<p>Hello Everyone. I just found out about this site and I am excited after reading some of the threads. I am somewhat concerned but not in a total panic mode yet:) I am trying to help my daughter who is a JR in high school look for a college. It is not easy and the reason why is because she is set on what she wants to do in her life. She wants to be an actress, specifically on TV and in Films but is also open to stage. The hard part is she is good in school, however, does not like it and only wants to get going in her career. She is open to college, however, wants a program that is all in her field and is not interested in academics. I am at a lost because I had an older son like this and he was an average student and it made more sense. He was also very young when he decided he wanted to be a professional dancer and decided that he did not want to go to college. He went professional as a ballet dancer and has had a contract ever since he graduated. My daughter is a girl, is not a dancer, does well in school, and is very smart but hates school and.....Enough of that. What schools should I look at? I want to be supportive as she is the type of child that you cannt force to do anything. I will help her and support her and let her go which was she feels best, as I did my son. I am thinking it will have to be a BFA program, maybe a conservatory, not a university. Any suggestions would be awesome. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! By the way I know one option is to help her get an agent and try to find work but I think she needs to get a college education just...I will not say anymore:):):)</p>
<p>I am sure that your daughter will be fine when she gets into a program that she really enjoys. I am very similar to your description of your daughter. I had the same problem that I was so intelligent that my parents really didn’t want me to do the things I wanted with my life, instead they wanted me to do some stereotypically “intelligent” thing. I also had a brother who my parents did not consider as intelligent as me, so he was allowed to do whatever he wanted with his life (and he has).</p>
<p>(I’m reading between the lines of what you have written. I’m pretty sure that the reason you keep telling us your daughter is “good in school” is that you think for some reason this means she should not major in theatre. You call this “the hard part”, you say you are “at a loss”, and that it “made more sense” for your son who was an average student.)</p>
<p>If it makes it any easier for you, remember that you can always study a different subject in graduate school from the one you studied as an undergraduate. I for example have a BA in theatre and a J.D. from a law school, and have been admitted to the bar.</p>
<p>Don’t get too attached to these arbitrary labels like “BFA” or “conservatory” or “university”. Your daughter needs to find the best program for her, whatever label it has been given.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>Thank you KEVP. Sorry for being so vague. What I meant by saying my daughter is “good in school” is that she gets good grades and is a good student. Not superior, but good, and I cannot understand why she hates it so much and wants nothing to do with the academic part in college. I thought kids that do not like school have these feelings. I know better now. </p>
<p>I just want her to be able to have something to fall back on while she is pursuing her first love, but she is not hearing me. One thing I do know is that she is very non traditional so if there is a program out there where maybe she could do a BA in a non traditional setting she may be more open. She is not a sit in a class type person and is more hands on and they have these programs in high school but I am not sure if there are any colleges like that. </p>
<p>Her strong subjects are english and history and she says she is NOT taking any math or science after high school. I am smiling because I feel her. I went to undergrad and grad school for TV/Film and I went as fast as I could through the “required” classes just to get them done.</p>
<p>I thank you for your post and I will try to make sure I am more supportive or her without using my older son as a guidepost and appreciate her individually. I just want her to have a second opition and I feel if she just goes for a BFA only she may have a hard time while in waiting.</p>
<p>Thanks again!</p>
<p>Given that you’ve already set a precendent with your son, she hates school, she wants to be a screen actress and she’s only “open to stage,” I wouldn’t recommend that she attend a BFA program. At least not at first. Those places are theatre, theatre THEATRE 24/7 until the final year - often the final semester - and there’s a pretty good chance she wouldn’t last if she isn’t passionate about theatre to the point of obession. </p>
<p>Another option besides to “just help her get an agent and try to work” (It doesn’t work that way unless you’re well-connected in the biz), would be to set her up in a studio apartment in West LA and have her enroll part-time in the liberal arts track at [Santa</a> Monica College](<a href=“http://www.smc.edu/Pages/default.aspx]Santa”>http://www.smc.edu/Pages/default.aspx) while concurrently attending one of the two-year Adler or Meisner schools or perhaps piecing together proper training through some of the other reputable studios and private coaches. Just stay away from the four and five letter acronymed two-year conservatories (I’d prefer not name names) because they do NOT enjoy good reputations in the industry and are actually a good bit more expensive than the respected schools. </p>
<p>An advantage of doing it that way is that she would find out pretty quickly if she’s cut out for the business or not (most aren’t) and could change her plan accordingly after a year or two. A disadvantage is that it really won’t save you any money and would end up costing you more if/when she decides she wants to go back and get a four year degree. Another potential disadvantage is that it would take a very mature 18 year old to effectively pull it off without turning her life into a trainwreck. It’s very easy to become a casualty of the LA party scene … </p>
<p>Some of the acting schools I’d recommend towards this end are …</p>
<p>[Ruskin</a> School of Acting<a href=“Close%20by%20SMC%20and%20very%20legit”>/url</a>
[url=<a href=“http://www.aldersonstudio.com/]William”>http://www.aldersonstudio.com/]William</a> Alderson Acting Studio<a href=“Tough,%20old-school%20Meisner%20teacher,%20but%20very%20good”>/url</a>
[url=<a href=“http://www.emasla.com%5DElizabeth”>http://www.emasla.com]Elizabeth</a> Mestnik Acting Studio](<a href=“http://www.ruskinschool.com%5DRuskin”>http://www.ruskinschool.com)
[Art</a> of Acting Studio](<a href=“http://www.artofactingstudio.com%5DArt”>http://www.artofactingstudio.com)
[Stella</a> Adler, LA](<a href=“http://www.stellaadler-la.com/hollywood-acting-school-la/stella-adler-los-angeles/welcome.php]Stella”>http://www.stellaadler-la.com/hollywood-acting-school-la/stella-adler-los-angeles/welcome.php)
[Marjorie</a> Ballentine](<a href=“http://marjorieballentine.com%5DMarjorie”>http://marjorieballentine.com)
[Howard</a> Fine Acting Studio](<a href=“http://www.howardfine.com%5DHoward”>http://www.howardfine.com)
[Aaron</a> Speiser Acting Studio](<a href=“http://www.aaronspeiser.com%5DAaron”>http://www.aaronspeiser.com)</p>
<p>Of course, none of those schools besides the Adler conservatories really cover voice and body work in any depth, so she could supplement through private coaching sessions with qualified teachers of her choice in [Linklater[/url</a>] or [url=<a href=“http://fitzmauricevoice.com/locations/]Fitzmaurice[/url”>http://fitzmauricevoice.com/locations/]Fitzmaurice[/url</a>] voice and [url=<a href=“Find an Alexander Technique Teacher in the United States or Canada – The Complete Guide to the Alexander Technique”>Find an Alexander Technique Teacher in the United States or Canada – The Complete Guide to the Alexander Technique]Alexander</a> Technique](<a href=“http://www.thelinklatercenter.com/designated-linklater-teachers/geographical]Linklater[/url”>http://www.thelinklatercenter.com/designated-linklater-teachers/geographical). And of course there are any number of dance, yoga and martial arts schools with which she could supplement to try to make up for the movement training she’d miss out on in a quality BFA program. </p>
<p>I actually got curious awhile back and went through a [list</a> of LA acting schools and coaches](<a href=“http://www.backstage.com/advice-for-actors/resources/los-angeles-acting-schools-and-coaches_6]list”>http://www.backstage.com/advice-for-actors/resources/los-angeles-acting-schools-and-coaches_6) published by Backstage plus some other lists I knew about to see how I could have pieced together training to somewhat approximate aspects of what I actually use from my college conservatory training in my TV and film work had I known myself well enough as an actor to do so at 18. It’s kind of a moot point because I did not yet know myself as an actor at 18 (nobody does), but the training portion of my resume would have looked something like this around my fourth year in town had that been the case … </p>
<p>Acting Technique - Lindsay Crouse, Marjo-Riikka Makela, Elizabeth Mestnik
On-Camera - Robert Cicchini, Brad Greenquist
Audition Technique - Annie Grindlay, Saxon Trainor
Commercials - Killian McHugh
Improv - Second City
Voice, Speech & Dialects - Bob Corff, Fran Bennett
Movement, Masks & Clowning - David Bridel, Peter Frisch, Leigh Zhang
Combat - Dan Speaker, Jan Bryant</p>
<p>Just thought I’d throw that out there as something to think about …</p>
<p>Another option to consider since your daughter is only a Junior is to have her attend one of the summer programs at schools like CMU, Rutgers, BU, NCSA, etc. None of these are cheap but its a lot less expensive than full time tuition for something its unclear whether your daughter will like. These programs give the kids a full chance to see whether this is really what they want to do. My daughter ran into many at CMU that decided after six weeks of living the BFA life that it wasn’t for them.</p>
<p>Except for the “falling in love with one particular school” hazard!</p>
<p>Thank you Acting Dad. My daughter attended NCSA last summer and SCGSA two years prior. We are currently looking for a progam this summer. She would like to try more of an acting for TV and film program instead of theatre only. We are looking at Univ of the Arts, NYCDA, Columbia College Chicago, and possibly NYU. She tried for NYU last year and did not get in maybe because she wa only 15 not sure…We looked at UCLA and USC and also Cal State intensive but they seemed more theatre…NYU is probably just going to be to expensive. Sorry this is so short. I am typing while holding a child…I will have her look at CM and BU but I think she already did. Rutgers is a new one. She has loved evey summer program and is looking forward to this summer. She is definte that all she wants is to take classes in acting and wants a college program that is all focused on that without the academics. I know…this is not good but the last thing I want to do is force…</p>
<p>Thank you FBF. I may have not been clear or typed in error. She is looking at acting for TV and Film but is not closed to stage but prefers TV and Film. She is currently at an arts school as a boarding student and lives and breathes theatre, however, the academics area stressed also. She only dislikes the academic part of school she loves the rest and would have no problems with the long hours of a BFA program or the fact that it was all TV, all Film, etc. She is passionate about going into acting and has told me numerous times when I asked her to dig deep and think of a backup plan, that she wants to do NOTHING else. I will help her live this out and walk through it with her. It is not good to force kids, we must lead and guide them and let them make choices and walk through the consequences whether good or bad. When I have a little more time I will look into some of the programs you gave me. Most of them I have heard of, but some I have not. My initial thought is she needs to go to school, and since she wants to go delaying may not be wise. We do no live in LA, and her school is not in LA so she would have to go somewhere that has housing. Thank you for spending the time to respond.</p>
<p>Ok, I didn’t understand she had that much exposure to BFA training from your prior posts. My one comment would be that I don’t think your daughter should be too concerned over the fact that most BFA programs are primarily directed towards theater rather than TV or Film. Obviously, there are differences but these BFA schools are teaching a lot of core principles that apply to stage, TV or film.</p>
<p>And do remember that the people who succeed in the Entertainment business are usually those who have committed themselves to it 100%. Because it is such a competitive industry. The people who take time to develop something to “fall back on” are sacrificing time that they could be using to get more skills and other resources for their career, which makes them less competitive than the people who have committed themselves 100%. They say that if you can fall back, you will, and it seems to have been true of me at least. The people who can’t fall back are the ones who are most driven to succeed.</p>
<p>As I said before, you can always go back to college and get another degree and start a different career if your first choice doesn’t pan out. But maybe what it takes to succeed at the first choice is to commit yourself 100%.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>threed,
Ah, okay. She’ll be getting good advice from her teachers as to where to audition/apply if she goes to high school where I think she does. Those kids graduate better prepared for the college conservatory life than just about anybody else. </p>
<p>A lot of kids who are mainly interested in screen acting come to LA and try to train like I suggested with the difference being that they don’t usually have parental support and are too caught up in just trying to keep roofs over their heads to make it happen with more than one class at a time since it really costs just as much as college when you factor in living expenses. I thought she might be one of those based off your original post and decided to show how it is possible to “make your own conservatory” if you can afford to do it up right.</p>