@jbtcat, I think it’s because with the schools that only do one style of training, like Rutgers doing Meisner, you know in advance what that style is, so you can decide if it’s right for you before you apply. Whereas with NYU, you don’t get a choice - they put you in a studio without any input from you. Also, most of the colleges DON’T seem to do just one style or technique. In my research, most of them mentioned that they do a “toolbox” approach, so you get a little bit of a lot of different techniques and can create your own process using whatever techniques work best for you. So maybe that’s why. (Just speculation on my part, I don’t really know since my D did not apply to NYU.)
@actorparent1 thanks for your input! With NYU you do find out which studio you are placed in before you commit (although I agree they do tell you very late in the game), so you can choose not to attend if you are not happy with your placement. I understand what you are saying about the “toolbox” approach and that is appealing. The studio system does give you the opportunity to have more than one type of training since you can change studios after 2 years and also build a toolbox. Maybe my D was just less sophisticated than many of the kids I hear about on these boards (even though she was in a PA program in HS) but even though she might have heard or studied a little bit about Meisner or Adler, I don’t think she was educated enough about them to use that as the basis for her decision of which school to attend. I think she just assumed that wherever she landed she would make the most of the training she received.
@jbtcat - I think that wasn’t the best choice of word. I think I mean misinformed. An example, i’ve Asked and was told that there is no official “show case” at NYU. If I didn’t ask that question and assumed there would be, I wouldn’t have been fooled - but rather mid or uninformed. I am asking the same questions of my S’s other school choices. But with NYU, it’s so big and overwhelming (even the City!) that I would like to know what the kids who LOVE the program would say are the downsides to each studio (actually I only need to know for the studio my S gets assigned to… but everyone here will want to know for their kids too.)
@MomofJ5 I get it! that makes total sense and I absolutely think you should be asking those questions of every school your son is considering. I will ask my D what she thought was a downside to the studios she trained with and report back!
@jbtcat - thank you!!
Studios have been emailed. D was placed in Stella Adler.
Help @toowonderful @jbtcat @ @alwaysamom @soozievt and any Tisch parents with wisdom. We’ve been leaning toward NYU and feeling excited and my daughter was placed in ETW. It’s the one studio her acting teacher used as an example of “well you wouldn’t want to be stuck in Experimental Theatre for 2 years” blah blah (thanks teach). The curriculum page looks amazing and she loves Meisner (which they do). I am scared because I’m mildly familiar with Atlantic, Adler (she did summer there last year) and other but completely ignorant about ETW.
HELP ???
Congrats @ginaf1102 ! @laylamom I have heard only great things about ETW but I’m going to text my D now to see if I can get some more info for you!
@laylamom My D is an Atlantic grad so my knowledge of ETW is limited, other than hearing how much that so many kids have LOVED it through the years. Soozievt will be a good resource for you on this.
Thank you @jbtcat . We were not expecting this one and no nothing. I’m a little nervous. Thank you @alwaysamom .
Daughter happy. Mom clueless and freaked.
@laylamom - Congrats! I think ETW is a gem of a studio. It’s one of the smallest- so TONS of individual attention. As @WTXMom was saying earlier - ETW is a highly sought program. Very much an emphasis on creating your own work - which is super valuable. My D did a show through ETW last semester and LOVED it
@ginaf1102 - my D did 3 years with Adler - happy to answer questions 
My D was placed in the Atlantic theatre studio. Looks amazing. Would love to hear more.
Does anyone have any experience with Strasberg?
@laylamom
I can try to help. My D entered Tisch for the MT theater studio at the time, CAP21. She transferred into ETW studio for her final 3 semesters at Tisch and LOVED it. I never would have predicted this when she first entered Tisch and I doubt she even knew much about ETW at the time. As well, my D’s husband was in ETW for four years, along with numerous other friends of hers. As you can see, my D chose ETW, and it wasn’t because she was unhappy with her MT studio! She loved that too.
First, she observed what she felt were great actors coming out of this studio. She was very impressed with their skill sets. For instance, they were very skilled at physical acting.
One thing about advanced studio in ETW (the part my D was in) is that the curriculum is not as prescribed (not sure that is the right word) as what was the case in her old studio, where every student took the same exact courses. There were options to choose from and they were wide and varied. Check out the courses! There is even some singing and movement/dance.
Another aspect of ETW is the creation of new work (not saying that this is not true of other studios, but it wasn’t true of my D’s MT studio at the time). A lot of the students in this studio seem to be creative types. My D was in a workshop production there directed by Moises Kaufman (Broadway playwright and director) who is an alum. The actors were part of creating the work. My D got to work with some really awesome faculty in that studio.
One thing my D was attracted to in ETW was that in the fourth year, there is an option to do what is called Independent Projects. This is pretty wide open. My D elected to do one and created her own original musical, her very first one, simply something she wanted to challenge herself with before graduating college, plus be in it. All i can say is that that production has led to a big piece of my D’s current career (she is still an actor/singer, and a singer/songwriter, but also now has commissions to write/compose original musicals, something she was not trained in doing, nor planned to do, but her project at ETW led to professional workshops and productions of that first musical started at ETW, and led to a literary agent and more offers down the line, and is now a part of her career. ETW let her take this risk to try this and that would not have been the case in her original studio.
My D has a number of successful classmates working in theater/music/TV/movies now, from all studios. But thinking of her ETW peers, I can think of some now on Broadway, a lead in a TV movie, playwrights/composers, actors in plays, those who started their own theater companies, producers, sketch comedy actors/directors, and someone who has her own TV comedy series.
My recollection at Tisch is that many students who knew nothing about ETW when they entered Tisch, ended up seeking it out for advanced studio and it was competitive to transfer into that studio by audition. ETW also runs a summer program in Amsterdam that many of my D’s friends did and thought was amazing. My D didn’t do that as we could not afford to pay for a summer program during the college years. But it is a very popular and sought after program too.
I think many ETW graduates become movers and shapers in the theater, beyond being actors too. I hope your teen has a chance to talk to ETW students and/or alumni!
The ETW show I mentioned my D was in last semester will have an off off off off bway (Brooklyn) run later this summer. D is excited to be a part of it again
@soozievt - did you see @Goodlife99’s question about Strassberg? That studio hasn’t been discussed that I know of recently - did your daughter know people who liked/loved/hated it?
Atlantic says: The Atlantic Acting School’s NYU program is a three-year course which provides students with a concrete technique, performance experience, and the practical, professional skills needed to work in theatre, film, television and new media.
what do students do for 4th year?
I saw the question on Strasberg studio, yes. I don’t feel that qualified to talk about it as my own D was not in that studio. My D did a musical production in that studio, Jesus Christ Superstar. She had a few friends who studied at Strasberg. One eventually transferred into CAP21 studio (the MT studio at the time) and has been in several Broadway shows. At the time, I recall people saying it was a good studio for someone who likes MT to get to be in as it offers some voice and dance (though is fine for straight actors too). I have a friend whose D is a little younger than mine who was in Strasberg and enjoyed it. However, she is no longer working as an actor. Back when my D attended Tisch, Strasberg was contracted to train NYU students, but now Strasberg is fully under NYU’s wing, and an “in house” studio at NYU.
Thank you so much @soozievt ! I think I’ve mentioned, perhaps not - but my daughter is true fan of your amazing daughter. I hope it’d OK to say that here.
I will copy what you wrote and send it to my girl. She is very excited looking at the curriculum.
My D is from a small school with a tiny theatre dept. Her entire resume is many years of dance and musicals (because that’s what they do) at her school plus an MT program at Emerson and and acting summer at Adler.That is it. She does not play an instrument…
I guess I am hoping that she’s not out of her depth. It sounds extraordinary. I really really whole heartedly appreciate this description full of depth.
The reality of her leaving is hitting also and I am fearful and my heart aches.
We are going to weekend on the square this weekend. Very excited but bringing tissues…
@laylamom…I’m glad you found it helpful. I’m just a parent, so it is not like I know it from the inside! It sounds like your D has done a lot of dance and musicals, just like my D did prior to college and also in a very small school. We did not have acting training where we lived. But if your D likes singing, dance, and musicals, there are classes related to that in ETW. It is not like a MT studio, but there are opportunities to be involved in singing and dancing. As you can see, my D, a MT kid, enjoyed ETW studio a lot. Her friend and classmate, who is now widely known, Rachel Bloom, also went from the MT studio to ETW before graduating Tisch. No need to be able to play an instrument. What I think your D will experience, besides great training in various skills, is the sense of self-scripting and creating work. That can be a good thing. I see a lot of my D’s peers (along with herself) who don’t rely simply on auditioning to get work, but actually creating work for themselves and their peers. They also cast one another!
My observation at Tisch is that most students really enjoy the studio they are placed in. Further, there is the opportunity to experience more then one studio during the student’s four years. I truly think your D will enjoy ETW. Like I said, many may not know much about it before they get there, but once there, many love it and many seek to transfer into ETW!
I’m glad uno can attend the Weekend in the Square. I remember going to that! Hopefully your D can talk to current ETW students. That will help!
Also, as far as your kid leaving…yes, it is a big adjustment for a parent. But your kid is going to be having the time of her life and that eases things to see your child happy and thriving and growing up. You’ll miss her but will get used to it after a while, I promise. It’ll be a new stage in your lives. And you can always do what I just did. After my D being in NYC the past 13 years, I just moved to NYC and now can see her and never miss a show or concert! AND my other D recently settled in NYC too and so now I’m near both kids, for the first time since high school! 