<p>I must say that watching the extreme difference between the non-MT-trained and the trained MTs on the recent live broadcast of “Sound of Music” gave me a very positive impression of the objective value of real MT training. :)</p>
<p>Though I suppose the difference could also be explained by varying natural aptitude versus training?</p>
<p>Maybe I just blew my theory about the value of training evidenced in the live broadcast Sound of Music (above) seeing that Laura Benanti attended NYU for only 2 weeks. Either that or they work really fast at NYU. :)</p>
<p>MomCares, I don’t think you blew your own theory! I think you’re totally right. Laura Benanti was definitely trained, NYU or not–her own mother was a vocal coach! I think the larger question is training versus no training. Not being properly trained will produce a really amateur sound. You don’t have to go to a BFA program–but you do need vocal training. Not to be insulting, but Carrie Underwood’s lack of proper training was <em>very</em> obvious in her SOM performance-- from her poor posture, to her improper breathing, to her inability to sustain notes, and so on. You can’t do real training in a few weeks. It takes years. Professionals continue to have voice and acting lessons as well. The training never stops.</p>
<p>Two weeks is a pretty quick turn around for MT training, I’ll admit! Laura is such a natural and really added value to the show though. I’ll say this much about NYU. My son completed 5 semesters of MT training – 4 in primary studio and one in advanced at New Studio on Broadway-- and I can say without a doubt his skills have greatly improved. He is a far better actor and singer and has acquired numerous musical skills and techniques he would never have learned otherwise without years in the business. He’s met and worked with some extraordinary people in his program. He has trained with some pretty amazing peers as well, who have all matured along with him. Training is pretty important, in my humble opinion.</p>
<p>Connections, I also totally agree with your point about life long training. Professionals are always training. Singers have regular vocal coaching. Actors take classes or private lessons with top acting instructors. It’s ongoing and necessary.</p>
<p>SongSearcher:</p>
<p>Casting directors aren’t thinking about the educational background of a “student” when they cast…they are seeing them as individual actors. And they will be looking to see if they have what each role calls for. There won’t be assumptions made that if a specific school emphasizes dance, that therefore the person in front of them will be a good dancer. They will expect to see their dance skills at the audition.</p>
<p>I will say that certain schools will attract more attention than others for their Senior Showcases. There an assumption may be made about the talent level of the class as a whole and it will determine whether the agent or manager will even show up. But once the agent is at the showcase, it is up to the individual student’s talent to shine and catch an agent’s attention.</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, I remember a story a friend once told me about an audition she had - the casting director was very excited to hear the name of the school she graduated from because based on her past experiences, actors who had graduated from that school were hard-working and wonderful to work with.</p>
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<p>I am fairly ignorant about the process of getting an agent (no doubt our kids know much more), but do kids or random people ever invite specific agents to Showcases, or do the schools do all the inviting? If a specific agent does not attend, can actors independently set up agent meetings, or must they be invited to meet by the agents? Do agents care whether or not kids already have Equity cards, or is that irrelevant?</p>
<p>This Onion article reminded me of this thread. ;)<br>
<a href=“College Graduate First Person In Family To Waste $160,000”>http://www.theonion.com/articles/college-graduate-first-person-in-family-to-waste-1,35241/</a></p>
<p>Agents care a great deal if the kids have an equity card. Having equity will open more doors for getting top agents. My understanding with Showcases is that the school invites the agents, and agents can choose to come. I don’t know if an individual student, going through school channels, can invite an agent as well, but it never hurts to ask. If you are in a professional show, you can also send postcards of the show to agents and invite them as well. Also, there are often opportunities to meet with agents through casting offices for a small fee to the casting company (under $100). I’d thought that wasn’t legit, but I know several actors who have gotten reputable agents that way as well. ANd finally, yes, you can most definitely arrange a meeting with an agent–you send them your resume and headshot and a query and ask if they’ll see you, and then if they agree to see you, you audition for them. The more professional work you have on your resume and/or the more marketable your look/type, the more likely they will see you. But finally, don’t forget that simply landing an agent, any agent, while helpful, is not the be-all and end-all.You can find professional theatre work without an agent, although that is much more likely in regional markets as opposed to NYC markets, and much more likely word of mouth than cold auditioning.</p>
<p>I remember watching YouTube video of the senior showcase of one prominent school and the level of performance wasn’t any better than that of our local community college (IMHO). We then watched another school’s senior showcase and were blown away by the level of performance. Is that a fair way to evaluate a program, watching a few year’s worth of senior showcases?</p>
<p>Our D knows a girl who is a junior at Pace who remarks all the time that the overall skill and ability of applying freshmen gets better every year. Maybe the increase in popularity of MT adds to the increase in competition, which requires more private training before the audition process begins. Over time this may lead to more highly skilled professional MT performers, right? You’re welcome, Broadway! (tongue firmly in cheek).</p>
<p>@cheeseheadmike - the only issue with evaluating schools based on recordings of senior showcase is that in most cases we know little or nothing about how well trained those kids were as entering freshmen. Are we seeing the result of 4 years of incredible training, or incredible cherry-picking? I have seen one kid whose training at a top school, which does top-notch senior showcases, actually made his acting worse (IMHO) than it was when he entered. I suppose from an agent’s standpoint it doesn’t matter when kids got good, but as the one writing tuition checks I’d rather pay the school that helps all students - regardless of where they started - improve.</p>
<p>I certainly don’t have enough info to say how different the turnout is among agents, though it seems intuitive that more attend the consistently better showcases. I do wonder, though, if someone who has a top agent knows a person who will be performing a showcase, can the person (with no affiliation with the school) invite someone to a showcase or are they only open to agents directly invited by the schools?</p>
<p>@connections - Lots of great info (as usual). Thanks!!</p>
<p>My ds has taken a different path. He had a number of good acceptances to BFA programs. However, he decided to follow the scholarship money at our State U. Rather than attend a BFA program, he is continuing his training in the context of a fairly rigorous liberal arts degree. Since August, through luck and demand for his type and his skills, he taped for and landed a creative team callback with a well-known CD in NY. That led to a number of other taped auditions, live auditions, and callbacks for this CD as well as others. He also landed a good agent in NY for theatre and musical theatre. He has been slogging away in the business for a while and had representation before this in LA. He has also trained hard (and continues to) in the various skills you need for MT, while, last year, forgoing the usual high school experience for a number of reasons. He hasn’t booked yet, and he may not. But we are happy that he continues to get auditions/callbacks and hope this will continue as he studies for his academic degree and likely a double major in the arts. He plans (with the money saved) to study and train in the summer and also to study abroad. It is not the usual path, but he’s happy and our pocketbook is happy. He won’t have those “BFA connections” but so far, it seems ok. Does he still need to train and learn? Absolutely. I’m not sure that a BFA degree would transform him as he came in with a few skills at a decent level. Would a BFA fine-tune him? Yes, definitely. Will his training here also fine-tune him? Certainly, we hope so. Additionally, summer and training abroad should help with the fine-tuning. Even with the generous scholarships he received BFA-wise, he couldn’t pass up “free”. Being in the arts ourselves, debt loomed large as we both had student loans and it made things difficult. Compared to the debt some students are racking up today, it was nothing, of course. But that played a role in the decision process. Not to say that the decision process was easy. March and April of last year were probably the most difficult couple of months of his life. Incredibly wonderful and absolutely awful at the same time. But so far, so good with the current path.</p>
<p>There is no ONE way to get there. And where is THERE exactly anyway? I believe that no matter what path these kids create for themselves, they need to be ready to recognize opportunities they were not necessarily looking for, and have the work ethic to keep growing skills so they are ready when opportunity arises. @Ewanes, sounds like your son is making his own opportunities.</p>
<p>Good points mom4bwayboy. I’d add that not only do they need to recognize the opportunities, they also need to have their eyes open about the trade offs. Ewanes is describing a rich experience that for most first year BFAs would be virtually impossible due to time constraints. Even the chore of finding summer theatre work for a BFA can be difficult. You have to have the time and travel flexibility right now to audition for them, but you often don’t. Then in the summer when you do have the time and flexibility, the only auditions you can find would be for work in the fall, when once again, you don’t have the time. It’s a vicious circle. In general, attending a rigorous BFA with major time commitments results in trading off the ability to do what Ewanes’ son is able to do his freshman year. No doubt about it. Anyone who thinks they can enter a rigorous BFA and do what she is describing will likely be disappointed (or will leave their program.)</p>
<p>On the other hand, a BFA provides the opportunity to be surrounded by a talented peer cohort that’s in the same boat that will push you as you grow as an artist. This group should provide some continuity of friendships throughout the 4 years. Also in theory, you shouldn’t run the risk of running out of training classes to take within the context of the university. I’d think that could be an issue in some (absolutely not all) BA tracks. </p>
<p>There is indeed no one way to get there. In picking your path, consider both the opportunities that it provides as well as the trade offs. </p>
<p>Agree, Halflokum; even in a rigorous BA program, most students would not have the necessary time, funding, organizational help, or freedom to pursue frequent auditions outside of school (especially those that require travel). I’ve had a kid in each kind of degree program; in the BA, there were fewer hours spent in the studio, but many more doing the things that make a liberal arts program worthwhile–including being immersed in school life. As you say, there are tradeoffs. Our kids are lucky that we give them the option to make their own decisions! :)</p>
<p>Many of us who started this conversation in 2011 are now making hotel reservations for graduation. How did that happen?!</p>
<p>For those starting the process, remember that four years will FLY by and are, in the end, just more of the many steps on a (hopefully) very long path. As expected, I don’t feel objective enough to evaluate overall performing progress made during these years, but I do know that D will have a degree (or two) from an amazing school, has made lifelong friends with peers who will go on to do remarkable things, and has had many memorable experiences. Her career is progressing nicely, which is certainly something I did NOT expect during college (I guess I assumed it would be on hold for four years) and I think she is starting to see a path into a sustainable life in the arts. I also think she’s gained a solid, broad educational base that can support any transitions she chooses in the future. So my sense to-date is that she chose well, but I suppose it’s not over 'til it’s over.</p>
<p>Which begs the question: when is it “over”? When she lands the first tour, the first lead on tour, the first broadway show, a Tony, an Oscar, a Grammy, opens her own theatre company, writes a play, teaches her daughter to dance like a pro? A good education is never anything less than perfect, because it will lead to life-long learning. If nothing else, she has learned how to get what she needs to succeed in whatever endeavor she may choose. That’s the measure of a good education. Not whether she mastered the high belt in four years, is a solid method actor, or can sight read an entire score. Those things may get her hired right out of school. But to quote a well-known conservatory head, “we are in the business of educating for a career in theatre”, not for the first truck show that happens to come along.</p>
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So true! I guess if they’re still breathing (i.e. singing), it ain’t over. ;)</p>
<p>Trust me, it ain’t ever over. This is career field that doesn’t have much in the way of permanent jobs. An actor is always job hunting, it seems. (saying this as a parent of BFA graduate whose been out for 5.5 years so far). In lots of ways, for graduates, it is just beginning!</p>