collage6. The Actors Studio
The Actors Studio at Pace University is one of the best NY college known for its creative dramatic arts degree curriculum. This top drama school is a 3-year post graduate institution that offers master degrees in acting, directing and playwriting. The school has a long list of famous media forms on its application, such as 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and School of Rock, and commercials for AT&T and Burger King. It is also the famed school on the show Inside the Actors Studio that airs on Bravo. Opportunities are offered through the 3 year program to act in, produce and direct plays for the public through various projects.
5. CalArts
CalArts in Valencia, California is one of the best picks for students across the nation for a number of reasons. It is a theatre at the private California Institute of the Arts and was founded by Walt Disney in 1961 as the first school in the United States designed to specifically award educational degrees to students in visual and performing arts. The school awards BA in Acting and a MA in Acting, Directing, and Writing. They also have programs for costume and set design. It is rather selective with a 27.5% acceptance rate. Notable alumni from this top performing arts degree college include greats such as Tim Burton and Henry Selick.
4. Carnegie Mellon
Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has a great performing arts program. The school offers BFA in acting and a top musical theatre degree, design with a concentration of costume, lighting, scenic, video, or media, dramaturgy, and production technology and management. They also offer The John Wells Directing Program. Their graduate school also offers MFA degrees in costume production, design, dramatic writing, and production technology and management. This top ranking drama school is also the oldest performing arts school in the United States, founded in 1914.
3. The Julliard School
As a highly prestigious school founded in 1968, The Julliard School is very selective with little more than a 7% acceptance rate. It also has 275 Steinway pianos stored in the facility, which is the largest collection of any institute in the world. The Library and Juilliard Manuscript Collection are massive as well, with thousands of music scores, musician autographs, and recordings for research purposes. They offer BFA or MFA degrees in Acting and Playwriting. Note that students will have to send in auditions to be considered for a degree program. Julliard accepts between 8 and 10 applicants into their acting program each year. They also offer performance opportunities throughout the first and second year of the student’s college career. Students of this top performing arts college in NY are cast in plays based on training need rather than show demand.
2. Northwestern University
Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois has an extensive learning program. They offer teachings in performance, history, and theory to cover many bases of performing arts. Various subjects are covered at Northwestern, such as
- acting
- dancing
- voice
- directing
- choreography
- stage management
- playwriting
- storytelling
- music theatre
- children’s theatre
- devised theatre
- theatre history and criticism
- costume, set, and light design
Northwestern offers a broad variety of top degree majors, such as an MFA in Directing, Stage Design, and Writing for the Screen and Stage. An Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Theatre and Drama, MS in Leadership for Creative Enterprises, and MA in Sound Arts and Industries are also offered for graduate degrees. Northwestern offers a best undergraduate degree in Theatre and dance and a Certificate in Music Theatre.
1. Yale University
Yale University School of Drama in New Haven, Connecticut is the top of the line for performing arts programs for many reasons. Despite the other schools being fantastic choices for students serious about drama, Yale is a cut above the rest due to its prestige as an Ivy League institution. Notable alumni also include the likes of actors like Lupita Nyong’o, Paul Giamatti, Paul Newman, and Meryl Streep, who is considered one of the finest actresses of this current generation. Yale School of Drama offers graduate training in many performing arts fields, such as
- acting
- design (which covers sets, costumes, lighting, projection, and sound)
- directing
- dramaturgy and dramatic criticism
- playwriting
- stage management
- technical design and production
- theater management.
It is truly an amazing college as well as one of the best universities in the United States. Students will get the absolute best education at Yale as a result of its qualifications for the highest standard of education, as all Ivy League schools are structured to be in the Northeast United States. It also has history and longevity, being founded in 1924. The first MFA in Drama at Yale was granted in 1931.
Best Acting Schools In California
- American Musical Dramatic Academy
American Musical Dramatic Academic begins with the premise that “acting is a calling, an aspiration to the extraordinary […], the purest examination of human nature.” In order to prepare students to make a career out of their calling, the Acting program helps aspiring actors cultivate discipline, discernment, and a foundation of strong acting technique. AMDA acting graduates go on to work in stage, film, and television.
AMDA’s BFA Acting program is pre-professional in nature and geared towards each student’s individual interests and talents. As students advance in their degree, they can take highly specialized and practical courses on topics like stage combat, dialects, and dance and movement. The program also integrates coursework in entrepreneurship, audition techniques, and networking to ensure that students graduate ready to meet the professional performance industry’s competitive demands. In their final term, students collaborate on an original showcase that incorporates the strengths of each performer.
- Pepperdine University
Pepperdine is a Christian university perched on the gorgeous hills of Malibu. Theatre Arts majors can choose to specialize in one of four areas, including Acting. Students on the Acting track learn to put Stanislansky’s acting principles into practice, study tried and true voice and movement techniques, and participate in engaging masterclasses led by professional teachers and performers.
Pepperdine’s Theatre Arts program is small by design, ensuring that students get tons of hands-on learning opportunities and valuable feedback from their professors and mentors. Students are encouraged to “create art that has the power to change lives, hearts, and minds.”
Theatre Arts majors have the unique opportunity to spend a summer in Scotland through the Edinburgh Summer Program/Pepperdine Scotland, where they travel throughout Scotland, learn to mesh British and American styles, and perform at festivals such as the International Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
- California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
Bobak Ha’Eri, CalArts, CC BY 3.0
The Acting Program at California Institute of the Arts exists to support students in becoming diversely talented theater artists capable of recognizing and capitalizing upon their creative and professional passions. CalArts attracts imaginative, fervent, innovative aspiring actors who want to share their voices and stories with others.
CalArts’ BFA in Acting is craft-oriented and designed to prepare students to be working actors. Students in the Acting program are viewed as actor-artists, and are encouraged to pursue what calls to them, particularly if it is experimental or outside-the-box. CalArts wants students to push the boundaries of what they think they are capable of actor-artists, and also push the boundaries of the art form itself.
The BFA draws on the best of classical actor training but brings all lessons up to the present day and keeps a finger on the pulse of where the art form is headed in the 21st century. The curriculum places “a strong emphasis on movement and physical expression as a means to unlock the imagination” and progressively builds towards more professional performance experiences in line with the student’s individual goals and interests.
- Chapman University
Chapman University
Tom Arthur, Chapman University, CC BY-SA 2.0
In Chapman’s Department of Theatre, aspiring actors can choose one of three paths: a BA in Theatre, BFA in Theatre Performance, or BFA in Screen Acting. The BA track is a broad liberal arts program with a major in Theatre. The BFA degrees are more pre-professional in natural, focusing on performance and industry readiness. Interestingly, the BFA in Screen Acting is offered in collaboration with the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.
Regardless of which path students choose, they benefit from a strong, vibrant theatre community and curriculum. Students take part in high-quality performances and enjoy the close-knit camaraderie and access to faculty that a small university provides. Theater majors also get to experience real-world production first-hand by working onstage and backstage with organizations like Shakespeare Orange County.
The Department of Theatre aims to ready students for the profession by emphasizing strong professional ethics and career preparation.
Our Latest Videos
- University of California, Los Angeles
UCLA
Alton, Royce Hall, CC BY-SA 3.0
UCLA is known as one of the most prestigious public universities in the United States, with an overall acceptance rate of just 14%. US News and World Report ranks UCLA #20 nationally (ahead of famous rival UC Berkeley), and the acting program definitely lives up to UCLA’s luminous reputation.
UCLA offers a Theatre major with an emphasis in acting. Students who choose the acting specialization are exposed to various techniques and methods in acting, vocalization, and stage movement under the guidance of accomplished faculty.
The UCLA Theatre program emphasizes that this is not a conservatory training program; this is a liberal arts degree program with a focus on theatre. UCLA Theatre majors are simultaneously scholars and artists who want to not only study and practice theatre, but also benefit from the wide-ranging resources of a top research university.
Famous alumni of UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film, and Television include Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Black, Jim Morrison, James Dean, James Franco, and Ben Stiller.
- University of Southern California
University of Southern California
Padsquad19, Doheny, CC BY-SA 3.0
The University of California offers aspiring actors the best of all worlds: it’s located in the heart of LA, it’s a nationally top-ranked university (#24) with worldwide renown, it’s home to household name actors, and it’s cultivated many notable alumni.
Some successful actors who call USC their alma mater include Suits’ Patrick J. Adams, Roswell’s Shiri Appleby, Pretty Little Liars’ Troian Bellisario, and renowned Hollywood producer Todd Black.
Within the School of Dramatic Arts, students have many avenues to customize their experience and play to their strengths. Students can pursue a traditional BA degree or a more practice-oriented BFA, and can specialize in anything from musical theatre to sound design to tech. USC truly combines the best of tradition with the best of progressive, forward-thinking, hands-on education.
- American Musical Dramatic Academy
American Musical Dramatic Academic begins with the premise that “acting is a calling, an aspiration to the extraordinary […], the purest examination of human nature.” In order to prepare students to make a career out of their calling, the Acting program helps aspiring actors cultivate discipline, discernment, and a foundation of strong acting technique. AMDA acting graduates go on to work in stage, film, and television.
AMDA’s BFA Acting program is pre-professional in nature and geared towards each student’s individual interests and talents. As students advance in their degree, they can take highly specialized and practical courses on topics like stage combat, dialects, and dance and movement. The program also integrates coursework in entrepreneurship, audition techniques, and networking to ensure that students graduate ready to meet the professional performance industry’s competitive demands. In their final term, students collaborate on an original showcase that incorporates the strengths of each performer.
- Pepperdine University
Pepperdine is a Christian university perched on the gorgeous hills of Malibu. Theatre Arts majors can choose to specialize in one of four areas, including Acting. Students on the Acting track learn to put Stanislansky’s acting principles into practice, study tried and true voice and movement techniques, and participate in engaging masterclasses led by professional teachers and performers.
Pepperdine’s Theatre Arts program is small by design, ensuring that students get tons of hands-on learning opportunities and valuable feedback from their professors and mentors. Students are encouraged to “create art that has the power to change lives, hearts, and minds.”
Theatre Arts majors have the unique opportunity to spend a summer in Scotland through the Edinburgh Summer Program/Pepperdine Scotland, where they travel throughout Scotland, learn to mesh British and American styles, and perform at festivals such as the International Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
- California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
Bobak Ha’Eri, CalArts, CC BY 3.0
The Acting Program at California Institute of the Arts exists to support students in becoming diversely talented theater artists capable of recognizing and capitalizing upon their creative and professional passions. CalArts attracts imaginative, fervent, innovative aspiring actors who want to share their voices and stories with others.
CalArts’ BFA in Acting is craft-oriented and designed to prepare students to be working actors. Students in the Acting program are viewed as actor-artists, and are encouraged to pursue what calls to them, particularly if it is experimental or outside-the-box. CalArts wants students to push the boundaries of what they think they are capable of actor-artists, and also push the boundaries of the art form itself.
The BFA draws on the best of classical actor training but brings all lessons up to the present day and keeps a finger on the pulse of where the art form is headed in the 21st century. The curriculum places “a strong emphasis on movement and physical expression as a means to unlock the imagination” and progressively builds towards more professional performance experiences in line with the student’s individual goals and interests.
- Chapman University
Chapman University
Tom Arthur, Chapman University, CC BY-SA 2.0
In Chapman’s Department of Theatre, aspiring actors can choose one of three paths: a BA in Theatre, BFA in Theatre Performance, or BFA in Screen Acting. The BA track is a broad liberal arts program with a major in Theatre. The BFA degrees are more pre-professional in natural, focusing on performance and industry readiness. Interestingly, the BFA in Screen Acting is offered in collaboration with the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.
Regardless of which path students choose, they benefit from a strong, vibrant theatre community and curriculum. Students take part in high-quality performances and enjoy the close-knit camaraderie and access to faculty that a small university provides. Theater majors also get to experience real-world production first-hand by working onstage and backstage with organizations like Shakespeare Orange County.
The Department of Theatre aims to ready students for the profession by emphasizing strong professional ethics and career preparation.
Our Latest Videos
- University of California, Los Angeles
UCLA
Alton, Royce Hall, CC BY-SA 3.0
UCLA is known as one of the most prestigious public universities in the United States, with an overall acceptance rate of just 14%. US News and World Report ranks UCLA #20 nationally (ahead of famous rival UC Berkeley), and the acting program definitely lives up to UCLA’s luminous reputation.
UCLA offers a Theatre major with an emphasis in acting. Students who choose the acting specialization are exposed to various techniques and methods in acting, vocalization, and stage movement under the guidance of accomplished faculty.
The UCLA Theatre program emphasizes that this is not a conservatory training program; this is a liberal arts degree program with a focus on theatre. UCLA Theatre majors are simultaneously scholars and artists who want to not only study and practice theatre, but also benefit from the wide-ranging resources of a top research university.
Famous alumni of UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film, and Television include Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Black, Jim Morrison, James Dean, James Franco, and Ben Stiller.
- University of Southern California
University of Southern California
Padsquad19, Doheny, CC BY-SA 3.0
The University of California offers aspiring actors the best of all worlds: it’s located in the heart of LA, it’s a nationally top-ranked university (#24) with worldwide renown, it’s home to household name actors, and it’s cultivated many notable alumni.
Some successful actors who call USC their alma mater include Suits’ Patrick J. Adams, Roswell’s Shiri Appleby, Pretty Little Liars’ Troian Bellisario, and renowned Hollywood producer Todd Black.
Within the School of Dramatic Arts, students have many avenues to customize their experience and play to their strengths. Students can pursue a traditional BA degree or a more practice-oriented BFA, and can specialize in anything from musical theatre to sound design to tech. USC truly combines the best of tradition with the best of progressive, forward-thinking, hands-on education.
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