holly06

My daughter just finished her last audition at Marymount. She really liked the "vibe" and enjoyed the audition. She will not know if she is accepted for several days, but if she is accepted it will be her top choice. I would love to hear from current students (BA theatre performance or BFA), accepted students who have made MMC their final choice, or anyone with information about the acting program.

checkbookmom

Hi Holly06. I posted a couple days ago on Marymount Manhattan too. My son has finally chosen it (pending SUNY) from several other acceptances.
The factors we weighed were: is a conservatory a good fit or is a more liberal education (MMC) better for this particular person? (We decided on MMC's approach.) Are the profs working in the field (MMC yes); is the overall quality good? (Seems to be, but see my inquiry) and is the environment conducive to this kid's growth as an actor and as a person? Ultimately, we decided that MMC was the place. If he gets into SUNY off the wait-list, we will have to revisit it all.
I hope the best for your daughter!
Anyone else out there have more info?

jbinca

checkbook mom

I wish I had info on Marymount and am glad to hear their program sounds promising as I often counsel these kids on where to apply and am anxious to broaden my knowledge of programs. I do however, know a girl who is just about to graduate from MMC in dance and her training and segue to the pro world have been excellent-has already been accepted into a dance company and had auditions for Bwy musicals. One would hope the theatre program is able to do equally well.

jbinca

NotMamaRose

I couldn't agree more-you always hit the nail on the head! I am not bothered by cuts per se-in fact there can be very good reasons for it- it's the fact that they only take 26 students the second year. How can they make that number so inflexible? That's the problem right there-is there ever a class with 27 talented students? Or more? They have managed to sustain a very good reputation despite this forbidding policy but I would love to hear their justification.

TRal55

As a current DePaul theatre student, I would just like to clarify that DePaul does NOT offer a BA Acting major for kids who get cut. There are only BFAs at DePaul. However, you may pursue a BFA in Theatre Studies or another theatre department. But there is no BA in theatre at all at DePaul.

As a side note, it is getting progressively more difficult to get into DePaul. Apparently, the admissions office is trying to slowly rid themselves of the cut program and thus accepting less students every year. For the 2007-2008 school year, they accepted 52 and will cut 26. In 2008-2009 they are accepting 47 (not sure how many will get cut but it is less than 26 obviously).

hampton

Notmamarose said your d chose NYU Tisch over ithaca was it negatives about Ithaca or was it just the positives of NYU? Did others in your school choose Boston or Ithaca and what did they say when they came back?

NotMamaRose

hampton, no, my D's decision did not, in any way, hinge on anything negative about Ithaca. In fact, for years, we have been hearing about the strength of Ithaca's BFA programs in both musical theater and acting (my D was accepted for MT). In addition, a young lady we know who graduated from my D's arts high school last year is in her first year at Ithaca for acting and loves it. She cannot say enough good things about it. For my own kid, it came down to the fact that she just preferred the larger, comprehensive and yes, urban environment of NYU/Tisch, where she would be surrounded by many, many other actors and MTs who she believes will push her to achieve her personal best. Re: other grads of my D's school and where they have gone: I don't know of any actors from the school who have attended Boston University (many kids from her school seem to apply to, and get into, NCSA, Purchase, Minnesota/Guthrie, Syracuse, DePaul, Fordham, etc.) but, as noted a few sentences ago, we do know one girl who graduated last year and is at Ithaca and is thriving there. For your kid, it may come down to where he/she feels that indefinable "connection" that some kids just experience at various schools and which tells them "This is where I want to spend the next four years." Good luck with the choice: it's great to have so many strong options!!!

dennisbaker

I wanted to give an update on the time I spent at the MFA acting program at Rutgers since I posted a couple of years ago. Best of luck to any who is apply to programs.



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mamamia

TRal55: Thanks for clearing up my misinformation - I knew there was an alternative if they were cut, and I wrongly assumed it was a BA in theatre studies rather than the BFA in theatre studies. Notmamarose - sorry for the misinformation.

NotMamaRose

mamamia, no big deal. I recognize that I am far, far, FAR from an expert on all this stuff, and am learning as I go along, as are most of us! My own kid chose not to audition for DePaul because of the cut system, but knows a number of kids who did choose to audition and who were accepted and may enroll there, so this is certainly a matter of "different strokes for different folks." As a parent, I probably approach the whole idea of a mandatory cut from such-and-such a number to a preordained number in a more cautious say than does, say, the average, optimistic 18 year old high school senior who is bursting with confidence and enthusiasm and does not believe, deep down, that he or she will ever be the one cut. (In fact, I have been privy to discussions about this very topic and no kid I know believes she/he will be the one culled. However, as an adult who has been alive for almost 50 years, I have seen bad things happen to good people and so I know that it CAN happen.) DePaul certainly as a right to conduct its excellent program in the way and manner it sees fit and it works for many kids.

happy2be

I've narrowed my decision down to USC BA in Theater and NYU's Strasberg. I feel like it should be easy to pick one because they are sooo different...but each one has things the other doesn't. Any suggestions or first hand experience of the education/training provided at each school? Does B.F.A. training really prepare you more for entering the real world? Thanks for any help! I need it!

jbinca

happy2be

It's a hard choice and the advice depends on the student-how much the overall education matters to you, the setting, etc. You must feel a connection to the methods used at Strasberg as that will be your experience at NYU, you will not be exposed to a variety of approaches, it will be all Strasberg for the first two years. What prepares an actor for the "real world" is finding the right approach for YOU, so that your time is spent taking risks and growing and gaining confidence. For some actors 4 years is too long to prepare for the pro world, for others it's needed. When you walk into an audition no one cares much where you studied, the person who blows them away with the reading will get the role. That could be someone with a degree, or someone who's been waiting tables and taking classes at night since high school. That's the reality, I've been there.
Only you can know what suits you best, hopefully you can PM with someone on this forum who's studying at these schools so you can get a feel for atmosphere and the actor's experience. You must be talented to have these choices, and in the end true talent wont' be stopped, and will grow from all types of experience.

jbinca

and I meant to mention that there was an article on the Strasberg studio in last week's NY Times, very informative.

channelsurferdud

Thank you so much for the post. I think you are right on with the line "For some actors 4 years is too long to prepare for the pro world, for others it's needed."

jYPAS10

I agree too.
For a while now I've been wondering what kind of theater education I should pursue after high school. I've been reading about BA and BFA programs, but in the event that I want to go down a "quicker" route, are there any schools/programs that anyone here would suggest?