<p>Bears_eh,
You're in the right forum. I don't know if anybody offers a degree specifically in lighting design, but I'd assume that most of the schools that are good for design in general are usually the same as the ones that are good for acting. Good hunting!</p>
<p>There are several schools that offer BFA and MFA Theatre Design degrees with emphasis in lighting design. CMU has a great program if you are looking for conservatory.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any opinions on SMU for BFA acting? My D has an offer from them. I have read some previous posts on here and the word seems to be favorable, but if anyone has additional info I would appreciate it.</p>
<p>Has one of the stronger actor-training programs. The faculty is solid, trained at good schools, and have professional credits at the Utah Shakespearean Festival, Stratford, and Shakespeare and Company in Massachusetts, among others. There are two voice teachers and two movement teachers, a real plus. Here's the link to the faculty bios:</p>
<p>Good facilities--three theatres--and an excellent artistic environment in the Meadows School of the Arts. I can't think of many schools which offer better training.</p>
<p>Thank you doctorjohn. I appreciate the feedback. I think it is a better fit for my D than some of her other choices due to the strong liberal arts emphasis. I'm not sure she will be happy in the more conservatory-style training. I wasn't sure though how this fact was regarded in the theater community though. She auditioned at a regional so was videotaped and only met one faculty member, but she was very impressed and very at ease.</p>
<p>Many of us value the liberal arts component, and there are actually fewer true conservatories than one might think. I'd put Juilliard and CCM in that category. But Michigan, Penn State, SMU, my place, Evansville, in fact almost all the rest of us require that somewhere between 25-35% of the curriculum be in liberal arts courses. As I've said to prospects and parents, there are three reasons for this. First, we have the addlepated notion that actors ought to know how to read. (Don't know where we got that idea; reading scripts is not an acting skill, is it?) Second, we suspect there is some correlation between literature, history, philosophy, the social sciences, the other arts and Theatre. (I'm not sure where we got that idea either.) Finally, we think if actors are going to represent real people, they ought to spend some time with them. They do tend to be slightly incestuous if you don't push them out of the nest.</p>
<p>Sorry for the silliness. It's late. But do rest easy--training programs with strong liberal arts components are respected in the theatre community.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>doctorjohn, do the college reps talk among themselves about who they liked and want to admit at the unified auditions? like if a rep from one college tells his friend from another college he liked a kid and his college is higher on the food chain than the other, can it effect whether the other accepts the kid?</p>
<p>If anyone is interested I thought I'd post the CCM non-major requirements. Out of the 195 hours required to graduate, 51 hours are outside the major. That's about 26%. Students must take the following non-major classes: English - 9 hours, History - 9 hours, Academic Electives - 9 hours, Dramatic Literature - 15 hours, Any Electives - 9 hours. I am not certain why academic electives and any electives are listed separately. I suppose it allows students to take electives in the drama department if they desire. </p>
<p>Doctorjohn, is this fairly representative of the liberal arts courses required by conservatory style drama schools, or is it closer to the requirements of a university based program? I've posted a couple of times on the MT thread that CCM students take a pretty large percentage of their coursework outside the major. I don't want to steer anyone wrong.</p>
<p>Jewelyard: The college reps notoriously do not talk about who they liked, any more than NFL teams talk about who they intend to take in the draft. So not to worry there.</p>
<p>Dancersmom: That 26% is closer to the requirements of a university-based program. But I see that 15 hours are in Dramatic Literature, which in most places would be counted as major classes. Take those hours out, and the non-major classes come in at about 18%, which I suspect is pretty typical of conservatory schools. But I'm not as expert at this as I'd like to be.</p>
<p>I was on my way to New York yesterday when my mom called saying I had an envelope from SMU. IM IN!!! W00T!!! So, I called around and cancelled a couple of auditions lower on my list and managed to sneak in another today that Id planned to do tomorrow. I did three and feel like I rocked em. Oh, how having a good one in the bag takes the pressure off! It can only get better from here! W0000000000T!!!! Im at a friends dorm at Columbia right now. Man, I almost wish I had applied here. (Yeah, right. As if I could afford it ...) They dont seem to understand my college choices, but these people are cool. Anyway, tonight were gonna go out and bite the Big Apple Texas style. Maybe it wont bite back. ;)</p>
<p>Thesbohemian...
CONGRATS on the SMU acceptance! What great news! May you sail through the rest of the audition process on the wings of your acceptance!</p>
<p>My son attended SMU and graduated with a BFA in acting in 2001. He is now working as the resident sound designer and is also an actor with The House Theatre of Chicago, an exciting, innovative and critically well-received company that was conceived and created collaboratively by SMU graduates from 2000 and 2001. Check out their website at <a href="http://www.thehousetheatre.com--and%5B/url%5D">www.thehousetheatre.com--and</a> if you are in Chicago, try to catch one of their shows. Extemely creative goup of young theatre professionals---following their dream, working and getting paid as professionals in their own company, etc. I would definitely agree with doctorjohn's earler post when he said that SMU offers a strong actor training program and an excellent artistic environment at the Meadows School. The members of The House Theatre are certainly great evidence of what a solid training program can help young professionals accomplish!</p>
<p>Congratulations Thesbohemian! If you ultimately choose SMU I am certain you will receive outstanding training. I know of two fine actors who my D worked with last summer at the Utah Shakespearean Festival who teach in the acting program there: Kieran Connolly and Leslie Brott. They played Petruchio and Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew and were amazing to watch on stage. Kieran especially, took my D under his wing, and provided the kind of tremendous mentoring and support that is immeasurable for a young actor. She is hoping he will be at the Festival again this summer - she was recently contacted and asked to return for the 2005 season!</p>
<p>Thanks all! I just got some more "W00T!" My school called and my NMF status is official! That's half-tuition plus $2000 at SMU. I won some outside money, too, which puts me over full tuition. Bub-Bye, safety! It's all over for me now except for the waiting and visits to whoever else might want me. Hopefully, there'll be a tough decision to make this spring. Geez ... I think I'm actually gonna miss this process when it's over. Does that make me a masochist? Hurt me, baby! ;) Everybody who's still auditioning break some legs! :)</p>
<p>Again, congratulations thesbohemian! My son, who went to SMU and got his BFA in 2001, also won a full-tuition scholarship--and was VERY grateful when he graduated debt-free! As an aspiring actor/sound designer, he felt it was critical NOT to have to take just any job after graduation in order to have enough $$ to pay off educational loans--and at a cost of having to sacrifice acting opportunities. One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, as a graduating actor moving into the "real world," is not to get yourself in the position where you end up starting off your career with a ton of debt hanging over your head. I'm afraid it limits your options. Be sure to factor the loan repayment issue into your final decision about which offer you will accept! </p>
<p>My youngest son, who is currently a sophomore BFA acting student at the University of Southern California (USC), was accepted at several BFA acting and musical theatre programs, ranging from the U. of Miami to U. of Evansville to Boston University to Emerson to Northwestern (non-BFA) to DePaul.... (He chose not to apply to SMU solely because "big brother" went there and he wanted to carve out his own niche--and not ride anyone's coattails!!). With the exception of Northwestern, which does not offer merit awards, each school offered him at least half-tuition to 3/4 tuition merit/talent awards. </p>
<p>Initially, USC offered a half-tuition award. After weighing a lot of factors and recognizing that he felt most comfortable and most "at home" artistically with the faculty members who auditioned him from USC, he decided to contact USC to tell them himself (in all honesty) that they were his first choice, but that since several schools had also offered half-tuition scholarships--and a couple of schools even more--and since USC was one of the THE most expensive schools to attend, he felt that he could easily and readily commit to accepting their admission offer if only they could do something--anything--to up the merit award even slightly. He/we had hoped for something on the order of $1,000-$2,000 in additional merit/talent awards.....</p>
<p>The director of admissions for the USC School of Theatre asked my son to give her one day to see what she could do....and then called back the very same day to offer him a FULL tuition scholarship!! So, although virtually everyone will tell you that you cannot/should not try to negotiate additional financial aid or try to "play" one school's offer against another, my son's situation was certainly the exception to the rule, apparently. </p>
<p>We now truly believe that if you make a favorable impression on faculty at an audition, and if you clearly have talent and enthusiasm, and if you are convincing and compelling (and sincere) in your desire to attend a particular BFA acting program, they will do whatever it takes to get you to matriculate at their school. The fight among colleges for the most talented BFA actors is just as intense as your fight to get an acceptance letter. Once they accept you, they don't want to lose you. It doesn't seem to hurt, we learned, to ask if they can do anything more to sweeten their financial aid offer to help tilt the balance so that you can commit to accepting their offer. Food for thought, anyway, as you weigh your acceptances. That one phone call that my son made will end up saving our family over $60,000+ across his four years of college--the difference between a half-tuition and full-tuition scholarship at USC. And like his big brother who graduated debt-free from SMU, our youngest son should also be able to graduate debt-free from USC. </p>
<p>Best of luck yourself!!!</p>
<p>bpmg,
WOW! What a story to share and inspire others to take that calculated risk on additional financial assistance. I suspect your son's experience is not typical and he must be quite a stand out young actor, but it still is inspiring to think that lots of possibilities exist for those who are in the right place/right time and reach for the stars.</p>
<p>Bpmg,
Thanks again. Wow! Lotsa talent in your family! Yeah. Part of the deal with me picking schools was that Mom made me mostly concentrate on the ones where a full ride was at least a possibility. (Numerous posts to that effect! LOL) Makes sense. Now I can take enough out of my college trust to buy a decent car and reinvest the rest for four more years to use for grad school or a nest egg for starting off in the business. I just wish more schools gave out more information about exactly what they might offer. I probably overlooked a few because of lack of information. NY and LA are tough places to move to and try to start a career without some cash on hand if you don't have family in the area you can crash on. Shoot. It's tough even if you DO have money. There'll definitely be no debt in my immediate future ... except to my teachers and family.</p>
<p>I have been studying NCSA for quite awhile now, and have gathered much information. It seems like a pretty well-thought-of school, and I was hoping that some of you college-savvy people on here might know a tip or pointer or know anything that the websites don't say.</p>
<pre><code> Also, I would like to know anything you might know about the dramatic programmes(forgive my blatent use of old-english) at Meredith College. My friend, Taylor, is insistant that I go to it, but it seems to be more generic of a programme than I would like. It also seems to concintrate in Athletics, and if you know me, I am...how do you say it politely...? Ugh. There IS no polite way to put it. Any sport I try ends up with me falling flat on my face or kicking myself in the nose(True story. Curse you, soccer!).
</code></pre>
<p>Also.. I can't go to any college out of North Carolina or it won't be free. And free is good. VERY good.</p>
<p>Meganekko--</p>
<p>East Carolina University has a very up and coming theater and musical theater program. You might check that one out if you want an NC state school. Theater auditions after first semester, I think so you would probably want to visit and assess your chances in the program first. We know someone who has accepted an offer there in MT for next year.</p>
<p>Meganekko,
If you want a true conservatory experience, NCSA is probably one of the top three such programs in the country. They are also highly selective. They admit a first year class of 30 with around 10 being girls. Last year, it was 9 girls and 21 boys. People from all over audition. They apparently take some older students, too. As I understand it, they dont have a cut system per se, but each term is back by invitation from the faculty and they have pretty high attrition. A lot of that comes from the fact that the program is uber intense and some drop out once they realize what theyve gotten themselves into. Heres a first term freshman schedule from last fall:</p>
<p>Monday
8:00-8:50Critical Perspectives
9:00-9:50Geology
11:30-1:00Acting
2:00-3:30Voice Tutorials
3:45-5:15Movement</p>
<p>Tuesday
10:15-11:30Acting Workshop
11:30-1:00Combat
2:00-3:30Acting
3:45-5:15Voice </p>
<p>Wednesday
8:00-8:50Critical Perspectives
9:00-9:15Geology
11:00-12:30Dance
2:00-3:30Voice
3:45-5:15Film Seminar</p>
<p>Thursday
10:15-11:30Combat
11:30-1:00Acting
2:00-3:30Acting Workshop
3:45-5:15Movement </p>
<p>Friday
8:00-8:50Critical Perspectives
9:00-9:50Geology
11:30-1:00Dance
2:00-3:30Acting
3:45-5:15Voice </p>
<p>Tired yet? That's just class time. You still have rehearsal and tech until 11:00 a lot of nights. It never lets up and supposedly gets even more intensive as time passes. Fortunately, the academic courses arent particularly high-maintenance and if you bring in a good deal of AP credit, you can kill most of them off first year. The faculty is also amazing. Theyll either kill you, throw you out, or turn you into a great actor. One other thing is that there is a reputation for arrogance that goes with the school for some reason. Some like to call it the North Carolina School of the Attitude though Ive been told the reputation is undeserved.</p>
<p>Ive heard UNC Greensboro has a good BFA program which I guess would be free if you're from NC. You might want to check them out. Catawba College in Salisbury is also supposed to be good though they are private and are kind of expensive. They do offer a lot of full rides if you have the stats to get one, though. They're also very nice to deal with. Some of the MT people seem to like Elon a lot though I cant say I know anything about them. Hope this helps.</p>