Overwhelmed in Texas

snapdragonfly
Mon, 05 Jul 2010 01:54:04 +0000

Motherofthemall: the good old pro’s and con’s list is always an excellent way to process information and help the decision process.

My problem is that the list looks something like this:

BFA - better than a BA because (insert long list of very convincing arguments by respected experts in the field)

BA - better than a BFA because (insert long list of very convincing arguments by respected experts in the field)

Is there a smilie on this board for CORNFUSED?

As The Binder is slowly taking shape, and as specific information on each school’s degrees and the differences in the courses and programs are being collected, I am starting to think that ultimately it’s going to depend on the school. If she stays regional, for example, and goes to SFA (Stephen F. Austin University) she’d probably do the BFA because: both the BA and the BFA have the same basic core educational curriculum, as far as math, english, science, etc. From what I can tell, after the sophomore year they go into BFA and instead of declaring a minor (which is what the BA requires) the extra hours are in theater concentration, with an emphasis on either acting and directing, tech, or SM. (they are going to have to figure out a way to let d do both acting and costuming tech, but I think it could work somehow).

So she’d be getting a pretty good general education, I think, as opposed to some BFA’s that are almost like a conservatory plan.

PLUS, the BFA’s go to Europe for the ENTIRE either junior or senior year and intern in London and then either Spain or Estonia. Two semesters in Europe? Now THAT is what I consider exciting, mind expanding, outlook broadening, REAL hands on education. I am looking for something similar at the other schools we are considering and maybe I’m not looking in the right places but it seems like study abroad is a bit more hit and miss - they do have it but it’s not such a deeply integrated part of the program. All the BFA’s spend a year interning and if they don’t go to Europe they can go to one of the other partnering internship programs which include among several really excellent regional theaters, Guthrie.

Plus they do the two weeks in Dublin every summer.

So, you know, it’s hard to turn down a year in Europe versus…not…at that school.

We haven’t really had a chance to absorb all the info on most of the other schools yet so I don’t have an example of a school where the BA would be better for her than the BFA, but I imagine there will be one.

When we get all that then I guess we can do the pro/con list of the specific programs; not so much the general BA vs BFA because it seems that in the case of the schools which she is mostly likely to attend, there’s a good deal of variance between them.

Also for her there is still the looming question of costume…honestly it might happen that she would audition for MT someplace and if she were lucky enough to get in she might turn it down anyway (they already told me at TSU it would not make them mad for her to do that) if it meant she would have very minimal costuming experience. Still gonna audition though because most of the time it’s necessary for scholarships - though I suppose there are costume/tech scholarships but she only has just a few things in her portfolio, she has only had the opportunity to do designs for fewer shows than you have fingers on one hand. Though her stuff is apparently, judging from the contest results, extremely competitive…I think her best plan is to shoot at all that flies and claim all that falls. (as my mom used to say when she was in Economic Development…which I think is harder to find jobs in than even theater…)