<p>Hey, just finished my freshman year, and I noticed there’s a lot of people asking about both Tisch and playwrights. I’ll try my best to give my experienced answers to your questions!</p>
<p>On the website, I saw that no one is allowed to audition for anything until sophomore year. Were there still opportunities outside of classes for theatre stuff?</p>
<p>Technically, you are not allowed to. That being said, there is no one at every single audition you could possibly go to (and remember, there are hundreds of plays put up at nyu every year whether they be in tisch or different studios...etc.) who is going to tell you you can't audition because your a freshman. I mean, I wouldn't try out for mainstages at Tisch, but that's not to say you couldn't do something within another studio, etc., as long as they don't mind.</p>
<p>Personally, I assistant directed and acted in The Vagina Monologues this year at NYU (it was put on by a club, not Tisch) and no one said anything. </p>
<p>Don't worry about not being in outside shows at all. Plus, as the year progressed, I kinda liked having that "rule". Honestly, at NYU where people are serious about their work, I felt like gaining a foundation for my craft was more important than constantly being in shows. And that's not to say you won't be acting in your studio. YOU WILL. You will also learn that finding out who you are as an artist is more important than jumping into the lion's den, so to speak. And if you are a Playwrights kid, trust me, you will NEVER be without work to do (remember, we also take Directing, Design, and Stage Management while the other studios don't and there is plenty of work within those classes as well).</p>
<p>So if you're just worried about not being able to fulfill your artistic schedule for the entire year, don't worry at all. Struggle and cry and scream the first semester until you figure out what you want, and then do all you can to get it. READ plays, acting books (Respect For Acting by Uta Hagen, Empty Space by Peter Brooke and An Actor Prepares by Stanislavski are tops on my list). WRITE. And be a techie. Teching is so valuable to an actor, even if you aren't interested in pursuing directing, design, or tech track (and many peoples interests will change in the upcoming year). One of my most valuable experiences with a show this year was not being in it, but teching for it. I learned so much about how a director works and collaborates and how the actors prepare themselves for a role in order to create the magic on stage just by sitting back and watching.</p>
<p>Hope that helps! (And if I managed to avoid the question by rambling, feel free to ask me more specifically!)</p>
<p>Thanks so much! That clears a lot up.</p>
<p>bump ;)</p>
<p>bump deux :)</p>
<p>what acting technique do they use in playwrights acting classes?</p>
<p>LOTS. that's the great thing about playwrights, you don't focus on one technique (like strasberg or adler...but i'm not putting those studios down by any means). you will learn a lot of bogart/viewpoints and kinesthetics in theresa mccarthy's actor's practice class. stanislavski/physiological states as well as a little bit of strasberg's "drawing emotion from real life" (at the beginning of the year) in hess's actor's instrument (michael potts, who is awesome, yale trained and recently in broadway's grey gardens, may also be assisting in that class). voice and speech teaches you the basics of warming up and using your voice, learning IPA (international phoenetic alphabet), scoring text, and tremoring (end of year). i don't really know how to sum up movement, but you focus a lot on identifying physical motions with emotional actions and constructive rest. you also read grotowski (who is influenced in both acting classes), stanislavski and hagen for that class.</p>
<p>that's just the first year, and more techniques are introduced later on depending on the track you take but those are the basic foundations.</p>
<p>How many people are accepted for the directing program? Or what percent?
Is it really hard to get into?
I have pretty high grades and SATs and directed and assistant directed shows at my high school. Would I have a shot at getting in?</p>
<p>Whew the directing program… Well I know in my color group we have 2 people who applied to directing and one of them was a transfer from GS or LSP or whatever it’s called now. Most people at playwrights auditioned as actors; the directing audition last year was one monologue plus the way you have or would direct a show and all of the choices that that entails. It’s definitely worth the shot if you’ve got the academics and you believe in your abilities as a director although I honestly have no idea how many people apply to directing and get in overall. </p>
<p>guestimate would be that there were 10 directors in our class of 70 give or take five, one of them left because he felt the studio was too much acting rather than directing.</p>
<p>Hey, have you attended the summer high school program? i have so many questions about applying to it and the deadline is approaching!</p>
<p>Are you a dramatic writing major? Is it more of a screenwriting emphasis with a little playwriting, or is it more even? Is writing for TV covered under screenwriting?</p>
<p>What was your portfolio like? I submitted a short story and collection of related creative writing samples - I didn’t have any sort of script completed at the time and so I’m hoping that doesn’t hurt my chances of getting in.</p>
<p>How do you feel about the program overall? Do you feel it’s worth the (enormous) cost of tuition? </p>
<p>Lots of questions, sorry… :P</p>
<p>Actually Playwrights is one of the tisch drama studios (most of us come in actors and transition to doing everything), so no I am not a dramatic writing major. However, many of my very good friends are and they are all extremely pleased with what they are paying for. They spent the first half of the year working with plays and theatre and this semester they are carrying over their final into screenwriting and working on film. They absolutely love it. Tuition sucks, but it’s completely worth it.</p>
<p>Hi! I was recently accepted into NYU/ Tisch. I do not know what studio I am in yet, but I cannot wait to find out. I love the school, but I am considering a large number of options, and I was hoping you could help me by answering some questions.</p>
<p>I am really interested in classical acting, and I saw that admittance to the Classical Studio after the first two years is by audition. How difficult is it to get into the studio or any other transfer tracks? Are the summer programs, such as the Comedia Dell’Arte program in Italy, audition programs? If so, are they difficult to get in to? Are there studios that are less highly regarded than others, or would you say that they are all approximately equal? Anything you could tell me would be very highly appreciated.</p>
<p>Thank you so much!!!</p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptance! How did you find out?</p>
<p>I am an MLK Jr. Scholar so I found out about a week ago. The Scholar’s Weekend is March 27-28, so they have to let you know by then. It’s actually a great program. There is a $25,000 a year scholarship, travel (which they pay for), and other really cool programs.</p>
<p>Hey Hannah, sorry for not responding sooner I haven’t been on in a while. </p>
<p>While we all love to poke fun at the Strasberg kids (which won’t be an option for next year anyways), all of the studios are amazing. You do NOT need to worry about the quality of the training you will be getting, it’s worth the price without a doubt. Of course there are very specific traits about techniques with certain studios, best example is Atlantic. Atlantic is Mamet so there is no character. You never mention such a thing, they will correct you and tell you there is no character. It’s a very specific way of working, but Atlantic’s also a world renowned studio. </p>
<p>Now to answer the advanced studio questions: All of the programs are by audition. I don’t honestly know how hard they are to get to, but I’m certain that if you want to do them you’ll get to. I can’t imagine many people wanting to leave New York for training (I plan on doing it irregardless). Stonestreet, I believe, is the most competitive. I don’t know the numbers though. I’m going in to talk with my guidance counselor to ask her those questions pretty soon here so I’ll let you know what I discover. </p>
<p>P.S. Congratulations on acceptance!</p>
<p>If I may chime in here,
Actually not all of the Advanced Studios are by audition. Stonestreet can be a semester or year long experience and does not require an audition, but only an interview. But the majority of the other Advanced Studios do require auditions like the Playwrights Acting or MT Practicum, Strasberg Practicum, CAP21 Transfer Track, ETW Transfer Track, Classical Studio, etc.</p>
<p>Also, not all of the advanced studios are the same every year. In previous years there has been a Viewpoints Studio which I’m not sure if admittance was by audition or not, but there also used to be a Stella Adler Transfer Track and this year there is a Strasberg Transfer Track, which is by interview only. </p>
<p>From what I have heard from other Tisch Drama Students and from my Tisch adviser, the Experimental Theater Wing Transfer Track is extremely competitive, along with the Classical Studio Option. The CAP21 Transfer Track is also pretty competitive, although that won’t be an option anymore.</p>
<p>Wow! Thanks for all the great information. It’s been really hard to make decisions, so I appreciate the help in making an informed decision. Do you happen to know what the major differences between the studios are?</p>
<p>^^Hannah…that is a huge question. I don’t know if you have done this yet, but at Tisch’s site, you can look up each studio. Each studio is described. Further, most studios also have their own websites with lotsa information about their philosophy, their curriculum, their productions, and so on.</p>