will majoring in actting help me as an actor?

fishbowlfreshman
Sat, 11 Dec 2010 13:34:24 +0000

Nobody can answer this question for you. It always depends on the individual actor, his goals, and which school(s) he is talking about. I know screen actors who went through reputable BFA and MFA programs who feel like they wasted their time though they tend to be the ones who don‘t work much. I also know others who went to no-name BA programs who think it was the best thing since sliced bread and vice versa. I know some who didn’t go to college at all but wish they had and I know others who trained exclusively in non-scholastic studios who are glad they didn’t. (They tend to be kind of obnoxious.) There are some who’ve had sustained success with no formal training at all though I haven’t met or worked with any since they‘re about as common as seeing Pluto in the noon day sun. There are also more “film actors” than you can shake a stick at with very little formal training who “can’t catch a break” and are totally kidding themselves about not needing it. It just depends …

It was definitely the best choice for me since half my work so far has involved using accents and dialects. I doubt I would have discovered that I have a real knack for it had I not gotten that training in school and I don’t know where I could have gone to acquire the tools to make learning them accurately quick and consistent even if I had. Some actors work with coaches on that, but I don’t need no stinkin’ coach. I could BE a coach. Then, there are many other schools I could have attended that don’t offer it to any serious degree, so who knows? I suppose I could have learned combat had I just taken some workshops, but would I have done it? Again, who knows? The star that knocked me around like a pinata in my last gig was certified as was the fight director, but many apparently aren’t. Another thing I can say for myself is that these TV and film scripts I get are for the most part as transparent and easy as it would be for a concert pianist to be asked to prepare “Chopsticks” after doing all that work in the most difficult roles of the classic stage. From others, however, you might get a different answer. Again, it just depends …

One thing I will say is that while I feel the BEST screen actors come from a theatre background, I’m not sure I would recommend BFA or MFA training for someone whose first love is not the stage. These intensive programs are all about THEATRE 24/7 and you need to not only love it, but be somewhat obsessed if you’re going to last. Theatre should not be viewed as a means to an end, but as an end in itself.

Here’s a thread I started awhile back that lists some of the studios that have been repeatedly recommended on the Backstage message board. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/950803-non-scholastic-training-la-nyc.html Choose your flavor. Got a pulse, some cash and no outward signs of psychosis? Congrats! You’re in! You could go to college in New York or LA, major in something completely different, enroll in one of these classes at night, and gain experience shooting student films on weekends if you can afford it and you’re someone who has the self discipline to pull it off without letting anything slide.

Some people aren’t going to like me saying this, but there is something else that is absolutely non-negotiable if you want to be successful as a screen actor no matter which training route you pursue. It is that the camera must find you to be an interesting subject in the first place and that‘s at least 90% genetic. It doesn’t mean you have to be a pretty lead, either. Even the character actors and “everymen” have that intangible quality. Often moreso. Have people commented that it’s impossible to take a bad picture of you? Do you stand out in group photos without trying? Have others commented that you always steal the picture even though you didn‘t mean to? Really? REALLY??? This is kind of mean, but I sometimes think they should place Simon Cowell types at the gates of New York, LA and the other major markets that anyone claiming to be a “film actor” must pass by to gain entrance. Sadly, they leave that to the dispersed casting community who will under no circumstances tell anyone straight up leaving a lot of bitter people walking around.

Now that I’m warmed up, I’m going to get a little mean-spirited about that blog. The author said she took several years of private acting classes after she got her MFA implying that the training was better. She is now in her 40s. Find her name and look it up on IMDB. Do you see any acting credits? If you have IMDB Pro, do any of her non-acting credits entail anything resembling a substantial budget? Also do the same for the guy who got cut from the Rutgers MFA and went on an extended internet rampage bashing it and MFA programs in general. Some things speak for themselves …