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Top Drama Schools

Budding actors who want formal training endure a highly competitive admission process into leading drama schools. Live auditions and personal interviews are commonplace and top drama programs accept just a small percentage of applicants. After talented students gain admission, they spend the next several years in rigorous training preparing for their performance careers.

  1. Juilliard School

    • The Juilliard School is world-renowned as a premier performing arts institution. Founded in 1905 to mirror the performing arts conservatories of Europe, the school created a drama department in 1968 under the leadership of the legendary director John Houseman. Juilliard is located in New York City's Lincoln Center Plaza giving students access to world-class facilities such as the Lincoln Center Theater. Entrance into the drama program is highly competitive. Only 18 students per year are selected from among 1,000 candidate auditions. Seniors participate in a Playwrights Festival of full-scale plays written by students and alumni. Juilliard grants a Bachelor of Fine Arts to graduates.

      Juilliard School
      Drama Division
      60 Lincoln Center Plaza
      New York, New York 10023-6588
      212-799-5000
      juilliard.edu

    New York University

    • The Department of Drama at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts combines conservatory training with a challenging academic curriculum in its BFA program. Faculty members include working theater professionals, internationally recognized scholars, theorists and critics. Applicants must complete an application to NYU as well as the drama department in the first step of the admission process. Step two involves an audition and a personal interview. Students have access to four theaters, prop and costume shops and a professional production staff. Study abroad programs in drama are available through the NYU Office of Global Programs or through Tisch's Special Programs.

      Tisch School of the Arts
      Department of Drama
      721 Broadway
      New York, New York 10003
      212-998-1850
      drama.tisch.nyu.edu

    American Conservatory Theater

    • The American Conservatory Theater (ACT) in San Francisco is an award-winning theater company and school. It produces classical and contemporary works in its famous Union Square theater in downtown San Francisco. AC. trains students of all ages. The ACT Young Conservatory is for youth under 19. Studio ACT offers year-round classes for adults. The Masters of Fine Arts program is highly competitive. In 2010 only eight students were selected from more than 300 applications. Students in the MFA program train for three years. Admission is by audition and an interview. ACT alumni include Winona Ryder, Denzel Washington, Nicolas Cage, Danny Glover and many other notable actors.

      American Conservatory Theater
      405 Geary Street
      San Francisco, California 94102
      415-749-2228
      act-sf.org

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