Hi everyone! Welcome to my JustGiving page!

My name is Kenan Vurgun, I'm from Wythenshawe Manchester, and I'm really happy to be able to say that I've been offered a place on the BA Professional Acting Program at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS). From over 3000 people who applied, I'm fortunate to be one of 28 people selected to train on the course. However, as I already have a degree, I'm ineligible for student finance support, therefore I'll have to raise the money for tuition fees and living expenses to cover three years myself, through a combination of savings, grants, fundraising, and working as much as I can before I study.

𝗠𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 £14,000, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.

The School

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is one of the most successful drama schools in the UK, whose alumni includes Sir Daniel Day-Lewis, Jeremy Irons, Olivia Colman, Sir Patrick Stewart, and many others. I feel truly grateful to be able to follow in their footsteps, and I hope that one day, I’ll be able to move people in the same way that these great actors move me.

My Story

I come from a Turkish, working class background, and one of the biggest council estates in Europe that is considered to be one of the most socially deprived areas of the UK, Benchill Wythenshawe. For someone like me, I always considered a career in the arts to be an unattainable fantasy. But when I was 17 years old, my drama teachers saw potential in me and encouraged me to apply for the National Youth Theatre, which I was accepted into. After spending two weeks in London with young actors from around the UK, the trajectory of my life changed. My sole ambition became to be a professional actor, and since that point, it's been all I've worked towards.

This year was the third time that I've applied to drama school, as I never wanted to give up on my dream of being an actor. I previously applied when I was 18, and 19 but both times I never even reached the recall stages. Following my second unsuccessful year, I accepted a scholarship from the University of Manchester to study English Literature. My goal was to spend three years performing and learning as much as I could about the craft of acting whilst earning a degree, and before applying a third time. In this period, I was a member of the Royal Exchange Theatre’s Young Company for two years, a participant in the Almeida Theatre’s Young Leaders Program, and I featured in several professional theatre productions. These experiences were invaluable to me and helped me to gain the maturity, confidence and skills required of a professional acting course. After this period of three years, being a bit older, and finishing higher education with a first-class degree, I applied again and was overjoyed to be accepted at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Why I need your help

I knew that the course was going to be financially challenging, but the recent COVID pandemic has made things unexpectedly difficult. I was unable to find work after graduating in June 2020, until December 2020, which significantly affected the amount of funds I was able to raise for this academic year. Moreover, I knew scholarships were available from the school which could have supported me, however upon being offered a place, I learnt that I'm disentitled to these because of my degree. This means I now face the possibility of not being able to accept the place I've earned.

The tuition fee cost per year is £9250, plus the cost of living brings the total to £17,000. I've applied for grants from various foundations which total £3500, but these are highly competitive and the results of these aren't released until September, which is when I'll move to Bristol to start on the course.

Fundraising has now become my only option.

Moreover, as BOVTS has a high level of contact hours, in excess of 35 contact hours per week excluding private preparation, it isn‘t possible for me to undertake regular part-time work during term time, without detriment either to the training or my health.

Over the last few months I've been working full time as a security guard and have been able to save £3000 so far. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝟮 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿.

For working class actors, drama school has historically been an inaccessible space, but by taking up my place there, I hope to be part of a more diverse and much needed change. I dream that one day I can pay forward the support and generosity that people have shown me.

Thank you for taking the time to view my fundraiser, and for all of your help.

With gratitude,

Kenan x

Additional Info

Please find the relevant links to a full breakdown of my tuition fees and further course information:

https://www.oldvic.ac.uk/course/acting-three-year-ba-hons/

https://www.oldvic.ac.uk/alumni/

Moreover, a full breakdown of the living costs are available if requested!

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/acting-been-ive-worked-towards-21125985