Hello everyone,
My daughter wants to pursue acting in college, hoping to go into screen and/or stage performance. She has narrowed down her college choices to CalArts, AMDA, UCI, UCSB, CSULB, and CSUF, having been accepted to all 6 in their theatre departments.
For some background, she has been performing since the age of 3, in drama class at school since 4th grade, done community theatre, artist master classes, and summer theatre camps for many years, trained in classical Indian, western classical, and musical theater singing as well as various forms of dance for 13 years. She has been an A student throughout her school years. We have been on tours to all the colleges but she is not sure which will be the best for her.
She is looking for:
a strong acting program which has training in acting for film along with stage and hopefully a film department at the school
the opportunity to do musical(s) even if she is not an MT major
some level of a college experience and GEs even if it is a conservatory
a senior industry showcase or some form of making connections within the acting industry through the college
the opportunity to perform regularly (based on casting, of course)
a singing and dance training either as part of the department or available through another department within the school
the ability for acting students to either direct/create a show or take a class in directing
faculty working in the industry or that will also train in acting for new media
opportunity based only on talent with as limited racially biased casting as possible
a safe environment to grow as a person and artist
She would like to find a school that fits most of these, and we would greatly appreciate any input from alumni, current students, or parents of students or alumni regarding these colleges.
Thanks,
Did your daughter make a decision?
Looking at your list of what your daughter is looking for, I’m not sure if CalArts does musicals. From what I gather, CalArts is more experimental theatre. I believe the other options all do, and even specialize in musicals: CSUF, CSULB, UCI in particular.
@DadAct What did you and daughter think of the accepted student day at Calarts? I wasn’t overly impressed with the general welcome session as the Leaders/admin all seemed new in their positions and a bit disorganized and poorly informed in general. We did like the Critical Studies head. However, Travis Preston and all the faculty in the Drama Dept. were excellent and I was very pleased as a parent.
I don’t think you will see a ton of the “traditional” musicals at Calarts, but it does seem like there are a lot of kids getting work on Broadway, so the training is preparing them for this line of employment. It also seems like a school where the right mix of kids could choose to do a standard musical with some type of experimental twist. LOL.
S has still not made his decision, Calarts is his only CA(we are in CA), so that is playing a big piece with him.
I want to echo @frontrowmama’s comments about CalArts accepted students day. If I were to advise my daughter regarding the school following the Admin session, I would have said no way. Fortunately, the Theater faculty were professional, passionate, and inspiring. The current students were poised and enthusiastic. My daughter really loved her workshop experience and has committed. The administrative Q and A was a disaster with the exception of the Critical Studies lead and it is a good thing that the department visit was after this. I ended up doing research on their administrative staff turnover to make sure this was not reflective of ongoing issues. Fortunately, they have had very little turnover in leadership roles. The theater program faculty in particular are cohesive and seasoned. The work produced through their center for new studies is dynamic and students who get cast in these productions graduate with real world theater experiences.
Thank you @Melville77 !! I too researched the leadership aspect as well:) It is just time of transition and I agree that the turnover has not been an issue historically.
Personally, I found the faculty presentation very genuine and it was exactly what I was hoping for. The student representatives were also very strong and I took that as a plus as well. My S loved the “voice” class and felt it was one of the strongest sample classes he has attended. Very possible that he will commit there this week.
I really appreciate everyone’s feedback and sharing of the perspective - Thank you.
We are down to two - CalArts and UCI - two different experiences and thats the decision she (and us) have to make.
Our CalArts visit during accepted students event mirrors what many of you have written - General admin presentations and discussions during parents session were just ordinary, even lacking a bit. The Theater department however was very “inspirational”, students seemed engaged and polished. Certainly helped with matching the expectations from the program. Travis and Mirjana were amazing in presenting the vision and experience, and other faculty were awesome too.
Till last week, we had evaluated UCI primarily on “paper” and from a small visit to campus. Right after CalArts visit last Saturday, D started getting in touch with couple of faculty members at their Drama Dept, got immediate response from Cynthia Bassham, who teaches several acting courses. We took a day off from her school and visited the department again, shadowing couple of classes and talking to her too. We were also fortunate to talk to couple of current students at length about their experience and expectations. They have a good program, lots of facilities and resources, and MT BFA is the one to go for - very competitive though. Of course all the other benefits of a bigger school with lots of options.
Other than some cost justification, her decision (or rather un-decision so far will boil down to a) wanting a pure focused conservatory training with end of the college connections upshot that will likely compromise on “college experience”, possible exploration of other fields, and facing the eclectic crowd on day one OR b) compromise a bit on the first part to experience a broader palette. UCI’s training will certainly not be a slouch but the brand value will be lacking.
I will write more as we carry on this “journey”…
Once again, really thankful to all of you for shared experience.
Beautifully articulated @DadAct ! My S is also at the “un-decision” part of this journey and for the exact same reasons. We were just talking “pros” and “cons” of his options just now. Can’t wait to hear what your D decides:)
@DadAct are year ago my daughter was also faced with a final two: Calarts and Loyola Marymount. (She was WL at UCI). So, our final choices were pretty similar: BA versus BFA, name recognition conservatory program versus college campus experience (albeit smaller than UCI). Top-tier, highly intense training versus the ability to minor in to explore other areas. Also in her case a big one was the ability to continue to audition for roles outside of school; she would not have been able to do that at Calarts. Ultimately she went with the BA program at LMU, but it it really was not an easy decision. Plus there were four other BFA programs across the country that she was accepted to thrown in the mix. I think many times, especially for kids who have good choices, there’s that element of doubt and “what if” when they think about the program they turned down. I’ve had to remind my daughter more than once this year the reasons why she chose a BA program. Now that the first year is coming to an end she seems to be really settled in and happy and more importantly…she’s doing really well. I was told by more than one industry professional including my daughter’s agent, that it is not necessary for her to get a BFA and that it really doesn’t matter where you go to school. I think even for me it took this entire year to realize that she’s in the right place and it’s really OK that she’s not in acting class eight hours a day five days a week!
@frontrowmama - Thank you. What other college(s) your son is considering alongwith CalArts? @marg928 - Thanks a lot for the perspective from future. Yes, the doubt and what if part will creep in during the first year irrespective of the decision, and knowing why you chose the place and good reminders would help get thru it, hopefully.
@DadAct Well, he has trimmed it to his favorite four. The 4 BFA Acting programs that we are looking at right now are Otterbein University in Ohio, with an amazing scholarship, Texas State University, with In-state tuition offered, Pace University in NYC with a scholarship, but very high room and board costs…and Calarts. All but Calarts are out of state and this is creating a problem for him. He loves TXST because it is a beautiful campus with Division one sports and lots of fraternity options etc. He is a very well rounded kid and theater is his passion, but he likes other things as well. He is a little afraid of the cold weather in Ohio. He really likes Pace, but sees himself in LA after graduation and is a very" tried and true" California boy. He was one of the 3 blonde boys at the accepted student day( I found interesting because they all looked very much alike). He attended CSSSA last summer on the Calarts campus and loved the facilities and the ability to crossover with the film students. He also found that there were voice-over opportunities with the animators as well. So, Calarts will offer a bit more opportunity in this respect. He feels very strongly that the student film piece is crucial. I think he was in around 10 films at CSSSA last summer. We are also pleased they have the winter session as well and I noted that one of the acting teachers works at USC too. I guess the only pause with Calarts is the fact that he won’t have a traditional experience(no sports or frats) and he will have some kind of debt. Of the 3 other schools he is looking closely at the one that will offer the most well rounded experience.
I really can’t wait to move on from here. It has been a much harder decision than I ever anticipated! Good luck to you and your D!! Keep us posted!
That is excellent @frontrowmama! Keep us in the loop about Calarts…there is really not enough information on here. There was someone who used to be the resident expert but she graduated last year.
Thanks @marg928 ! I will hopefully get a good feel this year and have insight for any and all who are curious! As you well know having been in this spot just a year ago, it is a tough call! He really wanted to stay in CA and is open to this type of training. He also spent a month on the campus last summer and has an idea of what he is in for!
My D also committed to CalArts yesterday!!! We are looking forward to experiencing the “experiment” - Jokes apart, it has been a long and very enlightening journey for our family, with a new phase to begin soon. Feedback and support from this discussion thread has been very valuable - Many thanks and best wishes…
My D came off the waitlist to CalArts BFA Acting early this morning!!! She is over the moon - floating on air - beamingly happy!!! She visited 3 weeks ago, and absolutely loved it; a perfect fit! What a relief. And what a long, grueling process. The competition is astounding. I’ve watched as so many have posted similar announcements, and can hardley believe now it’s me posting this!
Thank you for this open forum of sharing (that I’ve mostly lurked in). And, congratulations to all, and I mean ANY one who participated in this process - no matter the end acceptances or no. The gap year was my D’s alternate decision, and she was really beginning to embrace that as a good option, too. It’s all about growing, and growing up- after all.
I wanted to check in on here about how your students are doing now that they are a few months in! My D put CalArts on her radar, but was given some information that maybe things aren’t taken as seriously there for acting/MT as she’d like. I don’t want to post something that isn’t true, so that’s the watered down version. Ha! Any insight would be appreciated!
will boil down to a) wanting a pure focused conservatory training with end of the college connections upshot that will likely compromise on “college experience”, possible exploration of other fields, and facing the eclectic crowd on day one OR b) compromise a bit on the first part to experience a broader palette. UCI’s training will certainly not be a slouch but the brand value will be lacking.