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<p>I’m very surprised that someone at CMU would say that because there have been so many successful tv and film actors who are CMU grads, and this has been the case for decades!
In fact, more of their alumni are known for tv and film than for theatre.</p>
<p>Soozievt: I didn’t know that about NYU(grad and undergrad is separate) so thanks for that!(and it really just emphasizes your point about research even more :)) I asked that because i live in Indiana and my parents are making me look at Indiana University as a backup(no audition for the BA). The productions there are open to anybody on campus(they don’t even have to be a theatre major) and so a lot of people say that undergrads often don’t ever step onstage throughout their four years. You bring up an excellent point so thank you!</p>
<p>Chrissyblu: About the whole film/theatre acting differences, I’d like to be able to be flexible in both. Would you say your daughter has(at UCLA) gotten a well-rounded education in both(in terms of acting styles) or does UCLA focus more on film acting? </p>
<p>In response to the CMU thing, its not necessarily that if you study at a theatre school, you don’t have the skills to do film. It’s really just an adjustment and a lot of actors go back and forth anyways(work is hard to find, and one can’t be choosy).</p>
<p>I have researched lots of schools which are good for film acting. I have found that Chapman and NYU are the best for film acting. Chapman has the new BFA in Screen Acting and NYU has the Stonestreet Studio. I think NYU would give a student a well rounded education though. You can have more classical training the first two years and then go on to Stonestreet. Chapman’s program is new and things are just getting started in the program. It may take years for the program to get going and getting well known. New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts is also another good option for film acting, but I do not know how good they really are.</p>
<p>Marymount Manhattan also has a great program as well, for both acting and musical theatre. It’s a small liberal arts school with BOTH BA and BFA in Acting, which is quite hard to find anywhere else. It also has a very competetive acceptance rate, as over 1000 kids audition every year, and only 100 are accepted all together, including the tech majors.</p>
<p>Also, ALL of the staff are working professionals (they direct, ASM and act off AND on Broadway all the time. In fact, one professor was just John Lueguizamo’s u/s in “American Buffalo”, and one is the director of the New Globe Theatre).</p>
<p>Just thought I’d throw that out there since no one has mentioned it :)</p>
<p>are you serious??? I had no idea Marymount Manhattan offered a BA IN ACTING!! Is the school nice??? Well known??</p>
<p>random:
Is Boston University hard to get into in general (not acting)…</p>
<p>THANKS.</p>
<p>I think with acting majors, you should go where you fit in best. There are great acting programs, which aren’t great schools overall. </p>
<p>Boston U is not that hard to get into and I would say about a 3.3 would get you in. I have read that for the acting program you should have above a 2.0</p>
<p>I do not agree with early_college about BU. Nobody can state that a 3.3 will get you in because college admissions to private universities are not like cut-offs with numbers (ie., above X GPA will get you in). It is a mix of many factors. You could have above a 3.3 and easily not get into BU. Also, just on the GPA issue alone, the rigor of one’s chosen HS curriculum matters and the GPA is put into context. A 3.8 GPA in an easy curriculum is not as good as a 3.5 GPA in a much more demanding curriculum. </p>
<p>Anyway, the stats of admitted students and the level of academic selectivity to all colleges are easy to find, mikey. But here are some basics for BU since you asked:</p>
<p>Boston University: 58% of those who apply are accepted to the University, 51% of admitted students are from the top 10% of their HS class, 85% from the top 25%, 100% from the top half. Avg. GPA of admitted students is 3.5, mid SATs are: CR 580-680, M 590-690, W 590-670, Combined 1170-1370, mid ACT 25-30.</p>
<p>By the way, Marymount Manhattan doesn’t offer a “BA in Acting.” While it has a BFA in Acting, their BA is in “Theater Arts.” The Theater Arts degree offers various concentrations, one of which is “Theatre Performance.” Both the BFA in Acting and the BA in Theater Arts with Theater Performance concentration require an audition for admission.</p>
<p>Soov: I was just trying to give Mike an idea of what his GPA range would be in. Of course a 3.3 won’t automatically let you in, but I was just trying to give him an idea. Sorry for the confusion.</p>
<p>Yes, MMC doesn’t have a “BA in Acting” perse, but, the BFA and BA kids take the same acting classes the first two years, and many of the same classes onward. I attend the school, so I know that the programs are quite similar in many ways, but also very different. BA majors are allowed to double major. BFA kids are not. BFA kids study classical acting such as Ibsen, Shaw, Shakespeare etc, BA kids do not (and instead concentrate mainly on contemporary acting instead). BA kids don’t take full year acting classes after sophomore year, and instead spread into different areas/techniques/styles of acting like “Viewpoints” etc. It’s still an “acting” track, however. Don’t let the words “Theatre Performance” throw you off. It’s an actual acting track. Just thought I’d clear that up.</p>
<p>I realize that the BA with the Theatre Performance at Marymount Manhattan, the track is an acting track. I just was saying that the degree is not “BA in Acting”. Most BA degrees are not called that. Some BA in Theater degrees have a performance/acting track, however, that you can concentrate in.</p>
<p>Oh totally. I concur 100% :)</p>
<p>I’m not sure about the NYU film acting thing. That’s not what we have heard here in LA. But I don’t bash schools. All I know is that the list of working actors from UCLA is forever long.</p>
<p>The CMU comment was made by Barbara Mackenzie Woods in LA at the Unifieds this year.</p>
<p>NYU has a film acting advanced studio called Stonestreet. You can go to it the last two years of the program and by audition only. I don’t know any other school which has something similar, except Chapman and that’s the BFA Screen Acting degree.</p>
<p>The University of Evansville has a very good theatre program that offers both a BA and a BFA…they accept around 40 theatre majors a year( within that: 10 male performance–6 female performance). However it is a very selective, rigorous audition process.</p>
<p>@poofyhair429, or anyone who might know:</p>
<p>at auditions, i know evansville requires a verse from a “Broadway song”, but do you know how much evansville takes singing into account for its selection process? is the song more of a gauge or an actual crietrion?</p>
<p>I would definitely take the singing audition seriously, and maybe it could be the deciding factor between two people, but I don’t think it’s a huge part of the criteria(don’t quote me though). I just visited Evansville and they do a musical every year, so having good singers would be nice to make that a success.</p>
<p>I know a lot of people stress over the singing audition because they’re mainly actors and not singers, but I wonder if maybe the reason Evansville and other schools have you sing isn’t because they want to hear your voice, but they want to see your acting skills in a different medium, if that makes any sense. They probably do look at your singing in terms of skill and technique(otherwise it wouldn’t be part of the audition), but I feel like selling the song is equally as important. My 2 cents.</p>
<p>Purchase also requires singing in their acting audition – and my D was asked to sing at the Minnesota/Guthrie audition, even though it wasn’t listed in the audition requirements.</p>
<p>The singing for acting auditions topic has been discussed in this forum previously. </p>
<p>My understanding is that they want to hear what kind of resonance you have in your singing voice. If your speaking voice lacks resonance but your singing voice has resonance, they know your speaking voice is “trainable.”</p>
<p>So it really doesn’t matter how well you sing or how well you “act the song.” Just do your best and don’t worry. The monologues are the critical thing…along with the general way you present yourself and how you answer whatever questions they ask.</p>
<p>Does anyone know more about Columbia’s drama/theater arts major? I love love love the school and am going to apply ED with that major in mind.</p>