<p>Starting next year, the Boston University School of Theatre will be offering its performance majors the opportunity to study for one semester either at the Accademia dell'Arte, near Florence, Italy, or at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), in London.</p>
<p>Previously, all of the BU Acting students and some of the Theatre Arts students (these are two different, student-selected "tracks" within the SOT BFA performance major) spent one semester at LAMDA. The semester abroad was, and still is, a required element of the Acting curriculum.</p>
<p>My son, a freshman, has become very enamored of physical theatre and says he will probably choose the Accademia, which specializes in it.</p>
<p>This is an unexpected new development! :)</p>
<p>I was wondering whether anybody here has studied at the Accademia dell'Arte or knows anyone who has.</p>
<p>I have only heard great things about the program. My son knows an upper classman who was three years ahead of him in High School who went to study at Muhlenberg College, a great liberal arts school in Pennsylvania with a top BA drama department. They have a longstanding overseas program with Accademia dell’Arte in Italy for students to attend during their Junior year. This upper classman attended and thought the program in Italy was fantastic. The Director of the Muhlenberg drama department said that this boy was a good actor when he left but was so much better when he returned from Italy. Evidently, the focus on Commedia dell‘Arte and the advanced physicality training helped this actors development signficantly. </p>
<p>Sounds to me like great additional training not everyone gets.</p>
<p>Thanks, ITSSHOWTIME! I did see on the Accademia’s website that they have a special connection with Muhlenberg.</p>
<p>I appreciated hearing the anecdote about the boy your son knows!</p>
<p>It’s cool that intensive instruction in Italian is part of the “package” for the Accademia’s one-semester program for actors.</p>
<p>This program is one of the study abroad offerings at Emory University’s theater department, NJmom. DS also liked the fact that it was a language study program as well. He decided not to apply at Emory (which was a little disappointing to his dad and me, both Emory alums) in favor of other BA options, but the Italian semester opportunity was very appealing. I would look forward to hearing reviews from BU students who go next year!</p>
<p>Interesting about Emory, Skipsmom! I think it is really nice when a program offers overseas study as an integral part of the theatre curriculum.</p>
<p>Before this, I only knew about BU’s spring semester abroad for juniors and the Rutgers/Mason Gross junior year in London.</p>
<p>Minnesota/Guthrie spends a semester together in London-- at LAMDA, I think (?) When we visited BU this year the Theater Arts student who toured us had gone to Accademia del Arte and loved it.</p>
<p>NJTheatreMom…do all the BU students in the theater program only attend the 2 abroad programs through BU? My D’s very good friend who just graduated the program at BU did her study abroad semester through NYU/Tisch in Johannesburg, South Africa.</p>
<p>The BU student we spoke to said all Acting BFA’s go to London (apparently changed to London or Italy) but Theater BFA’s have a wide choice… she made the Theater BFA there sound amazing.</p>
<p>I love hearing about these semester abroad programs. Being able to take a semester abroad is high up on my D’s priority list. And these all sound exciting.</p>
<p>Does anyone know schools other than those listed so far- Minnesota/Guthrie, BU, Muhlenberg, NYU/Tisch, Rutgers/Mason Gross and Emory that offer programs specific to theater students?</p>
<p>Soozie, what Gwen Fairfax said in post#8 about studies abroad for BU BFA students is my understanding also. </p>
<p>There are advantages (cost advantages, and presumably others) involved in a program that is officially connected to Boston University. </p>
<p>This is slightly off topic, but I thought I’d mention that my son is choosing the Theatre Arts BFA that Gwen mentioned over the Acting BFA. For one thing, he says it will give him the opportunity to study with Lydia Diamond, a hot young playwright who is apparently an unbelievably fabulous teacher (one of the performance core sections has her for a teacher this semester, but it’s not the section my son is in).</p>
<p>Theatre Arts will also make it easier for him to complete the requirements of the dance minor that he wants to do. The dance minor is 20 credits. The required movement class he is currently taking is dance-focused and fulfills 5 of those credits.</p>
<p>I think the opportunity to do a theater BFA is a wonderful advantage of the Boston University program. DS is keeping his fingers crossed for that school :)</p>
<p>That explains how my D’s BU friend studied abroad in Johannesberg through Tisch then. Good friend got the BFA in Theater Arts at BU (class of '09). In fact, my D told me on the phone today that this friend’s original play is going to the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.</p>
<p>NJTheatreMom - </p>
<p>I kind of answered your questions on the Muhlenberg thread. Hope it helps.</p>
<p>Thanks, Teriwtt. You mentioned that your daughter’s friends who attended the Accademia found little to do in their free time because it is not near a city.</p>
<p>I will share that tidbit of info with my son. However, probably the students are pretty tired at the end of their days of doing physical theatre, and I believe there are weekend excursions to Florence (50 mi away) and other places in Tuscany.</p>