<p>Chrissyblu,
CalArts is also know for being very "cutting edge" in their approach to theatre. Some may like that but others might be uncomfortable. If she considers it, she really should visit. Purchase isn't harder to get into than Juilliard percentage-wise, but not much easier. We're talking the difference between like a 1 and 2% admit rate to my knowledge. Then, all the top BFAs are really difficult odds although it sounds like your daughter's experience and prior training are actually somewhat better than par for the course compared to many entering those programs. </p>
<p>Also, considering what you've said about what your D wants in a program, I'd now recommend that she look into SMU, Otterbein, U. Evansville and maybe Chapman. UM Guthrie also sounds like it might be a good fit as long as she doesn't suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder like I sometimes do even in a temperate climate. :)</p>
<p>I just looked back at the state BA programs that she is considering. I assume you realize that UCSD and UCI are two of the absolute top of the popper MFA programs. In considering those, she needs to look closely at what quality performance opportunities there really might be for undergraduates at those programs. A lot of the time at that type of school, the major mainstage roles will literally be reserved for the MFA students leaving the undergraduates playing a very distant second fiddle if they play at all regardless of how well they auditioned. Also do a BS check no matter what you're told by the departments. Look at their programs for the past several years and see how many undergraduates have actually been cast and in what roles. I know that the State U at which I spent second semester of my freshman year flat out lies to potential undergraduate students about their entire policy on that. I was already "in" with the local professional scene so it wouldn't have mattered much to me had I stayed, but my chances of getting anything major on the school's mainstage were pretty much nil. I suppose it might not matter as much with your D at UCSD since she has already worked a lot locally. Would she still be able to do plays outside of school if enrolled as a student there? Are those high quality productions?</p>
<p>As far as the rest ... </p>
<p>Realize in picking between the various paths and types of programs that there really isn't a perfect answer. We Americans in general like to think we can have everything and that extends to drama training as well. We can't! No matter which path you choose, you're going to come up wanting in some area. So, I'm gonna rant a little ... not at anyone in particular but just because I feel ranty today. ;)</p>
<p>Suppose you get a BA and follow it up with an MFA like many in the educational theatre establishment recommend ... You have the best balance you can have in the US between education and professional training. You should be the ultimate optimally trained actor, but guess what? In most cases you're going to be too damned old to be starting a career! Twenty five is ancient to be starting - especially if you have any interest at all in doing commercial work. Moreover, you probably won't be twenty-five, anyway. Many of the better MFAs now prefer to take students who have been out of school for awhile because they not only want to see a great education, but more life experience, so that leaves you what ... twenty-seven to thirty and God only knows how deep in debt before you first start beating the streets looking for work? Normal people are married and popping babies by then!</p>
<p>Now let's suppose you compromise and choose to attend a liberal arts college/university BFA. Okay. You'll get get something of a balance between the liberal arts and professional training. You'll know enough about some random subjects to hang yourself and in acquiring that knowledge, you'll also miss out on some of the training you could have gotten in an MFA or a BFA conservatory because of that evil old ticking thing we call "time." Twenty-four hours in a day, right? Your body needs to spend at least seven of those hours sleeping in your late teens and early twenties, too. It should be enough to potentially get you some work in light drama and commercial work if you have the right look, though. Just don't expect to be ready to play Chekhov with the big dogs ... but that's okay. Maybe you don't have any desire to reach that level. If you change your mind, you can still take three years off to get an MFA and be too old. LOL</p>
<p>Now we come to what I do ... A BFA conservatory. You'll be trained to the level of someone with an MFA, but what will you have if you don't come in already possessing a decent amount of education and some life experience outside the parents' nest? Empty technique? "Highly polished, but sterile?" "Hollow?" "Shallow?" Those are all criticisms I've seen of graduates of my own program and some others like it and, in all honesty, I can see the validity although there have been and are notable exceptions. I mean, how do you dig deep with no ground beneath your feet?</p>
<p>So ... No perfect answers. Pick your poison. Just know which poison you're picking and which parts will hurt when it kills you.</p>
<p>Obviously, I'm no final authority on this. I'm just a dumb conservatory student, but maybe it'll spark some of the truly knowledgable faculty people to start participating here again before I do any serious damage. :)</p>