conservatory or liberal arts???

[dramatothemax]

Posted: 10/18/05 at 3:13pm

I'm a junior and I need to start thinking about college obviously, does anyone have an opinion on whether liberal arts or conservatories are more efficient...and which ones have a great musical theatre program. If you all could help me out that'd be great!
These kids are good. (i love my school :D)

[Taryn]

Posted: 10/18/05 at 3:42pm

Are you absolutely positively sure you want to go into theatre? Is there nothing else you could possibly picture yourself being happy doing? Go to a conservatory.

Do you want the chance to learn more in other areas while studying theatre? Do you think there's a chance of you falling in love with another subject? Go to a college.

Just keep in mind that it's much easier to pursue a variety of subjects in a liberal arts college than a conservatory, which is very focused on your area.

[pndmnd]

Posted: 10/18/05 at 5:04pm

And in what ways do you want to be well-rounded. I am one of those people who has been in love with the arts since I was 4, but I also believe that having the base knowledge of other things makes you a stronger artist, whether that's theatre, music, dance, visual arts, writing, whatever. But, if you feel like you would hate taking the math, science, history type courses, then go to a school that requires fewer of them. And if you feel like you need to focus your time on learning how to dance or sing or something that you aren't as strong at, then go somewhere where you will be able to do that. It really depends on you as an individual and how you want to spend the next for years. I believe that a major part of college is growing as a person, and that will help you to grow as a performer.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/18/05 at 7:02pm

I have never seen a longer signature in my life.

END THREAD JACK

Go to a college. Even if theatre is WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, you need backups.

[Pinguin]

Posted: 10/19/05 at 12:34am

The whole backup issue aside ('cause I don't know if I really think you should have some super secure backup as an actor), there are so many advantages to going to a university; I recommend finding universities with B.F.A. programs, because the training is in a more conservatory style and is much more comparable. Many universities have FANTASTIC musical theatre programs.


Seriously, much of the time conservatories are the place for actors who didn't get good grades in high school and can't go to universities, and for them, conservatories are a GREAT option.

But the chance to meet a lot of people who aren't JUST interested in theatre? AMAZING.

[nydirector2]

Posted: 10/19/05 at 10:04am

Liberal Arts is definitely the way to go. Basically, you'll get not only a more well rounded education, but it'll alow you to be in a more social atmosphere outside of the theatre. It's not bad to be well rounded and have friends outside of theatre, ya know.

[Adoannie925]

Posted: 10/19/05 at 4:33pm

I go to a liberal arts college and I love it. My school is very unique...our theatre, music, and dance departments are conservatory style programs, so I have 7 theatre classes, and 2 academic classes. I go to Sarah Lawrence and I like how I can choose to take as many theatre classes or as a little as I want to take and you'll find some amazing professors here. Also, it's nice to know that I don't have to stick with theatre for the next four years...I can always shuffle around and take pretty much whatever I want. It's a great school and it's really nice to be 30 minutes away from NYC.

[nydirector2]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 2:51pm

Do you like Sarah Lawrence? I know several people who went there/go there and they've all had differing oppinions. In fact, some used your exact argument against the school, oddly enough. Weird huh?

[CapnHook]

Posted: 10/22/05 at 1:51am

Liberal arts!! Not just as a person, but as an ACTOR you need to have a knowledge of the world. You might be playing a scientist one day, or a doctor, or a botanist, or a gym teacher, or an astromoner, or a farmer, or a historian, or a painter, or a professor, or an accountant, or a a psychologist, or a philospher, or a librarian, or a police officer, or an extremely smart Jeopardy person, etc. etc. etc. etc.

You'll be getting a BASIC education in academics that not only help (and yes, sometimes won't ever help) in life, but you'll never know when you'll learn something you can use in your acting.

[dramatothemax]

Posted: 10/22/05 at 11:21am

so it sounds like the general consensus is liberal arts! hahah on to the next part of the question....what are good liberal arts colleges with kick ass theatre programs?
LVA Show Pics. "These Kids are Good."

[CapnHook]

Posted: 10/22/05 at 11:32pm

This has been covered in several threads already.

Check out this thread, think about what you want, then let us know what you want so we can help you better. To just ask "what are good schools with good programs" is unanswerable as the ideal school and the education needed is different for everyone.

Here's the thread:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION #1: "What are some good theatre colleges?"
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=858016&boardname=student&dt=071605115038

[Adoannie925]

Posted: 10/26/05 at 2:01pm

nydirector2: I LOVE Sarah Lawrence. I like how the administration leaves it up to the students to design their own major (if you even want to declare a major/concentration), but you have to have self discipline to succeed here because although we don't get typical homework and tests, it's all reading and writing and discussion and it's easy to fall behind. It was a huge adjustment for me at first because the school lacks structure and didn't know how to deal with it, but it's the kind of thing where at first you have no idea what to do, but it works out once you get situated. The education is very personal, too. We have "conference" as a component to each of our courses and every other week we meet with our professors (one on one) for a half hour and discuss our conference project which is generally a 25 page paper about anything you want as long as it has something to do with the course and it's due at the end of the semester. It's also nice to not have to deal with any finals or mid terms and worry about memorizing tons of information that I'll probably forget after I take the exam.

The only thing I don't like is the school wants you to get a well rounded education so if you take more than 50 credits in one field (which is hard to do, but it makes it hard for a double major in music and theater like me), you can't take any more classes in that field and you can risk not graduating. Also, there is no business or communications department because it's a liberal arts college and if you want to go into PR/Casting like me, those departments would be helpful to be able to take classes in, but I can always do internships and the school is great about helping students find internships and giving them credit for them as well as working them into their academic schedule.

Overall, I really like it once I get passed some of the little quirks the college has.

[Adoannie925]

Posted: 10/26/05 at 2:01pm

nydirector2: I LOVE Sarah Lawrence. I like how the administration leaves it up to the students to design their own major (if you even want to declare a major/concentration), but you have to have self discipline to succeed here because although we don't get typical homework and tests, it's all reading and writing and discussion and it's easy to fall behind. It was a huge adjustment for me at first because the school lacks structure and didn't know how to deal with it, but it's the kind of thing where at first you have no idea what to do, but it works out once you get situated. The education is very personal, too. We have "conference" as a component to each of our courses and every other week we meet with our professors (one on one) for a half hour and discuss our conference project which is generally a 25 page paper about anything you want as long as it has something to do with the course and it's due at the end of the semester. It's also nice to not have to deal with any finals or mid terms and worry about memorizing tons of information that I'll probably forget after I take the exam.

The only thing I don't like is the school wants you to get a well rounded education so if you take more than 50 credits in one field (which is hard to do, but it makes it hard for a double major in music and theater like me), you can't take any more classes in that field and you can risk not graduating. Also, there is no business or communications department because it's a liberal arts college and if you want to go into PR/Casting like me, those departments would be helpful to be able to take classes in, but I can always do internships and the school is great about helping students find internships and giving them credit for them as well as working them into their academic schedule.

Overall, I really like it once I get passed some of the little quirks the college has.

[nydirector2]

Posted: 10/26/05 at 3:37pm

Ado...sounds like it's definitely the place for you. I think most of the complaints I've heard against the school mostly have to do with how extremely liberal it is. I've also heard complaints about the lack of more heterosexuals on campus...which is like the exact opposite of every other school.

How was the Coming Out party this year?

[Adoannie925]

Posted: 10/26/05 at 3:56pm

Ah, see I like the homosexual tones to the school. It's got a great lipstick lesbian community which works quite well for me.

The coming out dance was cancelled! We still had our famous cross dress cabaret which went well from what I heard. I'm so depressed because I really wanted to go to the coming out dance, but too many people went to the hospital last year for alcohol poisoning and falling down the huge hill on campus because someone was drunk in stilleto heals, so the school is trying to tame things down. The administration said there's a possibility of the coming out dance returning in 2 years or so. However, to make up for it, the queer variety coalition gets to plan different events each month that are supposed to replace the coming out dance.

The school is extremely liberal and it takes getting used, too, but I love it. The town surrounding the school isn't a fan, though. Parents weekend is in two weeks and it happens to be cross dress weekend, so that will be interesting.

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 3:45am

Acting is not a liberal art. It is a craft that prepares you for a job.

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 10:38am

I almost went to Sarah Lawrence, but I decided on Saint Mary's College (Notre Dame, Indiana) instead.

It's a liberal arts college, and I love it.
(It's also a women's college, and we have great theatre here despite the obvious challenges that this single-gender setting provides)
When I got here, I wasn't a theatre major.
But I quickly switched.
I love our theatre program.
More than half the theatre majors (I'm not one of them) have a second major (most are history, communications, or political science).
It's more of a supportive environment than a competitive one, which is incredible.
And I feel that I am in fact getting a great education in theatre.
Also, I have a general major.
That means that I'm being trained both in performance and production.
And because I am getting a BA instead of a BFA, I have a little more to fall back on.
If I had decided to be a theatre major from the start, I probably would've gone to a BFA program.
In the end, I'm glad I didn't.
I get a lot of individual attention here (I'm taking two independent study classes this semester alone) and that helps me to progress in the ways I want to.
Last semester, I only took theatre classes (18 credits worth) and I was in three plays, which shows that I can make my school work like a conservatory when I want it to do so.

Anyway.
Just some food for thought.
:)

[toodramatic]

Posted: 11/1/05 at 11:34am

First off some of you seem to be confused about what a conservatory is...a conservatory you will ONLY be getting theatre related courses...conservatories are a product of Europe and really first came to the US via Juilliard...but Juilliard and all the subsequent music or theatre or dance "conservatories" that are giving out BFAs arent really conservatories because to get an accredited BFA you do need some basis of knowledge in other subjects.

Anywho...BFA=75% of courses Theatre related
BA=50% of courses theatre related

What you really need to consider is individual programs...maybe you love 18th century british literature and therefore you should consider Sarah Lawrence which has an excellent English program...or maybe you want to focus on improving your classical performance, then you should go some place like NC arts which is good at that....see where Im going...Inevitably a program that suits you, be it "conservatory" or liberal arts will take you where you want to go...

"Seriously, much of the time conservatories are the place for actors who didn't get good grades in high school"

hmm...not really...good conservatories generally look at grades more than you might think...that is a very broad generalization to make and I think you'll find it to be untrue when you look at who is enrolled in conservatories...now places like scamda sure its true but I wouldnt really consider that a college.

"Go to a college. Even if theatre is WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, you need backups."

This is an unfortunate myth. Take a look at your talent. Have others look at it. Are you good enough? Alright then...do it! If your gonna pursue something as a career dont half a** it. The fact is the entertainment industry is HARD, but look around at todays job market (thanks for the outsourcing mr. president) and you will find very litte is safe and secure.This a notion from a time when entertainers were looked down upon. Look at it realistically and you will find its something you need to go into unwavering.

[briarbrad]

Posted: 11/1/05 at 6:17pm

"Anywho...BFA=75% of courses Theatre related
BA=50% of courses theatre related"

This actually isn't quite true. A BFA program is a program where at least, if not more than, 50% of the courses you are required to take are in your (Fine Art) major. A BA program is one in which less than 50% of your required courses are in your major. The amount of coursework in your major in a BFA program can range from 50% (e.g. NYU) to close to 95% (e.g. Juilliard, Carnegie Mellon).

And there were Music Conservatories in this country LONG before Juilliard was founed in 1905 (and the Drama Division wasn't founded until 1968...). The Peabody Institute began in 1857. The Boston Conservatory, The Cincinnati Conservatory, and The New England Conservatory were all founded in 1867. The Lawrence Conservatory of Music began educating students in 1874.




Updated On: 11/1/05 at 06:17 PM

[toodramatic]

Posted: 11/1/05 at 8:40pm

mmm...sorry if I implied that these were set standards...I was averaging (95/50) most programs will roughly have 75%(NYUs program is not 50% where did you get that from... I have many close friends who go there and I would be happy to pm you a schedule)

"And there were Music Conservatories in this country LONG before Juilliard was founed in 1905 (and the Drama Division wasn't founded until 1968...)."

Again I had not intended to say Juilliard was the first conservatory...but it was the first to be directly modeled after Europe and it started this whole conservatory craze...before the drama school started in '68 these programs like Carngie Mellon and NYU were not nearly as prestigous and you wouldnt see people wanting to come there like you do now...you must not take statements as literaly and look at them in context.

[briarbrad]

Posted: 11/1/05 at 9:39pm

Your facts are a little off base. "before the drama school started in '68 these programs like Carnegie Mellon and NYU were not nearly as prestigous and you wouldnt see people wanting to come there like you do now"

You'd have trouble finding people in academia or the professional world to support the claim that Carnegie Mellon or NYU did not become prestigious or popular until Juilliard began its Drama Division! People like Jack Klugman, Barbara Feldon, Frank Gorshin, Stephen Bochco, Rene Auberjonois, Ann Roth, Eugene Lee, Jules Fisher, and Stephen Schwartz all graduated from Carnegie Mellon before Juilliard's Drama Division opened its doors...it has always been the place to go.
Updated On: 11/1/05 at 09:39 PM

[Benzy92]

Posted: 11/1/05 at 10:10pm

AND to add another option, you can go to a conservatory that is ON a university or liberal arts college. For example, Hartt School of Music is a great conservatory, but is on University of Hartford, so you can be with people who aren't just interested in theatre, etc. CCM is the same way :)

[Soozie]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 1:07am

BriarBrad, your numbers are a bit off there.

In a BA program, a student would spend about 30% of their coursework in theater, just like a major in any other subject.

In a BFA program, the theater coursework would range anywhere from 60-90% of the coursework, depending on the school. Most schools, it is at least 70%.

Your numbers on NYU/Tisch are off. Who told you 50%? No BFA program is just 50% of your coursework. Are you confused because in terms of ADMISSIONS, NYU weighs your academic qualifications 50/50 with your artistic talent, perhaps? But that is unrelated to the ratio of coursework.

I have a kid who is a freshman in CAP21. Her studio classes alone are three days per week 9-6. The other two days are considered liberal arts but actually can and do include theater courses at Tisch. This semester, they are required courses, one is Intro. to Theater Production and one is a writing course on Art and the World. So, she is in conservatory classes 27 hours per week and has two liberal arts courses on top of that but sometimes those courses are also theater related as they are now. She evenually will be taking some liberal arts satisfying distribution requirements and electives but every year, her conservatory studio classes are still three full days per week. That is hardly 50/50. It is not even 60/40 in the sense that some of the academic classes are also in theater. The three studio days are classes in acting, voice/speech, all styles of dance classes, vocal technique, and all that sort of conservatory type classes.


Updated On: 11/2/05 at 01:07 AM

[toodramatic]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 2:38am

Brainbrad: my facts are not a little off base because they are not facts...I stated an opinion that many (I would say most) in this profession would agree with. While many great people did graduate from these schools and they were certainly reputable...they were not what they are today simply because FAR less people pursued theatre in college prior to 1990 (that is a fact)...this changed (in my opinion) due to a change in attitude that began with the opening of the first "European style acting conservatory" (quote from the great John Houseman referancing Juilliard)in '68...this opened the doors for many schools to revamp there programs and attract new people. We are arguing semantics and it is getting tiring.

Benzy do you go to Hartt?

[TTL]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 9:50pm

Just throwing this out there...but my school
POINT PARK UNIVERSITY is a liberal school with COPA: Conservatory of Performing Arts offering Dance, Theatre, Musical Theatre, Film, and Cinema & Digital Arts. Yea...it's crazy accepting the film & cinema students here as performing art...but it's cool! I just know sitting in front of a computer..editing a movie is just something I can't do. Haha. Oh, by the way...I'm a Dance Major at Point Park! If you got any questions...feel free to PM me about the school or whatever!