Hot town, summer in the city…

A Question from a student: Matthew Lessall-Although the internet was useless in finding the answers to my questions, it did help lead me to your contact information. It’s good to know that sometimes we do have to contact people when we need advice! In saying that, I was wondering if you’d be able to offer me some professional incite on summer acting training programs. Summary: my name is Hailey. I go to college in Kansas City, I’m an actor, blah blah blah. This summer, I’ve decided to broaden my horizons and find an acting intensive that would not only help me grow as an actor, but also would look good on the resume. The two summer programs I’ve been accepted to are South Coast Repertory’s Professional Actor Training program (in Costa Mesa, CA) and American Conservatory Theater’s Summer Training Congress (in San Fran, CA). I’ve weighed the pros and cons… but if I’m going to drop $3,000+ on a summer program, I want to make sure I’m picking the one that is most beneficial in the long term! Do you have any professional incite on either of these programs? What are their reputations like within the industry? What would look better on the ole’ resume? I know you are super busy, and contacting a college student in the Midwest is probably the smallest of your priorities; but if you have the time, I would really appreciate your professional opinion!  Look forward to hearing from you.Thank you!Hailey JonesHi Hailey,Thank you for your email. I am sure that there are pros and cons to both programs. If you are still going to be an undergraduate, it is clear from the two websites that A.C.T will give you credit towards your course work in college and that is not clear with South Coast Rep. So if this is important to you, I would get clarity on that issue. Also, it looks like South Coast Rep has a housing option whereas A.C.T can only advise you on places to rent/share/live, etc… So if this is important to you then again, it may be obvious which program you should attend. As neither of the websites is specific about the instructors, I think it may behoove you to call each program and ask them who the instructors are going to be as this may also help you decide which course to go on. In general, both programs seem like they work in similar ways but that South Coast pays additional attention to brining in professionals like Casting Directors to discuss the business of acting. I think that it is great that you are going to get some formal training and I am sure that you will learn a lot over 8 weeks. However, this is just a start, and as a “resume booster”, it is great to see that you did something to learn more about your craft, but ultimately you must expect that what I and many casting directors look for is consistency in your training. I hope this helps.Best, Matthew