Pleasant surprise school

Mercury retrograde. I just found out I booked my S to fly home at 6:55 p.m. instead of a.m. (at least he caught it before we were all at airports 12 hours early)

Ok @daughtersdreams I am back in business under the correct user name lol
I pmd you on DeSales. Yes it’s audition based. My D likes the school a lot and is accepted there but still auditioning and waiting to hear from other schools. I do believe it’s a hidden gem. Small school. Catholic if you’re ok w/ that . Everyone there is super nice and we’ve seen 2 shows there which were very strong. It’s a BA In theatre with the MT concentration/track. Summer theater with Penn Shakespeare Festival where the DeSales students can audition for ensemble & earn equity points.

I bet DeSales didn’t share this:

Aspiring Actors Face Grim Employment Statistics
Blog posting by Peter Zazzali (Kansas University Department of Theater)| Jan 1, 2016
“Presumably, they have their heart set on having a professional acting career consisting of a balance of stage and on-camera work. One wonders if these wide-eyed aspirants are aware of the grim statistics that lay ahead. Equity, for example, reports a weekly employment average of 13.3 % in 2014/15 with a median salary of $7,548. Moreover, the standard Equity actor worked 16.6 weeks this year, well below the 20-week minimum needed to earn health insurance. These figures are NOT an aberration, as similar statistics have reflected the job market for the past four decades. From an economic perspective, it simply doesn’t pay to be a stage actor, and frankly, SAG/AFTRA’s statistics are not much better.”

Also, DeSales’ budget is dependent on ticket sales (think free/cheap labor from the theatre students).

@LookB4ULeap - I don’t think you’ll find anyone on this forum wearing rose colored glasses - but I have to say I’m curious as to why you posted that quote. Did you think we don’t know the odds? And if Kansas university is so concerned about the bleak future of students in performance- why do they have a theater department?

Most of the schools my D visited before auditions and after acceptance have been very realistic about the challenges of the business. And it’s certainly something that they discuss in her program at NYU all the time

@LookB4ULeap not sure where you’re going with your post but… any theater program would be under the “it’s hard to get a job in theatre” category like @toowonderful said we all
know that , no news there.
As for the cheap labor comment I would assume every theatre dept uses ticket sales for funding of the dept. I wouldn’t consider my D to be cheap labor if she were in a show. Not sure what your beef is with DeSales but I seem to remember you posting about them before and not posting on other schools so … anyway… whatever…it’s sorta weird … just sayin

Many theater programs must rely on robust ticket sales to keep the theater lights on and recoup the huge monetary outlay necessary for mounting full productions. Wright State runs its main stage shows over three weekends to maximize attendance. It’s a grueling schedule for everyone involved, but on the other hand, it gives the cast members and tech/creative team a “mini” taste of what it may be like to put on eight shows a week - hopefully for weeks on end (when lightning strikes). The longer run gives the “free labor” the chance to perform/create/learn and feel the magic as the show “gels” over multiple performances. Economic factors also mean that season choices may be less groundbreaking than the students would prefer - another reality most actors will also face if they want to keep their own lights on post-graduation. If the right season was “divined” a year prior, the department will break even. Neither the heads of theater departments, nor the universities that house them, nor the guest artists who come to choreograph/design/direct are getting rich from mounting college-level plays and musicals. We are fortunate that so many theater/music/dance faculty members love what they do, so our kids can pursue what they love. And the rest of the world can see some REALLY good theater.

CCPA is sort of the flip side of what @mom4bwayboy described, very short runs (3-5 shows), almost entirely students and family in the audience, a large percentage of them comped and a good bit of challenging, socially engaged work. Next term: Angels in America, a holocaust play, Cabaret, a student-written showcase, Sunday in the Park with George and Dogfight. Not saying there’s a right way, but different schools do things differently.

Drew is very much like CCPA … there is no right way just the right way for your child…