katherinekow11

Hi everyone! I'm currently a rising high school junior so the pressure is on to think about colleges. I want to pursue Acting and get my start in LA early on so I'm focusing on California based schools. Before anyone says this: I do not want to go to LA and try to get work immediately without attending school for at least a little while. A Disney director came to give a workshop at my school and he said it was crucial to network in LA and he said attending a college there is the best way.

ANYWAYS, getting to the point...

I have visited a few programs in CA, UCLA, USC, & CalArts. Calarts intrigued & excited me the most and seemed the greatest fit for me. I was really gung ho about trying my darndest to get in, but I've heard some things that make me unsure...

CalArts costs a lot of money...is it worth it?
Basically, is the education amazing? Does going to CalArts provide lots of connections to the business?
Also, I read through the course book they gave me when I was visiting and I didn't see any classes that involved acting for the screen...did I just miss something or is there no film-acting education?

Sorry for the really long rant-y, over dramatic post...it's late...
I would really love it if someone who attended or has a child attending the Theatre program could give me some insight. Thank you so much!

ActingDad

It is not true for every top school but CalArts is one school where there has been a lot of prior discussion so I'd suggest doing a search.

For what it is worth, we live on the East coast and my daughter originally limited her schools to generally those in the East. After realizing this might be too limiting given the competiveness of top schools, we undertook to look at top schools on West Coast including Cal Arts. For my daughter, she decided against Cal Arts because it was too non-traditional in technique and approach for her tastes.

supportive

Chapman has film acting.

katherinekow11

Well, I just finished reading every thread that had to do with CalArts Acting BFA and my questions are still unanswered. What I really want to know is will CalArts set me up for a career in Theatre and Film in L.A. with both education quality and networking? Thanks again.
I am also considering Chapman, supportive. Thank you.