Expert: Phil Nemy - 5/31/2004

Question
 Dear Mr. Nemy,                               5/31/04
    I am a middle school student at LaSalle Academy in Providence, Rhode Island. I am currently doing a project in which I am finding information about a career. I chose acting, as it is an interest of mine.
     I was wondering if you could give me any information about how one would go about getting into a career in acting. In terms of education, I would appreciate if you could possibly recommend any colleges with good theatre departments. What advice would you give somebody trying to make it in the movie business? What mindset should somebody have when trying to find a job?
     Thank you for being available for me to ask my questions through AllExperts.com. I appreciate your time and openness to questions.

Sincerely,
Davis Alianiello  
LaSalle Academy
Providence R.I.  

Answer
Dear Davis,

Thanks for writing. One of your colleagues, Dylan, also wrote with questions about the same project.

If you are interested in being an actor, you should start at the beginning with training. You need to study the crafts of acting, voice, dance, speech and movement. There are number of good theatre programs across the country. The best actor training programs offer a BFA degree as opposed to a BA degree which is more of a liberal arts approach. Some good BFA Schools to consider are Carnegie Mellon University, NYU, Julliard, Webster College, UCLA, USC, Northwestern, Brandeis, Southern Methodist, Cal Arts, and University of Washington-Seattle.

The advice I would give to anyone trying to make it in the business is NEVER GIVE UP. If you love it so much that you cannot ever think of doing anything else for a career, then keep at it and never give up, because it is a long, hard road and the chances of ever making a living at it are very slim. Even WITH talent.

I hope this information helps.

Good luck.

Phil