<p>Dani and I were discussing ways of looking at BA programs for those wanting to later pursue an MFA or go straight to a pro studio off-list besides just the general "prestige level" of the school as a whole. I thought it might be good to share what we came up with here. I doubt you can really get everything suggested from any one school, but the more info you can gather, the more informed a decision youll be able to make. Anyway, here it is in sort of a loose steps or to do list format as slightly edited for public consumption. ;)</p>
<p>Step 1:
Get everything you can off the theatre departments website. Look really closely at the qualifications of the teachers. Have they had real, meaningful professional experience or have they been sequestered in the ivory tower of academia their entire adult lives? Does there seem to be at least one each that specializes in acting, voice, and movement? If so, where did the acting teacher study outside of academia and which methods did that place emphasize? If you already have preferences, is it one to which you relate well? See if the voice teacher specializes in Skinner or some eclectic method. Does she teach the International Phonetic Alphabet? Does the movement teacher have an extensive dance or martial arts background and has she gone places to study Alexander Technique and/or Feldenkrais? Do any of them do Suzuki training? Have any of the teachers published texts and articles? You can also sometimes find random syllabi for some of their classes by searching the college website. If you find those, look closely at the books they use as well as the course expectations. Do some general Google searches for them as well. You can sometimes get some info on them through ratemyprofessor.com though thats not always reliable. Obviously, you also want to try to get a read on how many and what types of productions the department puts on each year. Ive found the course progressions on most departmental websites to be fairly incomplete, but some departments will have a student handbook linked. If they do, you can almost skip over the next step though it still might be helpful to do some more investigation. </p>
<p>Step 2:
Email the departments secretary/administrative assistant and see if she will send you a copy of the Student Handbook and a Degree Progress Checklist used by the faculty to advise students in selecting courses each semester. If they dont have a Student Handbook they can send you, search the college website for the Undergraduate Bulletin or Undergraduate Catalogue. This should have a section laying out the degree requirements as well as a list of all courses offered by the department and their descriptions. The course descriptions will usually be at the end of the document. </p>
<p>Step 3:
Evaluate what is offered. I think most BA programs will have like four levels of acting and maybe one or two levels of voice & speech and movement listed. Something I found in looking at my own state universitys offerings is that this can be misleading. Some schools will have several special topics in theatre courses that they offer each semester that students can take with permission from the faculty. Sometimes this can actually be more acting classes for small groups of interested students. They can also sometimes cover advanced text analysis, audition techniques, and even musical theatre. Some schools will also have ongoing voice & speech and movement labs for like one hour of credit that you can take every semester once youve finished the basic classes. This is something you should definitely ask about when you get around to writing to the department chairs if the regular course offerings seem deficient. If you manage to take everything, this can add up to being almost like a pre-professional BFA curriculum.</p>
<p>Step 4:
If youre into musical theatre, go through the first three steps with the music and dance departments as well though you might not need to go so far as getting the Student Handbook. Can non-music majors take private singing lessons? Is there a dance minor offered? </p>
<p>Step 5:
If the department seems to be lacking in movement courses, check the PE courses the school might offer. Several levels of yoga, Pilates, and Tai Chi would be a nice find. Also check to see what "special skills" you might be able to obtain like horseback riding, archery, fencing, sailing, martial arts, etc. All that stuff can look very good on your acting resume besides being lots of fun.</p>
<p>Continued ...</p>