<p>Can anyone speak to CALART's Acting/Theatre Program. It seems to be an amazing program.... Any thoughts on it?
Thank you...</p>
<p>yes, it's top notch</p>
<p>Hello - just a comment on summer programs. My daughter spent two summers at the North Carolina School of the Arts - NCSA. I sent her there because it was billed as an introduction to the study of the craft of acting.
There was no play or performance at the end - it was all about studying everyday - improv , lots of improv, voice, movement - really an introduction to conservatory life. </p>
<p>The teachers were a balance of their own year round people and graduates of their program. The first year my daughter had a 27 year old acting teacher who was a graduate. The second year she had a wonderful year round acting teacher. She learned a lot from both of them and they both encouraged her and supported her as she went through the process of auditioning last year.
I would heartily recommend their program - even for out of state people it is relatively inexpensive - say compared to a private progrma like Carnegie Mellon.</p>
<p>No one at her high school had any idea of what she was tryign to do. She only applied to acting conservatories - an idea highly frowned on by her counselor of course - and even by her friends. It was a bit difficult for me too since conservatories can only take so many people and obviously a lot of talented kids won't get in anywhere. But she was clear on what she wanted and I did admire her for it. She applied to 6 and was accepted at 2.</p>
<p>We just got back from orientation at De Paul University in Chicago. I don't think that anyone on this thread has gone there so I will periodically post something as I hear how it goes. It does indeed have a number defined cut. They accept a class of 52 and 26 are "invited back" for the second year. After that there are no cuts as far as I knwo though I suppose oen could be asked to leave for a flagrant breaking of a rule or something. Initially thsi seemed pretty daunting but the veteran teacher at NCSA assured her that most schools cut - they're just not as up front about it. Apparently NCSA usually takes about 35 and always graduates a class of 22 or less.
SUNY Purchase definitely cuts after the first two years and possibly after the third also - though I am not totally sure on that. So I think that being cut is definitely a part of the BFA world. Dr. John referred me to an article that he had written on the subject. </p>
<p>For better or for worse this is the school that our child has chosen and considering the number of "coincidences" that occurred at orientation I think she's probably in the right place!</p>
<p>Anyway good luck on your search. I discovered thsi thread after the whole process was over. In some ways glad I did as I think it might have been even more overwhelming to have all of this information! I'll just tell you from a mom who lived through it all last year - it's a big intense process and I'm glad it's over but if you have a kid who really wants this I would definitely say go for it!</p>
<p>NCSA's website it <a href="http://www.ncarts.edu%5B/url%5D">www.ncarts.edu</a> . Best wishes,</p>
<p>emom</p>
<p>I have had students attend NCSA summer program and also I have a Senior there now.
YES, if a student wants a performance opportunity in the summer, then NCSA is not the place for them. However, if the process is what is important, there is no better place.
This is something to consider seriously because often students are looking for a full fledged poduction at the end of the summer session, especially if they did not get a lot of time on stage during their school year.It is something to think about and weigh. Often, too much emphasis is put on the finished product and performance. I find the emphasis on process very important, valuable and rewarding.</p>
<p>emom - here again. Good point. I sent our daughter specifically because it had no "feel good" performance at the end. I wanted her to do classes 8 hours a day for 5 weeks and to really think is this the way you want to spend your time - is this what you really want to do? I also suggested that she ask the younger teachers a LOT of questions about what it was like to be a well-trained actor in the real world. She saw her teachers editing papers in their few spare minutes - she saw and learned about all the other work they had to do to keep food on the table. And she decided that she did want to pursue this avenue.</p>
<p>I also felt as a parent that if you pay several thousand dollars for a residential program that ends with a performance obviously the kid with a lead and the "herald" will have a very different experience for the same financial outlay. NCSA gave everyoen equal time. Our daughter is also dyslexic and I knew that if she went somewhere and auditioned in anyway with a "cold reading" that she would not show herself well. After her first performance in high school the assistant director took her aside and said youknow I thought we'd made a mistake in the beginning. ( her reading was so bad until they were off book) Youd on't read that fluently but you can act!</p>
<p>Based on the above criteria NCSA was a great choice for her.</p>
<p>emom</p>
<p>does carnegie have a cut system</p>
<p>No - in fact VERY few schools have cut systems anymore, DePaul is one of the few. Carnegie got rid of their cut system about 15 years ago. All of the written materials still state that students remain in the program only with the consent of the faculty (this is true of ALL programs, though). This means that if the faculty feels someone is slacking off, not doing the work, not coming to class, etc., they have the right to ask them to leave the program. This only happens after a warning and a probationary period - but the program does not "cut" a certain number of people after the first year, like DePaul does.</p>
<p>CCM does too</p>
<p>I guess I woudl be careful about what one defines as "cuts". As I said before it looks like NCSA essentially eliminates about one third of their entering class before graduation - though of course some people drop out of all of these programs because it's just too tough or they change their minds etc.</p>
<p>Our daughter heard through a friend of an actor who was cut this past year after two years at SUNY Purchase because his dancing wasn't up to snuff(!)
and they don't even have a musical theater program !! I'm sure there is probation and that there are warnings but I think that there are perhaps unwritten number targets behind them. If you can somehow connect with anyone actually attending the school , I think that woudl be your best source of information. By not having an official policy none of these schools needs to put any numbers in writing it seems to me.</p>
<p>As I perhaps said before, the De Paul cut seemed rather daunting to me as a parent but after hearing this SUNY Purchase story the upside of DE Paul looks to me that if one makes it through the first year you are essentially in and can relax and work on your craft. I also think , perhaps philosophically, that if a kid gets cut and that stops them from walkign this road then perhaps they are not really meant for this business since rejection definitely seems to be part and parcel of the whole picture here. </p>
<p>Having said that, shoudl my daughter not be "invited back" after a year I'm sure it will be no easy road to walk as a family !! It certainly reinforces the idea that all we have is today. A wise and successful actor suggested to my daughter that she just go, give it her all and be thankful for one year of excellent training and then see what happens after that. </p>
<p>Well end of my two bits there!</p>
<p>emom</p>
<p>stacey_ga:</p>
<p>I posted a lengthy two-part piece on cut systems last year on the MT thread. Shauna has put it on her FAQ page. Here's the link:</p>
<p>I hope you find it helpful.</p>
<p>Best wishes.</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about this school? It looked really interesting. What about the New School? I have looked at many BFA programs for my daughter who is a junior. She is looking east coast though I hear University of British Columbia is good. She will have decent grade (around 3.5) but not great scores because she is dyslexic. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Marymount Manhatten will not be a difficult academic reach.
But can you get more specific with your inquiries about schools? I need more info before I can advise you.</p>
<p>Ok-details. My daighter, who is a junior, has been in intensive acting programs for 2 years and wants to go to a university where she can major in acting, perform, but also get a liberal arts eduction. She wants to be in a city preferably east coast, preferably large. We will be looking at Tisch, Emerson, Suny Purchase and maybe Marymount though it may be too small, same with New School. She has a tough academic course this year with 3 APS. She is weak in math so will not test well. I dont know if Barnard and Bard make sense. Oh, its also important to have nice kids!
Thanks</p>
<p>travellinghopefully,</p>
<p>It's not East coast, but it sounds like SMU might be a good match for your daughter. Strong performance and training plus good well-rounded academics too.</p>
<p>BU would probably be an academic reach as would Tisch. Have you looked at Fordham?</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman in the BU acting program this year. It's a fabulous performance-oriented program but there is little liberal arts education--One arts and sciences elective a semester and one fine arts elective a semester. The BFA in Theatre Arts has a little more room for humanities classes, but not much.</p>
<p>Thanks. SMU has a great program but she is very firm about east or west coast schools</p>
<p>Actually the BU program sounds great. The problem is my son went there for a year andhared it but he was in a different program. SInce we are looking at Emerson anyway, we will look at BU. Minimal liberal arts is fine, I think after this year with 3 AP classes she will be thrilled to look at focused acting programs!</p>
<p>HAdn't though of Fordham-thanks for the suggestion!</p>
<p>Fordham looked fantastic! The only question I have is about the religious affilitation as we are jewish;is there a real religious leaning? Otherwise it looks great</p>