<p>sup peoples i kno being a sophmore maybe early to be college shopping but i wanna get my ducks in a row. my number 1 school atm. is NYU to double major in Drama and Psychology. (plz excuse the newbie rambling) but how strong is the Tisch Drama program. just regular drama not musical. i know they are #1 in the country w/Grammys etc. but do they really prepare students or are they just an awards factory. Ty</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It’s never too early to be looking at colleges. The more you do now, the easier time you’ll have later in high school!</p></li>
<li><p>Just so you know (you’ll read it in tons of threads on here about NYU), academics at NYU are weight 50/50 along with your audition for acceptance. So keep your grades up, do well on the ACT/SAT, and whatever you can for the rest of high school to increase your chances</p></li>
<li><p>Someone else at NYU, or someone who is more familiar with the specifics of the program will know more than me…but I know double majoring at NYU is VERY difficult. Not many people do it. It IS possible, but it is a lot of class time.</p></li>
<li><p>If I am correct (I remember reading on a thread here, or on another website), NYU has for many years consistently produced many actors/actresses who have won Tonys and Oscars. They aren’t just an awards factory though (although you would think…that wouldn’t be a bad thing if many of their graduates are being awarded for their talent and work). They give great training, and they put many actors out into the professional world with the tools they need to be successful in the business. So I’d say yes, they do really prepare their students. =)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>My D’s first year at Tisch (Playwrights Horizons - PH) was nothing like being in a factory! It was a highly personal, creative, challenging, supportive environment. I would say the program focuses on life as an artist – not becoming a famous, award-winning star which is the reality for a very very very few actors. Most are lucky to scratch out a living,no matter what school they graduate from! An emphasis of PH is to encourage the students to trust their own creative instincts (and to get to know those instincts as well). In addition to training techniques and performing published plays, students learn to create their own work, and to analyze and evaluate the art of making words on a page come to life in 3-d form. </p>
<p>At PH, they have this wonderful weekly class for freshmen called “salon” where performing artists come in to talk to the students. They come from a variety of endeavors and show the students how artists make their way in the city.</p>
<p>All students at Tisch are assigned to a specific studio for their first two years, and each has its own specific training methods and focus, but at each one, I’m sure that, as theatreguy said, they give you the tools to go out into the world as an actor. Junior year, all students have the option to switch studios.</p>
<p>Awards? Out of anyone’s control. And that’s not really why actors go into this crazy profession anyway. Well, maybe some do…</p>
<p>as for double majoring, technically it is possible, but you probably would need to use all your elective gen ed credits to do so (there are some distribution requirements, a course in the various disciplines, humanities, quantitative – or something like that, I don’t recall, but AP credits can be used to meet the distribution requirements). </p>
<p>There also is the issue of finding classes that are offered on the two days you’re not in studio. There are plenty of courses to choose from, but you are limited to Tues/ Thurs. or Mon. / Wed. depending on whether you’re a freshman or upperclassmen. Studio is Mon, Wed., Friday for upper class and Tues, Thurs, Friday for freshmen.</p>
<p>Also, my D’s best friend is in the New Studio, and boy are they getting prepared for the real world! They work really hard, and the Studio focuses on teaching them not just classical techniques, but methods (eg., dance styles) that are relevant to what’s being performed in current musical theater, so they can adapt to whatever is called for when they graduate. The NSB also has working professionals in teaching (yes, including the superstars like Sutton Foster, who teaches there when she’s not performing…) but the students are getting the real life hard working reality of performing, not a glitzy look at fame. </p>
<p>I know that my D and her friend both considered their studios their “family.” That doesn’t happen in a “factory” setting…</p>
<p>SDon - A nervous PH parent thanks you for your posts.</p>
<p>Don’t be nervous!! My D just spent two years there and while she was initially uncertain about all the “non-acting” training in the first year and a half, if turned out to be a wonderful foundation. Their goal is to help the students think about having a “life in the theatre” which can be composed of related skills and experiences other than acting (in order to increase the odds of making a living in this biz!). I personally think she could also be a talented director, but on her own volition would never have tried it. She even admitted that directing gave her much food for thought and new perspective when subsequently acting in a play. So it was a very broad and enriching type of training. She is moving on to Classical Studio for a year but hopes to return for 4th year. It’s a great environment.</p>