Jeffrey Dreisbach 0:22

it comes as no surprise that actors debate their options about how to launch and succeed professionally. Should you go to a college or set up shop in a market or city that has work available now? What's at stake when you decide to get that MFA degree over seeking acting work, so you can use your talent to act. On this episode, we will do our best to answer the question. Higher education versus real world integration.

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I love alliteration.

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This is Casting Actors Cast.

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Welch Well, hello, and welcome to today's episode of casting actors cast. I'm casting partner Jeffrey Dreisbach with the McCorkle group in New York. How are you? I hope you having a good day. I'm having a good day. I can't wait to share this information. I think that this is a debate that a lot of young people have. Perhaps if you're not a young person, you might remember and recall having this debate, what did you decide? So I think it's going to be a lot of fun as we dive into this subject. But first, this is that moment of the conversation where I get to simply say thank you for tuning in. It's a real pleasure having you here. I really love doing these podcasts, these patios, podcast videos, you can check me out on the YouTube channel. Also, I invite you to look at the website, casting actors cast all one word.com casting actors cast.com, you're gonna find some really cool information. One is, of course, my new book is out called Jeff's jots the actor's career playbook. So there's a link there that can take you directly to Amazon, or go to Amazon books and just type in Jeff's dots, it'll come up. So that's available for you. But also, there's a form on the website that says dive into the talent pool. If you do that, that's going to open up some really cool opportunities for you some free stuff. One is a book called conversation pieces out of the studio. It's a voiceover book, it's 100 pages, it's a downloadable, free PDF. Also, I'm making available again for free. The actors, sorry, casting secrets, gosh, I can't I've been doing it for so long. I can't believe I go up on this casting secrets, what they don't tell you. It's a free 20 minute video that I think you're gonna find really, really useful. And finally, here's my shout out to my good friends at actors, connection, actors connection.com/new York, check those folks out for workshops and all kinds of really great programming, both online and now in person. All right, let's talk about the pros and cons. Should I go to school? Should I get some professional training at a school, college or university? Or should I just jump in with both feet, go to New York, or Chicago or Atlanta or LA and just set up shop and do my best to start auditioning? Well, we can talk about that. But we can talk about the pros and the cons on several different levels. So what I'd like to do is talk about the pros of each and then we're going to talk about the cons of each those negative reasons why you might not want to do that choice that you think might be the best choice for you.

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Okay, so first of all the pros of a BFA or an MFA degree. No, I'm sure you've thought about a lot of these. But maybe you haven't thought about a few of these, like,

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the idea that there's a focused course of study with general knowledge when you get a BFA or an MFA degree. Sure there's a specialty in your theater, you're performing training, but there's also some requirements that college require, you know, college requires, for example, that you take geology or biology, a science psychology, which, by the way, psychology is one of those classes I definitely recommend for actors, but you are required to take some general knowledge classes as well. I don't think that's a terribly bad thing. I think there's something a little consuming when every day you're focused on nothing but your acting. I think you can be a really good actor if you're also a person who has a lot of good interesting general knowledge as well. Here's another reason why college might be a great idea.

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Possible networking

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with professors, there are a lot of professors out there that have had professional experiences that they may be able to share with you, which is invaluable. Also getting to know students who are in the same, you know, class that might be able to be lifelong friends. Boy, there's something to be said about having relationships and friendships with those folks that are in your class. Now, that helps you in the future, it's sort of in my mind, it's a little bit of an investment of I don't want to reduce what I'm saying is have friends. So it's an investment, I am just saying the experience of that is useful, but it might have benefits long after school is over. Oh, and let's not forget about alumni, those alumni associations from those colleges and universities, often are very valuable for students entering the profession.

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Here's another reason why college might be a great choice. You know, I think of it as a fallback option within the profession. Because you're taking those general education courses, there might be some drive in you that you kind of think, gosh, you know, what I think I might like to teach? Well, then you would take some education courses, maybe education courses in theater, there's nothing wrong with that, that might be a really solid way in which you can have the performing experience, but also your focus towards future education. For students, you could be a kick ass Teacher, why not? Also think about the business applications in show business? Taking some business administrative classes, you could probably think about becoming an agent, or a manager, or, Hey, how about being a casting director? Why not, you can also be working in the administration side of theater. So that's nothing too shabby. When you go into the college or university setting, if you keep your options open, sure, you're going for your BFA degree or your MFA degree, but it might just expand your awareness by thinking about some of those opportunities within the university.

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Also, I think there is a really strong growth period for maturity. And for confidence, when you enter the university, I don't know about you, but at 18 and 19, you might think you have the world on a string. But in reality, there's a lot of growth, there's a lot of maturity, there's a lot of life experience, that might be really smart for you, in that college environment, rather than a real world environment. So don't dismiss the confidence level that you would gain by being a graduate from a university.

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The other reason why university could be a good choice as the reputation of that school might be looked at quite favorably by industry professionals. So if you're going to a university that is known for their exceptional training program, boy, oh, boy, that's not anything to take lightly, that could have a significant impact. By the same token,

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doing your investigation, you may discover that some smaller schools that might not have the best reputation, might serve you only in a few of the areas that we just talked about, and may not satisfy a lot of the areas that we've talked about.

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Alright, let's shift gears and talk about the pros of entering the profession without higher education. Well, clearly, immediate real world credit potential and experience. Because you've set up shop early on, maybe you're 19 or 20 years old, and you're you've decided to move to New York or Chicago or Atlanta or wherever Los Angeles, here's the thing you might be given and find opportunities right away, that could start you on a career that starting to grow your resume, whether it's theater, film, television, all of the above. There are real world opportunities for you that are already establishing you as a professional in the industry. It might not take you three years, you're certainly not losing out on three years because you're in the profession now, rather than going to school.

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I also think moving on from there, that there is an amazing, I don't know how to say this committed focus to an acting career. When you decide that that's what you're going to do. You set your sights and you plan for that. That kind of focus and

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Energy is really driving is really a great way to feel like you are moving in a forward direction with your dream with your ideal scenario. And so that committed focus, having an acting career is something that you might possess already. And therefore, it might be a good reason to dismiss whatever college or university scenario you have or thought of, and go right into the career.

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Also, it can supplement your education. You can supplement your education with individual classes and workshops. So for example, if you feel like you want to be hesitant to film and television career, then of course, you would want to enroll in some film and television courses while you are looking for acting jobs. And so you can tailor your education while looking for work as an actor right away. Also, not to just blow it off. But you could also take business classes, business courses, you could take individual courses that tailored to your areas of interest, so that you have some additional support systems in place.

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I think another advantage is making money right away rather than costing money and paying for college. Now I know it's a risk. I know it's a crapshoot, no one can guarantee that going to a large city and finding an agent and getting auditions and getting callbacks and booking those jobs are going to be at your feet. I think there's something that you really want to take stock in the process of all of that. One way you can do that, of course, is by listening to the podcast, because I think there's some really great tips and suggestions that can help you stay focused and energized. All right, we're going to continue on with the cons of going to colleges or universities right after this.

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All right, welcome back. Now let's talk about the negatives of going to college or universities. For your acting training, whether it's a BFA degree or an MFA degree, first and foremost, in my mind, at least, the cost, it can be very, very expensive. costs are going up. I know that scholarship opportunities exist. So if you are able to get a free ride, my goodness, that's an opportunity you can't pass up on in my view. On the other hand, you might be one of those people that kind of has to fork over the dough student loans, draining your parents bank account, whatever the cost is very serious, it can really be something that you have to spend some time on, don't stress, but list the pros and the cons of the cost of your training in a really clear way so that you have open eyes about the decisions that you make.

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Now, there's also the factor of when you go to college, that you are going to be missing out on opportunities that are being cast right now. So you have to let go of what's happening industry wide so that you can pay attention to what's happening. university wide. Make sense, right.

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Also, I have to say this, that you may not get the real world experience with school productions that you would if you were going in to the profession directly.

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Now I know this is kind of tenuous to talk about a little bit, but no college or university is going to guarantee you're going to be playing all the leads and all of the productions. In fact, just the opposite might be true. Maybe there's one or two productions that you will be cast in that are really helpful and useful to you in terms of your real world experience as a professional actor. But oftentimes, you might not get those kinds of opportunities. I mean, there is competition within your class, for example. Now that should not necessarily dissuade you from your goals. But keep in mind, you're not getting the exact same experience in a college or university setting that you would be in a professional setting. Just say it.

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Also, I have to say this, there is a lack of important business information. When you enter for a BFA or MFA degree. I know that there are many schools, universities that offer some business of the business type classes I get that and that's great, or they bring in some guests to talk about that. That is so very, very important. But for a majority

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They have the time in my experience talking with hundreds of BFA and MFA degree holders, that the focus training is primarily on performance. And not on those business areas, or certainly very little on the film and television area, which, by the way, is the one that is more lucrative than the other. Film and TV can help supplement and support your theater habit. Now, I'm not taking away from your theater experience or your theater dreams, but know that the practical approach is for actors today is to stay open to film and TV opportunities.

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Another con about going to college. Again, I know that this might be a little controversial, and I just want to put my opinion out there, I find that there's little or no professional support after school is over.

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Colleges and universities that offer a BFA and MFA degree programs don't necessarily have a job board for you to become employed. In fact, about a dozen years ago, there was a lawsuit where a college was being sued because it didn't provide professional support after graduation. And so those colleges and universities what they decided to do, and many, many, many people followed suit was to provide a showcase that they would work their classes, do a showcase and our performance, and then go to New York, Los Angeles or Chicago, wherever, and invite industry folks to come and watch the university showcase at the end of their semester, their final semester. And so what happened there was that now the university could absolve themselves of the responsibility of providing a professional degree without professional support. In other words, the showcase was the answer to professional after care from school. Now, I know I'm sounding a little negative and cynical about that. showcases are very important. They're a vital aspects to a lot of representatives, agents, managers, casting directors to see the new talent that's coming into town. So I don't want to dismiss it as a nothing burger. But something to keep in mind professional support after school is over might be a question worthy of asking if you're considering a college or a university program. Now let's talk about the cons of not going to college.

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This is a big one, you're missing out on the college experience. College offers a unique, exciting experience, unlike any other experience you might have, going from high school into a college environment can be very, very cool can be very inspiring, very, very helpful, especially because it helps you concentrate on that particular area of interest.

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Also going and doing it on your own, you might find that there are challenges with balancing financial needs, and acting pursuits. For example, if you just decide that you're going to move new, hello.

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So let's just decide you choose to go to New York and set up shop, you find an apartment, obviously, you have to pay for that apartment, obviously you need to eat. And so you might need to get a part time job right away while pursuing your acting. That's very challenging for a lot of folks, it's not an easy thing to do. And so keeping in mind and having a plan in place is critically important. So that you can buy balance those financial needs, with your acting pursuits.

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Additionally, there is in my mind, a lack of support systems and relationships with peers, when you sort of go it alone, or perhaps go in with somebody else, you have a roommate and you decide to move into an apartment and start auditioning. There's all kinds of possible situations that are problematic. Having a solid foundation of peer relationships, I believe is critically important in the profession. It's not that you need to hang out with other actors all the time. But really feeling more isolated is certainly not the answer when you go into acting on your own.

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So here's the other downside. The con of doing it on your own is many times you need a backup plan and your backup plan will now have no educational applications to point to. In other words, you don't have the college degree to

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support an alternative way to make a living. And so that puts you in a very precarious situation. Now, let me just say that you could be taking classes in business, or maybe that part time job has opportunities for growth in it. So there may be other ways in which you can find yourself professionally supported and acting at the same time. But just know that if you decide that acting isn't for you, what are you going to do then?

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So we've talked a lot about the pros and the cons. And I think the answer to this question comes down to a matter of how you see yourself really, college offers a wide range of opportunities and experiences in a supportive environment. This is really helpful if you need to build your confidence and performance resume. But not going to college might keep you from a debt burden. You have the advantage of youth for those roles that you could be cast in right now. Although not for the faint of heart, entering the profession now may be a good way to go.

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Now one thing is for certain it takes a very confident, self motivated actor to jump in without formal training.

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Find me I have to say for some, you might think of a hybrid version of doing both that is taking a year off after high school, taking a year off from college and trying the professional arena first, knowing that a great fallback option of a university is still on the table for you.

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No matter where your answer lies, planning out. The answer to this question means you are dedicated to finding the best way to express your creativity and to tell your story.

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I'm Jeffrey Dreisbach.. This is casting actors cast.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai