Help Kheira get to Rose Bruford - Drama School

Hello! My name is Kheira, and I am very grateful that you are reading this.

 

After the early mornings up reading lines, watching performances, partaking in courses for those from a low socio-economic background – I am thrilled to have been offered a place to study with the incredible Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance on their Acting Foundation Course. N.B. This course is not available for student finance/maintenance loans like a normal degree course.

 

I have spent the last just over 4 years balancing applying for the demands of drama school and involving as much of my time into the industry as I can. It's fair to say that I am obsessed with this industry and have been ever since I was very young. I don't consider myself as a religious person, but acting is my calling and this course is a dream come true.

 

 

But, there is an obstacle for this – paying for it. You can see from the left that drama school isn't cheap. There is no government funding for the course which means it has to be self-financed. That's why I need your help. I have been on the waiting list for so long that most other bursaries and scholarships have been awarded, however I am of course trying my best to grab what I can because life is too short to not follow your dreams and do what makes your heart truly sing.

I am of half-Algerian and Irish descent and was born in a tiny flat in Camden in the late 90s. Since I was very tiny, I've always been obsessed with telling stories and seeing them being told live. I've loved reading and writing my own stories and I learnt much later on that acting was what I needed to do. I was definitely the one always messing around with outfits and props and putting on my own little shows for my family. My late Granddad used to work at Regent's Park and my Mum would always get to see the Open Air productions and I think that, combined with a love of watching stories and listening to music in my house – made it all come together. I've grown up in a single parent household for all my life, so stories were a source of other worlds and conversations that we needed to hear.

 

One of my first jobs was working at 15 [but said I was 16] was working in hospitality, where I saved up every penny I earnt to pay for whatever theatre trips I could attend or acting classes I could attend. I lived in a small town in Essex, so we were a bit limited in terms of classes. I researched and worked as hard as I could and put myself through a Summer School at the renowned Sylvia Young Theatre School and it changed my life. I could have never afforded the full-time fees, but to be there honestly changed my life and told me what I could do and where I needed to be. I didn't ask my parents for handout (one was absent and the other working night and day, so never had anything extra to provide). When I got a bit older, I realised I knew I was capable and confident enough to apply myself to drama schools in London when I was old enough, and I'm still making my dream a reality. I was still living in a small town, where it was a very 'unusual' thing to do and my school had no idea what to advise. As a result, I did question if my belief was strong enough to achieve it. I was the shy girl who received harsh comments from other students for actually receiving paid modelling work (which paid for my drama club classes), so you can imagine how mortified I would have felt telling them I want to be on a massive cinema screen.

 

I left sixth form at 18 and worked as hard as I could in retail and taking on an apprenticeship in London, just to get myself here. I was on £6 p.h. and worked in retail at the weekends, but loved the fact I was so close to so many theatres and young companies that they ran. I was also surrounded by brilliant film schools, which allowed me to gather more screen experience and footage for my portfolio. None of it was paid, but those film-makers took a chance on me, and I don't think I can ever thank them enough. I immersed myself in everything I could, all the free events/companies and cheap seat filler shows, and I was never as fulfilled as I was when I was on stage.

 

London is not for the faint-hearted, but I have been really blessed to have worked with so many theatres, companies and amazing productions. Entry Pass, Pleasance, Generation Arts, the Arcola, National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, Young Vic Theatre, Almeida and Lyric Hammersmith are brilliant and run exceptional outreach schemes for us young people to make theatre accessible for someone like me. But, the cost of living in the capital is the highest in the UK. I quit my apprenticeship and worked as an Admin Assistant, which I thought was a step up financially. Little did I know I'd have that job, shifts with a temporary hospitality agency and shifts at a local nightclub to keep up during the week. There were weeks I would have to finish my Admin job at 5:30PM, nap in the office till 7PM, start work at 8PM till 5:00AM the next morning and then be filming a student film at 11AM. I would sometimes cry in the toilets as I worried how much longer my body could have coped. 

 

But the dream was and still is in sight. I have performed with the below companies to name but a few, mostly either unpaid work or through a bursary-

• National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, King's Head Theatre, Arcola Theatre and London Film School.
• Pleasance Young Company Member – Performing in both Edinburgh and London;
• Member of the Arcola's Women's Company – working on a piece as part of the Participation department to share the female voice;
• Global Female Voices – working on some fabulous rehearsed readings to champion both the female voice and other minority voices;
• Lemon House Voices [at the Off-West End Theatre = The Bunker] – working on a powerful piece championing the mixed race and Algerian diaspora.

 

And many more. Critics have stated the below on my work:

'Bey puts on a wonderful performance as Joanna who’s clearly desperate for answers.'

'What makes this work, particularly well, is a hugely impressive performance from the main lead Kheira Bey, who’s believable and nuanced in portraying the frustration she feels'

' [Kheira] performs a rousing monologue which makes for a heavy portrayal of lost innocence'.

 

In terms of drama school auditions, I've been lucky to have been recalled by: the Guildhall School of Music and Drama [as part of their Supported Application Scheme], the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art [recalled and then put through to the final rounds and then waiting list of their Foundation course] and now at Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance. All of which are fiercely competitive schools, with over 5000/6000 applications each year for barely 20-28 places.

 

After all of my auditions for B. A Acting degrees, Rose Bruford invited me back but this time to audition for the foundation course, as they believed that for me it would bridge the gap between where I was now and where I needed to be to take the degree. Finally at the end of months of waiting, I am completely over the moon to have been offered a place.

 

 

The largest hurdle and biggest barrier for me is the cost. I come from a low income family who cannot afford to support me with the fees and have only recently returned from a long period of furlough, where I had little job security for quite some time. When not working as an actor, I do immigration admin and that's been severely affected by the pandemic, due to travel restrictions and local lockdowns.I was living through my savings, whereby 89% of my reduced income was going on bills and was heavily reliant on my credit card, and now have only really started to build my savings up slowly, but that is nowhere near I need it to be for the course fees. And as I've been on the waiting list for a while and only just offered a last-minute spot, many bursaries will have been awarded for this year. I will of course try and find alternative bursaries, but it's unlikely it'll arrive for the first installment of the payment plan. I have been trying to do what I can by opening up an Etsy shop and posting on Fiverr to work as a Virtual Assistant, but I've hit a bit of a brick wall. That's where you come in and can help make a difference. Every penny towards my campaign is step closer to Rose Bruford and a step closer training.

 

The cost

 

The course costs £8,050 in total. I have to pay a first installment of £4,025, followed another installment of £4,025 by the 28th January 2022 OR 5 separate instalments of £1610. I have spoken to the Finance team and gladly will be opting for 5 smaller instalments of £1610.

 

I was planning on working at the weekends to fund the course, but due to its intensity [particularly around rehearsals for final projects], I'm not sure if me working 1 day a week on a Sunday and some Saturdays, will be sufficient. We also have classes timetabled on Saturday. Therefore based on average living costs for the area, council tax bills, and transport to classes/other theatre trips/books to pay for as part of our course, I estimate that this will total £750 per month. For a 6 month course, this totals – approximately £4500. Due to the nature of the course, classes will need to be in-person rather than online.

 

No amount of sacrifice is too big for me to become the actor that I’ve always wanted to be and I'm currently trying to find anything in my house that I could sell on Ebay. I've set up an Etsy shop below and work on Fiverr, so feel free to check these out. I make really lush digital downloads! I'm obviously trying to take up as much overtime as I can, but there are only so many hours in a day.

 

Why do I want to take the course?

 

The course will give me the opportunity to work with a range of performance styles. I will be exposed to: acting through song, voice, movement, accents, professional development, collaborative devising work and many more, and I will get to present a final piece at the end. I have been working towards professional training for most of my life, as I attended my first drama club session at school when I was 9 years old. I've been professionally developing my craft for just over three years now. When Rose Bruford thought this would be an ideal step for me, I really couldn't say no. I will be taught by teachers who in the past have taught Gary Oldman, Stephen Graham and Hayley Squires and are regularly working at- Shakespeare's Globe, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, the RSC, BBC and many other TV networks. Their alumni are award-winning and all over your screens. I think my Granddad would be very proud of how far I've come and I only wished he would have been able to see me perform in Regent's Park – a real dream.

 

Why should you support me

Money should not be a barrier to education and achieving your dreams. Nobody wants to see the same stories being told on their screens. I don't ever see anything close to my family on TV, and that shouldn't be the story we keep on telling and I want to change this narrative completely. I've clearly shown a lot of determination in my life, and think the industry deserves to be shaken up.

 

Without your help it will simply not be possible for me to take this course. Every donation, even the cost of a cup of tea, is a penny closer to reaching our goal. I don't think anyone likes to ask for money, but I urge you to help me if you can. I know this year has been difficult, so I ask you, whatever you can do, whatever you can spare to help, please help me get to Rose Bruford.

 

I will post regular updates on here from my studies, to show my support. I will also share photos/further notes as I progress with my studies!

 

If you can, please, please, PLEASE sponsor my GoFundMe and share this page. I will be so grateful of any support.

 

A big thank you and I wish you all the best! Follow. Your. Dreams. !!!!!!

Any donations/sponsorship is tax deductible!

 

ETSY link - https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/HighVibeJournals?ref=profile_header I will try and add more!
Colouring Books I've Designed, sold by Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AHigh+Vibe+Journals&s=relevancerank&text=High+Vibe+Journals&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1 

Fiverr link for Admin tasks - https://www.fiverr.com/users/keirabee/manage_gigs/be-your-fab-virtual-personal-admin-assistant/edit

 

** Sorry the images are so low quality, I will find better ones later!