<p>Can you tell me of some good colleges? I wanted to apply to a school in LA, but i wasn't too sure. I never thought of the LA entertainment business as being a "small time". It's cool that it is.</p>
<p>Also, i was wondering if you guys could tell me about some good contemporary, comedic monologues. I have looked high and low and i need one A.S.A.P. I'm not on the greatest terms with my drama teacher so i cant ask her. I wouldn't ask you guys if i didn't need it so soon. I would just keep reading play and doing my own research. But please, if you can help....</p>
<p>Chapman might be worth a look in LA.</p>
<p>Contemporary comedic monologues of any taste or depth are very difficult to find. Just keep slogging. Be sure to Google for ideas.</p>
<p>What we have been told about resumes is right in line with what paying3tuitions said. I tried to paste D resume to this forum once before and this system cant keep the formating in tact. I would be happy to send you a copy if you PM me.</p>
<p>mackie: </p>
<p>csu northridge or csu Long beach (Spielberg's college)</p>
<p>or go to Pasadena Comunity College (basically free) for two years then transfer in to USC or UCLA! </p>
<p>Chapman is excelent but it's in Orange county, 1 hour drive to auditions in LA. And it's expensive. although just south is New Port Beach, not a bad place to be in your late teens and early twenties. </p>
<p>if I was an 18 year old actor again I would go to USC if I could get in. If I couldn't get in I'd go to Pasadena CC, get good grades, and transfer in to SC or UCLA my Junior year. </p>
<p>In all cases I'd find a good acting coach (mentor) and train, audition, and get an agent while I was in College.</p>
<p>comedic monologue: write your own. comedic monologues are best when they come from your own experience, also it'll come off more natural. here's an idea, think of something funny you've done that your friends laughed at...now turn it in to a monologue. use one of your friends as the "character" you're talking (monologue) to.</p>
<p>And remember: don't get caught in the act!</p>
<p>p.s. USC is wired in to the film and tv biz, the profs know the industry people and many of the students end up in the biz as producers, lawyers, studio executives, and actors/directors/writers. people that are good to know later in life if you want to act in TV or Film.</p>
<p>"small town"</p>
<p>yes it is, everyone knows each other, especially the agents and casting directors. And for actors those two groups are your world. Producers you won't meet until you're well established and directors show up on the set to direct!</p>
<p>And actually it's physically small, a couple miles of Wilshire, a few side streets, cheesy casting offices on Sunset or nice ones at the Studios, and that's it. </p>
<p>And contrary to Hollywood movies about Hollywood all the people (agents and casting) are nice and fun to work with. btw: the only time you actually go to Hollywood is for some soundstages that are in Hollywood.</p>
<p>okay, thanks. Are there any other colleges around that i could go to for two years and then transfer? I mean besides Pasadena.</p>
<p>Since this is the Theater/Drama College thread I thought some clarification might be in order for other readers benefit. What is acceptable when auditioning for TV/Film gigs in LA I haven’t a clue yet for college drama programs especially top tier ones, making up your own monologue is a no no. They all need to come from plays and as it has been said many many times on this forum you need to know the entire play. </p>
<p>Contrasting does not seem to have exactly the same definition at every institution. Some more loosely define it so something dramatic and something comedic fit the bill. More commonly we have seen them wanting something classic and something contemporary. Our feeling was that the best strategy is to cover all four corners by having one (at least) solid monologue that was contemporary dramatic, contemporary comedic, classic dramatic and classic comedic we have also added a sonnet to the mix. </p>
<p>Anything you choose should have enough depth to it to show you can handle rich text and give you material to make some choices. Even if accepted the average college aged actor will not be able to write a monologue that fits that criterion.</p>
<p>In terms of stage acting professionally the following is an email that the artistic director at a very large and successful regional theater company replied to my inquiry;</p>
<p>What we ask for is pretty standard: two contrasting monologues (one Shakespeare and one contemporary) totaling no more than four minutes, and 16 bars of any song accapella. Our audition slots are 2 every 15 minutes (approx. 7</p>
<p>^^can you suggest any comedic monologues for me to read?</p>
<p>Mackie:</p>
<p>Take a look at Univ. of California Irvine (UCI), California State Univ. Fullerton (new BFA), and Santa Monica City college (a community college). The first two aren't real close to LA, but they're driveable and have a good reputation and connections. Academics need to be quite high for USC, UCLA, and UCI. How do you fare in that realm???</p>
<p>I don’t know that you are going to find someone who can just hand you a monologue. We have found that to be effective the pieces really have to “speak” to you. You have to connect with the character and the problem. We by far had the most difficult time finding a contemporary comedic piece than the other types listed above. Typically contemporary is defined post 1910 or so which means that Wilde is out. </p>
<p>Someone like DrJohn etc would be more qualified to make suggestions but I will do what I can. </p>
<p>We started using web sites like these. You have to verify for sure that they are in fact plays (some are some are not) and that they are in fact contemporary. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.monologuearchive.com/comic_men.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.monologuearchive.com/comic_men.html</a>
<a href="http://www.geocities.com/akatsavou/monologue_en.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.geocities.com/akatsavou/monologue_en.html</a></p>
<p>Contemporary comedic plays that I have seen recently that have some fun lines to them are;</p>
<p>Noises Off Michael Frayn
Playboys of the West Indies Matura
On the Razzle Tom Stoppard
Enter the Guardsman Bohmler and Adler
Crimes of the Heart Beth Henly</p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>ElliottsMom, I think that i am an average student with a 3.6 uw GPA. I do think that I should start out at a smaller school then transfer to USC or somewhere. I am looking into the schools you suggested and i hope that the deadlines haven't already passed. Also, i've never been to LA, i don't have any family there, and I'm 17. Do you guys think that i should move out there alone. On the other hand, I have a ton of family in NY and I could go there but is LA better for young, actors?</p>
<p>Sorry Wally, I didn't mean to suggest that i wanted you to hand me a monologue. I can't just perform a monologue that someone has "handed" me and i know that. I have to do the research, etc. I was just looking for some suggestions and then i could read the play. And comedic monologues are truly very hard to find. I have been looking but it's getting down to the wire. but i think i've found one. It might not be too age appropriate.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, how's California State: LA?</p>
<p>Sounds like you're a senior, and yes it's getting very late. Community colleges are big in CA. Many college students start there and transfer to a 4 year. The problem with that approach is that many arts programs prefer to have you in their program for all 4 years. So, if you're thinking of the transfer option you'll need to really investigate how accepting the schools you want to transfer to are to transfer students (in your major). The BFA programs clearly make you start over again from freshman year because they build on the curriculum. If you decide to start at community college, be sure to take your general education courses and not too many electives. We've known students who take so many arts classes that they don't get in all of their general ed and after two years cannot transfer as a junior. Then as previously recommended, you could do your private training on the side. The community college theatre classes won't help get you to your transfer goal.</p>
<p>Next, while I am a community college graduate (nursing), I'm not a big fan of that route. Community colleges are pretty lonely and don't have all that much going from an extracurricular standpoint. Most kids just go to class and then leave. There is no housing, virtually no cafeteria, little social activities. Most kids work, live at home, and go to class. There's just not the community feel of a residential college. The same can be said about the state commuter schools (like Cal State L.A. - which my husband and I both attended as well). Cal State LA has a nice looking website for their theatre, but I've never heard a thing about their program. Remember you can't judge a school by it's website. I wouldn't recommend the community college or Cal State route for someone like yourself who doesn't live in the area.</p>
<p>My S. who is interested in theatre as well as film, is only looking at schools in the east and midwest. He feels like the schools here in LA don't have as much to offer or the ones that are quite good are either too large or out of reach academically. </p>
<p>Perhaps you should take a year to figure out what you really are aiming for and to develop a specific plan. You could take general ed classes at your local college (community or state), develop your audition material, research the schools that interest you, and plan to audition or transfer next season. The cost of college is really quite high and you should put a full effort into finding the right place for you. For example, some schools have both theatre and film/TV.</p>
<p>mackie: </p>
<p>Wally is absolutely right. LA entertainment world (tv and film) is completely different than theater. my postings are directed toward students who really are interested in TV and film, not theater. And remember that some of your finest Film stars were theater trained first, such as William Hurt (Tufts), Denzel Washighton (ACT, in SF), Meryl Streep (Yale). You can also cite a lot of college drop-outs as excellent artists. Acting is a trade (can be learned) so you don't necessarily need to go to a research university like Tufts or Yale to learn the skills. Non college acting schools and coaches can train you as well. Also Cal State colleges do a great job, Annette Benning went to SF state, and Tom Hanks went to junior college than Sacramento State before dropping-out and going to theater acting in New York.</p>
<p>also, elliott's mom is correct, you are way late to be applying to any selective schools in socal (or anywhere else for that matter). However you may still be able to apply to UC Riverside, from what I used to hear, it is open enrollment until it fills up...it's way out in the inland empire part of socal so you'll need a car and an hour and half to get in to LA.</p>
<p>as you can see there are lots of different routes in to the acting profession, that's what makes it accessible and that's what makes it soooo competitive as well. my advice is "engage" in life, get out there! Are you too young to live in LA or NY? my god I can't think of a better time in life to live in a big city than when you're young. LA and NY are a blast...they're not scary.</p>
<p>if you want to make it in theater, tv, or film, you can't be shy, you gotta put yourself out there. If Tom Hanks thought he was too young to live in NYC he would have never made it. </p>
<p>my 13 year old D has performed in front of thousands on stage and millions on TV, she knows her way around LA better than most college students...like anything else in life she was a little scared at first to go to the big city, but now she loves it! if she can do it so can you!</p>
<p>btw: she got pro training in theater first and continues to train in theater run classes and finds live acting a heck of a lot more rewarding than performing to a camera. so don't take my postings wrong, theater is great!</p>
<p>I applied to all my colleges thinking im going to major in veterinary med. However, something came up and now i want to major in theater but i decided this after i applied to all my colleges and now its too late to apply anywhere. Please tell me which college would probably be best for theater</p>
<p>Boston college
Cornell university
Columbia university
Johns Hopkins
Binghamton
Stonybrook
Tufts
University of Pennsylvania</p>
<p>appstressin:
lol. Yeah, it is too late to apply to selective colleges. I have already applied to NYU, Fordham university,and Marymount Manhattan College for theater. I just wanted to apply to one more college and i wanted it to be in LA.</p>
<p>mackie: go to NYU, you can't ask for a better actor environment.</p>
<p>i hope you get in!</p>
<p>loved Philip Seymour's NPR interview and his stories of when he was an acting student at NYU. he tried out for a summer stock because he was competive with his girlfriend who was auditioning as well. he got the part and the rest is history.</p>
<p>Well im a High School Sophomore and my gpa avarage right now is a 3.0 and i just want to kno a couple of good colleges i can go take look at online that helps me major in theater i want to act but u know like on tv so i need to know wat colleges offer that study and major and stuff like that and i wont always be able to get on here but please if its not too much trouble can u please please reply to me by email if someone is not too busy then my email is <a href="mailto:futuractor@yahoo.com">futuractor@yahoo.com</a> and <a href="mailto:futuractor@hotmail.com">futuractor@hotmail.com</a> either is fine thanks in advance.</p>
<p>PS
I also want a college thats have a band because I know my grades arent just THE BEST so i was trying to get a band scholarship. I play trumpet and im pretty good and i know whoever is reading this really dont care, but if its not too much trouble then do that for please thanks.</p>
<p>High School Sophomore</p>
<p>Unfreeze: From your list already applied, probably Columbia. Also you might still be able to squeak in an app to Ithaca College (deadline Feb 1)</p>
<p>unfreeze:</p>
<p>love your college list, I take it you're an east coaster because I don't think I see anything west of Boston Commons.</p>
<p>my vote for Theater: Tufts (although the neighborhood is uninspiring, Boston is close)</p>
<p>the more interesting question is what "came up" to change from veterinary med to theater, wow, love the mystery. what happen, did you get cast in something, rave reviews of a performance, or is your uncle George Lucas, why the change of life dirtection???</p>