<p>My S has been accepted to the BFA Acting Program at MMC. In looking into the school, I have seen mixed reviews. Most of the negative remarks seem to be from liberal arts students who were looking for a more traditional college experiance.
When I looked at the list of of alumni credits for the school I was very impressed and the last few times I have seen a show on Broadway there is always a alum from MMC in the cast, reinforcing thier list of working alumni in my eyes. My S loved the school and the BFA Acting program.
I have heard that performance opportunities are limited but they put on 2 shows each semester, similiar to other schools. There also seems to be student directed opportunities for students.
As I am researching this program, I wanted to ask all of you if you have any information that may help us in our decision? Any information would be helpful. Thank you!</p>
<p>Everyone has different needs, but I’d say if your S loves the school, that is the most important factor.</p>
<p>As for productions, I’ll give you our perspective. Some kids want to be “on stage” all the time. It’s natural. But what is very common at BFAs, especially in smaller programs, is that there are a few mainstage productions each semester, and a few other public productions (such as staged readings, student-produced shows, etc.). A huge amount of the “acting” that these kids do is in class - preparing monologues, doing group projects, scene studies, etc. At some schools, there are other class-related acting opportunities, such as being in a film, a scene for a directing class, or a senior capstone. </p>
<p>At my D’s school there is “guaranteed” casting. That means that at least once in the year a student will be cast on the main stage. It’s very exciting to be in a full-scale show, no doubt about that. But I know that most of the students - my D included - feel that their real training is in class. There’s a real difference between spending day after day hanging out at rehearsal when you have an ensemble part in a big show and working steadily on really meaningful material with the guidance of a professor and the feedback of your peers. </p>
<p>I think for most kids the balance among all of the different learning opportunities adds up to a terrific experience. I don’t know much about MMC - my D refused to look at schools in Manhattan proper - but we do know a current freshman who is there studying a subject unrelated to the performing arts, and he is very happy with it. So I guess the “college” experience can’t be so bad after all.</p>
<p>He does love the program. He is very interesed in the Classical training they offer. He has been offered an academic scholorship so far and we are waiting on the full financial packet to arrive. Thanks!</p>
<p>Great scholarships are not to be taken lightly. It was a major deciding factor for my D, too. It’s very fortunate to have the program you want at an affordable cost. Good luck to him!</p>
<p>I probably ignored the complaints from liberal arts students looking for a traditional college experience as my daughter would not have viewed that as negative. I did see here and have heard elsewhere that the faculty and training is good. Being in NYC is obviously a plus for bringing in faculty that are also working professionals. The main things that kept it off her final list was a preference to be out of NYC for her training and the issue you raise about performance opportunities. One question you might ask is what the split is like between male and female. If the school tends to be quite a bit more female (which is what I would expect), that might really help your S with performance opportunities. I do also agree with EmmyBet that staged performance is not an essential part of learning the craft. You might want to also ask questions about amount of hours in the studio working on skills.</p>
<p>My S has been there twice to visit and once for auditions and likes it a lot! He was accepted into their BFA Acting and knows a couple of people who have gone to school there (already graduated) who loved their experience in the BA/MT component. They especially mentioned the small class sizes, in both theatre and liberal arts classes.They also liked getting to do internships at area theatres, etc. And you can’t beat being in NYC for heavens’ sake. What a great opportunity!</p>
<p>Before my D was in college, I heard it said here that most of the Acting training isn’t in productions - and it took her being in her BFA for me really to understand what that meant. My D can be Medea one week, Blanche DuBois the next, and in 3 experimental, original theatre scenes the next. She’s learning to use her voice, her body, and her emotions in so many ways, simultaneously. I think being in a show is a chance to bring it all together in a unique way, so of course it is still very important. But it is only part of the learning experience, and ultimately not really what she’s there for - shows are not the most efficient way to learn effectively. I’m a believer!</p>
<p>Great advice-Thank you!</p>
<p>My son loves the idea of living in NYC. He felt a connection to the school right away. We are looking for good solid training and MMC seems to provide that as far as I can tell. Acting720 is your S considering going to MMC? I agree it is a great opportunity!</p>
<p>One more little point - yes, shows are good for the resume. But only so many people can have leads, and I’d rather see my kid getting great training opportunities and be able to show that in an audition, than have a long resume that ultimately doesn’t contribute to her presence in person. She’ll come out of 4 years with a very reasonable and useful mix of all sides of the experience - including tech, which as we know is how an awful lot of these kids will make their rent money.</p>
<p>cjenny2: Yes, he is seriously considering it. He also got the nice academic award, which is a big component to whatever decision we make. He has six other schools to hear from, but even if he does land a few of those, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him end up at MMC. :)</p>
<p>Sounds like we are in the same spot! My son has 6 more schools that we are still waiting on too. MMC is still a major contender for us. It will be interesting to see where my S ends up- there are so many factors that play a part in the final decision. Good luck to you and your son!</p>
<p>There are some things prospective students should know about the BFA Acting program at MMC. Students in the program are sometimes moved into the BA at the end of sophomore year through a process Marymount calls “probation,” which they deny is a “cut” because there is no specific number to which they whittle the class. At the end of the fall semester, sophomores present a scene from their acting class to the theatre faculty. Apparently most years about half of the BFA class is put on “probation” as a result of this scene. Those on probation present a new scene at the end of the spring semester, at which point a verdict is reached. Many choose to switch to the BA, nominally of their own accord, for a wide variety of reasons. The key difference between the two programs is that the BA students do not take the junior and senior year Acting sequences, which cover period styles such as Chekhov, Ibsen, and Shakespeare. </p>
<p>It is disturbing that Marymount neither acknowledges this as a “cut” nor voluntarily provides information about the process to prospective students who might weigh an acceptance into the BFA differently against offers of admission to other schools in light of this information.</p>
<p>Apart from the official probation, the attrition rate from the BFA is extremely high. The number who graduate from the program is always dramatically lower than the number who enter freshman year. Also, quite a few of those who do earn the BFA degree either come in as transfers partway through or audition in from the BA at the end of sophomore year. Each student’s reasons for leaving the program (or the school) are unique and personal. Nevertheless, these trends do not speak well of Marymount’s ability to select students who will succeed in the program based on the initial audition.</p>
<p>Alittleteapot - thank you for the information. Do you know this because of first hand experience? You have given me more good questions to ask. </p>
<p>Sent from my iPhone using CC</p>
<p>cjenny2 – I’ve seen this 1 hit wonder posts come up from time to time. I remember one just like this about how Pace a year or so ago. You shouldn’t disregard them entirely. But I also think you need to take them with a grain of salt as well.</p>
<p>^^There was a similar occurrence on the Otterbein thread earlier this year, and a bit of a brief campaign against Hartt last year. I agree with ActingDad that you need to take these kinds of posts with a big dose of skepticism and obviously gather information from a variety of sources (preferably people with real experience rather than just those who “heard it from a friend”). On the other hand, it’s probably pretty straightforward to follow up on things like attrition rate or cuts, so this gives you a direction to take when asking questions!</p>
<p>Thanks ActingDad, I did notice the one post. Good thing to check on though.</p>
<p>Yes it does Times3- thanks!</p>
<p>It’s worth asking about, but I have never heard this information from anyone who has gone there and we do have connections to several who are alums from my S’s program. I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t have reported this to my son’s drama teacher at some point. </p>
<p>A new member just floats on to these posts and puts up a scathing review and then is gone. Hmm.</p>
<p>Definitely ask the school about sophomore year probation if you are considering the BFA program. Some of the students who work in theatre recruitment will likely be happy to discuss it with you.</p>
<p>The department’s official policy on both artistic and academic probation in the BFA program is available under “BFA Acting Evaluations” in the Theatre Arts Department Student Handbook, a version of which is available on the website:
<a href=“http://www.mmm.edu/study/programs/dfpa/theatrearts/pdfs/TheatreHandbook2010-2011.pdf[/url]”>http://www.mmm.edu/study/programs/dfpa/theatrearts/pdfs/TheatreHandbook2010-2011.pdf</a></p>
<p>cjenny2, if you would like to know more about me personally can you PM me?</p>