The real NYADA?
The real NYADA?
#1The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 8:20pm
Hi This is my first post! I'm a high school senior looking for the perfect (or the closest to perfect) MT college. The closest to NYADA. My heart is set on NYC but I really don't know which is the best program there. I like Pace, but I don't know much of its reputation. My other choice would be Ithaca, but am really not sure as far as location goes (not into outdoors or small towns at all!). I would like a conservatory BFA type program which will allow me to network and audition. Which would you say is the best MT college in NYC?(aside from Tisch which is too expensive) My dream school would be something very much like NYADA. Please help me!
#2The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 8:25pmWhat do you mean when you say you want something close to NYADA? An MT program that has voice & dance classes? Because they're all going to have that. Or do you mean a school with an unreasonable bitch teaching voice and a drunk teaching dance?
#3The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 8:45pm
New Yorkers may correct me, but Ithaca is a good four hours from the City. You could certainly get into town now and then, but you aren't going to be running into Manhattan for auditions every other day.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Unless you are now the perfect type to play 12-year-olds, concentrating on training and allowing your instrument to mature for a few years can only help you later.
ETA as long as I'm on an "old fart" rant here: when I was your age I wanted to do nothing but study performance. Yet I ended up directing for a decade or so and then became a playwright and dramaturg. All of which required knowledge of other arts, history, literature, psychology and philosophy. I have a lot of years of college under my belt now, but until I got to grad school, none of the most important classes were found in theater departments.
It's a big, wide world and you have plenty of time. Study as many different things as you can: you'll find that everything you learn will be useful at some point in your theatrical career.
And, no, I wouldn't have heeded this advice when I was your age either. So no worries on that score and best of luck to you in your college and later careers.
Updated On: 9/24/12 at 08:45 PM
#4The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 8:48pmI'm with GPS, think of Ithaca.
"Through The Sacrifice You Made, We Can't Believe The Price You Paid..For Love!"
#5The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 8:56pmI mean the prestige it has. The excitment it provokes. What it represents in the series, the top MT program in the country where you go to become a STAR!!! (I am very aware that colleges don't turn you into stars, you have to do that by yourself!)
#6The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 9:00pmNot trying to be bitchy, but if you really think college is like what they show on Glee, you are so wrong. And maybe you should rethink going right away if you think it will be like NYADA.
"I don't want the pretty lights to come and get me."-Homecoming 2005
"You can't pray away the gay."-Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy.
Ignored Users: suestorm, N2N Nate., Owen22, master bates
#7The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 9:06pm
In order to go to college in New York City and do well, especially if that is not where you grew up, you have to be extremely disciplined. I went to college in New York (and grew up within an hour's drive of Manhattan) and spent most of my time very distracted and busy with lots of non-college things. My grades suffered, and I know I didn't get nearly as much out of it as I should have. New York can be a wonderful place to learn and spend that particular period of your life. But it can also be a huge distraction, with the constant draw of something thrilling to do that's not your homework. And if you love New York and you want to go there for the theater, that can sometimes be very hard to do. I can't tell you how many times I put off work or did a half-ass job because I wanted to go to a show or a concert instead.
So there is something to be said about a place like Ithaca (which, by the way, is quite a good school). Yes, it's far from New York but if you're in a good program it can compensate for not being there all the time in terms of networking, and I think the nature of being more "isolated" without those distractions can allow you to focus better, hone your craft, and do what you are there to do. You shouldn't rule it out.
#8The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 9:07pm
You can find an entire thread somewhere here on the most prestigious undergrad programs.
Personally, I would assume Juilliard would be at or near the top of the list, whether or not they offer MT specifically. It's going to be just as expensive as Tisch, however, unless you get a very large scholarship.
I have friends from the U. of Michigan who speak very highly of it. Ray Bolger left his estate to UCLA and they used the money to fund a greatly improved MT program. But neither of those places will keep you close to Broadway. Yale is prestigious, but you have to wait for grad school to specialize in theater, I believe.
Etc. and so forth. I've been out of academia for awhile and never did put much faith in those lists of "most prestigious" schools. A great teacher at Podunk U. will do you more good than being lost in the herd at "NYADA".
#9The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 9:08pm
Well, Juilliard is also non-degree granting, right? So you have to think about how important that is to you.
(I always assumed NYADA was ripped off of AMDA.)
#10The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 9:14pm
This post is way too easy to make fun of but if you're seriously asking...if you're worried about attending Tisch because of the cost, maybe you should seriously think about whether or not you can afford to live in NYC, regardless of the school you choose. The tuition for your education is only one of the many expenses you'll incur here.
As far as programs, truly sometimes you do get what you pay for. Obviously there are exceptions and many great performers have come from programs that aren't the common choices as the "best", but the consistency you get from programs like NYU (Tisch), University of Michigan, CCM, Carnegie Mellon, Julliard, etc. really is exceptional and the alumni list from schools like this is impressive. However, all of these schools and many of the "lower tier" ones as well are very very tough to get into and you should have a decent, if not stellar, academic record as well.
Oh, and it's highly unlikely that you'll book work as a performer while you're in school and honestly, a lot of programs discourage it. Your school years should be used for honing your craft and learning about theatre and immersing yourself in both the history and the craft training that are integral to success in this business.
"Get mad, then get over it." - Colin Powell
#11The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 9:15pm
I don't know the details, luvtheEmcee, but I made the same assumption about the NYADA/AMDA connection. Only the latter wasn't that hard to get into when I last lived in New York decades ago.
You are certainly right about the distractions of NYC! I did my undergrad work at Columbia; my work didn't suffer, but I basically spent those years holed up in Morningside Heights and missed a lot of shows below 100th Street.
(I went to grad school at UCLA and rather envy those who have had the experience of a college more isolated from urban distractions. It's very much a fantasy of mine to go to a liberal arts college on a hill somewhere, a la Cal Arts.)
ETA: well said, kelly2. When I was at UCLA, they took 60 undergrads out of 900 applicants. They all had 4.0+ GPAs AND they could act, sing, dance, etc.
Updated On: 9/24/12 at 09:15 PM
#12The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 9:19pm
Yes, so did I. And I went to graduate school in a more secluded location but that was still accessible to a city -- the difference in my focus was astounding. It was probably a lot like how college should have been. I don't know if I would readily trade my years in New York for anything, but I know there was a lot I did wrong.
Anyway, yeah, I don't know that much about AMDA either, just enough to assume that was what NYADA was trying to be. Kind of like Felicity did the University of New York instead of NYU but everyone knew what it was. And yes -- being in New York isn't necessarily going to be an equivalent to the prestige and quality of some of the big, less "desirably" located programs like those Kelly listed.
#13The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 9:23pmLast personal note, I swear: luv, I lived in NYC for a few years before I went to college, so some of the glitter had worn off and I was better able to concentrate on school work.
#14The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 9:24pm
Emcee almost flunked out of school here in New York. Do you really want to be like Emcee and end up living in some God awful city dodging bullets on your way home every night?
Something to think about...
#15The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 9:26pmIs this an elaborate RPG?
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
#17The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 9:34pmI think Point Park University in Pittsburgh is supposed to have a good program as well.
"I don't want the pretty lights to come and get me."-Homecoming 2005
"You can't pray away the gay."-Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy.
Ignored Users: suestorm, N2N Nate., Owen22, master bates
#18The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 9:37pm
You should also know you're not likely to find an apartment with your unemployed bestie where you two can ride your bikes freely in the living room.
Even in Bushwick.
#19The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 9:40pm^ But you can keep a horse in the backyard.
"I don't want the pretty lights to come and get me."-Homecoming 2005
"You can't pray away the gay."-Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy.
Ignored Users: suestorm, N2N Nate., Owen22, master bates
#20The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 10:01pm
You should also know you're not likely to find an apartment with your unemployed bestie where you two can ride your bikes freely in the living room.
But if by chance you do, DO NOT paint the name of your beloved or anything else on original, exposed brick!
Brick is beautiful in its original condition and paint is a nightmare to remove.
#21The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 10:08pm
Yeah, don't be like me, kids. 
#22The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 10:25pmGaveston, thanks for the stats on UCLA! I always get worried when I hear kids talk about going to these very reputable schools for performing. I just hope they are aware that the idea that academics are merely a formality for students wishing to concentrate in the arts is a complete myth.
"Get mad, then get over it." - Colin Powell
Jon
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
#23The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 10:27pm
I thouight AMDA pretty much accepts anyone who can pay the tuition.
#24The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 10:31pm
Well, Juilliard is also non-degree granting, right? So you have to think about how important that is to you.
Maybe I'm very dense and misunderstanding what you're saying, but Juilliard awards BFAs.
But with that in mind, I think you also need to think about whether you want to be in a conservatory environment or a theatre program in a college/university, where you'd still be taking liberal arts classes. Not everyone can thrive in both environments.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
#25The real NYADA?
Posted: 9/24/12 at 10:35pmI thought NYADA was some Juilliard/NYU hybrid, with Whoopi Goldberg's character as some ersatz Leontyne Price.
