<p>I just read SuttonwananB's post saying that they cannot perform freshman year at Syracuse. Is this the norm?
Also, can you audition for shows outside of school while you are attending (time permitting)? I guess this pertains mostly to NYC.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I think it depends on the school. I know PSU and CCM you can perform, but most of the schools I looked into you couldn't. </p>
<p>I know that it is looked down upon. But it actually isn't that bad. I liked not performing Freshman year. I felt it helped me make the most of my year in different ways. Here are the reasons Syracuse chooses not to let Freshmen perform:</p>
<p>-Performing takes away time from your 1st year classes. As Freshmen you take the maximum number of credits and you have the earliest classes..core on monday wednesday thursday and friday at 8-8:30. So, it just helps you focus on your classwork.</p>
<p>-It gives the teachers time to break students of bad habits like overacting, not singing and speaking properly onstage, etc.</p>
<p>-It forms a strong communty setting. If casting was added into the mix, Freshmen would feel competitive right away. </p>
<p>-Freshmen work on at least 1 crew for a University show. Basically the Freshmen are the people behind the scenes Freshmen year. I was worried that I would hate my crew assignment, but ended up loving it. It really gives you an idea of the collaboration involved in doing a show. Many actors forget that the people behind the scenes work just as hard as they do. My crew assignment also allowed me to get to know a whole new group of people. </p>
<p>So, I know not doing shows seems to suck...but it is really for good reasons. And it makes being cast in your 1st show even sweeter.</p>
<p>Many of the schools have the same policies regarding first year and apparently some (CMU, for example) for 2nd year as well. I know this is spoken about somewhere on this forum, but I wouldn't know where. </p>
<p>Perhaps one of the other posters can give sr8gmom some guidance on where or how to find it.</p>
<p>i know at ocu, anyone on campus can audition for shows.</p>
<p>Point Park has the following policies I have copied verbatim from the Academic Catalog. (I did replace references to course numbers with couse titles)</p>
<p>OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT/CASTING
POLICIES
During the freshman year, students will fulfill their Production 1&2 requirement by working at the Pittsburgh Playhouse of Point Park University in order to learn the operations of the theatre and to provide crew support for all productions. Freshmen must be available for crew during all production class times throughout the term.
Sophomores, juniors and seniors may seek outside employment/casting opportunities when such opportunities do not conflict with classes, departmental rehearsals, performances or production class requirements. Exceptions may be granted for extraordinary circumstances. A student seeking an exception must follow procedures as listed on the Outside Employment/Casting Form prior to making any commitments, and secure permission from the Department Chair.
DEPARTMENTAL CASTING POLICIES
In order to be cast in a Playhouse, Playhouse Junior or One Act show, a student must have completed Acting Level One, Voice & Speech Level One, and Production 1&2 with a minimum C grade in each course. Exceptions may be made for transfer students and/or in instances when both dance and theatre productions are merged. Such exceptions will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the Department Chair in consultation with the Program Directors and the Production Manager.
Please note:
Freshmen cannot be cast.
Students on departmental probation are ineligible for casting.
Failure to comply with the policies of the Theatre Program may result in dismissal from the Program.
Any student dropping Production after being cast in a departmental show may be subject to dismissal from the Conservatory.
All production classes must be taken in numerical sequence.
The theatre program conducts auditions on a professional level. As in the real world, an audition does not guarantee a part.
Students receiving scholarships must audition for all productions.</p>
<p>Freshmen are allowed to be cast in the end-of second semester One-Act Plays and in the Playhouse Junior productions which have performances in May after final exams.</p>
<p>I think many schools have somewhat simlar policies.</p>
<p>UCLA BA theatre has a similar policy. Nobody goes on a stage to do anything till sophomore year. The (slightly overboard) example they gave was that they don't hand a surgeon in training a scalpel until you've read some books, seen some surgeries, and had a minimum number of hours of training. I think they also mentioned wanting all the sophomores to have the same first year "common experience" because you all take the same classes together freshman year, and so the second year you go in all having the same frame of reference. And so you also have the bonding, and team feeling going well by then too. Hopefully any undesirable habits in your performance that you picked up before UCLA are also eliminated by your second year. They did say no problem if you participate in non-department productions done in theatre clubs or extracurricular stuff all you want, but they implied you probably wouldn't have much free time for that anyway.</p>
<p>TaraMom's post brings up a couple of points....</p>
<p>"I think they also mentioned wanting all the sophomores to have the same first year "common experience" because you all take the same classes together freshman year, and so the second year you go in all having the same frame of reference."</p>
<p>If a school like UCLA prefers that all sophomores, for example, have the same "common experience", then that goes back to my concern on another thread that students could easily be rejected from a BFA program because of too much experience, thereby not fitting in the class.</p>
<p>"They did say no problem if you participate in non-department productions done in theatre clubs or extracurricular stuff all you want, but they implied you probably wouldn't have much free time for that anyway."</p>
<p>This statement comes across to me as completely contradictory of the first. If Freshmen aren't cast in productions because they want them to have "common experiences", and a Freshman decides they can't live without some kind of performing opportunity that first year and goes outside the department, then aren't they getting more experience than the rest of the rising sophomores and therefore, not able to fit the sophomore mold when it's time, thereby negating UCLA's policy of not having Freshmen on stage during the first year so they could concentrate on their studies?</p>
<p>I was trying to present this objectively, but maybe I made it a bit too balanced :)</p>
<p>UCLA certainly appears to have their own mission and is very definite about wanting you to do things their way. Their curriculum is quite structured without much room for individual variation. (Remember, it is a BA degree, but they claim it is much more like a BFA) Some people really like this type of program. It wasn't for my daughter, but so be it. I should have emphasized that yes it did appear to me that they DO discourage students from getting involved in extracurricular productions because they DON'T want them learning "other ways" and they don't want them distracted. In fact they specifically say you can't minor in something else and they don't recommend even getting involved in fraternities/sororities because that takes away time as well. They were just saying they understood some students "can't live" not being on a stage for a year, and outlining what their other options were--but NOT promoting it.</p>
<p>I don't know though that they meant the concept of "common experience" to mean they wanted all the entering students to fit a certain mold, i.e., not too experienced. So I didn't get that impression. I think they were just saying that they like having all their students on the same page by 2nd year and the way they do that is by everyone following the rat maze* they set up and not going outside the lines.</p>
<p>*Not intended to characterize, just a figure of speech</p>
<p>Taramom wrote:
"I think they were just saying that they like having all their students on the same page by 2nd year and the way they do that is by everyone following the rat maze* they set up and not going outside the lines."</p>
<p>It would make sense, of course, that a particular school would want all their class to be on the same page, as you put it, at a certain time. But, it also makes sense that they would want an entering class to be at "about" the same level, so that nobody is coming into the program with more under their belts.</p>
<p>There has been so much talk on other forums regarding the different experience levels of kids auditioning for these programs. I just don't see how a BFA program, for instance, could take a class of 12 or so and have some of them very seasoned, and others very green and expect them all to be at the same level by the end of sophomore year, for instance. Students who already have Equity cards, or are well on their way in the EMC program, have a lot more "practical" experience, and I would assume would be quite bored in a class of greenhorns.</p>
<p>My daughter has many friends interested in MT who are planning on auditioning for several schools next year. But, I already see how so many of these kids aren't at her level of performance experiences. They are very, very talented, and I would certainly choose them if I were the adjudicators, but I don't know if my child would "fit in" with these other kids. (Mind you, I'm not even suggesting my child is more talented...these kids I'm speaking of are VERY talented. They just don't have the experience, and as a result, I wonder just how happy my daughter would be at this point being with a group of kids that are a little behind in terms of experience).</p>
<p>With the above post in mind, can anybody suggest any schools where the majority of entering freshmen in MT have about the same experiences behind them. I could see how a big program like Tisch would have kids from different levels, but would about the schools that are only admitting 12 total?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Many BFA programs have a policy that does not allow freshmen to perform in productions at the college.Some schools have just a one semester policy to this effect. Some allow freshmen to perform.</p>
<p>CMU-</p>
<p>It's all about the training the first two years.</p>
<p>Students hit main stage senior year, (some earlier depending on casting needs). Juniors perform in the smaller theaters on campus.</p>
<p>This has not prevented my son from being able to "perform" his first two years. He has produced and acted in a couple of his own projects that was supported by the staff. Also, CMU does something really neat called PLAYGROUND:
"Playground: A Festival of Independent Student Work this year at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Drama classes were suspended for one week while drama students created their own special projects. At the end of the week on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, a new show was performed every hour on the hour throughout the Purnell Center for the Arts."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cmu.edu/cfa/drama/%5B/url%5D">http://www.cmu.edu/cfa/drama/</a> (if this does not take you directly to the Playground info, look for it when you click on SEASON)</p>
<p>wct,
I really enjoyed reading the in depth information regarding CMU's PLAYGROUND in the link you provided. The pieces all sounded so interesting and varied - which one did your son direct or act in? What a great opportunity for young actors to try their hand at immersion in the complete process - it seems like an important dimension to add to the training as well as providing a performance opportunity.</p>
<p>wct...when we were at CMU, we also learned about Playground and have read a list of all the projects that went up this year for that event. It definitely sounded quite cool. My D loved that and pretty much everything else there. </p>
<p>While freshmen are not in the main theatrical productions at these colleges, there are other ways that they "perform", from what I have heard. Still, it is a change for kids like mine (and most of yours) who have contstantly been rehearsing a show year round for many years, to not all of a sudden be working on a show. However, they WILL be working on performing and they will be immersed in theater freshman year.</p>
<p>Monkey-
My son's project this year was entitled "Rescued". It went up in Wells on Saturday night Feb 12th. He wrote, produced, directed, acted in, and did fight choreography for the piece. Through "Playground" he has learned so much. Especially in regards to lighting and sound design. He is looking forward to doing something challenging again next year during Playground week.</p>
<p>My S feels that he gets plenty of "performance" time in class. The training has been his priority. Now he feels, as does the faculty, that he is ready to perform for the public starting in the fall, (his junior year).</p>