Help: Arizona State University

Subject: Arizona State University
From: Caitrin
Date: 12 Nov 99 - 10:48 PM

Hi folks...I'm embarking on my college search at the moment. I've gotten information from a bunch of different places out of state, and there are some that look interesting but I don't know much about. Do any of you folks out west know anything about the reputation of the ASU theatre department? ANy help you could give would be appreciated.

Subject: RE: Help: Arizona State University
From: catspaw49
Date: 12 Nov 99 - 10:53 PM

Yeah, its great........People are really getting into the method acting thing there. Sorrowfully, its the cactus method and you find them standing out in the hot sun for hours on end holding their water. Taking a piss is an automatic failure and results in dismissal from the program.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Help: Arizona State University
From: DougR
Date: 13 Nov 99 - 01:34 AM

Caitrin:

Arizona State University has an excellent drama department. Marshall Mason, One of the finest contemporary theater directors in the business, is in residence there and the balance of the faculty is excellent too. There is a very fine theater on campus, The Galvin Theater, and I would urge you to consider it for your theater education.

DougR

Subject: RE: Help: Arizona State University
From: Caitrin
Date: 13 Nov 99 - 11:03 AM

Spaw: I'm glad I'm going for a tech theater concentration, then. Maybe I can get out of the desert standing section. I'm hoping that perhaps you're not serious. Thanks for your information, guys. It's difficult to find any at least somewhat unbiased information on out of state places. If any of the rest of you Mudcatters know stuff, please continue to post! ~Caitrin

Subject: RE: Help: Arizona State University
From: DougR
Date: 13 Nov 99 - 12:14 PM

If you like the desert, you might check into the University of Arizona in Tucson. They also have a good theater department.

DougR

Subject: RE: Help: Arizona State University
From: Caitrin
Date: 13 Nov 99 - 01:27 PM

To tell you the truth, Doug, I've never been to the desert. In fact, I haven't been any further west than Ohio since I can remember. (Though I was born in Texas)

Subject: RE: Help: Arizona State University
From: DougR
Date: 13 Nov 99 - 10:09 PM

Caitrin: I've seen most of the U. S. Including Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Alaska. I've never seen anyplace I'd rather live. Check into it.

DougR

Subject: RE: Help: Arizona State University
From: Caitrin
Date: 13 Nov 99 - 11:15 PM

Cool. Thanks! :)

Subject: RE: Help: Arizona State University
From: _gargoyle
Date: 14 Nov 99 - 12:10 AM

Why do you only state Arizona?

You say you have multiple offers from out of state.....What state are you in? (is it worth paying out of state tution? You may be right next door to a VERY program) What are your other offers? While Arizona is a respectable school for tech....there are also others that are held in high esteem? What are your other options?

What level will you be entering into the university? (The first two years are the same EVERYWHERE...why pay more for the LD.......if it is graduate school....you MUST examine the faculty's credentials and record.)

Subject: RE: Help: Arizona State University
From: Caitrin
Date: 14 Nov 99 - 01:19 PM

To answer your many questions, Gargoyle... I'm in North Carolina...there are, in fact, several good programs here (ECU and NCSA both have good tech theater reputations) As for the other out of state offers, I've heard from University of Texas-Austin, University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa, and Univeristy of Oklahoma. All of the above have offered in-state tuition, as has Arizona State. My mother used to teach at UT, so I already had some information on it, and I looked at the others on the Net and they didn't spark my interest much. Arizona looked interesting, but I've never been there, so I thought I'd ask the most informed arts people I know: the Mudcatters. I would be entering as a freshman. Questions answered?

Subject: RE: Help: Arizona State University
From: _gargoyle
Date: 14 Nov 99 - 10:56 PM

No matter WHERE you go.... the first two years of lower division work are the same....

The only advantage is that you may discover a new field of study or a professor to whom you can relate....during the course of those LD years.

Unless you are exceptional, it may be best to stay close to the arpon-strings the next two years.

Subject: RE: Help: Arizona State University
From: Caitrin
Date: 15 Nov 99 - 07:05 AM

With all due respect, gargoyle, I don't really feel the need to stay close to the apron strings. Despite the fact that I'm seventeen, I do have some sense. I weeded out University of Southern California (though it's an excellent school) because L.A. is completely foreign to any experience I have and it would be difficult to adjust. I don't feel that ASU is too far away, which is why I asked folks here for some information on it. And having visited several colleges and grown up at various universities where my mother taught, I can tell you that you're wrong about the first two years being the same wherever you go. The character of a school makes a big difference to the experience. ANd as a tech theater major, the quality of the theater and production facilities is important to me, as is the reputation of the faculty. Faculty with connections in the theater world can make a difference to whether or not one gets a job later. I'd rather not transfer because all my classes wouldn't necessarily transfer and it's just an all around hassle. So please give me some credit for at least a tiny bit of thought.

Subject: RE: Help: Arizona State University
From: _gargoyle
Date: 16 Nov 99 - 12:08 AM

Obviously, you are floating in moula....and price is not objection.....(the first two years are the same wether they cost 3,00 or 60,000)

If you are looking for a "real portal" into the live theatrical field I would suggest LACC (Los Angeles City College) yes, it is "plebian" to mix with the "common folk" however, it has probably had more successful transitions from academics to professional career than any training program in the United States.... (N.Y. is on par)

Then again, you WOULD have to qaulify for admission....it is exactingly rigorous, and demanding.... a porfollio is manditory.

Subject: RE: Help: Arizona State University
From: _gargoyle
Date: 16 Nov 99 - 12:22 AM

The bottom line is, search your seventeen year old soul:

1. Do you just want to get away from home for awhile? 2. Do you want to mark off a few years time until you can figure out where you are going? 3. Do you want to snag a successful mate/hubby? 4. Is theatre your passion, soul, being and you want connections?

If it is the later, go where the connections are - NY or CA....(while Ashland Oregon, or SF-NM opera, or Wolftrap VA, are some of the most beautiful, artistic communities on the face of the earth - there is not much commericail world-wide demand for Shakespearian Theatre, or the other par-mutations.)

The reality, is small gigs, and day-time-jobs.

Subject: RE: Help: Arizona State University
From: Caitrin
Date: 16 Nov 99 - 05:37 PM

I won't argue the "first two years" point with you. If LACC is as demanding as you say, I would have a difficult time qualifying for admission. My school doesn't have much in the way of technical facilities, nor is there much opportunity for teenagers to do tech work in the community and college theater...What I have is quality work, but I don't have a lot. By the way, I resent your implication that I will not deign to mix with "the common people." And I understand that theatre is a difficult field to come into. I have to be confident that I'm better than the rest of them and I can work harder, or I may as well give up now.