<p>@kategrizz it is from October 21 -WCPN Sound of Applause. I have an app on my phone but assume you can just as easily find it directly in the internet. I understand the freshman exhaustion! We get very infrequent and very brief updates. Good luck to your D. Which cast is she in? </p>
<p>My daughter just finished her first main stage run at Drew as a freshman and learned soooo much from the experience. On stage experience, classroom instruction, small venues, large venues are all beneficial depending on how and what the students do with these opportunities. </p>
<p>@kategrizz - I am planning on seeing BW’s show - I know kids in both casts- maybe I will see your D! (I believe I know who she is) </p>
<p>UNCSA similarly does not put its kids on stage in primary productions until 3rd year though sometimes 1st and 2nd years get very minor roles. The schools philosophy is you are just not ready to be presented in a show without the two years prior training. However, that does not mean that they aren’t actually “performing” all the time. They are, whether it be class room exercises or work shopping scenes. At least from my daughter’s experience, this has only been a positive experience. </p>
<p>One thing I’ve learned in years on CC (the dog ate my old screen name)… everyone is looking for something completely different from a BFA program, and I think most people find what they want. A number of conservatory style programs restrict performance in the first year. It’s a way of helping students break old habits, of focusing them on the work at hand, and of keeping competition among them in check so they can bond with each other as freshmen. Very often these are the programs that offer guaranteed casting later on, so students know they will have a certain number of opportunities for a full rehearsal process and public performance. Also these tend to be programs in which the student is spending almost all of his/her time in acting, movement, and voice classes. That’s the type of program my daughter is in and the growth I’ve seen in her is spectacular. I love the place, love all she’s learning, feel as if she is getting great preparation for lots of aspects of life, acting included. </p>
<p>But then-- it’s the only program I know intimately, so it’s the only one where I’ve really seen how the teaching philosophy leads to learning. Others-- Bisouu above for one, are seeing different kinds of programs and what they have to offer. Every one of us can give valuable information that helps others. My daughter didn’t know how the casting worked until her first day in class, and this was in spite of repeated visits, gigantic spreadsheets, and hours spent reading CC! D went with her gut all the way and I had to follow, without fully understanding. It worked out so happily! And for all the anxiety going through the audition process, it seems, more often than not, to lead to great things for our kids. </p>
<p>“My daughter didn’t know how the casting worked until her first day in class, and this was in spite of repeated visits, gigantic spreadsheets, and hours spent reading CC!”</p>
<p>This has happened to me and my kids very single time they apply to college! (I have 3 in college right now, and have sent 4 so far.) It seems like no matter how much we research, you don’t really ‘get’ a program until you’re there. This is why CC is so invaluable–we can share information. </p>
<p>I completely agree there is no one better path. And I also agree that with our own kid, we have a sample size of one, so we can’t really tell how it would have been had they been in a different program. I do have to say I’ve had 3 kids now going into acting programs. The 3 programs are very different on multiple levels, including performance opportunities - Tisch (Adler), Northwestern and LAMDA. But even so, I wouldn’t be able to tell what is right or best. There are just too many variables, and the main one is your own child and how they feel about the program. And they often don’t know how they actually feel until their 2nd or 3rd year. Or on reflection, when they graduate and see how much (or little) it’s actually helped them reach their goals.</p>
<p>Most people don’t have the luxury of choice anyway–getting in and paying for it are two huge hurdles. But this information is good to know beforehand going in. If performing is a deal breaker for you, I guess it’s good to know that beforehand. But the thing is, college is not high school. Performing is a lot of fun and awesome, but not really the way they learn. They learn through classes - scene work, master classes, etc etc. Performing is the frosting, which is why several colleges delay performing. So I’m not convinced performing really should be a deal breaker for anyone. </p>
<p>That said, you can’t really know what’s in store for you until you get in, and then you can’t really judge how good it is for you until you reflect later on. So I think the moral is to make the best of whatever situation you land yourself in, and to understand that the ultimate goal is to be a working actor or acting professional, and to know yourself and figure if that goal is right for you. I think nearly all programs will help you answer that question if you seize the opportunities provided whether there are performances the first years or not. </p>
<p>I have to disagree and say that I believe you learn by doing…but that doing can be in a variety of situations; classes, scene work and performances. As a teacher I learned a ton in my classes but it wasn’t until I went into the classroom and had to “perform” what I had learned that I was able to see if all my training was successful. Clearly just my classwork was not enough to make me a competent teacher. Perfecting my training through being in the classroom was needed in order to continue the learning process. Each environment is crucial and I believe performing is a big part of that. Performing in a college main stage show is not going to happen for all students, but those kids are out there chasing down other opportunities, summer stock, off broadway shows, cabarets, which continue to move them along in the process. In a perfect world our kids would train and have opportunities to perform/train in all settings. Will it hurt the students’ chances of a successful career if they don’t perform on a college stage…of course not. </p>
<p>I think kids ARE learning by doing in the classroom- while they study theory, it’s not like their voice and speech class (as an example) is a curriculum of just listening to other people talk! (D sent me a great video of their daily warm-up, super funny to see a group of kids working various sounds and patterns!) I know my D is up and performing every single day in her studio classes, and I consider that “learning by doing” as much as being in a full scale production</p>
<p>I agree with toowonderful although bisouu, I hear you that the performance experience your daughter had was wonderful and I’m sure she learned a lot.</p>
<p>Their classes aren’t theory-- they are practical craft-based classes (unless the school does theory, but BFA and craft-based BA programs generally don’t). So they also learn by doing in the classes. None of my kids has studied much theory, though some schools have more reading on technique than others. Their classes include scene work, character study, mask, combat, voice, etc. </p>
<p>But to clarify–I’m not saying performing is bad at all. Of course not. And being the lead is awesome! I’m just clarifying that colleges are not high school, where your opportunities for learning mostly came during performances. Acting-training programs mostly teach through classes. Of course, some programs also instruct during performances if they give you feedback. And performances in and of themselves are learning experiences in that you learn to, well, perform. But you are primarily learning - improving your craft via instruction - mostly through your classes with your teachers and fellow students.</p>
<p>In many of these programs, the first year is simply overwhelming. Adding in the pressures of performance is not always a positive. I am inclined to believe that the schools that allow freshmen to perform, know what they are doing. And the ones that DON’T also have a reason for that.</p>
<p>I could not agree more @prodesse, speaking from experience with a son who was cast in back to back shows this semester. He’s extremely grateful for the opportunity but also a bit overwhelmed. And believe me he has had a full schedule for years so its not that he’s not used to long days. This is a completely different animal. I am sure he will be stronger as a result, not so much performance wise, but organizationally, how he prioritizes etc. but I COMPLETELY get it. </p>
<p>I get it. I am a kinestetic learner, as is my theatre child, and I learn by doing. One of my children however is auditory and must first absorb all the info then practice doing it. Others are visual and some combo of the other two and must soak up all the info first. These kids must watch and watch and watch before getting on stage and would be paralyzed if they were thrown on too soon. I gather that different schools rules are based on the learning and teaching styles of its founders. They continue to hire and recruit kids who fit those styles. It is a good thing when a kid sees that their personal styles and needs don’t mesh with a school and can choose otherwise. That is great that there are options, and there is no reason to judge a school based on that. Schools are good or bad for us. But rarely straight out good or bad. </p>