Is there any value to studying acting for 2-3 years?

[MOMMY5]

<p>I knew my opinion on this was going to be a little controversial. :)</p>

<p>ActingDad, the 2 years at Stella Adler NYU would give a kid the same amount of studio training as the Stella Adler kid that went for 2 years directly. They would just be accomplishing that in 3 days per week and they would be taking academic courses taught by NYU professors the other 2 days. Plus many, many more things that I’d rather not go into now. This is not about NYU specifically. It is about which would be more beneficial, 2 years at a real college (not graduating) or 2 years at an acting studio that you completed.</p>

<p>And Halfokum has a great point… It would also be gaining you credit towards a degree that you could always finish later. The other way gives you zero towards a degree.</p>

<p>And if where you went to school had no influence AT ALL on agents, casting directors, etc. Then why would any of us being doing this? Seriously? All of our kids would just go the cheaper route and go to a studio they liked directly to be trained. If it made no difference, why would all of us have gone thru what we did the last few years to get our kids into these programs. You could have just sent your kid to any good acting studio for 2 years, spent a total of $30,000 and called it a day. </p>

<p>I don’t believe for a second you believe that. Our kids are getting a lot more than just a paper degree. And I’d rather my kid have only 2-3 years of that, if that’s what needed to be, than them having none of it.</p>

[TheRealKEVP]

<p>I still believe that casting is done primarily on the basis of auditions (and previous work). I realize that there are industries where hiring is done on the basis of what degree you have, and where it is from, but this is not how people get acting jobs.</p>

<p>If someone can show me some evidence that I am wrong, that directors and casting agents now look at resumes and say “Hmm, this one went to Stella Adler studio for two years, but THAT one has a Bachelor’s degree! Let’s take the one with the degree, without even auditioning them!”, then I will change my mind. But it seems to be just the sort of “urban legend” that gets spread among the sort of parents who pressure their kids to get college degrees.</p>

<p>Yes, you will benefit at least some by completing the first 2-3 years of a bachelor’s program in acting. But if you KNOW ahead of time that you will not be completing it, just go ahead and try for a 2-3 year program, like one of those excellent New York studios we have been discussing. Someone mentioned Thomas A. Edison State College, couldn’t you get credit there for work completed at a studio?</p>

<p>Go out and actually look at the want ads for actors. They are called “audition notices”. You will NOT see any that say “Must have a bachelor’s degree”.</p>

<p>KEVP</p>

[halflokum]

<p>Also some kids right out of high school simply are not ready for a less structured studio experience. College for better or for worse usually comes with a dining hall, dorm room, same aged peer group, etc. It’s a slightly easier transition from high school and living at home than some of these studio options would be. Just one other thing I thought of.</p>

<p>edit: I cross posted with you TheRealKEVP. I don’t disagree with you with respect to auditions and acting jobs. I’m simply saying that it has always been part of my plan as a parent for my kids to get a college degree in something. It’s not a door I’d comfortably close since the degree itself has value well beyond auditions. In contrast, I wouldn’t have a hard time if it took longer than 4 years to accomplish it for whatever reason including finances.</p>

[TheRealKEVP]

<p>(Society really has now changed so much over the last generation or two that a degree isn’t as important as it used to be. Not just in acting, but in many professions. I often do wonder why so many people keep pursuing those degrees, and pressuring their children to do the same. The attitude of “this must be valuable and important, otherwise why would it cost so much?” is exactly what the banks who make student loans want you to think. A lot of folks have been asking questions, and crunching the numbers, and more and more people are coming to the conclusion that college isn’t always worth it.)</p>

<p>KEVP</p>

[shacherry]

<p>Casting directors might not be looking at the degrees or schools actors are coming from. Although, I personally think they would for a very green/new to town actor. </p>

<p>It is true, that the thing casting directors value the most is the work an actor does in the room. However, agents and managers are the gatekeeper to these casting directors and they tend to be snobs who do look at where an actor is trained and the colleges talent they want to meet comes from.</p>

[halflokum]

<p>@KEVP are you quoting someone or yourself? Not sure about the parenthesis. Also, are you a parent? I’m thinking no or at least not of a college aged student anyway. Correct me if I’m wrong. I’m wrong a lot. I hear what you’re saying but if you are not a parent yourself it’s hard to really grasp that it is just not that simple for those of us that are to let go.</p>

<p>I grew up in a very working class town where the majority of kids did not go to college and in fact I was probably the only kid in my graduating HS class whose parents both did. Most of my friends have gone on to lead incredibly productive and happy lives to varying degrees. The same can be said of myself and my peers who I met in college. BUT what I do see today is the children of both of my HS friends and college friends who don’t go to college are struggling. Maybe it is that they just aren’t ready yet to earn their own way. Maybe it is because the “productive member of society model” has changed over the years and the system doesn’t absorb them as readily until they’ve perked just a little longer. In either case, no, I’m not ready to abandon the idea of wanting my kids to go to college. Maybe future generations will be better prepared for that but it’s too late for me. Meanwhile my kids themselves are not pressured. They want to go because it is what they and their friends know. I’d probably freak the heck out of them if I said, “no, you don’t need to go.”</p>

<p>@shacherry: that’s a good point about the casting directors. I confess I don’t know anything about how they work but I appreciate your sharing that the gatekeepers might care. I wouldn’t have known that.</p>

[fishbowlfreshman]

<p>

However, agents and managers are the gatekeeper to these casting directors and they tend to be snobs who do look at where an actor is trained and the colleges talent they want to meet comes from.

Not really. If you have an actual degree from a “hot” school, it’s something they can use to pitch you, but not so much if you’re a dropout. That puts you in no better stead than one of the good two year programs.</p>

<p>Here’s a section of an interview with Tony Martinez who is a mid-tier LA theatrical agent and the author of An Agent Tells All. His view is pretty typical of the doorkeepers to the part of the business in which I reside although he actually respects theatre more than many …

Is a college degree in acting essential to a successful career?</p>

<p>You’re joking, right?</p>

<p>What are you looking for on an actors’ resume? What impresses you? </p>

<p>If you don’t have tons of film and television credits, I look for effort. I want to see you that you haven’t been sitting around waiting for an agent to solve all your problems. You should be out there, hustling your butt off so that when you sign with an agency, you’ll be ready to rock and roll.</p>

<p>So let’s define effort. First, I look for it under the “Training” section of your resume. I’ll ask myself, “Is this actor serious about his craft?” “Has he been training with a variety of teachers?” “Has he explored many different types of classes, including scene study, cold reading, voice, and movement? … [|</a> Talent Agent: Tony Martinez, Paradigm, Epstein Wyckoff & Associates, GVA Talent Agency, LA](<a href=“The domain name actorslife.com is under development.”>The domain name actorslife.com is under development.)

</p>

<p>Also, most of the good two year programs in New York entail around 20 contact hours per week which is about average for a BFA program. And the Adler conservatory is actually for three years. Not two. There are no doubt some collegiate programs that will open more doors than others at the outset and the basic training in those really can be more efficacious than in the studios for a variety of reasons, but nobody gives a crap past those. Definitely not if you dropped out. The door-opening prestige of an Acting degree from even Juilliard or Yale really only has a shelf life of around two years after it becomes what you’ve done with your training and not where you got it.</p>

[halflokum]

<p>Fish, aren’t you saying essentially the same thing as shacherry more or less? Feels like a question of timing. Starting out or further down the road?</p>

<p>Given that the world is still filled with parent enablers like me that are voting with their dollars, I ask a question which I confess here and now sincerely, I don’t know the answer to. But absolutely I have a theory that sure, I’ve bought into which is glaringly obvious. You’re a smart cookie that will without effort know my bias but that doesn’t mean I won’t listen what others have to say about it: </p>

<p>Where would an 18 year old acting student be more likely to run into the most talented scene partners and peers that will push them, in a highly competitive college BFA/BA program or in one of these non-college studios? Discuss.</p>

[NJTheatreMOM]

<p>Good question, halflokum.</p>

[fishbowlfreshman]

<p>

Where would an 18 year old acting student be more likely to run into the most talented scene partners and peers that will push them, in a highly competitive college BFA/BA program or in one of these non-college studios? Discuss.

That’s one of the variety of reasons I say the first two years of training at a highly competitive college program CAN be more efficacious if it truly is selective as to talent and truly pushes the talented students who’ve been admitted to their best work since all it generally takes to get into the first year at most of the studios is some cash, a pulse and no outward signs of psychosis. I’ve always believed that who you train with can be just as important as who you’re trained by. </p>

<p>You don’t want to paint with too too broad a brush on that, however. A decent number of the students in a reputable studio will not only be talented, but older - often college graduates - and paying their tuition themselves sans indulgent parents. So you’d get a degree of seriousness and maturity from them that you might find wanting with some students in some expensive BFAs which really do carry something of a reputation for “babysitting rich kids” 'til the graduate who has truly made the most of what was offered proves otherwise. Hell, out here in my world there’s even a stereotype of “just another clueless actor with a lot of theatre training” you have to overcome if you have an Acting degree and most of the actors I work with are indeed studio trained if they didn’t in fact just grow up in the biz with access to all the best coaches. Of course, the story changes if you’re looking at the world of regional repertory theatre I initially set out for in which the majority of actors hold MFAs followed at a semi-respectable distance by BFA conservatory grads.</p>

[halflokum]

<p>Hopefully those college grads in studio have sufficiently recovered from their previous life as indulged college students by the time they get to work. Lends hope to all of the rest who go directly into it.</p>

<p>A BFA program is an interesting choice for a place to park yourself for a few years of babysitting. I can think of a few other majors that are better choices. I didn’t know there where schools out there with that reputation. Interesting.</p>

[MOMMY5]

<p>Obviously this doesn’t answer the not-graduating question, but it does give some insight to whether agents/CDs care where a YOUNG actor ( we can all agree it only matters when you are first starting out) was trained or not. And the connections it brings. This was posted by Fish last year.
[The</a> Hollywood Reporter’s List of the 25 Top Drama Schools - The Hollywood Reporter](<a href=“http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/top-25-drama-schools-319963]The”>The Hollywood Reporter’s List of the 25 Top Drama Schools – The Hollywood Reporter)</p>

<p>“I look at the school, and anyone who tells you they don’t is lying to you,” says producer Todd Black, who helped cast the Meryl Streep film Hope Springs. “I’m gonna look much faster at a kid from a top school than from the University of Southern North Dakota.”
As Felicity Huffman has said of the “Tisch mafia” at her alma mater, NYU, “Without them, it is very possible I wouldn’t be a working actress today.”</p>

[Iwishyouwell]

<p>It’s laughable that any person would ever believe casting directors, agents, managers, and directors don’t give a fig about where you’ve trained. Laughable, I tell you. They all look, and yes the prestige of your training does have the ability to get you into doors that might otherwise be closed for you.</p>

<p>No it’s not a guarantee.</p>

<p>No, nobody will ever ask “so did you matriculate from NYU?”, or any other such questions. If you attended NYU (or any other well regarded program you’d like to swap in here) for a decent amount of time, slap that on your resume, along with some of the specific courses you took, and if the teachers are notable, put that down on your resume. Nobody is going to ask for a photocopy of your degree. </p>

<p>You get a BFA because getting a college degree is important to you, for whatever reason. The training is for your craft, the name is for your career, and the degree is for you.</p>

<p>On the whole Tisch vs Direct Studio debate, no, going straight into the Atlantic/Stella Adler/Stonestreet/etc studios doesn’t remotely carry the same weight as having NYU on your resume. Those programs, while structured similarly to the NYU track, aren’t nearly as competitive, and don’t typically get the same level of regard within the studios themselves. And everyone knows. A casting director will take note of that NYU on your resume, regardless of what studio you studied under, far more than they will that conservatory training. They see actors of all skill levels ALL THE TIME from those studios. It’s so common place here in NYC.</p>

<p>Having said that, some training is typically better than no training. You don’t need a BFA, but the vast majority of actors do require some training. And this training is a lifetime endeavor. It doesn’t stop because you graduate, or just leave a program.</p>

[fishbowlfreshman]

<p>

No, nobody will ever ask “so did you matriculate from NYU?”, or any other such questions.

They won’t ask if you matriculated, but they will ask if you graduated if BFA is not behind the name and you better have if it’s there. And you damn well better have matriculated if any of it’s on your resume … That is up until you have some solid credits after which nobody any longer gives a fek. And if you don’t have any within a couple of years you a) will no longer have an agent and b) people will wonder what the problem is … </p>

<p>

They see actors of all skill levels ALL THE TIME from those studios. It’s so common place here in NYC.

Sort of like the 200+ a year Tisch puts out on the market who are renowned for being a very mixed bag? There was a Tisch student who used to post here whom I believe has graduated by now that gave the realistic current assessment as to prestige as I’ve heard it from horses mouths myself …

I have heard directly from Casting directors that a Tisch undergrad diploma does not have the same pull as a CMU, Yale MFA, Michigan MT, CCM MT, etc but it doesn’t look bad either. The way someone put it for me, a Tisch diploma won’t get you in the door but if you have a good audition and they see Tisch Drama they will know you have been well trained. </p>

<p>…</p>

<p>And why Tisch does not weed those people out is bothersome to me, when they list Tisch on their resume and give a horrible audition as well as being unprepared in terms of professional presentation, it makes us ALL look bad.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14134612-post6.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14134612-post6.html&lt;/a&gt;

Yes it does … Although I do know some good young actors who went there. Obviously, school doesn’t come up much anymore in conversations any more than it would in most workplaces, but what I’d always been told is that it’s what you make of it there. It’s not like at some of the top college conservatories and MFAs in which a Chair who brought two to prominence used to read the riot act to freshman during orientation with a table pounding speech in which he proclaimed, “I will not graduate an actor for whom I have to make excuses!” And he meant it …</p>

<p>Then, that’s really not so Tisch specific since it would probably be the case at a large number of the 200+ BFA and God only knows how many BA programs scattered around the country which have absolutely not one single prestige point over the better studios in the eyes of people on the business and production sides. There’s actually a current thread on the Backstage forum entitled “Things You Wish Someone Had Told You” on which one of the regular posters said …

I wish someone would have told me that I sucked when I first came to Los Angeles. I thought because I had a college degree in acting that this meant I was good. So I did several showcases… and then I finally realized I sucked. </p>

<p>For years I was remembered by who knows how many agents and casting directors. I know this for a fact because I ended up coincidentally meeting an agent years later who I had read for, and he remembered that I sucked. </p>

<p>I think they have probably for gotten at this point. And FYI, I took a mess of classes, and I don’t suck anymore. </p>

<p>I also wish I had discover Meisner earlier… when I discovered it at The Acting Corps (which I discovered after I realized that I sucked), it really took my acting and my life in a different direction.

At least he wasn’t six figures in debt … And The Acting Corps really isn’t one of the better respected LA studios. In fact, they’re generally considered to be kind of a joke. In case anyone is wondering, the LA studios I’d recommend that entail more than once-a-week classes and, yes, do offer better professional training than the lion’s share of college programs are … </p>

<p>[Ruskin</a> School of Acting](<a href=“http://www.ruskinschool.com%5DRuskin”>http://www.ruskinschool.com)
[William</a> Alderson Acting Studio](<a href=“http://www.aldersonstudio.com%5DWilliam”>http://www.aldersonstudio.com)
[Elizabeth</a> Mestnik Acting Studio](<a href=“http://www.emasla.com/]Elizabeth”>http://www.emasla.com/)
[Marjorie</a> Ballentine](<a href=“http://marjorieballentine.com/]Marjorie”>http://marjorieballentine.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%5DStella”>http://www.stellaadler-la.com)
[Janet</a> Alhanti<a href=“requires%20an%20industry%20referral”>/url</a>
[url=<a href=“http://www.howardfine.com%5DHoward”>http://www.howardfine.com]Howard</a> Fine Acting Studio](<a href=“http://www.actingclassnow.com/Acting_Class/Welcome.html]Janet”>http://www.actingclassnow.com/Acting_Class/Welcome.html)
[Aaron</a> Speiser Acting Studio](<a href=“http://www.aaronspeiser.com%5DAaron”>http://www.aaronspeiser.com)</p>

<p>Then there are also some audition classes and “finishing schools” that a lot of Hollywood agents will insist that a new client he or she signed from a college showcase - including those from top programs - attend before they’ll submit them for anything … </p>

<p>[Margie</a> Haber Studio](<a href=“http://margiehaber.com%5DMargie”>http://margiehaber.com)
[Annie</a> Grindlay Studio](<a href=“http://anniegrindlay.com%5DAnnie”>http://anniegrindlay.com)
[Robert</a> D’Avanzo](<a href=“http://www.robertdavanzo.com/Site_2/Home.html]Robert”>http://www.robertdavanzo.com/Site_2/Home.html)
[Amy</a> Lyndon](<a href=“http://www.coldreadingclasses.com%5DAmy”>http://www.coldreadingclasses.com)
[Lesly</a> Kahn & Company](<a href=“http://www.leslykahn.com%5DLesly”>http://www.leslykahn.com)
[Stan</a> Kirsch Studios](<a href=“http://stankirschstudios.com%5DStan”>http://stankirschstudios.com)
[Krater</a> Studios](<a href=“http://kraterstudios.com%5DKrater”>http://kraterstudios.com)</p>

<p>I’m certainly not promoting skipping college if you can afford it, but lets not overrate that in the scheme of things. Again … MOST of the actors I work with are studio trained. I’m not so sure I’d care to see their Shakespeare, but they’re for the most part very good within the range that they play, very professional on-set and generally a pleasure to be around.</p>

[MOMMY5]

<p>Fish, I’m not really getting this attack on NYU Tisch. I’ve come to expect a little more from your posts. Disappointing.</p>

<p>No school is perfect and no, not every kid accepted to NYU is gifted.
But take a look at the acceptance list at the top of the page under members names.</p>

<p>Every single person that was accepted to Tisch, also gained acceptance to either Purchase, Rutgers, UnCSA, Boston University or Univ. of Michigan. The only person that was only accepted at Tisch applied ED.</p>

<p>So I guess all these schools let the untalented in as well.</p>

[supportive]

<p>Great post MOMMY5!</p>

[Iwishyouwell]

<p>Well that sure is a mouthful fishbowlfreshman, I’ll give you that. Look NYU, Tisch, they don’t need my defense. What some “Tisch student” heard from a casting director is of zero consequence to me. I am not a Tisch student, I am a working actor who proudly graduated from an amazing program, alongside some rather incredible actors, received great connections from my time there, know very well how casting directors across the board STILL react to Tisch graduates, and who has absolutely nothing to prove. That is my Tisch experience. Obviously you, or someone you’ve spoken to, have had a different one. But this isn’t a theoretical conversation for me, this is my life. And that is the only perspective I can speak from.</p>

<p>Take care all.</p>

[halflokum]

<p>Fish, you’re a fascinating contributor. I’m thinking you’re possibly schooled in Greene’s “The 33 Strategies of War” and have since you started posting what… 8 years ago spent most of your time somewhere between strategy 13 and 18. Your posts make for extremely interesting reading (I recommend it for anyone with time on their hands). In fact, I’ll admit that in late Feb when I was recovering from major surgery on both legs and was confined to my bed for several weeks (and ran out of anything worth watching on Netflix), you intrigued me enough to actually go back and read everything you’ve ever posted. So you’ve hooked me. Pun entirely intended but I’m also being honest. I respect your intelligence and you’re a great writer and both serve you well here.</p>

<p>Out of curiosity, are you fun to work with? I go back and forth in my mental image. Part of me thinks YES, very fun, somebody that if I were way younger I’d love to have in my friend circle. Also somebody very smart and somebody that would push a fellow actor to their best work. (I’m not an actor I’m just imagining you in my own daughter’s sphere and you could be cool there too if you were younger). The other part thinks, hmm… could be one of those talks a good game types that eventually annoy the socks off of people. Don’t answer but just know that it is something that readers like me are ponder. But read on we do in the hope of helpful nuggets of which, you have thrown off more than a fair share. So I’m actually leaning towards the former but you do make me wonder and your post above and others like it are why.</p>

<p>But more importantly I’ve got couple of questions that I would like you to answer if you care to but first I’ll use one of those quote boxes that I’ve finally figured out how to use to help frame the question (and this is a quote of a quote that you used to make a point but hang with me anyway please):

I wish someone would have told me that I sucked when I first came to Los Angeles. I thought because I had a college degree in acting that this meant I was good. So I did several showcases… and then I finally realized I sucked.

Question(s – it’s a related series) #1: Did anyone ever tell you that you sucked? When in the process did you realize it? Where and what did you do about it? Alternatively: Should you have known you sucked before any decisions you made starting after high school and if the answer is “yes” would you have charted a different path in hindsight? Or also alternatively: If you simply never sucked, would the choices you made or that path you chose have mattered at all? </p>

<p>Now I’ll set up my second question which is once again a related series of questions. Say you are a student or the parent of a student at a school like NYU which is accepting 200 new students with a range of talent. Not unlike one could also expect at smaller programs and I think you’ve also acknowledged that above as well. But say you are a student in a school of whatever size but let’s have fun and absolutely in this example, pick on Tisch. I’m game and I know you are. And you’re entering Tisch’s acting (or MT) program at 18’ish where you like anyone out of high school – let’s be honest, don’t have a ton of independent life experience to draw on in your acting but people start somewhere just as did you. And you fully subscribe to the validity of this ideal: (And here I go again with the quote boxes…)

I will not graduate an actor for whom I have to make excuses!

</p>

<p>Questions(s – again a related series) #2: What if you are actually an actor that no one would ever have to make excuses for but you’re at Tisch by choice. Are you stupid, uninformed, delusional? And if so, how do you know? And for that matter, how does somebody at Julliard know if they are not all of those things too? Is there a secret handshake that only the not stupid, informed, and completely sane know that the rest of the world doesn’t and if that is the case, how did all of these other stupid, uninformed, and delusional actors get past the security gate because we need to fix that fast. Might give me more exceptional programming to watch on Netflix the next time I have to have bilateral surgery on my legs. That would be so awesome.</p>

<p>Whew…</p>

[fishbowlfreshman]

<p>You Tisch people are hilarious. Everything that doesn’t sing praises is an “attack.” That was just a “let’s keep it real” although I guess that reality must be galling to those paying near a quarter million dollars for the degree. See my recent post on AMDA if you want an attack … <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/15537707-post2.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/15537707-post2.html&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>I think I was very clear in saying that I know some good actors who went to Tisch. But, yes. Their graduates are renowned for being a very mixed bag and they seem to let an awful lot skate through to graduation who wouldn’t have made it past first year in some of the other top schools. Yes I know some very good actors who went there, but I also have the experience of having worked with one in summer rep some years ago who I literally thought was just some big dude they got off the street to play Charles in “As You Like It” during rehearsals. On opening night my friend who was playing Celia was looking over the program and whispered, “HE … went to … TISCH???” to which my impulsive reply was an immediate and loud “NUH UHHHHH!!!” He really was that bad and it seems like just about everyone has a similar story regarding a Tisch graduate. </p>

<p>Read all of claydavisdbc’s post that I linked and what he said is the realistic assessment as things currently stand. Not eight or ten years or however long ago Iwishyouwell graduated. NOW. Here it is again. I won’t block and move the whole thing because it’s very long. I’ll trust you to actually read it in full before you accuse me of attacking again … </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14134612-post6.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14134612-post6.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>halflokum,
I’m glad my posts garnered enough interest for you to go back and read them all. I think you probably saw an evolution in my attitudes about college training in general over the years. And not just in relation to Tisch. However, there was a time a few years back when Tisch somehow worked it’s way into probably 75% of discussions whether or not the thread originally had anything to do with it thereby sometimes leading to a bit of eye-rolling from some of us. </p>

<p>And yes. I have a reputation for being a lot of fun to work with which is part of why I’ve worked steadily over the past three years and probably make a healthier living than most of the parents on here although I couldn’t at this point afford to send a kid to Tisch, USC, CMU, BU, Syracuse or one of the other ridiculously overpriced schools without taking on debt. Then I might eventually if my current trend of upward momentum continues. As far as being told that I sucked? Yes. I was always held to a very high professional standard and my teachers didn’t let anything slide which is why I have little patience with some of these schools that hold themselves out to be professional training programs letting students get away with mailing in amateurish work. </p>

<p>I hope you don’t need surgery again, but if you do you’ll probably see me on Netflix. There’s a pretty good chance you already have. I’m not an offer-only “name” just yet, but a young, upper-middle class working actress with some upward momentum. I’ll have to read The 33 Strategies of War when I get the chance. Sounds interesting …</p>

[Iwishyouwell]

<p>

Not eight or ten years or however long ago Iwishyouwell graduated. NOW. Here it is again.

</p>

<p>Let me stop you right here Fishbowl. You can take up whatever crusade against whatever school, program, university, whatever, you like; that is your right, and I personally see nothing wrong with your view if it’s steeped in your personal reality. You certainly aren’t the only one to take a look at an actor who passed through a top program and said “really?”. I’ve done it myself, in regards to both fellow Tischies, and other major programs. We all have. There are no monopolies on that old hat phenomenon. This is a subjective art form, and to a reasonable degree there will be disagreement about the validity of any given person’s talent and skill at every single level of this game. </p>

<p>But where you are out of line, and completely clueless, in inserting inferences about my life. You do not know me. I have neither given my real name on this board, nor much at all about my history. You assume me to be some disconnected former student whose connections to my alma mater are strictly in the past. And you would know this how? You do not. I’ve given you the courtesy of not making a single assumption about your life. I’d ask you to exercise that basic courtesy in return.</p>

<p>The rest of this is none of my business, and frankly none of my concern. There clearly are quagmires here on CC; an obvious history of discord, annoyances, and infighting. In my short time here, I see that Tisch/NYU is a hot spot. I have no idea why. And I, thank God, am neither privy, nor interested, in finding out what the rooted issues are. </p>

<p>OP, if you’re still here, thank you for starting an interesting, and very relevant, thread. I’ve contributed all I care too and hope the rest of you enjoy the debate.</p>