<p>My son has narrowed his choice down to a BFA program at the University of Utah - he just visited and really liked it - or to the Contemporary Performance Program at the Royal Scottish Academy in Glasgow. I can’t send him to Glasgow to check out the program - so he will have to decide, very soon, which it is. Does anybody have any knowledge, insight, helpful guiding questions? He is equally drawn to acting and directing - I don’t really know how to help him with this one.</p>
<p>Sorry I can’t help but I just wanted to say…love the catchy thread title! Best of luck to your S! :)</p>
<p>I haven’t heard anything at all about the BFA at U-Utah; it may very well be an excellent school. But for an actor, the prestige of attending school in Glasgow is certainly something to consider. I have no personal experience here either, but the Academy has an excellent reputation.</p>
<p>As you say, the two programs are EXTREMELY different, pointed towards divergent career paths. It’s important to note that the Contemporary Performance program at RSAMD is NOT the same as their BA in Acting, which is your typical actor training program. The Contemporary Performance degree is much more directed toward developing experimental work, ensemble and solo, in what I might (perhaps reductively) refer to as “performance art.” If your son is interested in developing a more mainstream acting/directing career, this would not be the program for him. </p>
<p>I would also note that the drawback to training abroad is always the dearth of professional connections in your home country, when/if you return. I know a number of people who did the BA Acting degree at RSAMD. Some of them were fortunate to land agents and jobs in the UK upon graduating, and are still working there in theater, film, television, and radio. Others have returned to the US and, in some cases, it has been quite hard for them to start their careers here. </p>
<p>The program at Utah, historically, has been one of the strong “feed” schools into the major graduate programs around the country. I’ve also met a couple successful actors who went straight into the profession from this program, but most of the alumni I’ve encountered were graduates of a different “era” in the program’s development. I’m not very sure of the program’s current strengths, but (as I said) if your son wants to be on the track of the mainstream acting/directing world here in the US, Utah is probably the better of his two choices.</p>
<p>Apologies in advance, could not resist - GRIN!</p>
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<p>Kumquats are a family of small fruit-bearing trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, in the genus Fortunella which is often included in the genus Citrus. The edible fruit closely resembles that of the orange (Citrus sinensis), but is smaller and is often oval.</p>
<p>He has decided and it is Scotland - more variety, more risk, once in a lifetime chance - and he is not so tied to acting that he wants to pass up this opportunity to make really exciting theater. So - now onto the other details - but we are all behind him all the way.</p>