Back in her Florida prep school days, Monica Raymund dreamed of studying acting at a top conservatory. As a senior, she applied to undergraduate schools around the country — a dozen in all — some of which had actor training programs, including Juilliard, Carnegie Mellon, and Boston University. But Raymund was also a "science geek," she says. "I was looking for a school where I could do science, as well as theatre if I chose to." A voice in her head, however, told her that a traditional college would allow her little time for acting, and when she was accepted to Juilliard in 2004, all other options — along with her petri dishes — were swept off the table. "This was clearly the universe's way of setting this opportunity up," she says. "And if I didn't capitalize on that, I think it would've been a pretty dumb move." Earlier this year, Raymund completed her BFA degree at Juilliard.
Ginny Lee grew up in the mountains near Jefferson, N.C., and like Raymund had acting ambitions. "For college, I tried to find a logical way to have theatre in my life," she says. "A small-town girl — how do I make it happen?" Her compromise was to major in theatre education at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C. But after graduation, instead of teaching drama in a public school, she decided to investigate master's degree acting programs around the country. "My brother, who is a small-town man, didn't quite understand my decision," she says. "He was like, 'Ginny, what are you gonna do?' And I was like, 'Sherman, I'm gonna act!' " When she auditioned on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she felt she'd come home. She began the MFA program there in 2003, finished three years later, and moved to New York City to pursue her career.
In 2005, Ernie Silva already had a bachelor's degree in theatre, from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He'd been working bicoastally as an actor and standup comic for several years when he heard about a new MFA program at the University of Southern California. He jokes, "At first I said, 'No way. I don't like theatre people, and I'm not going back to school.' " But the closer the application deadline came, the more inviting the prospect seemed. He seriously longed for a place to "incubate" as an artist. Competition for spots in the program was stiff, but Silva was selected as one of 11 students in the first class, and he will complete his degree in 2009.
As these examples demonstrate, no two actors' training paths are quite the same. Some students jump headlong into intensive conservatory training in their teens: Perhaps recognizing that the entertainment industry values youth, they want to hit the job market while they're still fresh-faced. Others favor a liberal-arts education, earning a general theatre degree — studying acting, directing, dramaturgy, and design — or maybe majoring in English or history and "doing theatre on the side." Some find their way to graduate school, while some are content with an undergraduate degree — though they may seek further training from nonaccredited schools or coaches.
Unless you decide to skip college altogether, you'll face a range of decisions when it comes to scaling the walls of academe. Researching and applying to college programs is time-consuming — and can be costly. Back Stage recently spoke with faculty, alumni, and current students about how to cope with these myriad choices. BFA or MFA?
If you're taking the first steps toward an acting career, you'll need to decide whether to begin intensive study at 18 by entering a BFA program or delay training until you're a bit older by getting an MFA.
Troy Deutsch was eager to put the machine in gear. The Minnesota-born actor began performing when he was in high school, including a role in the Midwest premiere of Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan, and was accepted by the University of Evansville in Indiana. But when a talent manager chose him to join a group of students auditioning for pilot season in Los Angeles, Deutsch — with a bit of Hollywood glitter in his eyes — graduated early from high school, said "No, thanks" to Evansville, and headed west.
While making the rounds in L.A., he enrolled in the bachelor's degree program in acting at USC. But things didn't work out so well. He found the USC experience "unfocused." The casting calls he attended were discouraging. "I saw a lot of actors that I did not want to be like," he says. "Middle-age actors sitting at commercial auditions. I just pictured that they had their day jobs and then they would drive through all the traffic and sit at a commercial audition. I just wanted more than that."
Deutsch called on his mentor, Jaq Bessell, whom he had known at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. It turned out she was teaching at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City: "She told me to come to Utah. She said all the kids there were rock stars." So he transferred to Utah's BFA program as a sophomore, graduated early, and relocated to New York, where he soon landed a job as an understudy in Rabbit Hole on Broadway, earning his Actors' Equity card. He loved the Utah program but has no desire to pursue further academic study of acting — though he says he would consider going back to school for an advanced degree in history or philosophy.
Deutsch's story illustrates the conflicted feelings young actors may have early in their careers. Understandably, the heads of BFA and MFA programs defend their respective disciplines. Sarah Shippobotham, who heads the Utah program that Deutsch attended, went to acting school at age 18. "Young people get hired all the time," she says, "and why not give them the opportunity to be trained before they're hired — or to be trained while they're being hired — so that there's a level of skill that can come out? Also, I think sometimes people's instincts or their connection to their heart's desire is so strong that...it doesn't matter how much sense one wants to talk to somebody at age 18."
Besides, she argues, because acting programs teach empathy, collaboration, and "being human," a degree in acting is not a bad thing to have even if you wind up taking a different professional path later in life. She points out that medical schools, for instance, have shown interest in people with acting and other arts degrees.
Conversely, renowned actor-director Mark Wing-Davey — who this year took over the reins of New York University's MFA acting program — believes that sometimes it pays to delay specialized study until you're older. "As a director, I want to work with actors who have had some life experience," he says, "a range of knowledge and understanding of the world. So I will always encourage people, if they feel a kind of theatrical urge, to explore it, but not at the expense of everything else."
Silva, who returned to school in his early 30s, adds, "When you're 19 or 20, you run the risk of being so in awe of what it is you're doing that you take everything that you're given — and that's not necessarily always such a good thing. Because when you develop habits that might be good for someone else but are not good for you — man, that takes years to wash out of your system. And the bad part is that you don't realize what it is you need to wash out of your system until you've failed at a whole bunch of things outside and it's cost you some things you've really wanted."
Jim Wren coordinates the MFA program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, which also offers a BFA, and he feels that either degree is a valid choice. But if you have a BFA in acting, he says, you shouldn't need an MFA — especially if you've just finished up with the former.
Doing the Homework
When Thomas Stroppel was applying to colleges, it never occurred to him to look outside his home state; he completed his undergraduate years at the University of Wyoming with two BFAs — one in acting and one in scenic design. But when he decided to pursue an MFA, he investigated schools all over the country, applying to about 30 of them. "I had this big folder on my computer," he says. "It was like I did a book report every week on a different graduate school. Kind of ridiculous."
Some schools are trying to make it a little easier. Mark Jenkins, who heads the MFA program at the University of Washington in Seattle, where Stroppel wound up, says his school is assembling a promotional DVD. But online and video resources have their limits. Shanga Parker, an acting teacher at U.W., says undergrads will often turn to him to learn the specifics of programs at other schools. "I have no idea what's taught in the second year of U.C. Irvine," he says. "It's not easy for students to get this information," as some school websites are not forthcoming about the details of their curriculums.
Wren notes that websites can show you "pictures of theatres you might think are cool, or pictures of productions, whatever." But contacting a school's alumni can whet your appetite to learn more, he suggests. "You're working summer stock with three actors that happened to go to the University of Virginia...and they speak a language that resonates with you, and they have an approach that you feel is something you would like. I think you can start to make decisions that way."
Visiting schools in person is certainly desirable, but hopscotching around the country can get expensive fast. Unified regional auditions, where representatives of various schools congregate to assess prospective students, can help save you mileage. If you travel to New York for the University/Resident Theatre Association auditions, for example, you may also be able to attend auditions for non-URTA schools being held in the city at the same time. And while you're at it, you could drop in on the campuses of NYU and Columbia.
But in Stroppel's opinion, meeting with college reps at regional auditions does not suffice; you really need to experience the campus ambiance: "Some of the places may sound good on paper, and when you're sitting in that little hotel room talking to these recruiters, you're like, 'Yeah, this is where I want to be.' But when you get there, there's a very different vibe to the school, to the program." Some schools allow prospective students to audit acting classes at any time; others permit it only if the student has earned a callback or been offered admission. You'll want to find out the school's policy before buying a plane ticket.
Sometimes there's an "a-ha" moment when you visit a school: Suddenly everything hits you as just right. When she showed up to audition at Juilliard, Raymund was greeted by a coterie of current students, who reassured her and seemed truly curious about her. "Having that kind of personal interaction with students made me perk my ears up a little bit," she says. Lee felt something similar when she interviewed at UNCG: "I knew that this was going to be an environment that would nurture me as a theatre artist but also kick my ass a little bit."
Unfortunately, these intuitions are often dashed when an offer doesn't materialize. Stroppel's first MFA choice was a conservatory-style program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. But he didn't get in and was left asking, "Now what?" Fortunately, he had another "a-ha" when he visited U.W. He found Jenkins and Parker approachable, and when Stroppel learned that Jenkins grew up about 40 miles from his Wyoming hometown, it seemed a good omen. "There's only, like, seven people in Wyoming in the first place," he jokes. "And to meet someone else who's from that place and does what you do? You're like, 'Oh, really?' There's a good connection there."
The Big Considerations
Unanimously, the faculty and students we spoke with said it's essential to define why you want to go to college. Do you simply want better, more solid training? Or are you looking for a career springboard from a school with prestige and a high-profile showcase? Here are some of the main questions to keep in mind when investigating BFA or MFA programs in acting:
Who's teaching? Wing-Davey believes the faculty question is paramount. Andrew Robinson, who was hired to create the MFA program at USC four years ago, agrees: "I don't know if it would make any difference to know that our movement teacher is a Lecoq teacher or that one of our two acting teachers comes out of the British academy system and has had a distinguished acting career at the National Theatre and the RSC or that the voice teacher comes out of Shakespeare & Company and has been Kristin Linklater's main protégé. This is the kind of information you need to know." Former NYU student and current instructor David Costabile was initially drawn to that school because he'd taken a workshop with one of its teachers, the late Paul Walker. He notes that NYU aims for continuity in its teaching tradition, with many ex-students later becoming faculty members.
What kind of acting is valued? While some programs are grounded in a particular approach to acting — say, Sanford Meisner or Stella Adler — others offer a range of methodologies. When Robinson was designing the USC program, he drew on his knowledge of the pragmatic "trade school" approach practiced in Britain and wedded it with his background in experimental disciplines, such as those of Jerzy Grotowski and Eugenio Barba. The result, he says, is a pedagogy that stresses the physical side of acting. Depending on your goals, that approach could be a plus or a minus. Likewise, if you're looking for a career in sitcoms or experimental cinema, perhaps you'd rule out a classical training program such as the one offered by George Washington University in Washington, D.C. You should look beyond the stereotypes too. Jim Houghton, who heads Juilliard's acting program, notes that while that school is widely known as a classical training ground, its devotion to new work and its close ties with MFA students in the playwriting division are not so well-publicized.
Is the school partnered with a theatre? Some colleges and universities are aligned with a particular theatre company. Yale, of course, has Yale Repertory Theatre. The University of San Diego teams up with the Old Globe. The University of Alabama partners with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Other schools have looser affiliations, such as UNCG's alliance with Triad Stage in Greensboro. Attending a program like this increases your odds of gaining hands-on professional experience, and at some schools, students graduate with Equity cards as well as diplomas. Wing-Davey notes NYU's close connection with the Public Theater but says these partnerships have a potential drawback: "You want to make sure the needs of the actor are met, rather than the needs of the theatre. There's a danger that the young actor can become a spear carrier."
What about geography? Do you feel the need to live in one of the nation's main entertainment hubs — New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago — during your training? Sometimes location can make a big difference in your educational experience. Acting students in New York are literally surrounded by theatre, and schools often provide comp tickets to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. Industry professionals — including agents and casting directors — are regularly brought in for workshops with students. Robinson feels the main benefit of studying in a major urban center, however, has to do with personnel. At USC, nearly every faculty member is also a working actor or director, he says: "These are people engaged in the practical world of auditioning and performing." They can not only offer you real-world tips but perhaps a professional connection down the road.
Yet there are drawbacks to studying in a big city, including too many distractions. Shippobotham acknowledges that, despite Utah's wholesome image, there are parties and drugs and alcohol in Salt Lake City, along with more worthy distractions like the great outdoors. But there's also plenty of time and space to devote to your work, she says, without the competing stimuli of a larger city. U.W.'s Jenkins concedes that at Yale or NYU, more industry insiders are apt to see your work before you graduate than in the Pacific Northwest, but he says professionals often fly up from L.A. to share their knowledge: "We're not in the sticks. We're not provincial."
How much will this set me back? Cost may be the foremost consideration for most prospective students. Especially in today's volatile economy, is it wise to apply to a school that costs a fortune when you don't have a fortune in the bank? The bitter taste of student loan debt may outlast your happy school memories. Still, many administrators and faculty feel you shouldn't let a price tag stand in the way of your dreams. Says Juilliard's Houghton, "If I let money be the driver for me in terms of what I could and could not afford throughout my life, I would have severely limited the experiences I've had. And you can never know what resources will be available. That being said — particularly now...with the economic crisis we're all in — money is an incredibly important factor." He adds that the majority of Juilliard students receive complete or partial scholarships.
Other schools are diligently trying to offer talented students with limited funds better financial aid packages, which may include teaching assistantships or similar assignments. At UNCG, says Lee, she and all the other actors in her MFA program had assistantships. They aided tenured and adjunct professors and taught their own sections of basic acting and other undergraduate courses. Lee was interested in teaching anyway and was delighted to accept these additional responsibilities. She also felt that breaking down what she knew and giving it to others deepened her own learning experience. But having to grade papers and devise lesson plans complicates one's own training, and those expecting a pure conservatory experience will want to find out whether they'll also be expected to teach.
Grab the Bull by the Horns
It's natural for prospective acting students to be shy around academic types. Professorial authority can be intimidating. But when you're researching BFA or MFA programs, it doesn't pay to be reticent. Stroppel suggests that when you find a program you like, don't hold back your enthusiasm — or your questions: Call people, write letters, make yourself known. "It's not a passive field we're in," he says. "Instead of shrinking away from the challenge, say, 'Yeah, dude. Today I'm gonna wake up and I'm gonna kick some ass at this. And whether or not I get anywhere is not the point. I want to be proactive.' And if you do that long enough, it's going to work out. It has to."
Write to the author at mdundaswood@yahoo.com.