How much value academics hold for theater programs in elite schools? If a student’s resume has exceptional academics, several years experience of doing school theater and good scores in all available theater courses in middle/high schools but mediocre theater accomplishments and not a strong audition potential then what are one’s chances to get accepted as a BA with theater major? Think of dedicated theater students with very high IQ but without much raw talent.
A BA in theater is most often an unauditioned program. A BFA would require an audition.
Also…if this student wants to be a technical theater major…that is awesome!
The audition committee at the colleges will determine strength…not past accomplishments.
What “elite” schools are you talking about? Yale? TISCH?
Theater involves a lot of time and commitment. I think it’s like anything else in the arts…students do it on different levels. In HS, everyone isn’t going to get the lead roles all the time. They just aren’t. Townspeople, smaller roles, technical and backstage support, etc…all are important components.
I don’t think you should underestimate the value of theater as an EC.
The fact is…a BA at an elite school is not going to require an audition. A BFA will.
You and your student need to understand the differences in these degrees, and what it takes to get admitted to programs for these majors…as well as which schools offer a BFA vs a BA to undergrads.
Does this student want to be an onstage star? Or does he want to study drama and acting?
Also, there ARE schools that welcome ALL students into their performing arts programs, or offer double majors for those who want to perform, it want something else too.
How do you know the student has “mediocre theater accomplishments and not a strong audition potential”? If he has several years of doing school theater, clearly he is getting parts so he IS a strong audition potential! If he’s getting good grades and parts from middle school on through HS he DOES have raw talent!
There’s an entire performing arts forum on CC-perhaps you can ask your questions there of parents with children of their own in theater programs. You don’t appear to know much about theater of the schools where one would build the best connections. THAT is what will matter, in addition to the school the student attends. For him, it may not be how elite that school is. My BIL is a successful actor and his wife is a successful set designer. Both got to where they are by putting in the hard work and by being places where theater connections are made. I will take their word for it that connections and practice are the best predictors of theater success.
This student definitely wants to study drama and theater, wants to act/direct as well. He is not interested in BFA as he has other academic interests as well and knows that realistically audition route in any top college’s BFA theater program is unlikely to work for him.
He will definitely stay involved in theater scene at his school and minor in it even if he ends up picking another subject as major. He is undecided academically but strong in sciences and maths, just not interested as much as he is interested in theater.
He is interested in top colleges and has qualifying scores. NYU is every actor’s dream school but getting good merit money isn’t possible and his parents won’t pay for studying theater at NYU. They are willing to pay for Ivy or similar schools.
My BIL got interested in theater because of a girl. He chose his HS because of this girl, who went there because of its theater program. He started auditioning for roles because his GF was doing so. But he discovered he enjoyed it. His early roles weren’t much, but he learned and grew and went to college for theater. In his first movie role, he had one line. In another he had two or three. He got blown up a lot on-screen. Someone with little understanding of how theater works might shrug his shoulders and think my BIL isn’t very good and has little raw talent. Meanwhile, he uses that money from those little lines and 30-second commercials to live well while he wins awards for his live theater performances.
Your student needs the advice of someone in his THEATER program, whether its one of his teachers or his drama coach. It’s a specialized field.
I did recommend that he should seek guidance of his theater teacher but teacher is new at high school teaching and not well informed about admission process for elite colleges. He can help with building a portfolio and audition prep but that’s about it. He doesn’t have a drama coach, never did acting outside of school.
This may sound like heresy to you, but to be successful in theater, he need not go to an elite college. If theater is his passion, then he needs a college where he can be involved in theater as well as get a good academic education. That may not fit with your idea of elite. That’s why you should ask these questions in the performing arts forum.
So, this student wants to attend a BA program and maybe major or minor in theater. He hopes to attend an elite college. Your original questions are not applicable to these schools. I say this because NO audition is required for BA programs at elite schools. In fact, the applicant doesn’t apply directly into the major. The major is selected once in college. His “accomplishments” in theater and “audition potential” are not factors in his admissions chances to elite colleges. Certainly, the student can discuss his passion for theater and share what he has done to explore and get involved in this field to indicate that. But that is no different than sharing any other interest area, be it biology, band, etc. on an application.
@sseamom To be honest I really shouldn’t say if he has raw talent or not as I’m not a theater critic. However, he usually gets very small roles so it was more like a guess. It could just be that he isn’t white, tall and blonde which seems like a requirement for leads in most schools.
He wants to go to a top college as he is a top student and want strong academics and prestige factor. His parents have high expectations as well. I’ve nothing to do with it.
There are lots of ways to have accomplishments in theater, besides being cast as a lead. He could direct a one act play at his school. He could create/direct a student run production. He could create/run a drama club for kids. And so on.
Also, explore theater opportunities outside his high school…community and regional theater, summer programs, etc.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
To which I’ve moved this thread.
“Every” is an overstatement.
Thank you for moving it to the right forum.
Indeed, it was an overstatement. Anyways, it’s his dream school. Do they give out any sizeable merit scholarships to National Merit Scholars? Is there a chance to get in TISCH on basis of academics without an impressive audition or professional portfolios that most candidates seems to have?
If not then which other top schools have good undergrad BA theater programs?
@“Yalie 2011”
First, you need to educate yourself about the differences between a BFA and a BA degree program for theater/drama/acting. Tisch only offers a BFA degree program in Drama, not a BA in Theater. Thus, the student MUST audition to be admitted and it is extremely competitive. This is not an appropriate choice for your friend because he is not ready to commit to a theater major (which entering a BFA program entails) and likely is not competitive enough to get in on the artistic component anyway. And no, you cannot get into Tisch on the basis of academics without a top notch audition.
In terms of excellent BA Theater programs, do a search of this Theater Majors forum and there are many threads on that topic. Then, come back to ask some specific questions. Just a suggestion. I say this as a parent of a Tisch Drama grad, as well as someone who has advised numerous applicants to college theater programs as my profession, and who has participated on CC’s forums for 15 years.
@soozievt Thank you for good advice. I do need to educate myself on this topic.
I asked about TISCH as I think he would gladly go BFA route if he got into TISCH with merit money.
Personally, I agree with his parents. Its too early for him to dedicate himself to theater without exploring other options so a BA with major or minor in theater, experience in college and community theater and some maturity would be useful in letting him decide wether this is the profession for him or not. If it is then there are some awesome grad programs out there. Yale has one as well.
What would you advice him to do, if he asked you?
@“Yalie 2011” - my D is at Tisch, and was an excellent student with stats for elite schools (ivy and equivalent) she did get “some” $$ from NYU- but not a substantial amount. But as @soozievt points out there is a very competitive audition process. His person might be better off at a great LAC
First, I would advise against NYU. It is not for a student who is not 110% sure that they want to focus and commit to theater.
I don’t know this student well enough to give specific advice. I would look for colleges that meet his selection criteria, and include within that criteria, strong BA theater majors and minors, in case he wants to go that route, as well as schools that have strong extracurricular offerings in theater. I would not solely focus on “elite colleges,” and make sure to have a well balanced list of schools in terms of odds of admission. I’d say this to any student with top academic credentials.
Also, if this student is indeed shooting for elite colleges, it is not enough to merely participate in an extracurricular interest area (such as theater) for those colleges. A student needs to stand out in their activities, either through leadership, starting/initiating a project, contributing in a significant capacity, achieving some sort of accomplishment (need not be a named award), and so on.
@toowonderful Thank you for useful input. Which colleges would you recommend and how can he use his EC to strengthen his application.
I don’t see how we can recommend colleges without:
- this student’s selection criteria
- a complete profile of the student and his qualifications, etc.
In terms of “how can he use his EC to strengthen his application,” please see last paragraph in post #16.