Expert: Kenneth D. Plonkey - 7/16/2008

Question
Hello and thank you for reading my question,

My name is Matt and I'm a 25 year old living with my girlfriend of 2 years,
Maggie (she is the one the question is about). She's half-American, half-
british raised in London, acted on Grange Hill as a teenager (an institutional
soap in Britain), double-majored in English and Drama at Stanford, acted and
directed in their Shakespeare Society, and is currently acting in San Francisco
at various rep theaters. It's coming up on MFA applying time and she's facing
some serious life questions.

She loves the Bay area and would ideally love to get an MFA at A.C.T. simply
because it's close and not-too-bad from what we can gauge. She doesn't
want to 'go off to college' again. Down the road she guesses that if she gets
an MFA she'll be able to teach to pay her way along with acting. She's talented
enough and gets 'brilliant' reviews.

She gets down about the theatre schedules though, and misses her social life.
Traveling a lot and missing weekends with friends also upsets her when she's
doing it back-to-back all the time. The idea of a full-bore career is a little
scary for her.

We're interested to know what MFA options might appeal to her, and what
career paths she might thrive in. How can we make it work? What are the
options? How can she juggle it all and be successful in it?

Answer
Hi Matt. Well, she doesn't need an MFA to continue her acting career, she just needs to work on doing that full time. However, it is clear that she is not going to make it as an actor, as a full time career, that is because she is missing the 'normal' life, and she is talking about an MFA.  I think a PHD would be much better for becoming a teacher.  It takes great courage to become an actor and she has given herself some terrible obstacles to overcome and she is not handling them well. So. The best MFA school is Yale. ACT would be equally prestigious. I would stay away from the large CA schools. The best schools are also for being a professinal actor, not for being a teacher. So I am going to let the choice of school rest there. She needs to make a life decision and a very difficult one. The main obstacle might be you. Are you helping her cope and overcome her fears or adding to them????  Becoming an actor is a lonely, one person quest. It is nearly impossible when one is enamoured of another person. Your willingness to help seems apparent here by asking the question, but is it also being codependent on her not being a full time actor???? The Bay area is great for an acting career. She could teach acting by opening her own studio, something you could help with by being the business manager, if you have that ability. She doesn't need the MFA. You two need to discuss all the options fully regarding her future as an actor and agree on a plan to move forward step by step. Do ask me specifics at any time by contacting me at kencosp@aol.com where I do most of my advising.  Best wishes to your both, Doc