CalArts Acting Students! Did you have time for a survival job??

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

Hi All! So I was accepting into CalArts BFA acting program for the Fall 2015 semester. CalArts has been my dream school forever, and this is literally one of the most exciting moments of my life.

During the audition and interview process, it was made clear to us that the BFA curriculum was very intense, with the additional work load of independent projects outside of class. It was mentioned that while “it has been done” most students do not get jobs because of their lack of free time. I am not talking about acting jobs, I would like to study and grow more as an actor (why I wanted to go to college in the first place) before I pursue my professional career. I am not a wealthy girl by any means, and would need to be able to help pay tuition, feed myself and pay rent. Considering that freshman are not permitted to perform in MainStage shows, I figured I might be able to squeeze in a few waitressing shifts a week.

I was wondering if any former students had gotten a survival job (retail, waitressing, etc) while they were at CalArts and if it was manageable for them. The reason I am going there is to grow as an actor, because I think their training would be the best possible program for me, so obviously my education is the most important thing for me. However, I still would need to be able to survive while I’m out there. They made mention of work study jobs being available, but I’m not sure if that would be enough to supplement necessities.

So, if anyone could give me some info I would appreciate it more than you could know.

  1. Do you have any time at all for a survival job?
  2. If yes, although minimal time, did you want to pull your hair out/ did it effect your studies?
  3. Is it true you’re in class 8am-6pm, then working on independent stuff from 7pm-midnight? If thats the case, it’s totally rad with me, I would just like to know the experience of someone who has gone through it.

Thank you!

2

I don’t imagine there being many (if any) students from there on this site but I found a forum that can probably answer your questions: http://www.animatedbuzz.com/forums/6/calarts-forum

3

Can you plan to work a ton of hours this summer to save up instead? Then after freshman year, you’ll know better.

4

I have heard that the days really are 9-6 for classes and then rehearsals, etc. in the evenings. When my d shadowed with a BFA-1 student she was there from 9 until about 5:30pm, with an hour for lunch.

5

@milkshakespeare might be able to answer questions if she gets this. She was an amazing resource for us during auditions.

6

My daughter was just accepted into their BFA in Costume Design program. I’ve heard that her program is difficult enough. However, the acting program is incredibly intense. I can not imagine that you’ll have time for a whole lot of work. I agree, you may need to work during your summers and save up. It’s definitely not a cheap school. Yikes.