<p>I’m an arts high school alum. I’m far enough removed now that it’s all fading a bit, but I can say that I wouldn’t have stood much of a chance of getting into a top college program had I not gone there. Then, the training at the one I attended was based off a conservatory model while the drama classes at my first small town public high school were taught by an English teacher who’d never even been in a play past the small town community theatre level. We also had occasional resident guest artists at the local Fine Arts Center who could teach you something, but that probably wouldn’t have been enough given the voice and speech challenges I faced early on. So, my answer might be different had I come from a major metro area with lots of opportunities or a regular high school with a solid, well-funded program and a good teacher.</p>
<p>At any rate, I seem to be a library of old threads from the MT forum lately, so here’s one where some of us went into detail about our experiences … <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/472730-performing-arts-high-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/472730-performing-arts-high-schools.html</a> </p>
<p>Just off the top of my head, some high schools that I noticed having a very strong presence at the more prestigious college conservatories were Interlochen, LaGuardia, the South Carolina Governor’s School, Baltimore School for the Arts, and Walnut Hill. And to a somewhat lesser extent, NCSA, NOCCA, the Orange County School and another in Houston whose name eludes me at the moment. If you have the opportunity to go to one of those, I’d take it unless you have some very good reason not to. I see it like prep school kids and the Ivy League. Attending one isn’t completely necessary to get in, but it definitely helps if it’s a good one. </p>
<p>And as a little bragging point, mine is actually starting to develop a mini-mafia in the professional world. Just out of my graduating class of 13, three of us make our living as actors, one is moving up the chain as a casting associate at one of the big New York offices and another is an agents’ assistant at the New York branch of one of the big boys and will no doubt eventually have her own office. And I along with an alum from her college have been able to bring a really talented and motivated alum from my high school to the attention of a top level LA manager who’s all over her and will probably have her set up with a top representation team before her showcase even happens this spring. So Yay! <sings> “Forever Yoooouuuuung” by Bob Dylan (our Alma Mater. :))</sings></p>