@laylamom, I like your point. For example, my d loves Shakespeare, so she’s salivating over the possibility of Rutgers and its full year in London studying Shakespeare with a professional troupe and performing at the Globe. But for someone whose eye is on TV acting, that’s unnecessary and probably not even appealing. It really does depend on what the actor wants and what the ultimate goals are.
@marg928’s daughter is in an exciting position, with an enthusiastic agent and lots of auditions for high-profile projects. So…maybe it WOULD be worth it to follow that path for a while and see where it leads. Most 18-year-olds don’t have agents, so in that case it’s a no-brainer to go to college. But for someone with exciting professional opportunities already, it may not be necessary. (On the other hand, if a BFA is something that really appeals to her and she’d feel she was missing out without it…very tough call!)
Another thought: TV and film pay really well. So if she books, a year or two of TV and film roles could add money to the college fund.
Such a fascinating discussion!
EDIT: “my older daughter is graduating from Pace in May so I don’t have a problem with her going to school in New York and auditioning if that’s what she chose. Or she could go to Rutgers (we live in NJ) and just do the BA in Theater and hop on the bus to NYC whenever she needs to. I really do want the campus experience for her and it seems that she really wanted that as well.” – That sounds like a perfect compromise, especially since she really wants the college experience!
I also think you have to take into consideration that your D’s agent has a monetary interest in her booking work,regardless of whether it’s in her long-term interest or not. There are plenty of beautiful people on TV who clearly have no training at all, but I don’t think they work much once they’re not beautiful any more.
I know there were some posts last year about looking at programs where alumni were still working 5-10-20 years after graduating (not just signing at graduation-but having a career and longevity in the field). I do believe those with training often end up with the long term careers related to the arts. Some of that may evolve from strictly performing into teaching, directing, opening a theater company, etc.
Many “older” actors have some pretty great training on their resumes. Of course not all of them. But it is an interesting point.
I also know many very talented and beautiful kids who are out there trying to gain work and may get some small things here and there but not getting that big job. At least not yet. That goes for those both with post high school training and without. We know juilliard grads waiting tables after they have been on Broadway or tv. This is a tough business.
Yup. For a while last year, we were watching Gotham and Blindspot pretty regularly. Gotham is FULL of BFA grads – Otterbein, Northwestern (a BA, but c’mon), Royal Welsh Academy, etc., Blindspot is full of people without school. There’s a huge difference in acting quality. (We’d yell out “acting face” whenever one of the leads would attempt to act, which wasn’t very often or successful.) For me, I’d rather be good at what I do, but I can see the appeal of making the money right away, too, especially when careers are short.
I agree and DO think a BFA or acting classes taken in a different capacity help shape an actor. In my daughter’s program (and many others) they tell you up front they want to erase all the things you thought you knew about acting and start over. My daughter had the moment of “I really don’t know what I am doing despite training in this since I was a little girl” last semester. They expect all students to go through this as they rebuild their skills. She is now soaking up all she can and says she has learned more in half a year than everything she brought with her from her background. (Which was a lot actually)
This also speaks to different philosophies of schools -some of which encourage freshman to perform publically and others (Many of the top programs) don’t allow it as they “want to break bad habits first and establish new acting skills”.
There probably isnt a “right” way for everyone. But some methods work better for some people than other methods.
My S also went through a difficult rebuilding year (sophomore year is TOUGH), and he is a much better actor now. They also learn a lot of technical stuff like dialects, stage combat, period styles…which wouldn’t do you a lot of good at a Disney open call, but helps a lot in theater.
@actorparent - I believe Rutgers is a full year of Shakespeare but only 1 semester is spent in London at the Globe. The second semester Junior year is spent doing the same show with a different cast at Rutgers.
@samigaga I knew they had sent her emails in the past so I just pulled one up and that’s where I got the date from. I’ll look into it thanks. @remartin67 we did visit Rutgers’ theater department…it’s a 3.5 year program and they consider the Globe a full year but they only stay until Feb I think. Then they come home and I believe perform the piece that they learned in London and they spend time learning how to navigate the business. Now that I think of it…where does the half year come in? Hmmm…
@bfahopeful@Jkellynh17 You make points that I have been thinking about since yesterday. What my D needs to come to terms with is…does she want a part on the CW and then maybe never get anything else because she simply doesn’t have the training…or does she want a long career? So many film actors do Broadway later in their careers because they have that training. My D not grow up in the theater. In fact she has only been in one show which was her HS production a year ago. I put all three of my girls in dance from the time they were 2 and that’s what we stuck with. I’m going into this totally blind. She always mentioned wanting to act but didn’t really take any classes until maybe 8th grade when her voice teacher’s friend saw her sing and wanted to work with her giving her acting lessons via Skype. After about a year she wanted more and felt that Skype wasn’t working for her anymore…she wanted to be in a class. So we were referred to AcTeen in NYC and she took their June intensive at the end of Freshman year. From that she was invited to audition for their showcase and was chosen and given a half-scholarship. That’s how she got her agent…from that showcase. So far her agent has made nothing from her though…ages 15-17 for a girl are not filled with opportunities. She did do a Fuji Instax camera commercial but that was through her other agent. Yes she has two LOL. Her main agent is for theatrical and does not do commercials. The commercial agent at that firm was already saturated with girls like her so her agent referred her to another firm for commercial work so she’s actually signed with both. Now if she could get commercial work while in a BFA program that would be great because those shoots don’t take up a lot of time. I wonder if any of the programs would allow that (assuming she was in school in NY or LA).
@marg928 I think most BFA programs allow students to work in the off-term and on vacations, and some allow limited pro work during school as long as the kids meet their other obligations. My kid did one internship at a Shakespeare company his sophomore spring and another u/s gig, also shakespeare, this fall, both, more or less with the school’s blessing. (He was exhausted after, not saying it’s easy.) There are upperclassmen who opt out of the casting pool every term because they have professional obligations. That’s pretty different from getting a series regular or feature film opportunity though. It is far more common, in that case, to defer a year, and in my experience, very few of these kids come back. From the Guthrie CB (congrats to you and everyone else who got one), it sounds like your D has real talent and could develop a LOT with training. But as @bfahopeful said, everyone’s situation is different and you and your daughter will have to make a decision when all the facts are in.
@marg928 , my daughter got that same email today, lol. The other question I would pose to your daughter is-Is this her passion? It sounds like she has gotten some great opportunities through her agents and that is wonderful, but if it’s not her absolute “I want to do this for the rest of my life” type of passion, then maybe the short term jobs might be the answer.
Things are heating up… just got an email from her agent that she got a callback for an NBC pilot. This is the one I mentioned on the MT forum that centers around a high school putting on Spring Awakening. That being said even if she gets the role that doesn’t mean that the series will be picked up. And if it does get picked up sometimes they recast the show so still there’s just so much that will be up in the air. It’s all good stuff though!
Things are heating up… just got an email from her agent that she got a callback for an NBC pilot. This is the one I mentioned on the MT forum that centers around a high school putting on Spring Awakening. That being said even if she gets gets the role that doesn’t mean that the series will be picked up. And if it does get picked up sometimes they recast the show so still just so much that will be up in the air. I’m certainly going to make her go to the Guthrie called back she would be crazy not to!
