<p>Any views on quality of UArts BFA Acting program training from current students (or their parents)?</p>
<p>UArts’ acting program is very strong with the program serving not only acting majors but also serving as a principal component of the MT program (in which my daughter is a junior). Acting and MT majors take the same core acting studio classes together through the end of the junior year with multiple sections to keep class sizes small (there are about 22-24 MT freshmen and about 30 acting freshmen).</p>
<p>The curriculum is listed on the website with hyperlinks to detailed course descriptions. Some highlights include a year long Meisner intensive in 2nd year Acting Studio (including a professor who studied with Mesiner), Poetic Realism in the junior year, speech and movement throughout the curriculum, mask and in the senior year a class in acting for the camera taught by a professor who served as a director and casting director on several very successful t.v. shows. In addition, UArts has a certification program in stage combat including various levels of weaponry. There is also a musical theater minor that acting majors can take.</p>
<p>The performance venues for acting majors include 2 black boxes (1 new and 1 just renovated), 2 main stages (including an 1800 seat proscenium theater also used by profesional performing arts companies when not in use by UArts) an intimate new cabaret type of theater and concert halls for staged readings. The website has on it the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons so you can get a feel for the scope of the productions staged. All students must audition each semester starting with 2nd semester freshman year and acting majors can also audition for musicals.</p>
<p>Philadelphia is a great theater town with 7 professional venues within a 5-10 minute walk, an 8th about a 15-20 minute walk and a half dozen or more smaller venues with resident theater companies within another 10-15 minute walk. Students have the “onerous burden” of being required to see and review outside productions (at steep student discounts) as part of their class assignments. There are also numerous smaller regional theater companies in the Philadelphia area. Many if not most of these venues provide performing opportunities during the summer and then, when school rules permit in the senior year, performing opportunities for seniors (students can not be in outside productions during the school year until their senior year). Take a look at the website for the Theater Alliance of Greater Philadelphia for a list of the theaters and theater companies in the area.</p>
<p>Hope this is helpful.</p>
<p>Thank you so much MichaelNKat for the reply, some great information. My son has been accepted to several programs which we are still reviewing but he says so far he was drawn to UArts, its location and some of the other students he met there already. I did have a couple specific questions if you could help me, it would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Could you give us any guidance on which campus housing unit to try for during Freshman year (if there is one better than the other)?</p>
<p>We were planning on coming for a more in-depth campus tour in a couple weeks and trying to time it with a show and maybe attend a class or two. Would your daughter recommend a class to audit that might be most illustrative of the school?</p>
<p>Would she know if it would be reasonable to be a BFA Acting student to and try to have a dance Minor or would such a schedule be unmanageable?</p>
<p>Again, thanks so much for all the info.</p>
<p>Ask 3 students and you will get 4 different answers on which dorm is most desirable :). My daughter lived in the Spruce dorm and loved the location. Studios shared by 2 students but in a great location for access to the buildings dance majors would frequent and in the heart of a load of funky, fun restaurants, cafes etc. Furness has a lot of suites which are shared by more students and is located on Broad St (Avenue of the Arts) which is lined with many of the theaters I referenced in my earlier post.</p>
<p>If you are in town from March 25 through 28, “On Your Toes”, which is a major collaboration between the schools of theater and dance, is being staged at the Merriam. As to classes to sit in on, I suggest you send an email to Charlie Gilbert, director of the Brind School of Theater at UArts. As a general rule, visitors are not permitted to sit in on the core acting studio classes so as to avoid intruding if difficult work is being done but I am sure there are other theater classes that are open.</p>
<p>As to minoring in dance, I am unfamiliar with that minor (and didn’t see it listed on UArts website). However, the acting curriculum does have room for a minor, if a student has good time management skills and is willing to be very focused, and as I mentioned, there is a MT minor that includes decent dance exposure.</p>
<p>MichaelNKat thanks again for your generous reply. I am trying to arrange to see “On Your Toes” with my son if we can make it…looks like a great show. Is your daughter performing in it?</p>
<p>Yes, she is Peggy Porterfield, the patroness of the ballet company. If you can make it, I think it’s going to be a great production given the collaboration of the schools of dance and theater. Also, the venue is an 1800 seat proscenium theater which is a pretty cool experience for the students. The show is directed by the head of the MT program.</p>
<p>MichaelNKat…Just want to let you know that I was able to take my son to see “On Your Toes” last Friday night. The students all did a great job and your daughter was delightful as Peggy Porterfield. Terrific young dancers too in a very demanding dance show. I was surprised by the size of the Merriam Theatre… it’s huge. I imagine it seldom fills up for any production (student or professional) with 1800 seats? Nevertheless, what a great historical stage to perform on for UArts students. After the show we discovered by chance Capogiro Gelato on 13th Street which has the best gelato we’ve tasted outside Italy…unbelievable!</p>
<p>My son is leaning towards UArts as his selection for BFA Acting (and probably minor in MT). So the whole family is going down for a closer inspection this Friday and we have him scheduled to sit in on a theatre class with David Howey in the Terra Building and then tour the campus and dorms (Spruce, Furness, Pine…and one other I can’t recall at the moment). </p>
<p>If you happen to have any recommendations on where to eat lunch (not too fancy) in the area for a family of four we would welcome it?</p>
<p>We will be visiting UArts in mid-April. My daughter is planning to visit a directing class and we are going to see a production of Blue Monster. We would appreciate any ideas about places to eat or sights of interest, at and around the school. For example, where do students do their grocery shopping? Is there a favorite coffee place?</p>
<p>ITSSHOWTIME, glad you enjoyed On Your Toes. It was an amazing experience for the students to stage a show of that magnitude in a theater like the Merriam. 25 MT students, 21 dance students and 15 music students (in the pit orchestra). One of the great things was how much all the students learned from each other, coming from different disciplines.</p>
<p>Here’s some recommendations for places to eat for you and theater mom:
Kibbutz Room - on Locust between 15th and 16th for Jewish style deli and soups
Cosi at 15th and Locust for panini type sandwiches and salads for lunch
Marathon Grill on Chestnut St just east of broad for sandwiches, salads, entrees and all day breakfast, lunches and dinners
Italian Bistro for lunch (I don’t like it for dinner) located next to the Terra Building
Pietro’s Pizza Oven and Grill 1714 Walnut St everything from pizza to full northern Italian entrees, lunch and dinner
Or, just walk down Spruce or Pine from Broad St to 11th and you will stumble onto a ton of small restaurants and cafes.</p>
<p>My personal favorites for dinner within 5-10 minutes walking:
El Vez at 13th and Sansom (right across Sansom from Capogiro) - The most creative gourmet quality Mexican food you could ever imagine. Fish, meat, chicken, guacamole served up in the most imaginative dishes. Slightly pricey but marvelous food with a funky young atmosphere.</p>
<p>Gorgio’s On Pine 1328 Pine St - Delicious, reasonably priced Italian</p>
<p>La Viola (East and West) - on 16th St between Locust and Spruce - another phenomenal reasonably priced Italian restaurant. 2 locations located across the street from each other. </p>
<p>Mixto - located on Pine between 12th and 11th. Cuban influenced food. Excellent and great atmosphere.</p>
<p>Things to see:</p>
<p>Walk up and down Broad St from Walnut to South to see all the theaters and performing arts venues on “Avenue of the Arts”. There are others a bit further away but these will give you a good taste of what UArts students find right outside their doors.</p>
<p>Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and Visitors Center - Chestnut St between 6th and 5th.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Franklin Institute and Academy of Natural Sciences - pull up their websites for special shows and exhibits.</p>
<p>As to grocery shopping, there are small grocery stores in the immediate vicinity but the smart shoppers shop at the Superfresh or Whole Foods at 5th and South, or at the Reading Terminal Market. Or you can order food on-line from Genaurdi’s Supermarkets and have it delivered to your door for a very reasonable surcharge of about $10. My daughter uses the on-line shopping and she has been very pleased. She also shops at the other 2 supermarkets.</p>
<p>Hope this is helpful.</p>