<p>When we went to the Tisch open house and spoke to the juniors and seniors EVERYONE was telling us “there is so much to do in the Theatre besides acting–there’s Tech”! Now, I managed to get the top of my finger drilled when I was just holding two pieces of wood together, so I know I CANNOT WORK IN TECH! Then we heard there’s an audition when you are finished with your first two years of studio (and on the internet they talk about basic and advanced studio) and they will put you in tech if they don’t like your acting. Then we heard NYU puts most of the kids in Tech and in jobs in tech so they can afford to pay off their 200,000.00 student loans. On top of all of this, I should be able to go to NYU for 12000.00 a year due to my FASFA, but they think loans are aid! My mom is retiring to a senior center the year I graduate, how can she pay loans, and I certainly won’t have that kind of money! Anyway, I still would love to go to school there, but I’m being encouraged not to apply because of the above, and the fact NYU isn’t connected with an Equity Theatre per se where I could get points during the summer. I don’t like the last fact–they seem a little outdated with their lack of summer placements, I guess I do just want to live in NY sooner than I should.</p>
<p>You have several misconceptions.</p>
<p>The thrust of Tisch’s Drama studio programs is NOT to train you for tech. There are tech programs. Also, some studios, such as Playwrights, train you in all aspects of theater. Also, all Tisch Drama freshmen have a course in Theater Production (most BFA or BA programs study this!) and you do learn about all facets of theater production in this ONE course and you are required to crew two shows as a freshman. Tech is NOt the thrust of the program whatsoever in the BFA. I think of about the 80 classes my D will take in four years at NYU/Tisch, only ONE deals with this aspect of theater. Learning about production and crew is something most programs introduce you to. That is not what they are preparing you to do as a career. If you are there to study acting or musical theater, that is the main part of the training. At Tisch, you also take many Theater Studies classes to understand theater itself. The aim is not to work in Tech unless that is your personal aim. I think what those students were telling you is that if you can’t get an ongoing job in acting, you don’t have to resort to waiting tables as there are other facets of theater one may be able to do. That’s true from any school. It has nothing to do with the training itself, which is in DRAMA/ACTING primarily. Also, the crew assignment you must do as a freshmen need not be building sets. There are various types of crew assignments. </p>
<p>You also have a misconception of what happens after two years. You may stay in your assigned studio for ALL FOUR YEARS. But you have the OPTION, if you wish to study a different approach at a different studio, to audition to get into an Advanced studio for the second two years that is NOT your original PRIMARY studio. This is an option. Nobody puts you into a different studio. Many want to stay in the same studio all four years and many wish to audition to get into a second studio after experiencing two years of training in one paritcular approach. There is no such thing as “they put you in tech if they don’t like your acting!” Nothing remotely like that. Tisch has NO cuts. You can stay in your studio for four years or after two in a primary studio, audition for a DIFERENT studio for two years or some specialized studios only available after the first two years. Nobody changes where you are or puts you in something else. If you change, it is because you are very desirous of learning new things in a different studio or advanced studio option. These changes are POSITIVE changes…nothing remotely related to being cut or moved or switched. Nobody switches you. You switch out of a strong desire to get into a second studio training. My D said that recently 200 kids auditioned for the ETW transfer track as it is a very popular option after Primary Studio and hard to get into. But you can stay in your original studio if you want. It is just that Tisch has many options for types of training and approaches and gives you options IF YOU WANT to try a second studio after two years at your first one. But you can stay in the first one! Any which way you go, you end up with a BFA in Drama.</p>
<p>NYU doesn’t “put most of the kids in TEch and in jobs in tech in order to pay off their loans.” I never heard of anything like this. NYU doesn’t put you in a job in the first place. They prepare you for the real world and jobs in your field. If you are studying acting, there are showcases and workshops on getting into the industry as an actor. But YOU get the jobs. NYU doesn’t place you or get you the job. They have showcases where agents and casting directors look for new talent. The rest follows from there. </p>
<p>Also most people do not have $200,000 in loans. Usually people have loans for some of their education but not all and also may receive aid. Some of that aid may be in grants. My kid has scholarships and loans, both. We as parents hold the loans. </p>
<p>Your BFA program need NOT be connected to an Equity theater so you can get points in summer! NYU doesn’t place you in summer jobs. I don’t know many BFA programs that do that. Students attending ANY BFA program may audition at a huge variety of summer stock theaters, some that are Equity and earn points and some not. You attend those auditions on your own. There are many such auditions, as well as StrawHats (and actually you are right in NYC to attend StrawHats or any of the other summer stock theaters that hold auditions in the city, if that is what you desire to do in summer. A college is not getting you your summer placement…this is not the case at these BFA programs. You don’t need an Equity theater at your college for summer. You can work at any summer theater that need not be connected to your college. Most BFA students whom I know who attend NYU or any other BFA school can and do work in this field in summer and not at a theater associated at their college. </p>
<p>Also, do not pick NYU so you can live in NYC. That is not a reason to pick any BFA. Sure, there are great advantages and benefits of being in NYC while in college for theater but that is not a reason to pick a college. Pick the school that matches what you are looking for. But become very informed…explore the school in depth…on paper/online, on visits, talking to faculty, current students, etc. In your case, you are very misinformed about NYU and are making judgments and decisions on erroneous information. If you don’t like NYU, no problem…do not apply. It is not for all people. But get the right information before you decide.</p>
<p>Haha. He has no clue, welcome to the board!</p>
<p>Well, I thought I had it all straight until my open house at Tisch in the fall, and from talking to people we know “in the business” that weekend. I must say that open house raised more questions than it answered.</p>
<p>Most schools don’t automatically give summer opportunities…but if your in NY, you have an upper hand because your IN a city with TONS of Summer work.</p>
<p>Tom, You are right. Most BFA or BA schools do not give you summer opportunities. Most audition for summer work in this field. </p>
<p>But you made me just realize something. I never thought of it this way before until reading your post. But, my D goes to NYU/Tisch. Her first summer, the one after freshman year, she auditioned at StrawHats, which you do not have to go to school in NYC to do (though it is convenient that way) and had several callbacks. About a month later, the artistic director for one of the theaters that had called her back was coincidentally observing her particular acting class one day and recognized her from the callbacks and called her up for a second callback at the theater itself and she was hired for the summer. Last summer, her second summer, she did not want to do summer stock and wanted to work in NYC in her field for the summer. Three of her jobs, all in this field, had some sort of connection through NYU, now that I think about it. Going to school there leads to networking in the city. Opportunities abound.</p>
<p>mtman, I think you probably got your wires crossed somehow at the open house. I’m sure there was a lot of information being thrown at you, you probably confused some things. Or maybe you spoke to kids from the tech track? or from Playwrights Horizons? Anyway, as a current Tisch student, the things soozievt said are how it is here, not the things you think you were told. The only studio you have to leave after two years is Meisner. And if you aren’t accepted into another studio, you would do an academic semester, not tech track. That is a whole different studio with it’s own application process, probably akin to an audition in itself.</p>