UNCSA -- Distinctive Criteria

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

<p>I did a slightly longer version of this for a couple of people I know who are deciding between UNCSA and other schools. I thought I might as well post it here in case it helps anyone with this year's decision, whether to apply for the school next year or a future decision. With my daughter having been accepted at UNCSA and planning to go there, I concede I've become an advocate. </p>

<p>• MT skills are respected and valued as part of the actor training program. The Former Dean was both a leading Shakespeare Director and very active in musical theater having been involved in productions including Hair. He believes that musical theater training is a very good skill for the classical actor. He purposely scheduled Shakespeare productions to go forward after musicals because it got actors in a good place to be ready to do classical works. In a meeting during my daughter's visit, the Assistant Dean pointed out that song is common in a lot of classical works and the view of the school is that singing should be viewed as just another form of acting. </p>

<p>• Strong focus on classical training. While the former Dean was one of the leading Shakespeare Directors, all indications I have are that this will continue to be a focus of the school. Tis a Pity She’s A Whore (written in 1630), which we saw during a visit, was an impressive demonstration of the classical training and stage combat skills. </p>

<p>• Studio hours. From what I can glean, Julliard, Purchase and UNCSA are at the top of the list for numbers of hours kids spend in the studio. My daughter has compared notes between CMU and UNCSA kids and it does seem like the UNCSA kids get more studio time. Between morning academic classes – 8 to 10 ish; studio classes, 10 to 6ish, and rehearsals this would qualify as a sleep optional kind of program.</p>

<p>• From all I can tell, academic classes are just something to get through to have a BFA degree. No one should go to UNCSA for the quality of the academic classes. Still, studying and putting on classical works is certainly academic education of its own kind. </p>

<p>• Typical class is size is 28 – about 18 boys and 9 girls. These are broken up into 14 person groups. The groups change every semester to keep the entire company feel. </p>

<p>• Dorms – which we did not see – are apparently fairly old and small. Don’t go there for the quality of the dorms. </p>

<p>• Good film opportunities. They do a bit more with on camera classes then some plus UNCSA has a top ranked film school. Freshman kids typically do a number of student films. Time becomes more of a problem to do student films in Junior and Senior years. </p>

<p>• No abroad opportunities. </p>

<p>• NY and LA showcase. </p>

<p>• Campus is pretty; facilities are top-notch; but it is a very small student body covering students in just 5 art forms. If someone wants a big school environment, this is not the place. I don't really have any insight on Winston Salem other than Krankies is a very cool coffee shop (the anti Starbucks). I don't get a sense the kids ever have much time to leave the campus.</p>

<p>• Guaranteed casting by year. Other than sometimes with the mainstage musical (1 or 2 a year), casting is by year and is focused on providing opportunities for developing necessary training. </p>

<p>• The UNCSA approach does seem to be working with respect to people getting agents and jobs. I was pretty impressed by the breadth of the alumni listed on the website. Interestingly, quite a number have been successful in musical theater notwithstanding that musical theater is not the main focus.</p>

2

<p>If this hasn’t changed since last year there is no castings for the first Two years unless your a dead body that could be the only negative.</p>

3

<p>Londream – I think my daughter said they do quite a bit of classical work during the second year though I think you are correct that there are no official 2nd year productions like there are production for the 3rd and 4th year classes.</p>

4

<p>While there are no Studio II productions, some members do get the occasional opportunity to perform in Studio III/IV productions. This past February’s production of Into the Woods is such an example. Cinderella’s Father was played by a member of Studio II.</p>

5

<p>Thanks, ActingDude17 – I had heard that the mainstage musical sometimes casts from the other class years.</p>

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<p>It just all looks so fantastic - glad for your D, and glad to see you have jumped into the cheerleader role for UNCSA!</p>

7

<p>

It’s best to get it from a current student, but the way I’ve understood that to work is that they workshop full-length Shakespeare plays second year but don’t actually perform them for the public. Then part of the class stays in town the following summer and does one for the public through a local childrens’ theatre. I believe they also get cast in a lot of directing projects. Just looking at their [showcase</a> website](<a href=“http://www.uncsadrama2013.com/]showcase”>http://www.uncsadrama2013.com/), most of them have 10-12 UNCSA productions on their resumes and they couldn’t do all that in two school years.</p>

8

<p>Perhaps my phrasing should have been clearer. I meant on the mainstage season advertised to the public. But as fishbowlfreshman say, there are certainly performance opportunities for underclassmen.</p>

9

<p>Thank you very much for the information! Though I will applying to UNCSA for the high school drama program this year, this information is still very useful to have this time next year!</p>

10

<p>You are welcome liesel1. Nice to see someone use a search feature to find information. </p>

<p>6 of the 28 kids in this year’s class are from the UNCSA high school. I’ve heard great things about the high school. Good luck!</p>