Straight to NYC, or start in Washington, DC?

StarryEyed14
Sat, 22 Mar 2014 03:47:06 +0000

Hi all, newbie here. Currently a senior. I’ve been accepted to 5 colleges and 3 theatre programs thus far: St. John’s (Queens, NYC) for Dramatic Arts, Film, and TV, George Mason (just outside DC) for Theatre, and American (DC) for Musical Theatre.

I’m still waiting on some other audition decisions, but as of now these are my options. I’d always planned on going straight to NYC for college, because that’s THE city for acting and music, right? But two of the programs I’ve been accepted to are in Washington, DC. Now DC is beautiful, don’t get me wrong, and I love it there. But would it be better for me to go straight to New York, or take some time to beef up my resume in another city?

At first I wanted to do musical theatre exclusively, and American is the only school that’s offered me that opportunity. The faculty and students there were SO nice and nurturing. But while I’m sure the program is wonderful, I’m just wondering if it would do me any good to go to another city before heading to New York. I’ve heard it’s easier to get an equity card in DC; I’ve heard it has an up-and-coming arts scene; and I’ve also heard that it’s better to start off working in a lesser city first, in order to gain experience.

At this point, I’ve heard so many different opinions that I’m just confused. Does anyone happen to have some advice that could help me out?