<p>Having originally come from a hardcore theatre background, it obviously isn’t the route I took to making my living as a screen actress, but I’ve heard it said more than once that one of the best ways to learn to work on-camera is to spend some time behind it. Once you get a little past basic acting, there are profound differences between screen versus stage and I can see where the people who say that are coming from. There’s even a stereotype in LA of “the clueless actor with a lot of theatre training.” However, those same actors who came from “the other side” often lack the depth, range, and facility with text that a theatre background can bring so you really need a balance. Your son should be able to get the basics pretty well by taking acting classes at Temple and getting experience doing student and indie films. Just expect that he’ll need more training - perhaps a lot - post-graduate if he doesn’t get into some good summer acting intensives along the way. </p>
<p>OTOH, most college acting programs - even the top conservatories - really do a pretty sorry job of preparing students for the on-camera world at the studio and network level. Most offer maybe a semester’s worth of on-camera work at the very end and most graduates need at least some additional post-graduate training before they’re ready to work.</p>
<p>I’ve actually gone on and on about this in the past in several threads. I guess I kind of gave something of a summary of most of it in this one … <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1561010-wrong-i-dont-want-study-four-years.html?[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1561010-wrong-i-dont-want-study-four-years.html?</a></p>
<p>Also, the best book I’ve found on the differences between stage and screen is Patrick Tucker’s [Secrets</a> of Screen Acting](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Screen-Acting-Theatre-Arts-ebook/dp/B000PLXDE4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387040090&sr=8-1&keywords=secrets+of+screen+acting][u]Secrets”>http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Screen-Acting-Theatre-Arts-ebook/dp/B000PLXDE4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387040090&sr=8-1&keywords=secrets+of+screen+acting). I’ve always thought that digesting it along with the “You’ve Booked the Job” chapter of [One</a> Less Bitter Actor](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Less-Bitter-Actor-Markus-Flanagan-ebook/dp/B002KLHEQA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387040240&sr=8-1&keywords=one+less+bitter+actor][u]One”>http://www.amazon.com/Less-Bitter-Actor-Markus-Flanagan-ebook/dp/B002KLHEQA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387040240&sr=8-1&keywords=one+less+bitter+actor) should render someone who already has a solid acting background a little less “green” the first time on-set although I don’t recommend the rest of the second book. Actually, the Tucker book was recommended to me by an older actor I trusted when I dumb-lucked into my first major on-camera job the summer before my final year of school and it was of definite help. One other fun fact about Tucker is that he teaches a workshop in First Folio to the UM/Guthrie kids when they’re in London junior year, so he definitely has the background to speak with authority on either stage or screen. </p>
<p>There’s also a working actor in Santa Monica named Brad Greenquist who conducts a class in camera technique and gives a nice summary of [a</a> few things you’ll encounter on-set followed by some videos on his website.](<a href=“http://bradsclass.com/students.html]a”>Brad Greenquist, Hollywood film & television actor and Los Angeles acting class instructor - Pet Sematary, Star Trek, Stargate SG-1, Heroes, CSI, more...)</p>