Broadway stars who did NOT go to College...- Page 3

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 4/12/08 at 5:59pm

SDav, I don't know what show but you can go on YouTube and watch Natalie Weiss talk about it at Scott Alan's birdland concert before he came on to perform a song.

[jrb]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 12:25pm

Not a big star yet, but Aaron Tveit left Ithaca College early when he booked the Rent national tour.
He came back then left again...ultimately, Ithaca gave him his degree despite his missing a bunch of time there. They knew that he was an asset, I guess. Ithaca's got a crap-load of well-known folks who have come from their program.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 2:12pm

"receiving a BFA or BA or BM, in musical theatre/theatre arts/vocal performance/dance/acting, has been proven to increase your chances in auditions."

That is absolutely not true. While training obviously has helped, the degree itself is useless at an audition. If you look at the bios of performers on Broadway, most don't have any college degrees, and many who do have it in a completely unrelated discipline.

[missyrose87]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 2:45pm

eden espinosa took a couple classes at fullerton jc, but dropped out and never graduated.

[jrb]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 2:49pm

"That is absolutely not true. While training obviously has helped, the degree itself is useless at an audition. If you look at the bios of performers on Broadway, most don't have any college degrees, and many who do have it in a completely unrelated discipline. "

Agreed - most people (once they've gotten even moderately into auditioning) do not list their schools on their resumes. Thus, the audjudicators often aren't aware of their degrees and such.
Listing academic connections is a double-edged sword. It can get you work, but it can also cost you work if someone behind the table has had a bad experience with anyone from your school. Also, listing your school can put the idea that you're a "student" and not an "artist" into the heads of those in power.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 2:54pm

That is absolutely not true. While training obviously has helped, the degree itself is useless at an audition.

I think there's a great advantage to having a degree in your field. to me it means that this person cared enough about their discipline to go to school and receive training to be the absolute best they could be. I do think it's possible to just be a raw talent, but I think in the long run it's beneficial to have a degree and a solid foundation in your field.

I'm also just really pro-education, and think that performers who go to larger universities [not an arts school a la Juilliard] also benefit from having a liberal arts education. personally I think it just makes them a much more well-rounded individual.

[jrb]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 2:58pm

Let me qualify my response:

The training you receive from a college is wonderful, but it's the result of that training that the folks behind the desk see, not the degree.
You could come to them with 84 degrees from Ivy League schools and someone with a degree from some lame-butt university could come along and if he or she sounds / looks better than you, then that person will get the role.

It's the training and not the specific location at which your received said training that makes or breaks you.

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 3:13pm

Well of course you must be talented. What do you think I am... crazy? maybe.

But the training and degree in the concentration of theatre can only help.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 3:16pm

I don't think it matters much in terms of colleges where you get training, because, like you said, someone from a lower ranked school could just sound better than someone from an Ivy League school.

I also don't want it to sound like I'm saying people without training or college degrees aren't talented. I think what I want to say is that you're certainly not losing anything by going to a college. getting a degree can only help you and could possibly prepare you for a longer career. as much as so much of show business is luck, I think having a solid foundation of training to fall back on is very helpful.

someone also mentioned, I believe, the benefits of having a BA in general. between acting jobs, someone with a college degree can get a higher paying job than someone without one. those with degrees and extensive training in music performance could possibly teach private voice, as someone like Victoria Clark does. [I'm always surprised to read and hear that so many Broadway performers can't read music, by the way.] so what my personal opinion is, basically, is you're doing yourself a favor by getting a degree, but it's not necessarily for everyone or even a guarantee. and I hope I didn't contradict myself.

[SamIAm]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 9:17pm

Sorry, but Lane did NOT go to college. He chose Nathan Lane as his name because he had done Guys and Dolls but it was not in college. He had a dramatic scholarship to go to school but he could not afford to pay the other miscellaneous charges so he left school on the first day.

[Parks]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 9:31pm

I thought Sherie went to some college... in some M state. Can't remember which one though.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 4/15/08 at 3:41pm

givesmevoice:
"... I think in the long run it's beneficial to have a degree and a solid foundation in your field."

Of course, there are other options. One can spend much of their life behind a deli counter or fish counter for near minimum wage, or wait tables. But with an advanced degree one can fall back on teaching their craft at a comfortable campus somewhere, with an easier work schedule and a $125,000. + salary, directing shows, staying in touch with the theatre world....

[Jonny boy]

Posted: 4/15/08 at 3:56pm

I feel if you have it, you have it, if you dont , you dont!! I think that school is not necessary at all.

[MrsVampyre]

Posted: 4/15/08 at 9:12pm

While Nathan Lane didn't go to college. He was advised to take acting classes to build a foundation. Which he feels/felt was good advice and he did take classes.

[shiz_student94]

Posted: 4/15/08 at 9:17pm

Erin Mackey isn't on Broadway, but she went to Carnegie Mellon for a year, then dropped out. She ended up in Wicked's Chicago production and was "promoted" three times until she was Glinda! Her last show was Sunday, and there have been "rumors," as of right now, from cast members and reliable sources saying she is transferring to the LA Wicked production to replace Megan.

There was also another actor whom I was reading about recently (I want to say they were in 'In the Heights...') who also went to Carnegie Mellon for a year, then dropped out and headed to Broadway.
...Even though this response doesn't answer or correlate to Broadway stars with NO college...heh. Sorry!

[AKDPerformer]

Posted: 8/29/08 at 12:38am

'He said "College is for people who don't know what they want to do. I knew what I wanted to do." '

So someone who knows they want to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or a research geneticist... should just skip college and start practice? Riiiiight!"

Sorry, I had to bump this.

Ummmm....yeah...performing in show business and performing brain surgery. Two COMPLETELY different professions. One requires a degree and the other doesn't. The statement he made was in a completely different way than you were interpreting it.

Done.

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 8/29/08 at 1:19am

You must also remember for every Broadway success story that does not involve college, there are dozens of people who dropped out of college/never went, and are still waiting tables and doing other minimum wage work, and just as many people who did go to college and are doing equally as well as those who didn't, and just as many people who did go to college and are not successful.

The question of whether or not to go to college for theatre is an individual choice. You should never base that choice of off somebody else's success or failure. Hopefully, if are really serious about pursuing an acting career in the theatre, you have a good, honest mentor who can give you the feedback and critiques that you need to help you decide if you are ready to start auditioning or if you would be better served by going to school and honing your craft there.

[AKDPerformer]

Posted: 8/29/08 at 1:33am

Right, in the end everyone is their own individual and has to do what best works for them. Everyone chooses their own path and decides to pursue their craft in the particular way that they see fit. That they feel best corresponds with them as a performer and a person. College or no college. Getting a BFA from the top theater school doesn't guarantee a successful career nor does pursuing individual training and working without 4 years of school.

Success isn't guaranteed in this profession in general. College or not. Learn/train/educate yourself as much as possible and hone your craft with whichever environment/format you feel conforms to you. All you can do is go for it. At the end of the day, the decisions they make are out of your hands all you can do is go into auditions with an open mind and deliver the best that you can. What they see on that specific day right in front of them is what they base their decision on. Talent in the flesh doesn't lie.

Luck/talent/look/type/perserverance etc. is what ultimately gets you the job in the end.

Updated On: 8/29/08 at 01:33 AM

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/29/08 at 5:58am

Of course, there are other options. One can spend much of their life behind a deli counter or fish counter for near minimum wage, or wait tables. But with an advanced degree one can fall back on teaching their craft at a comfortable campus somewhere, with an easier work schedule and a $125,000. + salary, directing shows, staying in touch with the theatre world....

If there is a campus somewhere that pays professors even HALF of $125,000/year, I'd like to hear about it.

At least at the private school I attended, my professor who had been working there for 20+ years, had tenure, and was chair of his department, was only making $49,000/year.

I understand that pay is higher at state schools, but nowhere close to $125,000/year, simply teaching.

[toanythingtaboo 2]

Posted: 8/29/08 at 7:11am

Surely though, if you go into an audition it will be reasonably clear that you went to college or not in terms of your methods and practice...without waving a certificate in their faces?

Raw talent is excellent, and I applaud those who won the genetic lottery...but not everyone can be born with a natural ability to dance amazingly, sing amazingly and act amazingly...so you go to college to learn how to better your skills.

But I guess at the same time, you could say that experience and actually going out there and doing it is the best education.

Either way, I'd say a college degree is pretty important these days in 'realistic' jobs, i.e if you're not putting all your cards on starring on Broadway or in Hollywood.

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 8/29/08 at 6:23pm

There are many people who haven't gone to college and are making a great living off of performing. Just because one wants to pursue musical theatre doesn't mean that they have to pursue Broadway or star in a Broadway show for the rest of their lives.

There are TONS of people making a nice living off of Regional Theatre. I know several people who didn't finish college because they wanted to pursue theatre and they're happy performing in Regional Theatres all over America.

IMO, no...you do not need a degree to be successful in this business. You need talent, drive, and a knowledge of the business. Yes, the training one receives in college can do nothing but help you, but it's not crucial. There are many other ways to get that training.

You don't HAVE to be on Broadway to be a successful theatre performer.

[burntplains]

Posted: 8/29/08 at 6:30pm

Carolee Carmello didn't go to college

Posted: 8/29/08 at 7:01pm

Fyi, Carolee Carmello did go to college, and got her Bachelor's in Business Administration.

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 8/29/08 at 7:05pm

John Tartaglia did not.

[AKDPerformer]

Posted: 8/29/08 at 10:06pm

mywonderwall- your post was extremely well put and so true. :)