<p>Performing arts school here in SoCal is either a public or private school that offers both academic and conservatory type arts classes.</p>
<p>At my son’s school (and it is only one of many in our area), each student must be academically acceptable and then audition or submit a portfolio (for visual arts). If accepted, the students attend the academic part of their day from 8am-2pm. They then begin their conservatory classes until 5pm each day. The conservatory part of the school is run through a college and seperately funded, but gives many courses particular to each specific area of study and is all a part of the students official hs transript.</p>
<p>Over the course of 4 years, an MT student will recieive 4 levels of acting, voice training, multiple levels of dance, audition techniques, stage combat, make-up and costuming and music theory to just name a few.</p>
<p>In addition, the instructors are from the performance world so there are opportunites for the students to perform with Broadway artists and learn from people who have “been there, done that!”</p>
<p>Even with this opportunity, many students study privately for dance and voice in preparation for the rigorous and competetive nature of the college auditions process.</p>
<p>This is just one example, but the biggest misonception is that the pa hs are private and very, very expensive. There are ones like this that are a public school with a conservatory included.</p>