<p>Should I take it into account if a school has zero notable alumni? One school that comes to mind is CCM. Although I hear great things, it's been around for a very long time and they have zero notable alumni, isn't that kinda weird????</p>
<p>Depends on who YOU consider notable… CCM has the oldest Musical Theater program in the country</p>
<p><a href=“http://magazine.uc.edu/famousalumni/broadway/current.html#recent[/url]”>http://magazine.uc.edu/famousalumni/broadway/current.html#recent</a></p>
<p>Page contains links to other alumni as well…</p>
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<p>Yes I know CCM MT is the best. I’m wondering about CCM Drama though, they are very separate programs.</p>
<p>Do you want to hear about “famous” alumni or do you want to know if their graduates are happy and productive and working in their chosen creative field? Honestly, if you are going into this seeking “fame” - you would have better luck trying out for the NFL.</p>
<p>The link contains several articles on its alums, including Acting majors. </p>
<p>Like megpmom says, though, you should be less concerned with noted alums and ask the program how many of their grads are happily and steadily employed.</p>
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<p>megpmom, I’m not trying to seek “fame” but I go to the theater and watch a good amount of shows and I have never once seen CCM Drama anywhere. I have seen however CCM MT majors working steadily who aren’t “famous”. Most of those people in that link are MT majors who definitely aren’t famous, if I were interested in MT that would be one of first choices because of this fact.</p>
<p>Also please do not put words into my mouth, Megpmom. Notable and “famous” are quite different.</p>
<p>We saw two Broadway shows when we were in New York for the Unifieds, and I SCRUTINIZED those bios looking for names of schools. Sadly, very few bios had that information.</p>
<p>dreambelle, I think what they are trying to say is that it is more important to look at what the graduates on a whole are doing, not if there are famous alumni. It is very very very crucial you see what the graduates are doing in the years after they leave the school. Are they working in their chosen field? It was an education and an eye opener to my kids to see what the opportunities are beyond the known.</p>
<p>I was curious so I looked at the CCM Drama Alumni pages. It looks to me like they have many notable alumni who continue to work professionally in all areas of the performing arts industry for many years past graduation.</p>
<p>I hate to say this but many top rated actors and actresses did not even go to college or even take any classes in drama! Both of my kids are in college because we believe in an education. A lot of the business is who you know or how you look so I wanted to make sure both of my kids also have a college degree. It’s a rare few that make it to the upper echelon. Neither of my kids chose their colleges because of notable or famous alumni. They chose a school and program where they would be happy. If you think about it, there are only a few Broadway stars that are household names. I consider myself pretty educated in the entertainment industry and most of the time, I have to go to google to find out which college a famous/notable person attended- or even if they went to college. To me, the bottom line is not where you go to college but what you do with your education. I’m sure there are graduates of Juilliard waiting tables and graduates of Western Michigan working on Broadway. From what I’ve read, CCM is a great school and is highly sought after.</p>
<p>dreambelle13, would you please define what “notable” means to you?</p>
<p>For instance, I would consider Albert Hague, Faith Prince & Karen Olivo (yes, both MT, but have had successful onscreen careers as well), Marcia Lewis, and Dorian Harewood all notable alums of CCM. Are you looking for more contemporary, current alums?</p>
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<p>dreambelle, no one is trying to assume anything but good about your intentions, and we’ve all had the same fears. In fact, one of our most helpful posters often recommends that you research performers you respect and consider applying to where they went to school - so what kind of graduates a program produces is a great question to ask.</p>
<p>I will agree with people who say nobody can know how many “successful” (however defined) graduates come from a program because there are just too many places for people to work in theatre, film and TV and not enough information about where they went to school. </p>
<p>I think finding out where people you admire went to school helps in finding programs that teach an approach that you probably would respect. But there are so many other factors of personality, interest (which changes), maturity, life events, that the success “rate” of graduates is also misleading. I’d say that if a reasonable percentage of graduates are able to find work in their field, and the career planning is available through the school and the dept, that’s the best you can do. Just as many actors don’t go to theatre programs, many graduates of theatre programs aren’t out there having full-time theatre careers - but that doesn’t mean the program wasn’t good or that it didn’t help them to get one. That is a very personal choice and path for each individual.</p>
<p>I’ll amend my usual comment ( 
) and say that if the program and curriculum appeal to you and you feel a good fit overall, the school will serve you very well. Some career-focused programming is generally a good thing to look for. But what students do with that programming is kind of up to them, and to luck as well.</p>
<p>Why I understand Dreambelle13 why you are asking the question (schools are judged on their reputation), I would delve deeply into the teacher’s resumes. Success of graduates should be only a percentage of the decision making process.</p>
<p>Well, it’s pretty high on my list for my son. As for what “success” means, I don’t need to see a big list of stars, I just want to know that most of the graduates go on to work in professional theatre or film or television.</p>
<p>Dreambelle13, I don’t think that is a bad or inappropriate question. The school is known more for MT so you are smart to dig a little deeper. </p>
<p>Many of the posters below are correct that it is more important to have many working actors , than a few notable actors. But there is no real way for us to qualify that.
When we were searching for colleges we kept hearing about how great Michigan was. We learned that it is their MT program that is considered one of the best, not their straight drama. Not that it isn’t good, it’s just not considered one of the top 10 programs. On their literature about the program they named a couple of actors who graduated from there, but it was like 50 years ago and in 2 out of 3 cases, didn’t even major in theatre. This worried my husband. A lot.</p>
<p>This may not be a concern to some people, but to others this may matter. And they are entitled. College costs a bloody fortune and some people would say we are crazy to spend $200,000 + on a theatre degree. But if it is considered one of the best programs of its kind, it may seem a little less nuts.</p>
<p>In addition to studying a school’s BFA program content, their staff, their facilities, and their human interaction, why not look at notable and not notable alumni? It is important to see that alumni are working, yes, but it doesn’t hurt to have notable alumni. Many schools boast of their network beyond the school as a sales point. So what does that network look like? Is it going to provide the real connections in an area a student is interested in heading? Seems to me that if a school is going to have bragging rights, then it is important for a student who is looking to gain from the potential connections to research these connections. If a program graduates many working MT majors who go on to have long working careers on cruise ships, and this is not where a potential student wants to land a career, then that is something the potential student should take into consideration. This is just an example and I am not bad mouthing cruise ship work. A program’s maturity should also be taken into consideration. And yes, many schools seem to “cross-departments” (acting/MT) with their most outspoken list of notable alumni.</p>
<p>There are reasons to look at alumni. This proves a longevity to a program. It does not prove that the current program is strong, it will be highly unlikely to get anyone work (we have an alum that is a sought after film actor, and while he is very kind to our students, he will never be in a position to get anyone work). The alumni network is nice, and may become something important for you. But the best it does is give you something to chat about at an audition… “oh you went to State U… so did I… did you have Billy for Acting II”. Will that simple connection be an advantage. Tiny perhaps, but you won’t get the role based on that. You will get the role based on talent. Any advantage is a good advantage. But in many cases the faculty of these institutions change and the quality of the training… both get better and worse over time. I don’t want to denigrate any alumni networking. But I also wouldn’t choose a school based solely on that criteria. It’s too volatile and the outcomes are too weak. This is a tiny business as it is. Believe me, your personal connections are far more likely to bring you work than some distant shared connection.</p>
<p>My words on networking did not mention that it should be a sole criteria. And it is wrong to say that “the best” a strong network can do for a student is give them something to talk about at an audition.</p>
<p>I’m with AdaQuince on this one. I’ve really appreciated your insight kjgc but it seems to me you are slightly underselling the alumni angle. Going pack to the OP, I completely agree with sentiment that the number of “names” is irrelevant – what is more important are the people out there working. But it seems to me, that this is worth a bit more than just something to talk about at an audition. </p>
<p>As a lawyer always wondering where the next case is going to come from (I’m a patent litigator if my services are needed …), I totally understand the importance of building a network. Certainly, an actor can build the kind of network necessary to sustain working without graduating from a school with a long history of putting almumni into the field. But graduating from a school that has a long history of alumni has to be a plus in terms of buidling that network. At the Syracuse audition my daughter went to, it was discussed a lot as to how there are active working networks of alumni in various cities.</p>
<p>This is a good thread – giving parents and students a variety of perspectives to ponder, since there is no right answer and no one best school.</p>
<p>That said, when my son’s acting teacher listed two schools “that network better than anybody,” I gave them my closest scrutiny. One turned out to be a great match (though a reach school for pretty much everybody) and the other less so, so he didn’t apply to that one.</p>
<p>So many factors to look at. Some are important for my student, others not at all.</p>