amda???

i know there's a lot of hate for amda, but i'm applying there and i was wondering if anyone can tell me factually how competitive it is... i know that it is very competitive but i'm wondering if anyone knows the numbers or where i can find them? thanks...

I know many people who have gone to AMDA. My feelings on the school are this:

If you go in talented, you'll come out talented. That's kinda the way it is with most schools. You also come out with what you put into your time there. Meredith Patterson is an AMDA grad, and look at her!

Explore the classes before you commit. They don't really do shows there except for the showcases. I saw one, and it really didn't showcase anyone in a good light.

Just my humble 2 cents.

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There are much better,cheaper places to study acting and musical theatre in NYC than AMDA. Don't be fooled into going to AADA or AMDA just because of the "names". Be sure to audit, do research and speak to former and current students before making any decisions:)

I'm confused about this as well, apdarcey.

I'm a Junior at a performing arts high school and I want to look into conservatories because my academic grades suck, but my theatre grades are amazing...and also because I feel like a conservatory is the only place I could concentrate entirely on my craft.

I was looking at UK schools...most of which are absolutely brilliant. But my friend told me that if you get a degree in England, it won't mean anything in America and I'd just have to start all over again. It sounded kind of odd to me, but he was pretty confident.

So my questions are: 1) Is he right about the UK schools? 2) Would AMDA or AADA look good from a casting perspective once I get out there? and 3) What are the truly good conservatories out there (that you know of/went to)?

"I was looking at UK schools...most of which are absolutely brilliant. But my friend told me that if you get a degree in England, it won't mean anything in America and I'd just have to start all over again. It sounded kind of odd to me, but he was pretty confident."

This all depends on what you plan to do with your life. A degree means nothing if you want to be a performer. No one will care if you have a degree, only if you can do the job required. I know of no directors who will ask what degree you might have to cast you in a Broadway show. If you plan to teach theatre then that would be another story. That's where you would need the degree. So it really depends what you want to do.

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Updated On: 10/16/04 at 04:53 PM

Well if you are sure that the degree will not carry over, you should go to a school in the US. When I attended AADA, one could take classes at Pace University at the same time (AADA was only four hours a day). This would allow you get an Associates of Arts Degree. You can then go on to get a higher degree elsewhere. I assume that AMDA might have a similar program but I can't be sure of that so you might want to check that out.

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Use the search function and you'll find many SCAMDA threads.

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Although every casting director is certainly different, my experience has been that AMDA students and grads don't get any better or worse treatment than, say, CCM, Northwestern, or Boston Conservatory students OR high school grads with no degrees. If they're talented, they're talented and get work; if not, they don't get the callbacks.

as for the question of whether a degree counts in musical theatre, I will say that people who don't have at least some time to grow up and gain experience in a college atmosphere seem to be at a disadvantage in the highest levels of professional auditions. They just come across as green, and even when there is obvious raw talent there, most top directors don't have the time to teach someone the skills they need to do the job. It's easier to cast someone who is a bit more tried and true.

My own experience with AMDA students is that some are very impressive and some aren't. I like the teachers and training that AMDA has and gives, for the most part, but I would have to agree that it ain't a guarantee of success as a performer. What it does have that many conservatories don't have is a NYC location. That is also a double-edged sword. If you can handle the pressures of living in the city, it can be great to live there and hit the classes and auditions that the city provides. If you're not "ready" (mature, stable, confident), NYC can eat you alive.

All stuff to think about. Best of luck.

The 'school' is awful. This is coming from a former student. I felt like I was paying for a babysitter that cost me $20,000 a semester... As for being competitive, if you can afford it, congrats you're accepted.

#1 - I know quite a few people who weren't accepted into AMDA. Also a number who were and shouldn't have been. But overall you can't say they take everyone, b/c they just don't.

#2 - pm me if you'd like some info from someone who actually went there. I'm not going to get into arguing about it on the board. I think it has a lot of good/bad aspects in my opinion, but what I think is good or bad may not be the same for someone else.

#3 - I just want to tell you you will find "scamda" threads on here. I wouldn't give them much merit. Generally they aren't comprised of any real info, just complaints of people who either never attended AMDA, or quit (which a lot did). They just don't have a lot of credit to talk about AMDA, when in reality they have no real insight into the program.

Well, shesings, thank you for being the self appointed ruler of who knows what about AMDA. No one has given you the right to discredit anything anyone has posted on this topic. Learn how to behave!

For your information, I have posted on those theads and I HAVE WORKED and AUDITIONED numerous AMDA students. I have seen more "graduates" (notice the quotes sweetie) than you have.

There is a reason that this schools is not looked at highly in the theater community..and I'm not talking just NY. It is a place where they will accept the majority of people..people who wouldn't qualify to be in community theater. People who have all this supposed wonderful training and still can't read music, sighting, have decent monologues or even perform a triple time step. These are the basics of this industry and time and time again I have not seen the quality of AMDA grauduates. I have know three people who left after the first year (you do have to pay for a year's education at a time). When you finish your music theory class (after a year) and all you know are your key signatures, then you are in trouble. This school preys on the kids who think "hey..I can just sing and dance all day and have have to take math! yeah!".

Go to a real university. A 4 year institution where you will not just study music but English, History and Math. Hey..there are even schools outside NYC that can teach musical theater! Get a BM or BFA. Become a well rounded person who knows that "Oklahoma" is not just a musical, but a state.

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We can argue about this all day and never get anywhere. It really is a matter of opinion and there are theater people who will turn up their noses at an academic university teaching the arts just as there are people who will say 'don't waste your money on a theater school...go to a REAL college'.

There are people like Julie Harris and others that went to AMDA and who were very successful and some who went on to be big names who were not invited back by the staff for a second year...but then there are people who went on to be respected actors in film and in theater who lost auditions to people who are nobodys now...so that's the business.

You get out what you put in and I've seen people sail through these programs without thought and others who really squeezed every drop out of professors and teachers. Go see the schools and talk to the staff and other students. Look at the curriculum and then make a decision based on YOUR needs. You will be better off.

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apdarcey, don't do it. For whatever its merits or lack thereof as a conservatory, it is NOT the place for post-graduate studies. When I was finishing college and doing the URTA/grad school audition rounds, I auditioned for them since I was already here and it wasn't clear to me that it wasn't meant for post-grad work.

No offense intended to the alumni on the board, this was just my experience, but I was clearly one of the more educated and older actors there....almost all were 17-18 and coming straight out of high school.

If you're already finishing up your undergraduate work, do yourself a favor by building on the training you already have, rather than going backwards--go somewhere that has a conservatory linked to an MFA degree....that way you have a terminal degree in your field and eventually you can teach at the college level if you ever decide to do that. And it's just more widely reconized--in this country at least--with the Masters. PLUS you have higher loan eligibility than in a non-degree program.

Music as a singer? Musician? I might have some suggestions--PM me.

Also, I'm not sure AMDA has any relationship with New School--I could be wrong, but since they already have a reciprocal deal with The Actors' Studio (which is a whole other thread entirely!), I would be surprised if they had both.

The bottom line of any training program is that you get out what you put in, and you can always cull good things from any program...in my MFA program, I had faculty members who'd taught everywhere from Yale to Tisch to AMDA and that was the consensus. But if you will already have a BA, it doesn't sound like the wisest idea.