A Few Things to Consider Before Committing to an Actor Training Program

“Hunt quality.  It’s getting harder to find, but you’ll stick around if your name is associated with quality.” – Frank Langella

On August 16, 2005 I packed my bags and headed to New York City to study at Columbia University’s School of the Arts. I know it was the second week of August because I wrote it on a Subway Sandwich napkin above the words, “Here we go.” 

Just a few hours later I found myself not- so-subtly sobbing during a conversation with my ex-girlfriend who was back in California. 

I was convinced that moving back east was the biggest mistake of my young life.

Hopefully, your transition to higher learning or visiting the Big Apple won’t be as dramatic. But the decision on whether or not to invest in graduate school for anything, let alone acting is an enormous one that deserves careful consideration, particularly with the exorbitant cost of college these days.

Of course, many of my friends in New York and Los Angeles are actors. Their training backgrounds run the gamut and are as varied as their tastes in food. 

For instance, some did not attend a graduate or undergraduate drama program, but would have if they could. Others did but were underwhelmed by the experience.  

In the end, each actor forged his or her own path based on what environment they felt would give them the best training.

Before choosing an MFA program I would consider the following:

• The cost
• The investment of time
• The location of the school
• Whether a conservatory is the best learning environment for the way you lear
• The opportunities having a Master of Fine Arts degree might provide you down the road if you decide to do something else (teach, coach, become a public speaker, etc.)
• If graduate school is something you can see yourself committing to all the way through to the end
• The connections and networking opportunities a university might provide.

In the end, I likened attending a graduate school for acting the same way someone who aspired to be a physician or lawyer might. I wouldn’t just walk into a room and try to operate on someone, nor would I saunter into a courtroom orchestrating an argument without the tools and knowledge on how to do so.

Suffice it to say I'd be promptly escorted out if I tried.

Once again, this was my approach and need not be yours. There are lots of ways to develop your skill set outside a conventional learning environment. 

For what it's worth, nearly all of the actors I admire most did not train at 3 or 4-year institutions, and the ones that did often left after a semester or two. 

Attaining an MFA or BFA is NOT the only means to a successful career in the performing arts.

It's merely an option. 

Carefully weigh the pros and cons of attending a conservatory and figure out what you think will give you the best chance of becoming great at your craft.

What Los Angeles Traffic Taught Me

Anyone who's lived in Los Angeles knows there's traffic. A LOT of traffic. I realized pretty quickly there was a unique opportunity to take advantage of those moments of idleness and turn them into a mobile classroom. Here are a few quick insights that may nudge you to turn daily gridlock into the "University of Traffic."

-- One way to set yourself apart from the herd is to optimize moments most people use for entertainment with education.

-- Divide your audiobook selection into different categories that interest you -- (e.g. Fiction, History, Personal Development, Finance)

--  The average US commuter spends roughly 42 hours in traffic per year. That’s nearly identical to a semester of college. You have a remarkable opportunity to turn your commute, workout, or daily chores into the equivalent of a college degree.

-- After listening to an audiobook make note of at least three things you’ve learned and can implement, track, and measure. Keep an audiobook notebook in your car so you can jot a few notes after your commute.

A Little Tension is Good

Tension doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves. Most of us assume it's a categorically bad thing and something we should avoid at all costs. But I've found tension, like most things, is not all good or all bad.

There's the tension we manufacture, worrying about what we have no control over. We get worked up over matters beyond our scope of influence. And as a result, our tension often manifests itself into fear which we end up projecting on to others.

But there's a good tension. The tension that pushes us to want a little more out of life. To get up earlier, to work a little harder, to travel more, listen more, and choose education over entertainment more. 

There's a healthy friction at the root of all the things that pushes us to be a little more in the limited time that we have. 

Invest

Yesterday afternoon, I interviewed an old friend for the, To the Prospective Artist: Lessons from an Unknown Actor podcast. 

https://soundcloud.com/hy9btjy0cxsu/to-the-prospective-artist-interview-with-a-young-actor-reynaldo-piniella

I'd known Reynaldo since he was just a kid at 19 years old. Yet, he always exuded a poise that was not common among most of his colleagues. I certainly didn't possess it when I was his age.

I wanted listeners to gather insights and apply the lessons he'd learned during his journey as an actor over the past 8 years. What I realized while listening to Reynaldo's wise insights and discoveries was he got to where he is by investing in his education. 

He spoke about how building community, pursuing hobbies outside of acting, and traveling had played important roles in his development as a person and not surprisingly as a more compelling storyteller. The student had truly become the teacher. 

Invest in your education then pass on what you know.

Build on Who You Are

Tony-nominated director Diane Paulus once said to our class: "The more you build who you are as a person - how you educate yourself, how you identify, what interests you in the world, the issues you care about - all of those things will make you a better performer."

To my 20-something year self it was difficult to fully grasp the scope of her message. But as the years went on, and I began living a life and not just a career, her words began to resonate.

The characters I wanted to portray on stage were living breathing beings who cared deeply about human rights, politics, education, children, and poverty. They were three-dimensional people who weren't actors but citizens representing an idea, a possibility, a unique voice.

I discovered the only way I could even begin to understand the complicated nuances of their humanity was to start exploring my own. This required me to get up and out into the world rather than bury myself in the pages of a play or rely solely on my technical training.