If you are dramatically inclined, you have come to the right place. Over forty plays are put on in Cambridge each term, giving oodles of opportunities to get involved over the course of your degree. There are those who are very serious and do about a gazillion plays each term and those who just do it for a laugh and secretly just want to snog their leading lady at the after-show party. Don't worry, there is room for you all. A great place to start your Cambridge career is our freshers' play which will be put on in week 6 of Michaelmas term.

To gain a part in any production you will, most likely, have to do an audition. Audition notices for the coming week are listed in Varsity and are sent out through the ADC actors' email list, which you can sign up for at the Freshers' Fair, and our very own REDS email list.

When you get to the audition, you will probably find a selection of speeches, one or two of which you will be asked to briefly prepare (queue lots of intense under-the-breath muttering). Once inside, you will be asked to perform your speech once or twice, perhaps with a little direction thrown in. Please don't let the prospect of auditioning daunt you or put you off, as most are quite informal. Occasionally you will be asked to do some improvisation (skilled at chatting up a chair anyone?) or tell a joke, but hey, that's what makes it fun.

After your initial audition, you will be emailed and told whether you have been invited for a recall. Recalls often happen in groups and take longer than the initial audition, in order to find out how different groups of people work together. They often begin with some type of warm-up exercise and then more focused work on the text. The best thing you can do in this situation is to be relaxed, friendly and open to suggestions- after all the director is going to pick someone who he/she can actually direct.

Within a few days you should be emailed and told whether you have got a part. If you have, give yourself a big pat on the back; if you have been unlucky this time, despair not. The competition for parts is fierce and if you are a girl, you will soon become frustrated by the relative dearth of parts for girls compared to the number who audition. Nor can you be right for every part that you audition for. However, if you are eager to break into the drama scene, the best thing you can do is scrape yourself off the floor and soldier on. Once you have secured your first part things can feel a lot easier, as you get to know people and become more practised at auditions.