Marymount Manhattan College

I haven't gotten cast a lot at Marymount, it's quite political, but most people who went here have worked steadily since graduation. ("Didn't get cast a lot" means chorus in 1 mainstage show and a lead in 1 student show my entire time there so far. They like you to work your way up.)

There are good and bad things about this school, like any college. The best plus is that you're in the middle of Manhattan. You can start going on auditions, get summer work or apprenticeships with any of the regional theatres that audition here (I highly recommend that), go see Broadway and off-Broadway shows (Performing Arts students only have to pay $20), and also just get used to the city-- that takes some time. It's also good to be in the city so that once you've graduated, you'll already have a group of friends and probably a place to live and a job too. So those are all pluses. I also had the best acting teacher I've ever had this year. She doesn't teach too many acting classes, but if you have the opportunity to study with Elizabeth Swaine, take it!

As for styles of acting that you learn, I believe that depends on the year, and I also believe you are exposed to a great variety of styles over the 4 years-- basically, you learn lots of different ways to approach the work so you can figure out what works for you personally (I think that's really the best way). My junior year (this year), we focused on playwrights like Noel Coward, Pinter & Beckett-- and learned a British accent to go along with that work. The senior year is focused on the classics, Shakespeare and Restoration Comedy. During the first two years, you focus more on contemporary styles. You also take Voice & Speech classes and Movement classes. The acting teachers I had did not subscribe to the belief of breaking people down to build them back up; they were much more nurturing. But I did hear really bad stories about one bitter man who took out all his frustrations on his students and had someone in tears almost every day. Luckily I was not in his class.

The core classes were pretty unchallenging, but I went to a pretty intense high school, so my perception could be skewed. All in all, the theatre classes were good, although there were a couple of bad teachers, just like anywhere.

The main negative I noticed is that the college as a whole is very cliquish, and outside of the theatre and dance departments, those cliques are basically divided along racial lines. The theatre and dance departments are also cliquish, although slightly less so, and almost everyone in the department is white, so that could also be a negative, depending on your perspective.

All in all, I think I've been getting a good training here, although if you're a theatre/acting major and want to take singing or dance classes, you have to do that privately--the college has no music program, and you aren't allowed to take the dance department classes unless you talk your way into an audition and you're really good, but that's because the dance department is really good! It's easy to find classes outside of school though.

It's great to be in NYC; there are so many opportunities you can take advantage of, see shows, audition, take classes outside the school, never be bored, etc. If you want to do theatre or dance, this is the place to be, and I'm glad that I came here because it will make it a lot easier after I graduate.