<p>You talk of experience and what you don’t seem to understand is that you gain experience while in college. Do you think you JUST train in a college acting program? Not only do you train a LOT more than one class per week (which you talk about doing) and training is definitely a a big plus for an actor…but you are in production work gaining experience as an actor…both in school productions and outside productions and summers. My kid is about to graduate college and while she had a very long resume before she entered college, she has replaced those credits with experiences from the past four years while in college. Trust me, you gain experience when you study acting in college. Your comparison of an 18 year old with experience on the resume with someone getting a BFA is way off the mark. You think the 18 year old has more experience? I have to tell you that those in my D’s college program, had the full resume of experience before college and now have MORE experience after four years of college. Do you think they stop gaining acting experience while in college? To the contrary, they gain MORE! College involves both training and experience. Also, many who are in college BFA gain additional experiences over the summers. </p>
<p>Nobody needs time to audition while in college. If you are in college to gain experience and training, being able to audition for work outside of college is irrelevant. My kid is in NYC and even had an agent there before she got to college but CHOSE to not audition for anything that would take her out of college. She is there to get her education. If ahe was in NYC to get work, we could have saved on tuition and had her just audition. Now, as she graduates at age 20, she has far more training and far more experience, including professional (though she had professional experience prior to college as well) that will make her more ready to be cast than had she not done all this. </p>
<p>A reputable agent is not going to tell someone to not go to college. They will value the training and the experience that such a person will attain. Why do you think that agents attend college showcases? Because they know there is a lot of trained and eexperienced talent at these showcases. </p>
<p>Please do not think that by going to college, you don’t have experience! I would challenge you put the resume of some of these kids who are graduating from BFA programs next to someone who is 18 any day. If my kid listed all her experience, it would take up a few pages. She has to continually drop credits to make room for new ones. Those in college BFA programs are not lacking in experience!</p>