What do you want to know about an acting program?

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

<p>Hi everyone, </p>

<p>I’m a writer for a New York-based trade publication catering to actors, publishing articles relating to the business, casting notices, reviews, etc. The magazine is putting together a new section of resources for universities and training programs, so that students can browse only the theater/film/dance programs of many different colleges all in one place. Having just gone through the college admissions process (I’m a junior now), I frequented CC quite a bit, so I know you all have a lot of insight. So, if you could list things you would like to know about any program you’re interested in (anything from general enrollment to degrees offered to meal plans to audition material), we can get started on putting this together! I hope it will be a useful tool for those applying to acting programs!</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>Nicole</p>

2

<p>Wow - Great question. My D and I would love to know:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Type of technique taught - not just a name but the philosophy and activities behind it.</p></li>
<li><p>Typical class schedule - how a BFA would look versus a BA</p></li>
<li><p>Profile of students accepted - especially acting background. High school plays? Professional theater? Film work? AFTRA SAG? Summer programs? Familiar with truthful acting?</p></li>
<li><p>Professional background of teachers</p></li>
<li><p>Performance opportunities and performance philosophy - i.e. only class work until Jr/Sr year? Plays in freshman year? Why?</p></li>
<li><p>Why should a student choose this school/program? - what characteristices make it unique? What type of person tends to be successful here? </p></li>
<li><p>Real information from students - not my life was changed; it was an amazing 4 years, etc. that tells you nothing. And please please don’t let me read that the goal of the 4 years was to get an agent.</p></li>
<li><p>Specifically, what are the opportunities to meet non theater people and do non theater activities.</p></li>
<li><p>How much individual attention is given? - can a student with a nice resume before college grow as much as the novice student?</p></li>
<li><p>Do you reject students because they may have a higher level of skill coming in and therefore would not learn as much or be as satisfied with the program?- would you ever tell them that?</p></li>
</ol>

3

<p>Nice start StLouisMom. </p>

<p>I would say what I don’t want to see is all the stuff that can be garnered from the standard guidebooks and websites. That is research we can do on our own. What is needed is a better feel for what makes each program unique.</p>

4

<p>I agree to everything above, along with:</p>

<p>Do students have the ability to access private voice lessons?</p>

<p>it’s a pretty specific question, but potentially important.</p>

5

<p>i’d ABSOLUTELY want to know what technique is taught.
how does the program incorporate things other than acting-- are there opportunities to take directing, design, etc?
any requirements or restrictions-- i.e. tech hours or mandatory work on shows, can’t perform until what year, etc.</p>

<p>additionally, i think the most useful thing in a search for college theatre programs would be a really logically organized spreadsheet sort of thing (a book or a website or whatever) that lines up different schools side-by-side to profile their size of program/faculty, an average theatre season, audition material, etc… i feel like i’ve spent a lot of my search trying to pull that information together about each school. and the “theatre colleges” guidebooks tend to be REALLY bizarrely put together-- for example, the Peterson’s i bought doesn’t include a lot of well-known theatre schools (like northwestern) and doesn’t say HOW it chooses which schools to include.</p>

6

<p>Here’s what was important to me … </p>

<p>How many prospective students auditioned for the program in each of the past five years? </p>

<p>How many students are admitted into the first year of the program? </p>

<p>How many students graduated from the program over the past five years vs. the number who initially matriculated? </p>

<p>Is there a set number of students who will be cut/dismissed from the program after first or second year? </p>

<p>What percentage of graduates are working in the business five years after graduation? </p>

<p>How many credits hours are required for graduation? </p>

<p>How many credit hours are required in acting, voice and speech, and movement? </p>

<p>How many credit hours are required in Theatre History and Literature? </p>

<p>How many credit hours are required in liberal arts/general studies? </p>

<p>How many academic elective credit hours are required? </p>

<p>How many hours per week are spent in acting classes? </p>

<p>How many hours per week are spent in voice and speech classes? </p>

<p>How many hours per week are spent in movement classes? </p>

<p>Which acting techniques are taught? </p>

<p>Which voice and speech systems are taught? </p>

<p>Which movement systems are taught? </p>

<p>Is it possible and/or encouraged to double major or minor in another subject? </p>

<p>How many and which liberal arts/general studies and elective requirements may be substituted through Advanced Placement or transfer credit and what are the standards for this? </p>

<p>In which year are students eligible to audition for shows? </p>

<p>Can students audition for shows, film projects, etc. outside the department? </p>

<p>During which months is school in session? If the fall session begins in August, will arrangements be made for students who work on summer theatre contracts that last until September? </p>

<p>Does the program have a senior showcase? If so, in which cities does it take place and how many agents and casting professionals attended over the past five years?</p>

7

<ol>
<li><p>Some applicants have spotty academic records while others are academic powerhouses, and everything in between. So, I’ve read many questions on these forums from students about individual schools trying to figure out this: what is the relative importance of their academic records against the power of their audition? Does the college have a separate process whereby the admissions office rules on the academics before the audition, or is it more holistic between the academic admissions and the creative/theater department’s faculty?</p></li>
<li><p>Profile of the faculty: % fulltime versus adjunct instructors; total number of teachers (important in case of personality conflicts!); special people such as a “resident playwright” on faculty.</p></li>
<li><p>Does the department prescribe all (or mostly) acting classes for actors, or do they encourage/require actors to take a sampling of: stagecraft, directing, playwriting as well?</p></li>
<li><p>Opportunities (outside of classes and department plays) for actors to work in other student endeavors to gain experience. For example, if there’s a film department or many classes for directors, the actors can always gain experience by working on other projects.</p></li>
<li><p>Key for the BA programs: is there also a BFA/MFA acting program in the school (such as at NYU/Tisch). If so, it’s harder for “theater majors” to get cast in any productions, if they’re competing with BFA candidates at auditions. By contrast, some BA programs give lots of stage time for theater majors if there are no BFA’s for competition. </p></li>
<li><p>Strictly acting or some musical theater opportunity also?</p></li>
</ol>

8

<p>Can the student also explore dramatic writing or screenwriting within the theater or film department?</p>

<p>Our S applied to screenwriting and playwriting programs, looking for a major as a writer. Honestly it was very hard to find the programs, or departments that would nourish him as a stage/screen writer. </p>

<p>I imagine stagecraft is also hard to find.</p>

<p>If your article is only for actors, then of course you want to pursue just the acting programs. But if you’re writing about “theater” and “film” programs or departments, then perhaps a list of non-acting topics would be welcome: writing, directing, stagecraft, production/business/management.</p>

<p>Maybe that’s your follow-up article!</p>