Can an Acting Degree Jump Start Your Career?
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Here's the news from Acting School Stop, your one stop on the road to an acting career!
In this issue... We take a look at acting colleges and when getting an acting degree helps. We also have a list of all the classes that can further your acting career, from speech classes to cold reading and stage combat.
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1) Article of the Month - Should You Get an Acting Degree?
When you walk into an audition, no casting director is going to stop you at the door and ask you to show your acting degree.
So do you need one?
Well, an acting degree can help for 2 reasons. First, at a time when a lot of aspiring actors think they can just move to Hollywood and land a role in a TV show, graduating from an acting college, especially a good one, puts you ahead of the game. Second, even if you don't need an acting degree, you may need a degree to help you secure a good day job while you pursue your dreams.
The importance of going to a good acting college was obvious to me when I interned for a successful talent manager in Los Angeles. Almost all of her clients had graduated from top acting colleges. Until then, I always had this romantic notion that most successful actors just moved to the big city, talent in hand, and suddenly got "discovered". It's not surprising I felt this way, since the media tends to focus on overnight sensations who never take an acting class and suddenly make it big.
But these stories have led to a lot of actors moving to New York or Los Angeles untrained and unprepared to face one of the most competitive fields out there. Casting directors get hundreds of submissions every day, especially when it comes to actors in their young twenties. If you don't have any experience on your acting resume, it can be hard to get called in to audition for projects beyond non-union theater and student films. The best acting colleges have fully-equipped professional theaters where students can get experience, sometimes working with established guest directors.
BFA programs also offer a range of classes that go beyond acting technique and develop the whole actor's instrument, from voice to body and mind. That's important because an actor can be very talented, but if they can't project their voice or do an accent, they won't get the role.
Finally, most of the best acting programs help their graduates find representation through an industry showcase. When an acting school has a good reputation, agents and casting directors are more likely to come see you perform. Acting colleges also often assist students in finding meaningful internships that can further their acting career.
Naturally, not every acting student leaves school with an agent and many graduates from top acting programs struggle to find acting jobs like everyone else. But they have a Bachelor of Arts. That can come in useful when you can't find an acting job or when you're in between jobs. A lot of actors need a day job to support their acting career, and aside from small gigs and waiting tables, most job opportunities require an undergraduate degree.
That being said, a college degree is expensive. The high cost of a college education and the burden of student loans are all over the news right now with The Occupy Wall Street Movement. Not to mention there is no reliable out of school salary for actors. According to the bureau of labor statistics, the average hourly wage for actors in 2008 was $16.59. And that's for the actors who aren't unemployed.
In the end, every actor must follow his own path. An acting degree will jump start one actor's career and not the next. But here are a few things to think about:
- If you want to get an acting degree, shoot for the good colleges with the most intense training, best performance opportunities and best record of alumni working as actors.
- You can get a BFA in Acting or a BA (see our acting degree page for more information).
- Many acting programs have talent Scholarships and Awards you can audition for.
- If you don't want to go to college, you can still get a certificate of training from an acting school. It could be Certificate in Professional Performance Training, a Certificate of Merit or a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Acting. It doesn't really matter what it's called. What is important is if your acting courses can be transferred as college credits down the road if you decide to get a degree.
- If you can't afford a degree now, you can still take part in an MFA program later. You won't get an MFA, but some top universities like Yale don't require a Bachelors' Degree for actors to apply to their Masters' program.
Hope this helps you decide if an acting degree is for you.
2) What's new on Acting-School-Stop.com
What Acting Classes Do You Need to Become An Actor?
A list of all the classes that can help you succeed, from speech classes to cold reading and stage combat.
Best Theater Colleges
A list of some of the colleges out there considered to be among the best to become an actor.
New acting school listings:
Acting Classes in Illinois
Acting Schools in Connecticut
3) Best from the Blog
How do I become a better actor without so much hand gestures?
Helping my Daughter play Cinderella
How do i act like a male "Hunter" when I am a girl?
4) Quotes of the Month
"I was fortunate as a young actor, to go straight to the RSC, where I learned that being an actor can bring with it wonderful responsibilities." - Ben Kingsley, actor
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Good luck with your acting career!
Alex Swenson
Acting School Stop.com
