A Teen Drama Student's Guide to Laying the Foundation for a Successful Acting Career

By Debbie Lamedman

A Teen Drama Student’s Guide to Laying a Foundation for a Successful Acting Career provides invaluable information on a variety of different colleges, universities, and programs. It features quotes from theater faculty and professionals explaining what they look for during the audition process.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Smith and Kraus Inc
• Release date: Oct 1, 2007
• ISBN: 9781575254630

Debbie Lamedman

Debbie Lamedman is the author and editor of eight acting books published by Smith & Kraus, Inc.  Debbie's play "phat girls" is featured in the anthology New Playwrights: Best Plays of 2003 and has been produced numerous times across the country. Her play "Mind Control" was one of forty finalists in the 35th annual Samuel French Off-Off Broadway short play festival. Debbie's commissioned work, written specifically for teens, includes "Ignorance is Bliss: a Global Warning", "Everyday People", a play about the effects of bullying, and "Rx." Other produced plays include "Triangle Logic", "Eating in the Dark", and "Out with the Old". Debbie was co-bookwriter for the musical "How the Nurse Feels", which had staged readings at both the ASCAP/Disney Workshop in Los Angeles and New World Stages in New York City. Debbie received her MFA from Brandeis University and is a proud member of The Dramatist Guild. For more information, please visit Debbie's website at www.debbielamedman.com

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Arts

Introduction

When I graduated high school a million years ago, all I wanted to do was be an actor. I didn’t want to go to college; I wanted to go to an acting school where I could do theater twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It’s called a conservatory, but I didn’t know that then. I was very naïve. I wound up going to college for one year immediately following high school, but I wasn’t very successful. College was not the right environment for me at that particular time in my life.

I left college after a year, and at nineteen years old interviewed with the head of a very well-known and wellestablished acting academy. After I had finished auditioning with my two contrasting monologues, we sat down to talk, and I will never forget what he said to me. He asked me if there was anything else in the world that I would rather do. I said of course not … this is my life … this is my destiny. He asked me again, very slowly: Was I absolutely certain that there was nothing else that I was interested in pursuing? I was curious why he was trying to talk me out of going to his school, instead of welcoming me with open arms. Then I got worried that he didn’t think I was talented enough. When I got up the courage to ask him, he said talent had very little to do with making it in this business.

I was very young for my age and did not, at the time, grasp the enormity of what he was telling me. And at nineteen years old, I didn’t want to hear the statistics of how many out-of-work actors there were and how many thousands and thousands of people had the exact same dream as I did. For me, it was much more than becoming famous—I wanted to be a working actor, and I knew I was ready to do anything it took to reach my goal.

But was I really? Was I really prepared to be broke most of the time? Working jobs I hated to support myself and that drained me of my energy to pursue my real dream? This is what he was talking about. This is why he continually asked if there was anything else I was interested in doing with my life.

I did wind up attending this academy, and the training I received was invaluable. However, later on I saw the value of getting my college degree. I went back to school and received my BA in theater arts and continued on in a graduate program where I received my MFA. But even with these degrees, the future is not always certain because the performing arts is a precarious business. There’s more to it then simply loving the arts. You have to know what’s in store for you and be prepared for this particular type of life.

So, now I’m asking you that same question. Be honest with yourself. Be realistic. I’m not asking you to give up your dream; simply reevaluate what it is that you want to do and what you’re willing to do to accomplish it. People who are interested in becoming doctors, let’s say, know that the process is extremely long and arduous. But for those pursuing careers in the medical field, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If they can make it through, it’s pretty certain they’ll one day be working in their chosen field. Not true for the performing arts. So think it through. Explore all your options!

The whole purpose of this book is to help those of you decide and determine if this is the right road for you to take. It’s a very difficult journey! There are no guarantees in life with anything, but with acting, it’s even less certain. You can be the most talented person in the world and get the best training possible. But there is no guarantee you will work. You will have ups and downs, high times and low times, financial booms and financial busts, and you must be certain that you are prepared for this type of life.

I hope this book will help both you and your parents answer any questions about pursuing a career in the performing arts. Remember that knowledge is power, and the more information you have going into something, the more informed your decision will be. I wish each and every one of you the best of luck on your journey.

—Debbie Lamedman

CHAPTER 1

Finding the Right Training Program for You

One of the first decisions you will need to make regarding finding the right training program is what type of degree you would like to pursue: BA or BFA. There is a huge difference between these two degrees as well as the training that is involved.

The BA, which stands for bachelor of arts, is basically defined as a broad liberal arts education. You can continue your training by declaring your major in theater arts, but your course work will also include classes in a variety of different departments across the campus.

The BFA, or the bachelor of fine arts, provides very specific training within the chosen concentration of study, whether it is acting, design, or directing. A BFA typically requires not only entrance into the school itself, but also an audition, interview, or portfolio review into the desired program. These programs are highly sought after and highly competitive. The basic difference between the two degrees is that the BA has a broader academic range of study, whereas the BFA is conservatory training in your chosen area.

So, which should you choose? This is a difficult decision, and one that you should not make impulsively. You may think you want to immerse yourself in a BFA conservatory environment, but that may not be the right choice. Meet with teachers, counselors, and your parents and discuss the possibilities of each type of program with them. You’ll need to look at a variety of programs at a variety of colleges and see what the individual programs can offer you.

Another option to consider, if college is not the right path for you, is a two-year training program at a conservatory. For example, both the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy have campuses in Los Angeles and New York. These programs offer four semesters of conservatory training with little to no academic course work. However, both schools provide opportunities for the student who wants to continue training to earn a BFA or BA degree.

Below is information provided by Dramatics magazine specifying the differences between the two degrees:

In the course of preparing the directory of college theater programs over the past ten years, the staff of Dramatics has discussed the question of how actors should be trained with countless educators, students, actors, and directors. Here are some observations, based on that accumulated knowledge, about the choice between professional training and a liberal arts education at the undergraduate level.

A generation ago, a liberal arts degree with a major in theater was a well-traveled path toward a life on stage. Today, while it’s not unheard of, neither is it common for an actor or designer to launch a professional career on the basis of a B.A. theater degree alone. Most students who decide to continue their pursuit of a life in the theater after earning a liberal arts theater degree do so by enrolling in an M.F.A. program or conservatory, by spending a season as an acting apprentice at a resident theater company, or by studying with an acting teacher in a studio. The B.F.A., on the other hand, is designed to prepare graduates to go directly to work.

Many B.F.A. programs graduate actors who are indisputably well trained. An actor who earns a liberal arts degree and then an M.F.A., though, is both well trained and well educated, a formidable combination that, all other things being equal, directors will find very appealing. (The downside, of course, is that the B.A./M.F.A. actor will have delayed the beginning of her career by two years, and probably will have several thousand dollars in additional student loan debt.)

The B.F.A. is a narrowly focused, highly specialized course of study. B.F.A. students learn a lot about their chosen theater concentration and related areas, and not much about anything else. For that reason, you should be very certain that you really want to spend your life in the theater before committing to a professional program.

A cautionary note for students who are leaning toward a B.A. theater major: if you’re considering a school that offers both a B.A. and a B.F.A. or M.F.A., ask some hard questions about the B.A. students’ performance and production opportunities and exposure to senior faculty. Because B.F.A. students and graduate students require so much of the department’s resources, liberal arts students sometimes are relegated to second-class status.

In sorting through these issues, talk to people who know you and your work—your parents, your theater teachers— and to people who know college theater programs. You’ll find that, as a group, the representatives of college theater programs are refreshingly open and candid. It’s part of their job to recruit students for their schools, but more important, they’re interested in recruiting students who will succeed. It’s important to them, too, that you make the right decision.

MAKING THE DECISION: BA OR BFA

Jefferson Edward Grubbs was a high school senior from Minnesota who had to decide whether or not to pursue a BA or BFA program. Jefferson’s passion for theater initially led him to believe that a BFA program would be the best choice for his needs. He attended a four-week summer course at Tisch School of the Arts