<p>Hi, My D had callbacks at U of M this wknd and LOVED it... she's very hopeful that she'll be getting good news within the next few weeks! While she was there she learned something about the program -- if I'm getting it right, each incoming class forms a "company" that performs together all four years. We received a listing of this year's shows, and they were listed as being performed by the "sophomore company," "junior company," etc. I'd really appreciate any info about this facet of the program from current/former U of M students... does this mean that students only perform shows with the members of their year/company, or are there opportunities to perform with older & younger students? My D spoke with a current student who said he felt limited by this structure, and with another who said there are ample opportunities to "branch out" beyond your company... but she (and I!) would still like more first-hand info about this. Thanks!</p>
<p>Yes, UM-Guthrie is an ensemble based program, which means that students from each year form and stay with their own year/ensemble all the way through, though I do believe that there are opportunities to audition for and be cast in stuff at the Guthrie, working with professionals. But basically, they stay with their year. My D attended a performing arts high school that used this system and it has many wonderful benefits, including the amazing trust and strong relationships that develop among ensemble members, to the point where they are like a family. The amazing rapport and knowledge they have of one another shows onstage. Of course, there is a flip side to that: by the time they reach senior year, they can be pretty darn sick of one another! In general, though, in my view, this ensemble system works well because actor training requires trust between people and knowing each other so well and feeling safe allows the young developing actor to explore and try things he or she might not in a more “risky” environment. My D auditioned for this program and was admitted, and in the end, chose to go somewhere else, but it was a VERY tough decision because her mentors have a great deal of respect for Ken Washington, the Minnesota/Guthrie program and everyone associated with it. I don’t have any more firsthand info on the UM-Guthrie program, but if you want to discuss the ensemble system any more, please PM me. Congrats to your kid for being invited to callback weekend. I would imagine that phone calls with invitations will go out in the next two weeks. Fingers crossed!</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your insights on this, NotMamaRose! My D is coming out of a HS program that’s NOT structured in this way… she’s always worked on shows with kids from all 4 years simultaneously, so this would definitely be a different approach for her. She was a little leery of it, but you raise an excellent point about the security it can provide as the kids are trying new things. U of M is one of her top two choices, Syracuse being the other… and we know Syracuse doesn’t use this approach (older D is a soph BFA there), so it’s definitely one aspect she’ll be weighing carefully in her decision SHOULD she get into both programs, fingers crossed for sure! 
Thanks also for the PM offer… I might be doing that as she & I continue to discuss this!</p>
<p>Who was your daughter? (If you don’t want to say, I understand) I was at the callbacks too! </p>
<p>I know I’m not a current/former student but I live in Minneapolis and I have friends that I went to school with in all four companies. Basically everything NotMamaRose said is correct, I’d like to add some things. Nothing TOO major though, so, excuse me for the repeated things.</p>
<p>I go to a performing arts high school now where we have “tracks” just like the Guthrie program has with “companies” also called at other schools, “troupes”. None of the companies are integrated, which I think is a plus or minus. When I transferred into my school freshman, they eliminated the official name of “young company” and “acting company” because they felt that the students in those companies were given a label that harmed their “egos” or whatever. The thing about the Guthrie program is that they do not add any students to each year, you must be admitted as a freshman. (So if you’re a sophomore and want to audition, and if you get in. You’ll be admitted as a freshman. Not a junior) I like the idea of a company because it gives you that grounded family feeling. You spend fours years of your life together and sure, you might want to kill each other every now and then but it creates that bond. You also really learn the odds and ends of each other, your strengths/weaknesses, as well as others. </p>
<p>I was talking to some of the current students and they said that, every company member probably knows more about one another more than they know themselves and I find great beauty in that. </p>
<p>Blah…sorry, I just rambled…but there are my two cents! Good luck with Syracuse and let me know which school she picks!</p>
<p>Another good thing about schools that operate on the ensemble/company/studio/group system is that you dont have to audition for productions and casting is virtually guaranteed. Im pretty sure they do it that way at Guthrie. Its cool, too, because they arent always just trying to fill out the cast with people who are perfect for the roles. Youre often given something that the faculty feels you need to work on - i.e. a challenge - and the plays themselves are selected as something that would be beneficial to the ensemble as a whole.</p>
<p>fishbowl-- can you suggest other schools beside Guthrie that work this way? It’s just what my daughter is looking for. Thank you!</p>
<p>Juilliard and, to an extent, NCSA, Purchase, Rutgers and BU though their juniors and seniors apparently intermingle a bit more. There could be more. The key is that they’re always working on a role in a play of some kind starting sophomore year whether it‘s done for public performance or not. I also think all the major UK schools do it this way.</p>
<p>Many of the NYU acting studios (not MT) also work that way. Second years are cast in productions (every single student), as are third years and so on. As fishbowl so accurately points out, this results in kids getting the chance to stretch and try roles that they often wouldn’t in the real world. Excellent point.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for these insights, everybody! Obviously a structure like this provides tremendously for the students.
Suzie, I’m pm’ing you my d’s name… she’s going crazy because she hasn’t heard anything yet from U of M OR Syracuse! Saw on another thread that you’ve gotten into Cornish… congratulations!! :)</p>