My D is considering enrolling at Pace for this program, and I am wondering if anyone has experience with it. We are attending an accepted students day this weekend and I hope some of our questions will be answered, but I am curious about whether anyone can give me any information about the instructors or classes. Thanks!
For additional background, I am copying my earlier post in the MT forum:
First, thanks to all who have posted in this forum. I have learned a lot from you. As seems to be the case with many here, this process has taken over our lives for the past year, and now it has come down to the wire, and my D is struggling to make a final decision. I just want her to be happy and challenged in a good way, and get the training and support she needs. Last summer, she did the pre college program at UArts and loved it - she learned a lot and met wonderful people, and was accepted to the MT program without having to audition. Meanwhile, she applied to 10 other schools, and was admitted to Emerson (BFA Theater and Performance), Point Park MT, Otterbein BFA acting, the New School, Pace (BA acting International Performance Ensemble), and was waitlisted at NYU Tisch. She opted not to audition at Marymount and SUNY New Paltz. She really liked Emerson, but sadly it is out financially, as is Point Park and New School (although Point Park is reconsidering their offer, I doubt it will change enough). Otterbein is not a good fit for her because of the location and less diversity among the students.
At this point, she changes her mind every day, or even every hour, between UArts and Pace, and other days she says she doesn’t like either of them. We have heard a lot of positive things about UArts (thanks @myloves ), and I would be pleased to have her close to home (we live in the Phila area). On the other hand, she has been hearing some negative buzz from people at a Phila theater where she is currently doing an internship as part of her senior year of high school, and is saying it has a bad reputation.
We had a very good impression of Pace, and she likes the idea of living in NYC (and so far, they have given us the best financial aid package!) My concern there is that the BA acting program is more narrow, and she won’t have the opportunity to take voice and dance, and we might have to pay for private voice lessons.
We are attending an accepted student’s program at Pace this weekend, and she is doing an overnight there for the Performing arts students, and then she has arranged to visit classes at UArts on Monday. I hope that these visits will make her choice clear.
I welcome any advice or input! Thanks.
The daughter of an acquaintance of mine was in that same program at Pace and left it because she was unhappy with it.
It’s such a shame that Emerson is out of reach for you financially. If your only two realistic choices are UArts and the BA International Ensemble program at Pace, UArts would probably be the better choice.
Otterbein is an excellent school for theatre and I know of two current students who are very happy there.
The main thing about the BA International Ensemble program at Pace is that you need to understand exactly what it is and isn’t. To steal from their website:
The International Performance Ensemble incorporates the BA Acting and Directing programs into ensembles – or companies – that enter into a year-long process of collaborative development and production of full-length plays. Students take Performance Ensemble courses in their first and third years, alongside other core program requirements such as Acting, Movement, Vocal Production, etc. This is a highly individualized and professionally guided program, unique in the landscape of performing arts programs in the U.S. Students have a special travel abroad experience in the second year of the program to present their work.
From that it should be clear that this is not a typical BA or BFA acting program. My D decided not to apply to it, because she wanted much more the “normal” sequence of theatre training courses. On the other hand, if your child is really interested in experience abroad, this is a great way to get it because most theatre programs have a difficult time fitting study abroad into the flow of the very structured curriculum (they usually do it as a summer add-on).
I have a very positive view of Pace based on my D’s experience there over the summer and on our visits, but even when you like a particular school you have to make sure you know what the individual programs will offer.
My D is on an alternate for the BFA Acting and Pace and is on the waitlist at Otterbein (also BFA Acting). We are heading to accepted student’s weekend at Pace as well - she has been accepted to the school, do not know about BFA so she cannot do the performing arts overnight. One of her classmates has been accepted into the BA International Acting program at Pace but has the same concerns about voice/dance. Even with the substantial financial package, adding back in dance and voice could really add up. I also read in the threads that costs can really creep up over the 4 years at Pace.
We also know a number of students at Otterbein and they all seem very happy with the program. I’ve not heard anything negative about the program from the students. One of my D’s current classmates was also offered admission to the BFA Acting program at Otterbein but is turning it down for Marymount. I agree you should reach out to other CC Otterbein parents about the program - they will have the best insight!
Good luck. April is a seriously long month.
Thanks for your input @NJTheatreMOM . I agree about Emerson as that was her first choice. They did offer a decent amount of aid, but no merit awards, and it would mean taking A LOT of loans, which I am not in favor of. Also, she would not have the chance to do musical theatre there.
Do you know why your acquaintance’s daughter was unhappy in that program? I realize it can be a very personal thing.
Yes, @artskids , April is a seriously looong month! The program at Otterbein seemed excellent and the students we met could not have been nicer and more welcoming, as was the retiring head of the department, Dr. John Stefano. I think for the right student, it would be ideal. For my daughter, she auditioned at Unifieds, a last minute addition, and had never seen the school, but was attracted by its proximity to her boyfriend’s chosen college at Kenyon, and the positive things she had heard about the program. She really enjoyed her audition with Lenny Liebowitz, and was honored to be accepted. However, we both knew that she thrives in the city, and that being near a high school boyfriend is a really bad reason to choose a college:) We went to visit last week just to make sure, and despite all its good points, she couldn’t see herself there. Good luck to your D!
@surrender For me, being near a HS boyfriend puts it in the NO WAY category :-)!
@surrender if you like, I could ask the mom in question if she would be willing to communicate with you privately about the program at Pace. She doesn’t like to post negative stuff here. She used to be a frequent poster a few years ago but seldom comes on CC these days. I only know about her daughter’s experiences second-hand, and wouldn’t feel comfortable trying to describe them.
For what it’s worth, my son (an alum of the BU BFA program) is a theatre artist in Philly and knows a number of people who apparently have some of the same reservations about the UArts program that you mentioned.
I very much hope that your daughter can settle on a program that she is happy with and that works out well for her.
Amen to that, @artskids ! 
For what it’s worth, a guy who was the lead in one of the productions at UArts this semester is a transfer from Pace’s BFA MT program. When I talked to him, he said he is much happier with UArts, including training, but our conversation was cut off before he started explaining exactly why. Not much help, I know (and totally not to slam Pace or elevate UArts–it’s all about fit–and I bet every program has had students transfer), but another perspective…
I’ve been wanting to find out more about the BA at Pace as well for my hs junior who is looking into programs now. My older D is currently a Junior there majoring in Commercial Dance so I just texted her to see if she can find someone who is in it. As far as dance classes for your daughter she can always go to the Broadway Dance Center or Steps on Broadway that offer open classes all day long and on weekends. It’s not terribly expensive.
Thanks. We are headed there now. My D will be matched with a student in the program to spend the night. I will pass along anything she finds out.