<p>I'm helping my daughter research summer apprentice programs. She is currently a freshman in a Theater BA program and looking to gain some acting experience over the summer.</p>
<p>Any parents or students here familiar with these summer programs: O'Neill Theatermakers, Commonwealth Shakespeare, or Shakespeare and Co. in Lenox Mass.?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Also look into Williamstown.</p>
<p>@soozievt she would like to do Willamstown later, but not this summer. A friend who did it after freshmen year adviced her it’s better to do it closer to graduation. Also, their web site says they prefer upper classmen. </p>
<p>NJTheatreMOM can give you lots of information on Shakespeare & Co, arwarw. Send her a PM if she doesn’t show up in this thread. :)</p>
<p>@Arwarw, a couple of my son’s current classmates are planning to go to the O’Neil program this coming summer, and quite a few of my daughter’s Kenyon classmates went for summer or semester programs–they LOVED it–a couple of them went back to work there following graduation. Have only heard good things. I’m pretty sure milkshakespeare went to NTI one summer before she went to Cal Arts, so she’s another person on CC to ask (she’s not on here much but did respond to a PM recently). </p>
<p>Shakespeare & Company offers summer training programs of various types. My son did Shakespeare & Young Company the summer after his freshman year at BU. It is not very expensive and provides intensive work on Shakespeare, with a performance opportunity at the end.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.shakespeare.org/education/for-youth/shakespeare-young-company/”>http://www.shakespeare.org/education/for-youth/shakespeare-young-company/</a></p>
<p>There is no acting apprentice program at Shakes&Co that I know of. </p>
<p>@NJTheatreMOM I suppose it’s not an apprentice program, but here is the summer program she is interested in: <a href=“http://www.shakespeare.org/training/for-early-career-actors/summer-training-institute/”>http://www.shakespeare.org/training/for-early-career-actors/summer-training-institute/</a></p>
<p>The Summer Training Institute at Shakes&Co is a great program, arwarw. It think it is especially tailored to college students who are in BA programs.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback @NJTheatreMOM and @Times3 !</p>
<p>Another similar program is the apprentice company at Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Lots of BA students there too. Connections, kksmom, and I have all had kids in this program (it’s 11 weeks, and connections’ daughter and my son did go in the summer after freshman year). Feel free to PM with questions!</p>
<p>Random (and perhaps foolish) question. A couple of posts mention that these programs are for BA students- is there any reason why they wouldn’t be for BFA acting students as well?</p>
<p>I think the comments are based on the fact that arwarw’s daughter is in a BA (liberal arts) major–that’s all. </p>
<p>Several of us mentioned above have kids in BFAs who’ve done these summer training programs. My impression from what my son said about STNJ is that it’ll be a different experience for everyone depending on the type of undergrad school they’re in; either way, it’s beneficial. </p>
<p>I had thought that might be the case, but wanted to check :)</p>
<p>My son did the Shakespeare and Young Company training at Shakespeare & Company the summer after his freshman year in a BFA program, but he discovered that most of the college students in that program and also the Summer Training Institute attend BA programs.</p>
<p>BFA students might or might not feel that they need or want supplementary summer training. My son was interested in it because he wanted more training in Shakespearean acting, The Theatre Arts track that he had chosen at BU was a bit light on Shakespeare.</p>
<p>The second summer my son was at Shakes&Co, he was teaching theatre to kids and he also appeared in a play. The day I saw the play, one of the Summer Institute students came up and talked to my son. I recall the student saying he attended Brown. My son became close friends with a couple of Mount Holyoke students through the Shakespeare & Young Company.</p>
Hey there arwarw! Funny, I was just about to ask for advice on summer programs as well. I went to the semester-long NTI program and it was amazing. The summer is a shorter version of the program and it’s also more specific from what I understand (you can choose one area of concentration only). Regardless, I still think that if you can afford it, it is an amazing opportunity.