Drama Colleges

is it true that New York Film Academy and Stella Adler School for acting is the best place to learn acting?

i am planning to pursue my dream to be an actress. i am totally clueless of what to do. do i really have to study at an acting school just to make it to hollywood?

Public Comments

1. Most Hollywood actors didn't. The truth is, you don't need a degree to be an actor. Schools like the ones you mentioned are conservatory schools. While the teachers there are excellent, they can also be very restrictive. Oftentimes you can not audition for any school productions the first year, and for any outside productions at all while you're in school. Also, just a general point of interest - it's often far more respected to have classical training, i.e. stage training, then to be trained purely for film. If you can act on a stage, you can easily learn the quirks of acting for camera. It's not quite the same for the reverse. :) I'm going to college next year, and I auditioned for, and came close to choosing, a theater school to attend in the fall. I decided to go to a liberal arts college instead, and minor in theater. The school I'm going to has a well respected theater company, I'll be close enough to the city to go on auditions on the weekend if I so choose, and I will have a degree in something else to fall back on when I get out of college, because the truth is that many people who love to act - and are really and truly talented - will still fail, because there are just so many thousands of people who want that one role or spot. A back up plan is always a good idea. :) Good luck with whatever you decide!
2. I also agree that perhaps studying at a liberal arts school and studying theatre along with another subject is a good idea. If you enjoy acting but also a technical aspect of theatre or film, I would suggest studying both. If only acting interests you, pick another non-theatrical subject that you enjoy to couple with theatre. As someone who did study theatre (and only theatre) in school, and was lucky enough to find a job in technical theatre, I will tell you it is MUCH harder to find a job in acting. Just look at these boards and count how many people are asking how do I break in to acting? I wish you good luck on your venture, but do recognize that you are spending money on an education to support your future. And you're going to need a way to pay off your student loans.
3. There's no such thing as "best" in this kind of a discussion, and anybody who tells you otherwise really doesn't know what they're talking about. There are dozens -- hundreds -- of good actor training programs out there, and the "best" one FOR YOU is the one where you'll get the sort of training and environment you need. You need to start collecting information on various actor training centers, and then start visiting them. TALK to the teachers, and see who you connect with. Ask to sit in on classes, so that you can observe how the teachers work with the students. As for your other question...no, you don't "have to" study at acting school to be an actor. But, believe me, if you're coming out here to Los Angeles, and you're not a trained performer, all you're gonna do is stand in line with about 10 million OTHER people who have the same idea. Do yourself a favor, and LEARN the craft before you expect to make a career of it. Good luck.