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Dan Claydon

<div><strong> Help Me Train at RADA in Technical Theatre &amp; Stage Management </strong>
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<div>Hello! My name is Dan and I absolutely LOVE theatre.
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<div>After emailing over 50 theatres to find work experience for college, I was fortunate enough to shadow Assistant Stage Management at <em>The Play That Goes Wrong</em> in London for two nights. This introduced me to the world of Technical theatre, and kickstarted a buzz for a career backstage, where I finally found the perfect career pathway for me - a mix of creativity and precision, with an element of theatre magic.
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<div>Since then, I have been exploring Technical Theatre extensively including attending dozens of events/showcases, shadowing in the West End, completing training courses and volunteering with <em>Brighton Theatre Group</em> on multiple show roles. I am always looking out for new opportunities to get involved in this industry, and all of these inspired me to continue further study at Drama School.
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<div>This year I’ve been given an incredible opportunity: I’ve been accepted onto the <strong>2-year Foundation Degree in Technical Theatre and Stage Management at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art)</strong>. Whilst I am incredibly grateful and excited for this unconditional offer, I have been experiencing difficulties with the prospective expense of living in London.
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<div><strong>Why am I asking for money?</strong>
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<div>I am starting this crowdfunding page to help cover the living costs during the first year of the course.
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<div>Student Finance has covered the course fees, and has also awarded me a £12,599 income assessed maintenance loan. I have also been awarded £4000 from RADA’s own bursary. Within a week of finishing my A Levels, I also started a full time summer job where I have earned about £1000.
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<div>This is about <strong>£4000 </strong>short of my minimum expected costs.
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<div>The course leader has advised that it’s not possible to work during the first year with long hours 6 days a week, which means that I will also not be able to raise money during the course. I have contacted RADA extensively explaining how I feel it would be impossible to start the course with my current finances, however they are unable to support me further. This was disappointing given their attitude during open days and interviews being <em>“we would never want money to be a barrier to someone joining us”</em>
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<div><strong>How have I been financially preparing for this course?</strong>
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<div>Whilst still at college, I had several meetings with the careers team about my concerns for funding and asking them for suggestions on what directions to take and looking at funding opportunities with them. Even before I knew I would be going to RADA, I joined programs such as <em>Social Mobility Foundation</em> and <em>Sutton Trust</em> in order to prepare me.
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<div>I have been proactive with saving money - the week after I finished my A Level Exams I started my full time summer job as I knew that I would need to raise as much finance as possible. I have worked at language school on their summer program for the past couple months, running activities and trips for groups of students from all over the world.
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<div>Earlier in the year I applied to several external Bursaries/Scholarships which I found through my own research and contacts. I am awaiting to hear back from <em>Helena Kennedy, BlackHeartFoundation, Social Mobility Foundation</em> and<em> </em>the<em> Starr Trust</em>, where the results may be published as late as January 2026. I was unfortunately not awarded the <em>Save The Student</em> Bursary.
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<div>I have also emailed several organisations for support and advice, including <em>Almizan charitable trust, Theatrical Guild, Get Into Theatre, Blackbullion, StudyUK, PSA Training Bursary, Tons of help (Jack and Ada Beatie Foundation), Arts Council England, Rhona Reid, Rob George Foundation, National Youth Arts Trust</em>, my previous school/college, the local council as well as local theatres. I am very grateful that most of these have since taken the time to reply and wish me luck, but unfortunately they have not been able to support me themselves.
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<div>Notably, the Chichester Festival Theatre team advised that “<em>the only guaranteed option for tech theatre is student loans unfortunately</em>”, which is very much what I am experiencing.
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<div><strong>How can you help?</strong>
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<div>I am aiming to raise £4000 to help with:
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<li>Accommodation and living expenses in London
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<li>Essential tools, PPE and equipment required for the course
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<li>A London travelcard to allow me to travel to RADA, alongside placements
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<div>Every donation, big or small, will make a difference and allow me to truly make the most of this opportunity. If you’re unable to donate but would still like to support me, please consider sharing this page with others who may be able to help.
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<div><strong>Why choose RADA?</strong>
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<div>I was grateful to receive offers from all eight drama schools I applied to, but RADA stood out to me immediately. The friendliness and enthusiasm of the students, the sense of community and pride that the teachers spoke to me about, and the overall care for Technical Theatre students that was showcased - it did not feel like just a department on the side.
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<div>I also understand RADA’s reputation as one of the most respected Drama Schools in the world. Being located in central London, this will also open a lot of opportunities with the abundance of Theatres that surround it.
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<div><strong>More about me!</strong>
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<div>From a connection at <em>The Play That Goes Wrong</em>, I shadowed the electrics team at <em>Frozen</em> on a maintenance day - an incredible experience on such a stunningly large production. I have also attended a plethora of backstage events including T<em>heatrecraft, Get Technical with Moulin Rouge, the Delfont Mackintosh Careers forum</em>, as well as <em>Hamilton</em> and<em> Phantom of the Opera</em> technical theatre showcases.
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<div>I have volunteered with <em>Brighton Theatre Group</em> on their last two shows: <em>Charlie and The Chocolate Factory</em>, and the sold out amateur premiere of <em>Les Miserables: Let the People Sing</em>. Initially just shadowing the Lighting Designer at production meetings, he then allowed me to join the team as LX2 covering onstage electrics for Charlie which was incredibly insightful where I got to learn the fine detail of how a real show operated with hands-on experience.
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<div>I am currently back at <em>Theatre Royal Brighton</em>, volunteering with them again on <em>Les Mis</em> as both the onstage LX, as well as operating the Apex 5 lighting desk for a couple performances - another incredible opportunity which I am thrilled about.
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<div>I have been recognised for "<em>never-ending determination and networking skills to find work experience and the desired destination after college</em>" by my careers team, where they acknowledged that "<em>Theatre is a tough nut to crack</em>".
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<div>I taught myself video editing while I built up my YouTube channel which has reached over 200,000 subscribers.
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<div>As part of my Drama A Level, I convinced my teacher and course leader to allow me to choose Lighting Design as the pathway for two of my performances, despite them never offering it at the college before. I used my experience of video editing to create my own projection designs to support my lighting which I ran through QLab, a piece of software I had never used before, but something I was able to pick up very quickly. My lighting/projections received really positive feedback from my peers, and one of my teachers asked if I could design more projections and lighting for one of the performances in the year below me. For this unit, I received <strong>112/120</strong> marks!
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<div>My academic attainment is high - I just received 3 As in my A Levels (Maths, Drama, Computer Science), a Distinction in Level 3 Creative Media production, and all 7s and above in my GCSEs, including 6 grade 9s which put me in the top tier nationally.
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<div><strong>My Dream for the Future</strong>
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<div>Once I have finished the course, I hope to work on a large-scale UK tour so that I can get experience in a variety of theatres early in my career, before progressing to working in the West End. My current long term goal is to become a Lighting Designer. I absolutely love lighting if I haven’t mentioned it enough already, and I am always inspired by the designs I see on stage during every show.
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<div>This also may change and develop during my time at RADA as the main reason I chose the course was due to the variety of aspects of technical theatre it covers - I am definitely keen to learn more about sound after being shown the impressive hardware currently used at <em>Back To The Future</em> in London.
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<div>Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story, Dan :)
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Help me train at the Royal Academy Of Dramatic Art!

Dan Claydon

Dan Claydon

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