<p>fishbowlfreshman (or anyone really…), what are your thoughts on Montclair State’s Acting program?</p>
<p>Dreambelle13, if you search this forum under “Montclair,” there have been quite a few recent posts on the subject.</p>
<p>It seems to me that anyone who wants to be a succesful WORKING actor (as opposed to someone doing it as a hobby) is going to need an agent. “Showcases” are one way to get an agent, but certainly not the only one.</p>
<p>Folks who work in theatre without agents are doing something other than acting, like tech or design.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>^ Not really. There are a lot of actors who work mainly in regional theater who don’t have agents although it definitely helps if one wants to be seen for major roles at the big places. Of course, they usually need survival jobs to carry them over but so do the vast majority of actors who do have agents. </p>
<p>Dreambelle13,
I don’t know anything about Montclair other than what’s on their website.</p>
<p>NJTheatreMOM,
I actually lived near the young actress you thought I was several years ago who had the “Bernadette Peters affect but an appearance more like Christina Ricci’s” when I was in Astoria. Cool chick with what has to be the quirkiest sense of humor on the planet, but no resemblance whatsoever. 
And the pilot I’ve booked still has to shoot and then has to get picked up without me getting bumped for someone with more name recognition. Then it has to last more than a couple of episodes before getting yanked before it becomes something worth a huge amount of celebration. Last year I actually did better without either of the two I tested for but didn’t book since I got a guest star on another that didn’t get picked up plus a multi-scene supporting film role while the person that booked the regular on the one that did get picked up had to wait around sweating its fate which ended up not being so good. Tough business unless you get a charge from high stakes poker. Much simpler life making art in the regionals …</p>
<p>Well, many crossed fingers and toes - - and sprinklings of pixie dust – to you with regard to that series, Fish…whoever you are!</p>
<p>I’ll admit that I watch very little TV (I like films better), but these days whenever I run across an episode of a series, I look at the actors and think, “Wow, what they went through to get there!”</p>
<p>Just for the record, my son has become somewhat more interested in directing than acting during college. That is perhaps the main reason he decided to forgo his school’s showcase.</p>
<p>During the next few years, he wants to have experiences that he feels will help him become a director, with perhaps an MFA in directing and a teaching position somewhere down the road.</p>
<p>This coming year, he will either be doing a tour with the National Players (he finds out this month!..several graduates of his program generally do that tour each year), or he will take a job that he has already been offered at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA, that will involve teaching, followed by going on tour with Shakes&Co’s educational performance ensemble next winter.</p>
<p>Fish, </p>
<p>Going from last year testing on two pilots to this year booking is cause for a celebration in my book. It’s wonderful to be on the radar of casting directors and studio and network suits. Enjoy every second of it.</p>
<p>^ Thanks. I try to keep in mind that a lot of people would kill to be in my position, but it’s easy to fall into “glass half empty” mode this time of year. The idea is to never get too up or too down or the business side will drive you up the wall. </p>
<p>NJTM,
Ah, okay. I know people who feel very strongly that any participation in the mass media or even most commercial theatre is selling out and making oneself part of any number of greater problems rather than a solution. I thought he might be one of those. I’m ambivalent myself, so I salute them for sticking to their convictions. But congrats on those gigs! A lot of people aren’t looking at those kinds of options senior year. And thanks for the congrats and the pixie dust. :)</p>
<p>I guess the message of the last few posts that may actually be relevant to the kids is that while the wait for college decisions is tough, tough, tough, it doesn’t get any easier later. You just have to find a way to keep it off your mind. I go off-road driving or hang out with my [sassy</a> gay friends](<a href=“SASSY GAY FRIEND - Hamlet - YouTube”>SASSY GAY FRIEND - Hamlet - YouTube) when the stress starts piling up. They can usually straighten me out. I sometimes play around writing long, silly posts on message boards in the early morning hours, too … ;)</p>
<p>Fish, my son is actually somewhat interested in film. He just likes theatre more. In a film class that was part of his senior BFA curriuculum, he made a short film that the teacher adored…he was actually told that he should think about going to film school. Apparently a lot of film directors are “tech-y” but, with his theatrical training, my son is more people-oriented – a very valuable skill.</p>
<p>The actor Josh Hamilton is in a lot of professional NYC productions, but he also does a small number of Indie-type films, including the adorable Outsourced. At one time, my son thought that sounded like an ideal mix…though perhaps he has moved on from there. I can hardly keep up with his continuing evolution.</p>
<p>He’s also a big fan of people like Sarah Polley.</p>
<p>Hmm…my new conjecture involves a very attractive young lady who was in a film where her character had a weird & suggestive first name and a conventional last name, and another film that had something to do with homelessness. Ah well, who knows? ;)</p>
<p>Thoughts on Ithaca??</p>
<p>Dreambelle13 – I think a fair comment of how Ithaca is viewed is in that group of schools just below the tippy top ones. Fishbowl said in a post a while back (I have a strange brain that rarely forgets anything I’ve read but can’t remember half of what has been spoken to me) that she thinks there are only 6 schools at the very top of the BFA schools though she declined to name them. Based on other things she’s written, I’m pretty sure 5 of them would be Juilliard, NCSA, CMU, Rutgers and Purchase.</p>
<p>For what its worth, my daughter applied to all 5 of these and is still waiting to hear from CMU, NCSA and Rutgers. She is also still waiting to hear from Ithaca, Syracuse, BU, Otterbein and NYU. She’s not saying no to any of the top 3 left on her list. They are good fits for her in addition to being great schools. However, if its down to the next group, I could see her picking Ithaca or Syracuse over BU or NYU should those become her choices. While some might have NYU or BU as better regarded, there are certain aspects of those programs that are not a great fit her and from all I’ve read, investigated, and people I’ve talked to, the training is top notch at Ithaca and Syracuse.</p>
<p>The theatre training is top notch at Ithaca but the academics are mediocre to poor, if that’s important to you.</p>
<p>I was hoping to perhaps ask another question. Where do most graduates of drama schools end up in 10 years. I ask because I’ve noticed that most stars are not graduates of acting schools. So since we know that most drama school graduates don’t become stars where exactly do they end up? And are there any drama schools in the country where a large or significant percentage of graduates do become working actors or perhaps even stars?</p>
<p>CMU, NYU, and SU have their fair share of “stars”</p>
<p>Many of the conservatories that are considered “top” produce very few stars. If you look at alumni lists there may be only a couple of recognizable names. For example Rutgers. I’m sure it is a wonderful program, but the biggest name to come out of there is Calista Flockhart followed second by Kristen Davis. There may be hundreds of working actors, but those are 2 of the “stars”.</p>
<p>From all the bios I’ve been scouring over the last few years, my list of schools that produce the most “stars” would be Julliard, NYU, CMU and Northwestern.
Now that being said, I think having many, many working actors is way more valuable than having a handful of stars.</p>
<p>I was pretty blown away by the UNCSA alumni when I looked through it the other day. But your point is well taken, working actors is a much more useful criteria. I’ll also add that the numbers of stars can be a bit misleading when comparing NYU to other schools given that NYU puts into the market over 10 times the number of graduates per year as other top programs.</p>
<p>Northwestern, too. So the tops are now Julliard and CMU which surprises no-one. Right?</p>
<p>No – I don’t think there is much of an argument that Juilliard and CMU are at the top of the food chain.</p>
<p>ActingDad, I’m a little bit curious about what would make Ithaca or Syracuse a better fit for your daughter than Boston University. You imply that this is based very much on her personal preferences, so if you would prefer not to respond, I’ll understand.</p>
<p>My son only wanted to apply to a few programs and do a gap year if he had no acceptances. Three of the schools he applied to were schools that you ranked as “top five” in your previous post. The other three were BU, NYU and Montclair. (He regarded Juilliard as hopeless.)</p>
<p>If he had wanted to cast a slightly wider net, I would have encouraged him to apply to UNCSA and Ithaca. Location was the main factor that dissuaded him from applying to those schools.</p>
<p>Hi NJTheatreMOM, hope you don’t mind my stepping in, but I thought I’d share some thoughts, since my son has an acceptance to acting at Ithaca and we are waiting to hear from BU and a few others. We are really, really happy with the Ithaca program, but are also waiting to see choices and costs before any final decisions. Things that appeal to us about Ithaca are the relative isolation of the location and the small size of the program. Ithaca also seems a little more structured in its training, and a more nurturing environment. I’m not sure, but I think it may also be easier to take voice lessons at Ithaca than at BU. Ithaca has a great creative writing program (including screenwriting) – there are great examples of actors starting as writers (e.g. Tina Fey), or creating their own vehicles (“Good Will Hunting”).<br>
We’ll also give a hard look at BU if he gets in, because the program is a little more “edgy” which is a good fit, has more diverse international study options, and Boston is such an amazing cultural city. Being in Boston is a double-edged sword for students – great things going on, but great distractions as well, particularly since upper classmen trypically don’t live on, or even that near, campus. One thing I like about both schools is the opportunity for interdisciplinary creative work with film students. Unless Ithaca comes up with a compelling financial case, we’ll likely have to revisit the programs to make a final decision. Unless there’s a big financial differential, I will probably let my son determine the best fit for him.</p>
<p>And no doubt Fishbowl has loads of knowledge - but I cringe when I see the whole “top tier” discussion starting up yet again - this time listing the top 6 schools. Sometimes it is the top ten or top two, or whatever. The schools fluctuate because of a cycle in my opinion. Someone says a school is tops, everyone applies for the very few slots, and thus, the school is ridiculous to get into. Then the fact that no one can get in pushes that school to be more desirable. This is how some schools skate on reputation alone. No matter how “top” a school is, you will always find students who transfer out or drop out because the school was not a good fit. </p>
<p>I know lots of folks on here are going by their feel for the school, and look at the courses and productions, etc. of each school. That’s the way to do it, with visits mixed in, too. I’m glad that most of the kids on CC talk of “good fit” for them - I feel it is often us parents who focus on the “top tier” stuff. I felt bad for a student who was talking about Purchase and said he was glad that he didn’t get into the conservatory because he didn’t really like the school, but thought he should go because of the rep of the program.</p>