My high-school-senior son wants to be a Broadway actor. His acting skills are above average at his school.
I would think that only the best of the best could earn a living at being an actor. Am I correct?
How much might he benefit from attending a college with a top-notch theater program?
Any advice/insight would be greatly appreciated.
Playbill published top 10 colleges on broadway plus honorable mentions in August. Among those in top 10: NYU, CMU, Fordham, Julliard, Florida State University. Google and check out complete list. He can have a “plan B” with a degree from a lot of these schools. Good luck.
The college audition process will be one way to determine if he is competitive with others in the field. If you are not sure, I would recommend applying to some auditioned and some non-auditioned schools so you hopefully have options on where to go at the end of the day. When he is participating in college auditions he will see the talent he is up against and that may confirm his desire to act or may make him run the other way. But let him give it a try. He may just be the next big thing. But if you don’t let him at least try, you’ll never know.
Thank you.
I go to NYU and have seen some student performances–they are crazyyyyyyy good. I joked with some friends that we should get to know them since we can say we’re friends with them once they become famous Broadway performers. This is pretty obvious, but what I think really makes a good acting program is the location. There’s just so many opportunities within walking distance (quite literally) in NYC for an aspiring Broadway actor.
@TeddyKGB, there are several threads on here (@EmsDad, I assume yours…? They were really good) about how much/little money actors make. However, I just wanted to point out a few things. First, if you son is a senior, he better start applying NOW if he hasn’t already. Many schools have video prescreens he has to send in (an audition to get an audition, if you will), and audition slots fill up fast. If he has already applied, ignore me. Second, if he wants to be a straight actor, try the thread on Theatre/Drama majors. This one is musical theatre. If he wants musical theatre, you’re in the right place. Third, the merits of a “top-notch” theatre program has been endlessly debated here and elsewhere, and I can’t imagine you will ever find people to agree on the answer to that. While you may get phenomenal training at other programs that are not considered “top-notch,” I think the top-notch programs can open doors and give you contacts that are really important. But the bottom line is the people who are going to work are the ones who blow everyone away in the audition room, regardless of where they went to school, or regardless of WHETHER they went to school. How they get in that room in the first place might be a different question. Fourth, with a BFA in MT (or theatre), your child is ready for a lot of jobs, not just being a Broadway actor. Kids who come out of these programs are articulate, can think on their feet, are personable, can problem solve…basically, they are all around good employees. Fifth, these days, actors can make decent livings in cities other than NY…like Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, DC, Seattle, Tampa, etc. It doesn’t have to be NYC. (And a note to @jojoice5…what makes a good acting program is most definitely not its location. Some of the best acting programs in the country are in very bizarre places, and sometimes small towns.) Best of luck!
Not necessarily.
Nicolas Cage net worth = $18 million
Keanu Reeves net worth = $350 million
Its tough to be an actor, really tough. Here is the thread referenced above from a while back:
As a pro told my daughter, don’t even think about doing this if you want “a little 2-story Cape Cod with a white picket fence and two cats in the yard…”
We live in one of the largest cities in America and I think you can count the number of actors who actually make a full-time living on stage here in town on one hand or two hands.
I agree that the whole performance based job is difficult and will be tons of work. I am telling my D that if she feels she will have regrets if she doesn’t go for it , then go for it. I will help her as much as I can but internal motivation must be from the child. There’s so much the kids don’t understand at their age and that’s just the way it is. College is SO much $$ but they will have a degree at the end and it can be used for other pursuits if they decide it isn’t working out or they retire from it early lol. I fret over it too as we all do/have but some of these kids are going to do great things on stage or behind the scenes I know it…who knows which ones. They are all a part of a special community which is theatre and that’s awesome.
And if your kid loves engineering and gets an engineering degree, there’s no guarantee that in 10 years your kid will be an engineer. Every student should be free to explore - within the given family financial picture - and also be free to change their minds. No one’s path to the future is a straight line.
The idea that I always come back to for the student is this: the best degree program is the one you finish. If you love what you are doing and are engaged in your education, you have much better odds of completing the degree. What you do after completing the degree is another conversation for another time - that hopefully happens when you have had the opportunity to broaden your experience and grow and learn.
Michele
I think we all struggle with this question to some degree, but honestly, my kid has not had any trouble finding survival jobs and if he ever decides to pursue more meaningful work, all the stuff that makes him good at the low level jobs – intelligence, personability, work ethic – will help in sales or management, too. I graduated with a degree in history a million years ago and have never lacked for employment.