It’s okay if they are technically “theater” majors, as long they help prepare for that kind of acting as well, or provide future opportunities in that sector of the acting business.
Recently heard from a reliable resource that Carnegie Mellon graduates in CS have very high employed rate but the graduates from its School of Drama have even higher rate. The school itself is difficult to get in though.
There are very few programs that focus exclusively on film and television. The only ones we found were Chapman, which has a Screen Acting BFA and Pace, which has a BFA in Film, Television, Voiceover & Commercials. Both schools are very difficult to get into. I don’t know how much you know about the audition process, but all 3 of these schools have acceptance rates rivaling the Ivies (or more difficult!), as do most of the auditioned acting programs.
Many Acting programs have on camera classes, and it seems more are adding them, so you will have to research! Being in California/around LA is very helpful, even if you aren’t in a BFA program. Look at Loyola Marymount - it has a BA program that has video auditions. @marg928 has a D there who is a film actor and she is very happy with the program.
Also the BFA at USC is more skewed towards TV Film. I recently learned that the Brooklyn campus at LIU has a Film Acting program but have not heard anything about it. I happened to stumble upon it on their website.
Well, Juilliard has a higher percentage of graduates working in tv/film than probably any other school on the planet, but the problem there is getting accepted. I didn’t even try! haha Carnegie Mellon is great as well although if I remember correctly, they tell you in the audition info session to stay away if your main ambition is screen acting - even though a good number of their graduates end up signing with great rep from their LA showcase. Check me on this, but I think I heard something about USC and UNCSA having started introducing on-camera training third year - instead of fourth like most - besides sharing campuses with fabulous film schools. Then there is NYU/Tisch which has had an advanced, year-long studio devoted to screen acting forever. After that, some other well-known schools with more than their fair share of working screen actors that share campuses with good film schools or are at least located in cities with active filmmaking communities are Boston University, Calarts, DePaul, Northwestern, Purchase, Syracuse, and UCLA.
However, most of those schools are very expensive if you don’t get a good scholarship and grant aid package. They may come with bells and whistles which will be nice starting out, but the most important thing you will get from any program is a rock solid foundation in the craft of acting and that can come from lots of places - probably including somewhere you could go with in-state tuition. I mean, what good is it to have a great alumni network and bites from top agencies and management companies from your showcase if you can’t afford to stay in the city plus get the additional in-market training you’ll probably still need to not get dropped by said agencies and management companies after a year? So the BEST school is always going to be the one to which you can both be accepted and afford without strangling yourself with huge amounts of debt.
It’s now dropped to page 2, but I offered a list of actors who booked tv pilots earlier in the week with last year’s list linked as well. Take a look and see where those actors earned their degrees. The well-know schools no doubt make their presence felt, but there are definitely actors who attended others, so keep an open mind. http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/2067211-young-adult-actors-theatre-drama-acting-degrees-and-pilot-season-2018-p1.html
My D has been part of the film acting studio (stonestreet) at NYU this year (her senior year) and has really enjoyed it. One of the things I really love about NYU is the opportunity to pursue different avenues and interests
^^^ That’s one thing I really love about UArts, too. My D is a junior MT major, yet she is also focusing on film acting and playwriting, and she continues to take extra dance classes. Others in her year are now focusing dance even more, an instrument (on top of piano requirements and, of course, voice), directing, etc. The curriculum at UArts is personalized and flexible, especially junior and senior years.
UArts has grads in TV/film. They are also developing an acting for film minor; I don’t know when that will be implemented. (It could even get scrapped; idk. I think it shows that they value film acting education either way—with classic theatre training as the base, of course.)
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@Gyokoren and @LittleLioness UNCSA has a new dean of drama this year and he has worked to expand the screen acting training. It is my understanding from my D that starting this coming fall of 2018 all four years will have dedicated courses in that vs solely in the later years of training. As mentioned already, there is also a fantastic school of film on campus and many drama students are cast in student films which gives additional experience in the area.
Are you looking to go to school for a degree in tv/film/commercial acting? Or are you looking to work behind the camera?
Stonestreet Studios Conservatory at Tisch is excellent for tv/film training. They only accept students who have completed their primary studio training at another Tisch studio. There’s a reason for that.
https://tisch.nyu.edu/drama/about/studios/stonestreet-screen-acting-studios
Another advantage of Tisch is that it has one of the country’s top film schools. If you’re interested in pursuing a film/tv career, you’ll have ample opportunity during your four years at Tisch to compile a reel. Many student film opportunities will be available to you.
@bfahopeful Great to see that an American school is entering the 21st century! The Brits and Aussies have been doing it that way for awhile.
But riddle me this because it was a head-scratcher for me all the way back in high school when I was considering them, but was too timid to ask.
Why in the world do they do their LA showcase in early March which is right smack dab in the middle of pilot season? Don’t they realize that everybody who is anybody except for maybe commercial agents and casting directors are way too busy to mess with college showcases then? Have they had any luck with it at all past the lowest rep level? Are they just using it as a fun senior year spring break excursion with no serious plans to come? It seems like they were doing it in late April/early May for awhile, but I just looked and noticed that they have changed it back. Seems kinda counterproductive for anybody that wants to start in LA.
They no doubt have graduates sign with top 8 agencies and management companies in NYC every year, but those that I have seen come straight to LA have struggled mightily.
@Gyokoren I have no idea. lol
Maybe the new dean will change the dates(?). The LA showcase is a newer addition (relatively speaking) than the NYC one. I heard they added a Chicago showcase this year too (may be more an informal thing for those who wanted to participate - I don’t have the details, just what the kids have talked about).
All I know is many of their grads work and work consistently and long term. They are literally everywhere — some are bigger names in huge projects, but many are not. However they are working, being paid and supporting themselves in their art. That gives me hope.
The dean is also very dedicated to the kids post graduation and working to expand on their already incredible 4th year of industry training to include ‘artist as entrepreneur’ and how to create your own work, etc.
Most of the grads we know do not head straight to LA unless signed. A few I know of have gone to LA in recent years and have not struggled - cast as series leads/regulars, put in movies, web series, etc (I can only hope my D is that successful straight away). However, it is possible these kids had bicoastal representation and didn’t move to LA until cast. Several of their grads do get bicoastal representation and end up in film/tv that way even though they may be living elsewhere. Most grads I am aware of go to NYC to start or some to regional markets. I believe a handful this year are heading to LA so will keep you posted if that happens. Honestly, in this industry I would expect a struggle. We know several local kids who have graduated from Juilliard, NYU (and other top schools) and they have all struggled in one way or another. They have had successes, but being an actor is a constant struggle for the next job/paycheck.
Another thought I just remembered is that agents/directors come to UNCSA all throughout the 4th year. So some are signed pre-showcase. I guess they have a variety of ways to support the kids in getting set up and showcase is just one. I would assume if the LA showcase wasn’t working at all, they wouldn’t go. But I really don’t have details as we are not to that point yet.
It is a very valid question. I plan to ask my D about it.