<p>I was wondering if anybody could help me out? I have heard mixed things about NYU and Tisch. Some credible people I have talked to who have had experience in the music industry said that at Tisch it’s really all about the graduate students and that the undergrads won’t be able to get good experience on stage because the graduate students get all the roles. Also others I’ve talked to said it’s good to start somewhere out of New York and be able to gain experience and then make the switch to New York. Also, if you guys had any quibbles you had with the Tisch experiences I would love to hear about it. Tisch is still my first choice, but I was wondering if you had any negative things to say about it. Thanks.</p>
<p>What you were told about grad students at Tisch is entirely false information. In fact, the graduate program is completely separate from the undergraduate drama program at Tisch. The drama/musical productions are also completely separate. Therefore, students who are undergrads are NOT vying for roles with the grad students. They are not even in the same productions. Every role in the undergraduate productions (and there are over 100 productions per year of all types) are filled by undergrad drama students. The graduate program has its own theater productions.</p>
<p>I have a daughter at Tisch and she loves it immensely and has had wonderful opportunities there of all kinds. Her experiences have been very positive and it has been the perfect match for her. </p>
<p>It is not necessary to go to college in NYC if you want to study theater. You certainly can study elsewhere and eventually come to NYC following graduation. I do not believe one should narrowly look for a college in NYC as a prime goal. HOWEVER, I must admit that now that my D is at NYU/Tisch, the networking and opportunities that are due in a large part by both being at NYU and being in NYC have been plentiful. When she graduates, she will already be immersed in theatrical and performing arts pursuits in NYC and be connected with others in the field both due to who she has been in contact with at NYU but also in the city itself. </p>
<p>I strongly stuggest that rather than talk to those OUTSIDE of a BFA program or college, to talk to current students and recent graduates of those who ATTENDED the program, as well as faculty/administrators.</p>
<p>PS....one neat thing about the graduate school though.....is that Tisch has a unique graduate program in Musical Theater Writing and there are many opportunities for a MT actor that can arise from association with the graduates in that program. My D has experienced that in several capacities so far, including paid opportunities.</p>
<p>I would agree that I have nothing negative to say about NYU's location, gaining experience or the competition for roles in productions. In fact I've found those very positive things. Like anything there are negative aspects to the experience, but I'd say those are pretty much just the admin and finanicial side. (things like scheduling difficulties, being a number in a system, very expensive tuition). and in any case I've found the positives of Tisch by far outway the negatives! Like Soozie said, the only interaction between Graduate and Undergraduate students is the Graduate Musical Theatre Writers or Film Students sometimes using Undergraduate actors when they require them for a project they're working on. Graduate actors work on totally separate productions. Maybe in Steinhardt they work on the same shows?</p>
<p>tb32eagle, it's really good that you are talking to people about college programs. But as soozievt and jenny said, it is important to include among those to whom you speak people who have had experience with the program you are interested in, such as current and former students, teachers, administrators and industry professionals, if you have access to those. </p>
<p>My D went through the audition process last year and one thing we found that was not particularly useful, though, was talking to kids in one program about another program. In other words (and I am making this example up), it really isn't useful to talk to, say, kids at CCM about Michigan or the kids at FSU about Elon, though you will find no shortage of kids who are not at a program who want very badly to tell you what's wrong with the program you are asking about! (You will also find plentiful college reps at each school who will tell you that THEIR program doesn't produce "cookie cutter" performers like the others do. You might amuse yourself counting how many times you hear that!:))</p>
<p>But only the students currently in the program and those who were in it at one time can really tell you what it's like. You will be surprised at how honest students are, too: they will tell you what's good and what they think is not so good. Then you can weigh all the factors and make your decision. Best of luck!</p>
<p>In the name of full disclosure, my D chose to go to NYU/Tisch/CAP21 and is heading there tomorrow, in fact. She is very excited. She was fortunate enough to have choices of several really good programs and chose Tisch.</p>
<p>My daughter graduated from NYU, Tisch this past Spring 2008. She was in performances from her sophomore year on each year that she attended. Her chosen studio was Strasberg, with a final semester at Stonestreet Studio. I cannot speak for others, but I know my D has shared with us that it was the experience of a lifetime. As her parent I can share that in my view she had the perfect mix of performance/academics in her four years at NYU. Additionally, she spent a semester abroad in Buenos Aires and was able toexperience their culture, along with its theatre, also assisting in her growth as an actress. </p>
<p>When she was researching schools she attempted to talk to representatives and then visited each of her prospective schools. It was apparent when she came to audition the Fall before her Freshman year, that NYU was the right fit for her. I think it is so important that students look for the right fit, as opposed to what they might hear from others or read about schools they think they might like to attend. After visits at each of my D's selected schools, she had no problem identifying which school was the best fit for her. Intuition is a valuable asset. Good luck to everyone.</p>
<p>theatredivasmom makes a really great point!</p>
<p>Thank you everybody. Thanks for clearing all those things up. I'm glad I found this website. If you guys know any other ways to get inside information on these schools that would be fantastic to know. Thanks again.</p>
<p>Just wanted to underscore what NMR stated above about the importance of getting information from the program you are looking at from students inside that respective program and not necessarily blindly rely on people's opinions on "schools", even industry experts, as we found that often times people would spoke negatively about programs they had not been admitted to themselves, or simply could not afford to attend. </p>
<p>We found people especially opinionated when it came to NYU ;). My D is happily moving in tomorrow and felt from the first time she visited that this was her "home away from home". I hope that that same gutt feel may guide you as well as you go through this process, wherever your home away from home may turn out to be!</p>
<p>can you study abroad through tisch?</p>
<p>Yes, go to the Tisch site and read about study abroad programs. Several of my D's Tisch friends have studied abroad for a semester. As well, many have done the summer abroad program through ETW in Amsterdam. There are other summer abroad programs through Tisch other than Amsterdam such as in Paris or Ghana (and others).</p>
<p>Here:
Fall/Spring</a> Study Abroad: Tisch School of the Arts at NYU</p>
<p>There are programs in Dublin, Havana, Johannesburg, London, Prague and Shanghai. Actually, one of my D's friends in the BFA in Acting program at BU did the NYU/Tisch abroad program in Johannesburg last year. Also, you can do abroad programs through other universities. One of D's friends at Tisch (who is studying directing in Playwrights Horizons) is in Berlin this semester, for example.</p>
<p>But that guy in Berlin didn't do Tisch classes, he did academics. Unless it's a Tisch Special Program you can only do the NYU classes in that study abroad area.</p>