best schools for FILM acting

[fishbowlfreshman]

<p>NJTheatreMom,

Everything you write is fascinating, whether or not it is personally relevant at this time. I love your posts. I’m sure your fans here are legion. Thanks.

Awww thanks. I don’t have time for much of this anymore, but I don’t mind sticking my head in once in awhile if I have a spare moment and see something I think I can help with.</p>

<p>early_college,

You don’t have to spend all day training, but a class which is once a week is fine.

That depends on what kind of actor you want to be. Shannon Elizabeth or Cate Blanchett? Pick your poison! Those are extremes, of course, and many would die to be in Shannon’s shoes, but I think you get my drift … Actually, the better non-scholastic studios meet several times a week and the best they usually come up with are people who are very good at playing themselves which is usually enough for TV and Film if you have a camera-friendly look. The question then becomes whether or not you’d be satisfied with that as an artist. Wanna just play to type your whole life? I wouldn’t, but who am I to judge? The fact is that there are entire universes of creativity that you couldn’t even begin to explore without the total immersion offered by a quality BFA or MFA unless you’re some kind of true genius prodigy like Ben Kingsley and yes indeed it can apply to film. Is it completely necessary to work? No. Is it useful? You bet it is. </p>

<p>

The more training from different studio’s the better and when you go to a BFA you don’t have that option. You usually get one view of the acting technique, except for NYU.

WRONG. Most of the better BFAs train you in many techniques and help you to build your own way of working. You’d be traipsing all over NY or LA for many years to get the equivalent of the first year at most of them. I’m sure as hell no devotee of any dead guru … You seem to be primarily fixated on an “acting technique,” too, and don’t seem to understand the value of all the voice, movement, and text training offered. That stuff takes A LOT of time and it definitely does make you a better actor. That’s not even including the fact that the people you’ll be working with in a good BFA are actually talented and the pace will naturally be faster than at some place that is entirely for profit and they let in just about anyone who can afford to attend. Individual attention is a big factor, too. At a lot of the “name” studios, they’ve gotten greedy and there will be so many students in your class that you won’t actually get to do much scene work in front of the teacher … if you even get to see the “name” teacher before you’ve already been going there a year or more.</p>

<p>

You get experience by being an extra and seeing famous actors around you.

Extra work might be worth doing once or twice to get a lay of the land, but you can’t even use it on your resume. It’s considered VERY unprofessional and getting vouchers isn’t a good way to go for SAG membership anymore. These days you need to either get in via Taft-Hartley or from doing AFTRA work because the union extras usually do show up due to the state of the economy leaving no vouchers to give out. </p>

<p>

I don’t think a BFA student can tell me how a day is like on set for a movie.

Some of my classmates who have experience playing supporting roles in big budget films and guest roles on TV shows like “Law and Order” (mad residuals) could tell you all about it. Pretty boring for the most part until you get to the part where you get to act … My own experience is in student film right now, but I’ll be able to tell you a lot more by midsummer. B.o.o.k.e.d :)</p>

<p>Soozievt,

Now, you are asking how many kids made it from a BFA in acting program? As you know, this is a very difficult field. Many will not make it. But the same can be said about someone with no degree in the field or no college. Very few make it even from that pile as well.

We’re talking thousands versus HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS if you want to play percentages …</p>

<p>And AMTC? Isn’t that the Millie Lewis thing? Nuff said … LOL</p>