alwaysamom

notarebel, I think you missed my point. Of course, you don't necessarily need to have a business degree to be successful in business. Most individuals who are successful in various types of businesses do NOT have a business degree. My point was that there are far more opportunities in traditional type 'jobs' than there are in the arts for successful careers. I'd dare to say that every BFA student's longrange goal and dream is to be onstage in a professional capacity. Not every business grad dreams of being a CEO, not every engineering grad dreams of being vice president of marketing for a chemical company. The fact is that your dad does have a degree, regardless of the type. It's extremely common for engineers to end up in positions such as his. I don't think we disagree in our basic premise. I'm certainly hopeful that my D and all of the aspiring BFA students are successful in attaining their dreams but it pays to be realistic, too.

dustyrose

alwaysamom--I don't think anyone can predict where jobs will be in the future. I do know that there are lots of jobs in the performing arts: Broadway, film, amusement parks, private lessons, teaching, community theater, regional theater, cruise ships, touring companies, Vegas, piano bars, videos, conventions, music therapy, drama therapy...If you love to sing, act, and dance there are many opportunies.

alwaysamom

dustyrose, I agree that it is difficult to predict the job market in any particular profession with accuracy. It's not as though I'm against kids going into the performing arts. I have a D who is a sophomore in a program doing exactly that! If I didn't believe in it, trust me, our family would not be funding in excess of $150,000 for her to do that. I'm very aware of all the various possibilities for BFA graduates to find work. We have many family members in every possible area of the theatre world, earning a living for many years in that way. Perhaps that's why I look at it a little more realistically than a lot of people. My D has friends who are on Broadway, who have done national tours, who are successful by anyone's description, yet there is always the 'end of run' lurking in the background, even for them. I know you can say that any job these days has that possibility, and to an extent, it's true. However, in the theatre it's not a possibility, it's a certainty, because that's the nature of the job. I am in no way trying to discourage anyone, nor am I negative about this choice, but from the experience our family and friends have had in seeing the inside of the business, I guess I look at it a little more realistically. My D has seen it, too, and yet we know she has this passion, along with her writing, to be involved in theatre, and that's why we support her passion.

noccadad

bioearthmom, I agree completely and this philosophical position has been expressed and supported by many others on this site. Moreover, as a corporate warrior and small business owner I can agree 100% that there is no "security" anywhere. Theres' a great book out called "Fire Your Boss" that is a must read for all individuals of any age that have to forge or maintain a worklife, whether in the performing arts or elsewhere.

mtmomtok

Dani, can you please get this article scanned and post it asap. I am very interested in reading it. I tried looking it up myself, but couldn't find anything on it. Thanks.

thesbohemian

Has anybody else found that it's possible to learn TOO much about the schools on your list? It's like now I've found little red flags at almost all of them that are starting to look like big parade banners. I guess there's no place that's gonna be perfect, but DANG! I dunno ... Maybe I'm just feeling negative and it's silly to be judging and ranking places that I haven't visited. Then again, how much can you really learn from a visit other than what their best face looks like and whether you thought a production was good?

dramatica

Thesbo,

Don't despair. No school is perfect and there are any number of schools that will feel like a good fit once you make a commitment to it. You are obviously bright and will do well wherever it is that you decide to attend. As far as school visists, do try to spend a night in the dorms if at all possible. Kids, even those who volunteer to host students, are pretty honest. My son, now a junior and not in theater, was turned off to some of the schools on his list once he visiited and met kids. If you cannoit stay overnight, stop kids and talk to them. You will be surprised how candid they are.

I thoroughly enjoy your musings and your "rant" on the other thread was not a "rant." You are cool.

fosselover

Dramatica--You're back. How are you recovering from the hurricanes? As someone who mainly looks, I've always enjoyed your input.

DizzyDani88

here's the address to the site to which I scanned the article about Danielle Kwatinetz, "an actress with a Harvard degree"... it is very difficult to read on the site I scanned it to. I suggest a. copying into microsoft word/powerpoint and enlarging it... or b. writing me a private message if you want me to email it to you (with your email address)

DizzyDani88

here's the address:

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=5491635&uid=2742373&members=1[/url]

dancersmom

Thesbo,
Yep, it's true that there are no perfect schools. But, there aren't any perfect students either. At this stage in your search I think it's good to learn as much as possible from websites and other people's impressions. However, as you've said, websites put on their rosiest faces and other people's impressions may not be the same as your own.

My own darling D got a report from a theatre class buddy regarding her visit to U. Michigan. The friend was planning to major in drama and my D in MT. D's friend came back home with a very negative report. She did not seem to like anything about the campus. She seemed to get the impression that U.M spent lots of money on other programs, but the drama program was treated like Cinderella. She had a lengthy chat with a girl from a city near us who'd gone to U.M. only because it was the school farthest from her parents! She told my D's friend that she'd made a huge mistake because she hated the drama program and she hated the weather. I'm sure her comments added to the friend's negative impression. My D was surprised and rather dismayed by her friend's comments. U.M. had been at the top of her list. I could tell that her friend's comments were having an effect. When we visited the campus a few weeks later, my D fell in love with the place. She said it was hard to believe that she and her friend had seen the same school. I think my D learned from that experience that she needed to see for herself and not trust other people's opinions too much. We visited another school the same week. That particular school is highly touted for both drama and MT and it was my D's number one choice. After visiting and seeing two productions, she knew it was not for her. We felt that the school's reputation was inflated based on what we observed. (Another family from our hometown visited three days later and had the same impression.)

I think that you can learn a lot from a visit. You will soon find out what size campus or what size program is appealing. You can tell something about the caliber of a school's program from seeing a production. You can pick up on that mysterious thing I call atmosphere by talking to students and sitting in on classes. I know you've had many theatre classes during H.S. You'll know when you observe a drama class whether or not you would work well with a particular instructor. After a few campus visits (some of which were audition trips) my D had a pretty good idea which schools were appealing and which were not. She did make second visits to the final two schools on her list to make her decision. At that time she observed as many classes as she could squeeze in at both schools. She took private voice lessons at both and talked to current students. She felt comfortable in the end that she had made the right choice. Have faith that the pieces will fall into place for you too.

dramatica

Fosselover,

Thanks for asking about how we are doing. At first, I was “away” because we had no power or telephone, then I was too overwhelmed by the hurricanes. I have been lurking about, on and off, but since my thespian daughter is only a freshman in high school and the college one is majoring in film and creative writing, most of the time I feel I have nothing worthwhile to add. However, since you inquired, I will fill you in and ask forgiveness from the others for “detouring.”

With Frances we suffered extensive roof damage that resulted in leaks throughout the house. Unfortunately the prior owners had wallpapered the entire house, including ceilings in some rooms. Due to extensive leaks, the wallpaper is peeling everywhere and mold may be setting in. My husband is suffering terribly from allergies and I am not feeling that great myself. The wallpaper needs to be removed in the entire house (which is large) and it is impossible to get anyone to come do the work. Some rooms have walls that are 22 ft high so we cannot do it ourselves, otherwise I would have started removing it already.

As if problems with the wallpaper were not enough, the ceramic tile by the foyer buckled up and cracked from over saturation of the foundation and bad workmanship. Although the damage was only by the entrance, the tile extends to other rooms including the kitchen. It was tile original to the house and impossible to match. So this means that we need to remove and replace the tile in several rooms.

My home is a disaster zone. In addition to the hurricane damage, shelves in the walk-in closet in the master bedroom came tumbling down (unrelated to the storm) and we had to empty everything out of it to redo the closet. All this in between storms. However, at least our home is standing and no one was hurt. Friends in Pensacola did not fare as well and lost everything. So every day I count our blessings.

We are fortunate that we had not only windstorm insurance but flood insurance, too. Although we are not in a flood zone, since I always have been leery of a canal behind our property, we opted to purchase flood insurance when we bought this house. The windstorm would not have covered the floor damage but the flood insurance will. So other than some hefty deductibles mandated by recent regulations, over $10,000 in our case, insurance should cover most of the damage. By the time that all the repairs are done, the costs will exceed $80,000, the equivalent of 2 years of tuition and room and board at our son’s university (Brown), so I am thankful that we were well insured.

I am so glad that our daughter is only a freshman and the other one is in college already. When I think of the many kids whose homes were damaged and who are having to deal with college applications and setting up auditions while trying to recover, my heart goes out to them. Can you imagine having to deal with the stress of college applications under such circumstances? It must be unbearable.

Anyhow, good luck. I can’t recall if your daughter is a junior or a senior. Fill us in on the progress.

marissal

Dramatica - I hope you can get all of that taken care of in the near future! It's so rough to go through those kind of storms...but, like you said, at least your house is still standing. I've only been on the edge of a level 3 or 4 hurricane and in a level 1 storm, so I haven't quite experienced the same thing. I actually used to drive to Navarre Beach (Pensacola)...I can't imagine how that place looks now...




On another note...how are everyone's applications going? I'm having a hard time trudging through those essays. My theatre resume is also looking pretty bleak, but i've got to make the best of that.

Kellster

I am SOOOOOOOO glad I found this thread! Many thanks to the person who linked the old part to the actors group on Live Journal! I am a sophomore in high school and plan to graduate a year early. The information here is going to be a world of help in picking colleges. My dad is in the military and we have moved around a lot, so I haven't been able to go to a performing arts high school. The drama clubs at the different schools I have been to have all been different in the actor training they provide though the teachers at the past two I have been to say I have a gift and have cast me in leads at school and found ways to get me into community theater shows. However, I still think I will be at a big disadvantage in getting into any of the top BFA colleges because I have not been able to get any kind of concentrated training for any length of time. It is kind of frustrating, really, because I have read lots of books but haven't been able to get the type of training I have been reading about. I think I might audition for some of the good BFA programs, but will need to also apply to some good BA type programs. I want to find some that don't require auditions, don't have a BFA program and don't have a graduate school attached but still have good teachers and a reputation for graduating people who have gone on to have successful careers. I need to research this for myself, but can anybody give me suggestions for some good places to look as a start?

doctorjohn

Kellster:

I've recommended this book before, but it's worth listing it again. The Directory of Theatre Training Programs, 9th edition, lists every university theatre program in the country, with brief descriptions and contact information. It's a good place to start:

http://dorsettheatrefestival.com/htm...ning_book.html

As for how to discriminate among programs, you can look at which schools participate in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. You can find links at:

http://www.kcactf.org/

Each region's website is different, but you can find good information everywhere.

Good luck!