<p>Hannah, it is my understanding that the classical studio is being phased out. Maybe somebody else can confirm, or you could call Tisch and ask, especially if you are particularly interested in classical training.</p>
<p>Some studios are more competitive than others when it comes to switching. ETW has been mentioned as very popular and very competitive.</p>
<p>I don’t believe the summer commedia program is an auditioned program.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I don’t have a child at Tisch, but my son was accepted there last year and we looked into things pretty thoroughly.</p>
<p>If you have been accepted and are trying to decide whether to attend, you should make strenuous efforts to communicate directly with a number of Tisch students. One way might be through facebook. Or somebody here on CC might be able to put you in touch with people.</p>
<p>Thanks so much!! And I was unaware that they were phasing out that studio. If it will be gone by the time I am a junior, I am going to consider other options because I am very interested in Shakespearean acting and the training associated with it. Thank you so much for your help.</p>
<p>HI Hannah,
Yes the Classical Studio is by audition only and quite competitive, and like NJTheatreMom said the ETW Transfer Track is also highly competitive.
I commented on your earlier post regarding the Classical Studio and that my advisor told me it was NOT be phased out. But you should e-mail Louis Scheeder, head of Classical Studio and Associate Dean of Tisch, if your decision on attending Tisch rests on the classical studio.</p>
<p>But here’s another point you should consider, many of the studios have intense classical training as part of their second and third year curriculum.</p>
<p>I know that Stella Adler is VERY VERY heavy on Shakespeare, in fact, I know that either their second year or third year productions is devoted to shakespeare. I think it might be Third year. I also know that the Atlantic Acting School has a shakespeare component.
My point is, these primary studios all have a Classical training and production component to them, either held in the Second or Third Years. (So you could elect to stay in your primary studio for advanced training).
Some are heavier than others, but they all have classical training. For example, in the Strasberg studio (although no longer an option for incoming students), they take a classical acting class in the third year. I also know that the Playwrights Horizons Theater School Acting Practicum has a shakespeare class.
Now from what I have heard Stella Adler and Atlantic are much heavier on shakespeare than strasberg and playwrights, so depending on what studio you get into you might get also get a very strong classical training.
I’m not 100 percent sure on this but I think Adler might also devote an entire year to heavy classical training.</p>
<p>It is common for theatre programs to offer classical training in the third year, after students have mastered the basics. This might be in-house, or via a semester in London, etc. </p>
<p>Tisch is rather unique and needs to be researched to see how it would meet your needs.</p>
<p>Looking at the online curricula for the Tisch acting studios reveals the following:</p>
<p>Adler - Classes with Shakespeare content offered spring of freshman year and fall of sophomore year.
Atlantic - Classes with Shakespeare and commedia content offered during sophomore year.
Playwrights Horizons - Shakespeare Performance offered in the third year.
ETW - Shakespeare and commedia are upper level options.
Meisner - Meisner is a two year studio and offers no classes described as being Shakespeare oriented.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the information!! I really appreciate it. You said that the Classical Studio is “quite competitive”. What percentage of students who apply are accepted? And is there anything I could do to improve my chances of being accepted into the studio? I really appreciate all your help. It is helping me make very difficult choices.</p>
<p>I do not know what percentage of people get in, sorry. You could call Tisch and ask them.
But I personally don’t think you should completely base your college decision on the Classical Studio. After all, your interests might change after you get some college training, and you might want to pursue something else. And since Classical is an advanced option you will have two years of primary studio to complete, so you should make a decision based on whether or not you think your primary studio is a good fit, otherwise it will be two long years lol.
Also, since Classical is a one year option if you don’t get in your third year you could always do something else like stay in your primary studio or do something like ETW, Stonestreet, etc for a year and then do classical your fourth year.</p>
<p>My daughter will graduate from Tisch this May. Like sooozievt’s D - she started out in CAP 21 - did 2 years there. She then auditioned, and became a member of the Classical Studio for her Junior year. I believe it was quite competitive. Not sure of the numbers - I would have to check with her.</p>
<p>She then went to Amsterdam with ITW (International Theatre Workshop) run by Kevin Kuhlke for a 7 week summer program between junior and senior year. Also by audition. Also very competitive. She absolutely LOVED it.</p>
<p>She is now back at CAP 21 preparing for her showcase in late April. She is also involved in a production of Classical Students that are presenting 2 Shakespeare plays off Broadway in rep at an East Village theatre in late May.</p>
<p>I think she has found opportunities to grow in many ways, with many different methods, many different teachers.</p>
<p>I know soozievt’s daughter took advantage of ETW as well as CAP. There is room for diverse training from Tisch. But don’t base your attendance on getting into a studio
for your junior year. Might not happen. You might change your mind. Etc. Etc.</p>
<p>my 2 cents…</p>
<p>janenw</p>
<p>P.S. Daughter #2 just accepted! Don’t know studio yet…</p>
<p>I have never heard the ‘buzz’ that Classical is being phased out…I know my D would tell me if she had heard about it…</p>
<p>Janew…great to hear from you!! I can’t believe your D is graduating already! Time flies. </p>
<p>CONGRATS on D2 on her acceptance to Tisch!!</p>
<p>I didn’t know that your D did Amsterdam. My D has so many friends who loved that program immensely but my D could not afford to do that in the summer. But she did ETW for three semesters instead (she did CAP21 for five semesters). She loved both of her studios. It sounds like your D pieced together a great four years as well. </p>
<p>I agree with your advice that basing one’s decision to attend Tisch on which studio they may do for advanced studio should not be paramount to the decision. For one thing, many of the acting studios already do Shakespeare. But also things change as they are at Tisch in terms of directions they may go into. If you had told me my D would be doing ETW for her final semesters and not CAP21 when she entered, I would have said that was unlikely but it turned out to be perfect for her and a great balance of taking advantages to the many opportunities that Tisch can offer. Had she not done ETW, one of the things she is involved in right now would never have happened. Also, as you say, these advanced studios require auditions and can’t be counted on. My D didn’t even mention ETW to me until after she got in as she said it was competitive to get into it for advanced studio and she wanted to see if she even could do so first. </p>
<p>Good luck to your D on the next steps of her journey after graduation!</p>
<p>Janew…thanks for the mini update. Feel free to email me as I’d love to hear what D1 is up to. I haven’t posted my D’s happenings here on CC since graduation but yeah, she now has a website and that has her “stuff” on it, which gets updated as things move along. </p>
<p>Fingers crossed for your younger D (I recall when she was going off to my D’s former theater camp long time ago) and in any case, she has the Tisch acceptance in hand and surely knows a bunch about that option from her sister! Stay in touch…
Susan</p>
<p>My name is Daniel and I am the Assistant Director of The Classical Studio in the Department of Drama at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. I write to present facts. </p>
<p>The Classical Studio remains in operation as it has been for the past 20 years. The dissolution of The Classical Studio has never been a subject of discussion in the Department of Drama. Indeed, Louis Scheeder (the studio’s Director) and I remain committed to the studio’s evolution. In April, we auditioned and accepted our 2010/2011 ensemble with whom we are quite excited to begin working in the fall.</p>
<p>I invite you to visit the Department of Drama’s website (drama.tisch.nyu.edu) for information about our studio and the Department in general. If you have questions that are not answered by the website, you can call the Department of Drama at 212-998-1850 and ask to speak with someone who can help you out. You should also feel free to contact me and/or Louis with any questions you may have about The Classical Studio.</p>