sign the petition now
