<p>Clarifying a few things...</p>
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Liked the curriculum at CMU- more courses (BFA wise) in theatre- NYU believes you should have more of a liberal arts background.
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<p>The courses that are not the studio/training classes at Tisch, are divided between liberal arts subjects and THEATER STUDIES. At NYU, besides training in theater/performance skills, you also must study theater itself (more so than I have seen at some other BFA programs that may have one or two theater studies type classes). But these classes are still about theater and not other subjects. Basically, each semester, you train full time three days per week....not sure if that adds up to about 24 hours per week? and then take ONE liberal arts class and ONE Theater Studies class. So, while theater studies is not training itself, it is still courses about theater.</p>
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NYU doesn't have it's own theatre, I believe. They rent the theatres when needed.
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<p>This is only PARTLY true. Tisch owns theater space in the Tisch building (my D's mainstage musical was in a Tisch owned theater space). For even bigger productions, it does rent out Skirball. However, for studio productions put on by each studio, each studio has its own performance spaces (but these are not that large!). So, CAP21 or Playwrights Horizons, for example, put on shows in their own studio spaces set up for performances. Student run productions like GAP shows are put on in small spaces in the Tisch building. Mainstage shows are either in Skirball which they rent out or in the Tisch building's performance spaces. I'd say that the issue is not so much their own spaces but that many of these are small. </p>
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I asked about post-graduation support systems (many colleges have set up support systems in LA and Chicago etc. w/ websites and networking opportunities for jobs. ). CMU has some, I was told NYU didn't.
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<p>NYU/Tisch does have support systems in place for post graduate career building. But further than that, ONE advantage with NYU/Tisch is that there is NETWORKING while STILL IN SCHOOL. While I do not believe that one needs to attend a theater program in NYC, now that my child does, I have observed some clear advantages and one of these is that there is networking from day one right in the city. I know my kid is constantly involved in things in the city (many for professional pay) because she is right there and constantly one thing leads to another and the opportunities are right there. Not a week goes by before she tells me of a new opportunity she has due to networking with professionals in the city and at NYU that comes up due to being there. She told me of one just last night.....someone saw her perform at Joe's Pub last month.....then hired her for a professional gig in ten days and then she rehearsed for that yesterday and was asked to record on a demo CD of a new musical along with some well known recent graduates from BFA programs who are currently on Broadway. Things like this happen a lot to her by virtue of both being at NYU and the contacts/networking there and also by being in NYC now for the four years of school and not arriving on that scene after graduation. She has enough networking in place that she can get paid work upon graduation...she already does now. CMU of course has fantastic networking once students graduate and move to NYC or LA.</p>
<p>Whoops, I totally cross-posted with Soozie, who has tons more information :D. Anyway, here is my 2 cents:</p>
<p>Just wanted to clarify that NYU does in fact have their own theatres (for example, just the drama dept at Tisch alone has 4, albeit small ones). Here is a direct link to NYU's tech theatre page that provides some more insight for those considering their options in tech theatre. </p>
<p>Facilities:</a> Tisch School of the Arts at NYU</p>
<p>One of the reasons my D chose NYU is because of its direct exposure to excellent networking opportunities. The valuable contacts she made, even during her relatively short stay when she participated in their summer program were a great example :D.</p>
<p>Thanks for setting me straight.
The information I shared was what was given to me at an open house at NYU/Tisch last year. After touring Syracuse, Ithaca, Emerson etc and hearing about their support systems after graduation, I asked the question to a faculty member as well as our official tour guides. I received puzzled looks from the tour guides (senior acting students and interns). The faculty member said that there was no official support system-but when he got emails from people looking for designers he passed along the email. Actually, I was quite surprised to hear that there was no networking system in place. Glad to hear that was definitely wrong.
Thanks for clarifying--theatres etc. It just goes to show- research, research, research!</p>
<p>Perhaps it had to do with semantics. There are career offices that help the students at NYU/Tisch. But networking is not what I think of as a formalized system. But it is in abundance at NYU. The networking opportunities that my D has had while attending Tisch are not through any formalized networking program. By the way, there are also senior showcases for industry. Also, the industry is right there and can be invited to attend productions, for example. Some of the faculty are working professionals in the industry (my kid has had some opportunities, for example, through THAT avenue). And some is just being in NYC. One thing leads to another. I can think of several experiences my kid is having just in this one week right now that all evolved through networking and not through official NYU channels.</p>
<p>Elon offers similar majors in your area of interest, so I would recommend that you check it out.</p>
<p>On your question about NYU vs. CMU, we looked at both schools, although I am unfamiliar with the technical aspects of the programs. </p>
<p>They are similar in that they are both well known and both very expensive.</p>
<p>They are different in many ways. CMU has more of a "campus" feel and is a relatively small university in numbers of students. It is in a very neat part of Pittsburgh that has a great college town feel. NYU is right in the heart of NYC and is fairly spread out. It is a very large university in terms of numbers of students and also has a very large number of students in the drama dept. (relative to CMU which seems to have a relatively small number of drama students). NYU's drama students are spread throughout several studios, so I don't know how they place their technical students. NYU would offer more diversity in terms of general student body, if that is important. CMU has very technically oriented students when you get outside of the drama dept.</p>
<p>NYU places more emphasis for acceptance on academics than CMU does, at least for the performance majors. Also, CMU's program is much more conservatory style, in that your classes are chosen for you with very few classes taken outside of the drama dept. NYU Tisch has a liberal arts component. My understanding is that students take about 3 days worth of conservatory style training in their drama studio and about 2 days of regular academic classes each week. You might really want to check into what classes you would take in each program and decide which better fits what you are looking for.</p>
<p>Lastly, I think prestige should not play a part in your decision. Many other, more personal factors, need to be considered.</p>