doctorjohn

Thesbo: You're not arrogant, and that wasn't a rant, just the nicest piece of writing I've seen in a long time from a young person who wants to be an actor for all the right reasons. Honestly, kid, any school that doesn't want you is blind.

To answer your question about monologues, yes, it's fine to do a monologue from another play by a writer whose work has been done recently by that school. Smart, actually. One has to assume that they like the playwright, or they wouldn't have put her play on the season. But you're also wise to choose not to do a monologue from a play the school has done recently. It's hard for us not to compare your work with that of our student who just did the role; and even if you do it well, the mental image of the other person is a distraction. Same reason we recommend that prospectives not do songs intimately associated with Barbra or Judy.

You're also right about job opportunities. Time was, as the parents on this thread remember, when Accounting majors and MBAs could write their own tickets. It's just not true any longer. They have to compete for jobs just like actors have always had to. (There's a certain sadistic satisfaction in that.) And you're absolutely right about the kinds of skills you've already gained by studying theatre. A business major may know how to read a spreadsheet, but does he know how to read the person sitting across the table? Has he been trained in empathy? Does he know what he wants? Does he know if what he wants is a good thing for everyone, or just for himself? Does he know himself? You cannot study acting and not learn these things, even if you don't become a great actor. And if you learn these things, there aren’t a lot of things you can’t do, with the possible exception of neurosurgery and nuclear physics. If there’s value in reading the great works of literature, isn’t there at least as much value in speaking them aloud, and bringing the characters to life? If there’s value in talking about politics in POLI 101, isn’t there at least as much value in enacting those situations in THR 151? Actors learn about literature and politics and psychology from the inside, from what it feels like to be living those scenes, and they learn it from some of the smartest people who ever lived, Euripides and Shakespeare and Chekhov and Brecht. If someone can make an argument for majoring in some other subject as a <better> way of learning how to live life, let them give it a try.

Now that’s a rant.

soozievt

Wow, I loved Thesbo's rant (and agree with DoctorJohn, that this kid is right for this field and in it for the "right" reasons). But I also LOVED DoctorJohn's rant. Whoa, just great. I loved the point about how actors learn about literature, politics and psychology form the inside. I also happen to think that studying theater and doing theater is a very educational endeavor that permeates or applies to anything you do in life.

musicalthtrmom

drjohn and thesbo....
you both make me want to shout "hallelujah!"

thesbohemian

Doctorjohn,
Thanks so much. That means a lot. I'm going home for the weekend and Mom is going to find a printout of your wonderful rant on the coffee table Saturday morning.

Soozievt,
Thanks for the vote of confidence.

Musicalthtrmom,
It's what we do.

devron

Has anyone heard of the school University of Texas at Austin? My mom's friend told her that if I was looking at SMU that I just have to look at University of Texas at Austin. Another colleague has a son who has been in commercials for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, and he's on Nickolodean's All That-his name is Jack De Sena. But I think this guy started the "film" thing when he was much younger. My mom never wanted to be thought of as a "crazy stage mother". I never got to model or be in cute and corny commercials

Catherdingmom

Thebo, you make me smile. You are not displaying arrogance. You're displaying confidence--that's stepping out in faith. I believe in you 110%.

That earning-a-living thing, though, is not about being spoiled or materialistic. This is not from my son. This is from me. My son comes from a family of five with no income. Granted, it's a temporary thing, but my husband is in a profession in which jobs are not easy to come by, and I have been out of the workforce long enough that my skills are not even close to up-to-date. There was a time when I would have bet any amount of money that this couldn't happen to us. I guess I'm transferring some of my concern about this into the vagaries of acting, and I apologize for that. Now I'm going to see if I can go find some cheese to go with that whine.

marissal

Devron: I will be applying to UT Austin, but I don't think I really want to go there...
I kind of want to leave Texas, and it's a really huge school. But Austin is a great city.

DizzyDani88

Just read an article from a Newsweek archive, it was assigned to a friend's english class, and I just happened to see it. It's called "What's Your Real Job?" and it's written by Danielle Kwatinetz an "actress with a Harvard degree-- and a family that worries I'm wasting my education". Her first line reads "I'm a loafer. A bohemian. The possessor of a $100,000 Ivy League education, which I steadfastly refuse to use. Or so I've been told. Actually, I'm a dreamer"... her article reminds me a lot of thesbohemians "rant", and it was almost as inspiring. I'm going to try to scan it tonight. It's an amazing article. Can't wait to share it with all of you.
-Dani

klri

thesbohemian,

You asked about doing a monologue from a play that the school had just performed. Just to make you feel better. My daughter did that. The school had performed the play in October of last year and she auditioned in the beginning of December. In fact, she had applied early decision to NYU and was accepted into the very studio that performed the play. The funny thing is that she thought it was a play that no one knew about!

We did not find out until well after she was accepted. I found out when I just happened to do a search on the studio. So in our case it did not matter.

Hope this helps

alwaysamom

Just wanted to echo klri here. It's not a complete disaster if you happen to choose such a monologue, especially at a school as large as Tisch where thousands of kids audition. They do over a hundred productions a year at Tisch so chances are the auditors haven't seen the show from which your monologue is chosen, in any case. At smaller schools, you may run into a problem, though. This is why it's always a good idea to have several monologues chosen and ready to go. Often auditors will ask you if you have another one you can do for them so being well-prepared for any eventuality is always a good idea.

bioearthmom

Catherdingmom--The vagaries of any profession is exactly why I am totally in support of both of my children going into the world of performing arts. Earliest cave men had story tellers who were the actors of their day. While here is a long tradition of starving actors, it is a profession that has been around a few thousand years. I am not sure there is any profession that is more secure.

mtmomtok

To Catherdingmom:

You say that your "husband is in a profession in which jobs are not easy to come by", he wouldn't be an actor by any chance? No, I'm sorry I don't mean that. But there is no security in anything.

notarebel

Thesbo-- YOU GO, GIRL! You too doctorjohn. That was beautiful. The only thing I would change is the part about Donald Trump and Julianne Moore to 'You have no better chance of becoming a CEO of a big corporation with a business degree than you do of becoming the next Julianne Moore with a bfa.' (but if I know anybody who will its you sweety) I wonder what the percentage of business graduates who become ceos really is compared to the number people who get bfas and become rich and famous actors. Don't most state universities have business departments that graduate sevral hundred students every year?

PS - I FINALLY got all my applications done. WOOT!

alwaysamom

notarebel, although I'm a firm believer in arts education and students pursuing BFAs if that is their passion, I'm also realistic about the success in the profession related to the numbers who enter. You can't really compare the number of business graduates and those who become CEO's to the number of BFA grads who become rich and famous actors. First of all, many thousands of business grads become successful (and rich) in steady jobs without ever being a CEO. Secondly, most rich and famous actors do NOT have a BFA. So it's really comparing apples and oranges in that example. I think the students who pursue a BFA for the love of acting are the ones who will be successful and happy, much more-so than those who pursue it for fame and fortune. The latter are likely to be very disappointed.

notarebel

Alwaysamom – Of course you don’t go into this thinking your going to get rich and famous. That goes without saying. I will give performance a try but will more than likely end up teaching. However, I wonder how many people major in accounting for the love of counting other peoples money? They might be very disappointed too if they think they are going to get rich. What you didn’t say is that you do not need a degree to be successful in business either. My father is vice president of marketing for a big chemical company and he doesn’t have one. He got his degree in chemical engineering and so did his boss. They only hire people for the business part that have MBAs or JDs AND a science background. Some of his best people ONLY have a science background. My point was that a BA or a BS in business is as unlikely to get you rich as a bfa and does not give an advantage for getting most regular jobs. That is all in the past. I will have as good a chance to manage a store or start a successful business as a business grad. I also know there is some pretty mannequin-head my age out there that has not yet taken her first acting class who has a better chance of being a famous actor than me.