Hey guys!
I am a current high school student looking to pursue a BFA in Acting these next four years. So far, I have been accepted into my 2 top programs- CalArts and Emerson. I am very excited about these two schools, and am having a very tough time deciding as to which school to attend. I want conservatory style classes that encourage discovery, creativity, and developing my voice as an artist. I’m also an avid fan of animation and comedy, a main reason why I’m having such a hard time deciding. CalArts not only has a top-ranked program, but also has a storied history of animation, while Emerson has the same for comedy. I’m looking for a school that I can primarily focus on my acting craft while pursuing these other passions in my extracurricular activities. Also, I know this is kind of a silly question, but which of the schools has a higher prestige factor? My research has told me that it’s CalArts, but hey, I could be wrong. I’ve visited both schools, I adore the faculty at both, and am generally in love with both, and to be honest, I’m leaning towards CalArts. But I would greatly appreciate some further insight before making a final decision.
Someone on these boards made a good suggestion…have someone give you both course lists without you knowing which is which. Do a blind analysis. Choose the school that has the courses that truly speak to you. Just a thought.
@PumpkinEater69 I’m hoping that we will have the same decision to make! (My daughter won’t find out about CalArts until possibly mid-April, I think they basically have her on a waitinglist without calling it that? Or there’s a mystery reason why she and others have been told the college hasn’t decided on them yet.)
I’d love to keep reading this. My own daughter is strongly interested in film acting and was entertaining the idea of being a film major instead of/in addition to an acting major (since she’s been acting all along but doesn’t have real film training yet and it’s a bonus to have both… but nowhere she wanted to go let you dual major in the two, so acting won). So our eyes and ears were peeled for opportunities to study film making formally or informally
Regarding Emerson… I don’t know how strong their animation is, but they do have film making degrees, which are mostly closed to non-majors as it’s a 4 year program just like acting. I believe they said that some limited film making courses are available and you’d have to ask them about animating courses.
During the 4 years there, the film majors will produce many pieces with only film majors on the creation/crew, but they also produce a steady amount of work outside of their courses and nonmajors can work on those projects in all kinds of capacities…
Plus, acting majors can attend a summer semester at their LA campus and would not be excluded from film making courses there (again, I wasn’t looking for information on animation so you’d need to find out if it’s available thru this route).
I also noticed that within the dorm (primary only for freshman and sophmores) there are Special Communities which include:
Film Immersion - ‘on a variety of career paths’ but with a shared interest “the art and study of film making”
Performing Cultures - performing arts including stand up comedy
Writer’s Block - writing including comedy and screenwriting
I’m not sure from the website if these communities require you to have a certain major to apply, but it may be worth learning more about… Follow the link and read more about what they do beyond just living together.
I’ll try looking into CalArts soon but have to go book flights, etc for her twin’s campus visits as well then I’ll see what I can dig up to share with my daughter and you.
From my notes during the audition spiel and q&a:
Emerson Independent video, tv pilots, 48 hr projects, film etc with open crew calls, don’t have to be film major, no prerequisites
La campus sophmore(?) semester intern in film and tv. Acting summer only. (film making!)
@PumpkinEater69 Congrats on CalArts and Emerson! Both are very strong programs. Obviously, take debt into consideration, but please ask each school about their faculty to student ratio for acting classes. A ratio of 10:1 versus 30:1 is a huge difference, for example. My D is currently in a program with a very good faculty to student ratio for acting classes. Since it’s the difference between you acting and getting critiques once a week versus once a month, it is a significant factor in acting program quality. I would say it’s more important than almost any other factor.
@marg928 I think that Emerson mentioned that in the past one of their Acting degrees was a BA with the option to request change it to a BFA starting in your junior year. Now all are BFAs and the students in BFA Theatre & Performance have the option to request the “BFA Acting” degree via audition at the end of Sophomore year or start of Junior year. Otherwise they can remain in th BFA Theatre & Performance major (it’s acting but a different title with more room for choices or possibly a minor starting at the same time, BFA Acting isn’t something you can declare until after those first 2 years).
Here are their acting degrees (there are more theatre degrees also):
@PumpkinEater69 While peeking for the BFA options for actors I scrolled down to the minors… I do not know if it combines well with the BFA Theatre & Performance major… but there is a Comedy Writing and Performance Minor available at Emerson
As @bisouu mentioned looking at the course descriptions is key! We are not familiar with Emerson, but Calarts has a list of electives that are unlike any other program that I have seen. The film school at Calarts is also a strong bonus as well. My son attended CSSSA on the Calarts campus over the summer(not a Calarts program), but it was of a similar.structure. Working on the student films quickly became one of the pieces of his experience he valued the most. From what I understand, collaboration between the different departments is definitely part of the Calarts experience. In addition, the Duende program is very unique and allows students to showcase new work in various countries. The Redcat theater in downtown LA s also a big plus.
I reached out to a student there that we know and she said it is a lot of hard work, that you get out of it, what you put into it, that all students are very honored to be there and this is a big force in the overall work ethic, it is like being a kid in a candy shop, and that the people you will meet and the connections you will make are unlike anywhere else!
I may have read slow but just had it opened at the right moment, hehee! I can’t remember for sure if they said they used to have a BA, but during the audition talk they made clear that all of the programs for actors were BFAs now, 3 that you could audition for as incoming freshman and one that you could switch to starting in your junior year. He said only about 16 students picked that this year and all got in, I believe. Others added a minor or used the space for electives that they wanted.
(I was jotting notes for another family and listening hard for film related opportunities for my own daughter… She had done all the research to create her application list and audition dates, etc with the help of a coach, low key just 6 total sessions of college prep with them. So I was looking to pick up anything she might have missed or not tuned in on. Starting to make notes for my twins about their top choices this week to offer them to help find questions/etc to look for on campus visits and make those final pro/con lists. Learning so much that they probably already know, but who knows if I’ll find something new to them?)
My daughter is a current freshman at Loyola Marymount…in the end she was choosing between it and CALarts. It was a hard decision but there were other factors involved in her choosing LMU. CALarts is a very unique place and let’s not even compare the weather between sunny CA and snowy Boston!
My son is a Freshman in the BFA Theatre and Performance program at Emerson if you have any questions. He was waitlisted at CalArts. He is very happy at Emerson but I know would have also loved CalArts. Emerson is not considered at conservatory program until after 2nd year when you have a choice to stay in Theatre and Performance or audition for BFA Acting.
@EMVP66 I’d love to know if he or friends live in the themed Leaning Communities… Even if they don’t, what do they think of them? Can freshman request to be in one? Can theatre and performance makes request to live in the film themed one?
And what home him/you about CalArts (we may have less than two weeks between their admissions decision and the due date for us to accept a college)? My daughter has a drive towards film acting and film making…
We’re definitely going to look for more details on summer semesters in LA where they said that nonfilmmajors can take film making classes.
Hi! He isn’t in a themed community and Im afraid I don’t know much about that. I know he is very happy with his roommates and it is nice that they are not in the same program. They have become very close but as their schedules are different, they are not ontop of each other. If you call the college, Im sure they will be really happy to talk to you about it. My son also visited and did the student for a day program so he could ask all of those questions in person.
Re: Cal Arts - he didn’t make it off the WL but if he had it would have been a hard decision. He visited CalArts and loved it. I think he would have gone there. For me, Im happy that he is on the East coast so that he is closer to home. The first year away can be a little insecure and it is nice for me and him that we are not so far.