MFA Musical Theatre- Page 2

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 4/16/11 at 9:49pm

"To be honest, the vast majority of people (with a few small exceptions) that end up going for MFA's are people whose careers have been stagnant or nonexistent after undergrad, and an MFA is an attempt to try to counteract that."


dexter3, I understand where you are coming from, but as someone with an MFA in Acting, please let me provide an alternative, insider's perspective for readers of this thread.

The MFA's both at the conservatory where I got my degree and at the state school where I went to undergrad were all there for different reasons and had different levels of professional experience.

Most MFA Acting students, from my obervation, are usually somewhere in their twenties, but there are occassionally a couple of people in their thirties or even forties. Some had come directly from undergrad, some (like me) had been out for only one or two years, and some--the older ones--of course had been out for many years. And yes, those who had several years of professional experience probably were trying to re-energize their careers by attempting to get better with additional training. I would have to agree that if you already have a fair amount of training (i.e. a BFA), you're near or over thirty, and you still aren't getting much work as an actor, an MFA probably isn't going to help you much at this point (although you never know). To be honest, I did find those students to be a little bit depressing, except for the ones who were getting MFA's specifically so they could become theater professors.

But in actuality, the older people made up the MINORITY of MFA students. Most MFA acting students are in their early to mid-twenties, have not been out in the field long (if at all), and simply want more (or better) training before tackling the industry at full force. And a couple of the older students were actually relatively new to acting. They did not receive undegraduate degrees in acting and had never attempted acting careers. They had always loved theater and had done a couple plays in college or whatever but had had normal jobs and lives until they (perhas somewhat randomly) decided to go for an acting career. And surprisingly, those students were some of the best of the bunch.

So please, MFA's are not just for failed actors trying to jumpstart their careers or become teachers. As I said, most MFA students have barely even started their careers, if at all. I encourage anyone who is young and eager for a career but feels inadequately prepared to go for an MFA in Acting. The same goes for people who want an MFA or MM in Musical Theatre.

Everyone please feel free to PM me with any questions you might on the subject.

[dexter3]

Posted: 4/17/11 at 3:24pm

I hear ya, Distinctive Baritone. It's nice to have someone's input who actually has an MFA. But, you think you might be a teensy bit subjective, since, ya know, you actually have an MFA?

I could definitely see why someone would chose a graduate school for theater if they did undergrad in a different field, though I'm still not understanding the logic of both an undergrad and a grad degree in it...it's just not necessary and won't give anyone a leg up in the field of acting (though I agree it would widen the palette of tools an actors brings to table).

What would be really interesting would be to see actual statistics from both graduate and undergraduate acting programs on their alumni in the business. How many are actually working actors??

But of course, no theater department in their right mind would do a study like that because of how extraordinarily difficult it is to make it in acting in the first place, coupled with the fact that defining what a "successful" (or even just plain "working") actor is would be difficult.

I would say that a grad school for theater would probably best be chosen by a) program reputation (yale's grad acting program is by far the most renowned) or alumni (someone mentioned Kelly O'hara and Chenowith went to Oklahoma City? They're obviously very successful and seem to be doing the right thing!)
Updated On: 4/17/11 at 03:24 PM

[WalterMitty]

Posted: 7/8/11 at 1:57pm

I have a BFA in Acting from a school that, when I attended, was classified as one of the top 5 acting programs at a public university, nationally. My BFA program started with 11 students and 9 graduated, 7 went on to NYC to pursue acting careers. They have all done some work in NYC, but for the most part they pay their bills with other jobs (office assistants, nannies, waiters and bellhops). In fact, I've been able to do more actual performances by staying behind because I am not competing with New York actors. I've been asked to direct and called in for last minute jobs a lot because there aren't a lot of professional actors who don't head to New York or Chicago. Thus, I've gained more experience and been able to take on bigger roles.

I looked into getting an MFA a few years ago. I actually auditioned and was accepted into a program, but when I auditioned, I was shown around and I interviewed current students and professors, discovering that pretty much EVERYTHING done in an MFA in acting is also done in a BFA in acting. Which makes sense, since as an undergrad we took a lot of our classes with the MFA students at our school. Since the program I was looking into, usually brings in a big name for leading roles (it's a financial decision), it just wasn't worth it for me to spend the next 3 years playing bit parts and taking classes that I'd already taken.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 7/8/11 at 2:44pm

I agree that getting an M.F.A. in Actng if you have a B.F.A. in Acting is probably pretty pointless (unless you are doing it just to teach). However, if you got only a B.A. in Theatre, like me, and you don't feel like that was enough training, I think getting an M.F.A. makes sense. Also, a lot of B.F.A. Musical Theatre actors go on to get M.F.A.'s in Acting if they want to segue into straight plays.

Anyway, I think my previous post best expresses my rather informed point of view.

[junkyard]

Posted: 7/9/11 at 4:02pm

I don't have a MFA or a BFA, I do have a Master of Ed from Manhattan College, that has helped me thru some difficjult times during my early career(private school sub with obnoxious kids).......what I do have is extensive vocal and dance training in my youth and an excellent acting coach in my older teen years. Started as a replacement in the ensemble in Bye Bye Birdie back in '61 and worked ever since except for my stint in the army........let me tell you that talent and a good agent have helped me more than any BFA or MFA. I am now 65 still working in the theatre and have outlived my original agent but his replacement keeps me active.