Education

Most starry eyes end in tears

By Wang Chao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-02 14:05

Applicants flock to acting schools

Competition to get into Beijing's top acting schools is tight and applicants often resort to unorthodox measures to stand out. During an interview at the Beijing Film Academy five years ago, an applicant slapped an interviewer across the face in an attempt to be remembered.

An aspiring actress demonstrates her talent before her audition for Beijing Film Academy.

Fei Ying for China Daily

"They are so desperate to get into the top performing art schools that they do stupid things," said a witness to the incident who refused to give his name.

The competition is only getting more intense. The overwhelming number of applicants to acting and drama colleges this year even surprised long-time faculty.

"For the first two days more than 1200 students come here to register, about 300 more than last year," said Wang Jingsong, director of performing arts at the Beijing Film Academy.

Applications to the Beijing Film Academy and the Central Academy of Drama, perhaps the two most prestigious performing arts school in the capital, begin in mid-February.

Of the more than 4,000 prospective students who have so far applied to the Beijing Film Academy, only 60 will get in as performing arts majors and 20 as crosstalk majors.

Almost every applicant dreams of becoming a movie or television star and few are deterred by the long odds of even getting into school.

Hopeful applicants go through their moves before their auditions. Zou Hong/CHINA DAILY

"It might be too hard to get into, but it is worthy trying," said Jin Shuai, a high school senior from Hunan province came to Beijing with her mother for the registration.

She said he is fighting to get in to her dream school. But Jin said he is aware how hard it will be to secure a spot. "Rumors say that if a male applicant is shorter than 180cm, he won't get in," he said.

Unrealistic expectations are one potential pitfall for hopeful applicants. An experienced actor recalled that, "Some applicants were over confident."

When he was waiting for his retest for the Beijing Film Academy, a boy in front of him in the line said he was good at dancing. But when asked how long he had been dancing, the boy said "I learned from a TV show yesterday."

But even those lucky enough to get admitted may see their dreams of becoming a star fade once they finish school, said Cheng Cheng, who graduated from Beijing Film Academy in 2008 and is currently acting on television shows while getting a master's degree from the academy.

She still vividly remembers going through the application process, with crowds of parents waiting outside the interview room, hoping their child would be a superstar one day.

"I remember being asked to act as an animal; the teachers there didn't care if you are professional or not, they care more about your passion, your personality and your thoughts," she said.

But now her attitude toward acting and being a star has changed. "I guess every student who comes here is dreaming to be surrounded by flowers and applauses one day, but it is not easy," Cheng said.

"Actors or actresses are just normal people, and acting is just a job, like many other professions," she added.

Cheng has been acting as the lead actress in the television show China Family.

Song Yanzhou experienced the same disparity between dreams and reality.

Song is from Lanzhou, Gansu province and loved drama so much that he applied two years in a row to the Central Academy of Drama.

Song finally got into the performing arts school in 2004 on his second try. Yet when he was actually sitting in the classroom, he said he felt lost and stressed.

"So many students were more talented than me; some even began acting in movies and commercials before they went to college," he said.

Few will become famous at all and those that do will have to work hard for it, said Wang.

"Opportunity only comes to those who are prepared," he added.