LAMDA Increases Number Of Female Students After Adjusting Admission Policy

In an attempt to level the playing field and lessen the chance of unconscious bias, The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) made adjustments to its admission policy this year that resulted in an increased number of female undergraduate admissions.

As reported by The Stage, school principal Joanna Read made changes after looking into why successful male applicants were consistently outnumbering women in recent years.

"We undertook a review of our application, audition and interview procedures to ensure there was nothing in the process that might allow an unconscious bias or unknowingly favor men."

Referring to the school's requirement that prospective students audition with a monologue from a classic drama, she notes, "There are more classical monologues available for men than women."

The application process was updated to ensure female applicants had a better selection of classical speeches to read. The school's website currently states that those auditioning should come prepared with, "one monologue from an Elizabethan or Jacobean play and one monologue from a play written in either the 20th or 21st Century, but not a piece written by you or by an unknown or little-known author."

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LAMDA is the oldest drama school in the UK. Founded in 1861 as the London Academy of Music, it was the first such institution to offer acting tuition - defining LAMDA's ongoing role as a pioneer in its field. Visit lamda.org.uk