UNCSA -- Distinctive Criteria

ActingDad
Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:40:10 +0000

I did a slightly longer version of this for a couple of people I know who are deciding between UNCSA and other schools. I thought I might as well post it here in case it helps anyone with this year’s decision, whether to apply for the school next year or a future decision. With my daughter having been accepted at UNCSA and planning to go there, I concede I’ve become an advocate.

• MT skills are respected and valued as part of the actor training program. The Former Dean was both a leading Shakespeare Director and very active in musical theater having been involved in productions including Hair. He believes that musical theater training is a very good skill for the classical actor. He purposely scheduled Shakespeare productions to go forward after musicals because it got actors in a good place to be ready to do classical works. In a meeting during my daughter’s visit, the Assistant Dean pointed out that song is common in a lot of classical works and the view of the school is that singing should be viewed as just another form of acting.

• Strong focus on classical training. While the former Dean was one of the leading Shakespeare Directors, all indications I have are that this will continue to be a focus of the school. Tis a Pity She’s A Whore (written in 1630), which we saw during a visit, was an impressive demonstration of the classical training and stage combat skills.

• Studio hours. From what I can glean, Julliard, Purchase and UNCSA are at the top of the list for numbers of hours kids spend in the studio. My daughter has compared notes between CMU and UNCSA kids and it does seem like the UNCSA kids get more studio time. Between morning academic classes – 8 to 10 ish; studio classes, 10 to 6ish, and rehearsals this would qualify as a sleep optional kind of program.

• From all I can tell, academic classes are just something to get through to have a BFA degree. No one should go to UNCSA for the quality of the academic classes. Still, studying and putting on classical works is certainly academic education of its own kind.

• Typical class is size is 28 – about 18 boys and 9 girls. These are broken up into 14 person groups. The groups change every semester to keep the entire company feel.

• Dorms – which we did not see – are apparently fairly old and small. Don’t go there for the quality of the dorms.

• Good film opportunities. They do a bit more with on camera classes then some plus UNCSA has a top ranked film school. Freshman kids typically do a number of student films. Time becomes more of a problem to do student films in Junior and Senior years.

• No abroad opportunities.

• NY and LA showcase.

• Campus is pretty; facilities are top-notch; but it is a very small student body covering students in just 5 art forms. If someone wants a big school environment, this is not the place. I don’t really have any insight on Winston Salem other than Krankies is a very cool coffee shop (the anti Starbucks). I don’t get a sense the kids ever have much time to leave the campus.

• Guaranteed casting by year. Other than sometimes with the mainstage musical (1 or 2 a year), casting is by year and is focused on providing opportunities for developing necessary training.

• The UNCSA approach does seem to be working with respect to people getting agents and jobs. I was pretty impressed by the breadth of the alumni listed on the website. Interestingly, quite a number have been successful in musical theater notwithstanding that musical theater is not the main focus.