Hello! I've had a passion for acting and dancing for a long time. I'm graduating High School very soon and I'm looking in to colleges. I want to major in preforming arts. Do any of you know some great schools I should look in to? I want to do a 4 year and live on campus. Also I was looking in to AMDA, but I'm not sure. I need to have other options and a back up plan. Please and thank you so much for you time.
The majority of actors can't support themselves acting. That is because they have few additional skills other than looking pretty. A large number of actors can be found shoveling out burgers by the billion at most fast food chains throughout the world. They regress to menial work because basically the rest of the work world wants someone with some form of skill other than looking pretty. Your best preparation for a career in acting is to get good at Deep Fat Frying, cleaning kitchen operations, waiting tables and taking orders (don't forget to ask them if they want to 'super-size' that order). Another skill essential to acting is getting along with parents since you won't be able to earn enough money to live on your own, living with parents (ones you can cooperate with) ensures you have a roof over your head. Then, one day, you will make that glorious realization that your name is not Eastwood, Sheen, Sutherland or Pitt and you have no relative in the business to make your break and you will find a real career where you can survive, live independently and pay for dinner – maybe a dinner that doesn't have a super-size option. The 10 Most Useless Graduate Degrees, Business Insider Oct 2013 - #1 The 10 Worst College Majors – Forbes Magazine Oct 2012 - #2 20 Most Useless Degrees – The Daily Beast 2011 - #12 The Most Useless Degrees – Salary.Com 2012 - #7
Your drama or English teacher at school should be able to provide you with some guidance here. You need to bear in mind that the best schools in any western country attract literally thousands of young people to audition for under thirty places. Now is a good time to become very knowledgeable about the audition requirements for these schools. Bear in mind that young people often audition for a number of schools a few years in a row. Do you have youth theatre and singing/dancing skills? Many of the best acting schools in the world take most of their first years students with undergraduate degrees in something arts related.. roughly one third are straight from high school. This varies, but is the norm. Don't underestimate the level of competition you will face and become very knowledgable and well prepared. If you are about to graduate high school, ideally you would have organised yourself and your audition pieces already. I suggest you start moving quickly on your plans. BTW - performing. Best of luck.
