Help me get to Drama School!

*** VARIETY NIGHT - TAKE 2 TICKETS! ***

Following hot on the heels of last month’s success, we’re going again in July!

29th July @ Libra Theatre Cafe, Camden.

A whole new line up and all new material from me, your host for the evening!

Pay what you can (suggested £15)

tickets here!

Hi! Thanks so much for clicking on my GoFundMe page!

My name is Georgia Koronka and I'm an aspiring actor in London.

Ever since I could walk I've been acting (I'll post videos in the updates!) but my life so far has led me away from it… Help me get back on track!

The short story: I've just turned 26, and I'm applying to drama school having detoured via Costume Making, Fashion, and Project Management among other careers, before realising all the "sensible" careers have nothing on Acting. I know now, after years of persuading myself otherwise, that I am an actor. I always will be and I think I always have been. Drama school is the next step towards making it my daily practice and privilege. Slight snag though... since I am over 25 (just!) there is almost no funding available for the eye watering tuition fees and the cost of supporting myself through intensive full time training, likely in (very expensive) London. So to make this a reality, I desperately need your help!

(Scroll down for the maths).

The long story:

It all began with a starring role as Miss Adelaide in a year 6 production of Guys and Dolls...

Not quite.

It's true that I've taken every chance to act I've ever been put in front of, and my lamenting 10 year old Miss Adelaide sang about her long engagement without any idea what she was singing, but it's been less than plain sailing since then. Although I was in every play going, it's safe to say secondary school was my era of "small parts". From the "Other Buffalo" in the Jungle Book (are there buffalo in the Jungle?) to "The Wall" in A Midsummer Night's Dream, school was not a place where I was encouraged to act. Until, that is, when I was 17 and cast as the title role in Jean Anouilh's phenomenal adaptation of Antigone. This was the spark I needed to light the fire in me and following the performances, I finally felt endorsed and supported enough to apply for drama school. And I went! To the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School no less! The nursery for talents such as Olivia Colman, Daniel Day Lewis, Josh O'Connor and so many more… but… on the Costume course! So… how did I end up behind the scenes when I so desperately wanted to be on the stage? Well in a complicated and messy turn of events my drama teacher, mentor and tutor vanished, Nanny McPhee style, shortly after casting me to play Medea in the play of the same name (she had a thing about Greek Tragedies which she very much passed on to me).

It's a particularly star-studded cast of classmates: Among them, Kwame Owusu who has written and directed his debut play at The Bush Theatre to immense critical reception, and Jasper Ryan Cater who has just broken onto screens in a major way, recently featuring in Dune Part Two AND The Gentlemen.

As for me, my confidence was shattered, acting seemed like a fairytale it would be naive to believe in, so I played it safe, staying close to the mothership, pursuing my second creative passion - making clothes. I studied at Bristol for three years and loved every second. I grew and learned so much about myself and the industry, and I gained invaluable and rare experience of the immense operation that takes place adjacent to the actors, which is essential to putting on every play, film, tv series or short that was ever produced.

Maybe if things had been different, maybe if it hadn't been for Covid, maybe if my drama teacher had stuck around or the other teachers had given me a bit more encouragement, I'd be acting by now. For whatever reason, that hasn't been my pathway yet, but I'm now so tantalisingly close and the last hurdle will undoubtedly be the most difficult to overcome. The money.

How much do I need?

Tuition fees range from £18,000 (Mountview MA Acting) to £28,000 (LAMDA MFA Professional Acting). There is a government loan of £12,500 available for some but not all of my course options, and I will of course be applying for every bursary and scholarship available to me. But the main challenge will be living costs throughout the 1-2 years full time training. I will work as much as possible to earn what I can, but the colossal burden of rent and living costs throughout the duration of the course is currently insurmountable.

With rent of £800 per month and bills around £150, plus the cost of food and essentials, I estimate that I will need around £22,000 just to survive for a year. Plus the £25k average for tuition soooo £47,000… Scary right?!

I'm starting the target (relatively) small in comparison at £5k, because everything absolutely helps! But let's see how we go…

I'll post updates of my auditions and recalls, and add videos of me acting both as a kid (guaranteed laughs) and more recently, so you know exactly who you're betting on.

Thank you so, so much for your help. Anything at all towards this mind-blowing number would mean the world.

And lastly, I'm working on some ideas for treats to say thank you to those who give particularly generously… stay tuned!