Every year, Canadian actors from across the globe apply to be one of the eight actors chosen by the Canadian Film Centre for the CBC Actors’ Conservatory. Notable Alumni include Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek), Supinder Wraich (Sort Of), Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs), Michelle McLeod (Women Talking), and Giacomo Guilliani (Grey’s Anatomy), among other very successful and talented actors. I was lucky enough to attend the conservatory in 2022-23, and ever since then I get messages from hopeful actors asking for help and advice for their own applications. In 2024, the deadline for submission is April 29th (mark your calendars!) so with less than a month to go, I figured I’d put all my advice in one place because the CFC changed my life and I’d love to pay it forward.
What is the CFC Actors’ Conservatory?
The description on their website is woefully vague, so I’ll do my best to elaborate. The conservatory is a 6-month program focused on improving not just your acting skill, but your career. Rather than being a structured 9-5 school, The actors chosen are announced to film professionals across the country, given one-on-one time with casting directors, workshops on things like motion capture, stunt fighting, intimacy on set, etc. and given training in a variety of acting styles like improvisation, Meisner, and more. It culminates in each actor starring in a short film as a character of their own creation, which is called a close-up, and the close-ups are screened in a movie theatre where casting directors, agents, and other industry folk are invited to come and watch and meet with the actors again.
Is the conservatory for you?
The conservatory is not for everyone. It is located in Toronto, so you must be ready and willing to relocate to Toronto for at least six months to participate. The conservatory also has an unpredictable schedule with sometimes hectic hours and last-minute changes, so you should be able to either survive without a job for those months, or find a flexible job. To get into the conservatory is difficult, but there’s good reason for that. You have to be an excellent actor in order to keep up with the challenges and demands required of you. Maybe you can do great acting in your acting class. Can you still do great acting while dodging punches in stunt class? Can you still do great acting while running around in a motion capture suit and miming your entire environment? Can you still do great acting while filming an entire scene in under an hour?
Are you right for the conservatory?
As far as the selection process goes, there are three requirements I can be sure of.
- As mentioned, you must be an excellent actor.
- You also have to be a decent person.
- You must be dedicated to being a professional actor.
The rest of it I can only guess. I think they try to choose actors who could use a career boost and/or are up-and-coming or on the cusp of being up-and-coming. If you’re a series regular on a big Netflix show or the lead in a Marvel movie, I’m sorry but you probably won’t get in. On the other hand, if all you’ve got on your resume are student films and YouTube videos you make with your friends on weekends, your chances are slim. Other than that, the CFC care very little about your gender identity, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation (though I still recommend you be honest about these in your application, because if you get in and they find out you were lying, that might do more harm to your career than anything). Of course, even if you fit what they’re looking for, they can only choose 8 actors, so keep in mind that a lot of it will just be luck and not giving up. Many alumni submitted two or more years before getting in.
How to apply for the conservatory
It currently costs $25 to apply (they can waive the fee if you’re in financial straits, but I would then ask you to consider whether you can afford to take on an unpaid six-month acting program at this time, or whether you should consider it another year).
They’ve got an online form that is relatively simple to fill out. Be honest in your answers, and if you don’t want to be honest about something, you can always check “Prefer not to say”. Under “Where did you here about us?”, you can check the “CFC Alum” box, because you heard it from me! Woohoo! I don’t know if that’ll help your chances or anything, but you can check it anyway. The CFC has a detailed sheet all about what they expect from you for all the application requirements, so I’ll link that here and just add on some of my own notes.
Letter of Intent
According to the application, this is a maximum 1000-words where you outline why you want to attend the conservatory and what you hope to gain from it. You do not need to talk about your credits (that’s what your resume is for) and this is not a place to brag or exaggerate your abilities (let your tape speak for itself). Just speak honestly about where you’re at and what you can do. Then outline where you want to be and what you want to do, and how you think the conservatory will help you get there. Write from the heart, and proofread!
Self Tape
Pick a scene that you connect with and shows off your acting ability. Do not pick a scene if you know the original performance by heart, because you want to show off your own take on a scene and not a copy of the original actor’s take. Pick a scene that you can bring something to. Make sure you follow their guidelines, and try to get a good reader (another actor would be great) to film in the room with you if you can!
What to expect after submitting
Listen, there’s a good chance that after submitting to the CFC, you never hear back. For this reason, I encourage you to use your application as an opportunity to refocus your professional goals and practice your craft. That way, your time is not wasted no matter what.
However, you may or may not get an email about a month after the submission deadline notifying you that you’ve been shortlisted and are advancing to the next round of selection. If you do not get this email, it does not mean you are a bad actor. In fact, I know multiple CFC alum who only got accepted after 3+ attempts, and obviously they were still good enough for CFC. There are just more excellent actors than there are spaces available.
So you got the email. Congrats! The selection committee will schedule an interview with you over Zoom, as well as a Zoom audition. These will happen across two days, so you will not need to worry about doing them both back to back.
For the interview
Just relax and be yourself. They just want to get a sense of who you are and talk about the same things you wrote about in your letter of intent. Have fun with it! No pressure!
For the audition
You’ll get a scene to learn a few days ahead. In my year, we got to choose which of the two characters we wanted to read, which was great but also kind of stressful. I think I had five days to learn the scene, and I spent three of those days agonizing over which character I wanted to do. Have fun with this too! You’ll go into a one-on-one with your reader first, where you can prepare however you prefer and you might talk about your approach to the character a bit. Then you’ll go into the main audition with the panel (it was three people for me, plus the reader) and perform. You’ll get some feedback and direction and then you’ll go twice more.
After all of that
This is the worst part: weeks of hearing absolutely nothing while you spiral and over-analyze every choice you made and thing you said. Try not to hit rock bottom here.
After a few weeks, you may be notified that you weren’t selected and please try again next year. Again, I know many alumni who reached the second round and were rejected, but kept trying and eventually got accepted in later years, so do not take it as a rejection of you or your skill. Remember, they can only pick eight actors. I don’t envy them the job of selection.
Alternatively, you get an email offering you a place at the CFC CBC Actors’ Conservatory!!! Congratulations! If you accept, they will schedule a call with you to go over requirements, expectations of you, and what to expect from them. You’ll also have only two or so months to relocate across the country to one of the most expensive cities in the country. Good luck.
Precarious Writer 
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