<p>Hi. Wow. Um, that's a lot of questions! Well, let me go through these one by one.</p>
<p>can you tell us about what a first year schedule is like at Juilliard? Times and lengths of classes, etc.?</p>
<p>It'd take forever for me to actually go through a schedule, but class begins every day with a movement class at 9 am, there's class all day, and then rehearsal at night, which ends for the first years around ten or ten thirty. There's an hour off for lunch and an hour for dinner and occasionally other short breaks throughout the day, but it's a pretty intense class schedule. Needless to say, that doesn't include any work or rehearsal or things students are doing on their own -- it can be a big adjustment, but the total immersion thing is actually very helpful, I find. It thins out a little bit when the first years aren't actually working on a rehearsal project in the evenings, and then they may have a few nights a week off. Classes are anywhere from 50 minutes to three hours long, it depends on the class and the various scheduling. But students are basically always working.</p>
<p>Which acting techniques are emphasized? </p>
<p>None. There's very very little talk about specific systems or "techniques." You have a different acting teacher every year and each does his or her own thing, as they all have different backgrounds (the first year involves a lot of sensory work, personalization, a lot a lot of improv -- you don't begin scenework or even text for a while -- and I suppose it's Strausberg and Michael Chekhov-ish, but you won't often hear those names used) and the school is really really big on each student developing his own personal process, on finding what works for them. And the teachers are adamant about not enforicing recipes and dogmas, that acting and art are not exact sciences, that they are processes of exploration and discovery. So what each student is asked to work on may be really different. </p>
<p>And that's just in acting class. We also have classes in movement, masks, voice, singing, combat, blah blah blah, a ton of other ones. And each of those skills and techniques and teachers contributes to a student's arsenal of techniques and experiences. </p>
<p>What are the gen eds like and do you feel like they distract you from your training or contribute to burnout when combined with the training? (Big issue with me) Do the older students that come in with transfer credits and mostly just train seem to have an easier time of it? </p>
<p>The general education requirements are incredibly incredibly scant. You have to take one "liberal arts" class per semester (that's what it says on your schedule, "liberal arts") and it meets for an hour and fifteen minutes twice a week. That's it. You do that for your first three years; by fourth year you've satisfied the requirement. First year, you also have to take a theater history class and a music class that count towards the BFA degree -- even diploma students have to take the classes, they just don't have to do any written work for them. As to whether they're a distraction....well, that's hard to say. The teachers work pretty hard to make the stuff relevant to students as artists, and a lot of the reading material is actually very interesting and enriching. But because the schedule is so busy, yes, it's difficult to have another thing added onto it, and it can be a stress. But really, in the scheme of things, it's so so light a courseload that it doesn't make that much difference. Although second year, I used some transfer credits for courses I'd taken overseas to get out of the requirement and the extra three hours a week did make a difference, just because any extra free time feels like a blessing. I don't, however, think that transfer students have a much easier time because of that -- I think Juilliard forces you to structure your time and prioritize no matter what you do, and everyone has to deal with that issue. Not having liberal arts doesn't exempt you from that by any means. </p>
<p>I certainly wouldn't make it a major consideration in your college plans; as general education goes, it's so untaxing. And it's also the only class you take where you're with non-actors -- and it can be really great to be in an environment with dancers and musicians, to get some outside perspectives on things and make some new friends. </p>
<p>I also saw something about there being some faculty turnover. Have they decided who they are bringing in to replace them?</p>
<p>I wouldn't say there's really "faculty turnover"; the director of the Division, Michael Kahn (also the head of the Shakespeare Theater in DC, who's been at Juilliard since its inception and has been the head of the Division for ages now) is stepping down. He also teacher third year acting (he's my teacher now) and he's going to keep doing that, at least for a few years, but he's resigning as the head. They've formed a search committee to find a new person, and I'm sure they have ideas and options, but I don't really know about them. They have to find someone by June, I think, and I'm sure they will. It could be someone from within the school, or someone completely new -- I have no idea. And whoever it is, I'm sure it will be great, and it will be interesting to have a new voice and vision at the head of things.</p>
<p>So hope that answers your questions...and good luck with everything!</p>
<p>Best,
Anna</p>