It’s the first Friday afternoon of winter quarter, the
first clear day in Southern California of 2005, and several theater
students are buzzing around Macgowan Hall. Like a scene out of a
Freddie Prinze Jr. movie, they enter the theater courtyard on
skateboards, and with the sun soaking their confident faces, one
could easily forget they are still students as they share advice on
head shots.
Listening to their conversation, it becomes easy to understand
the precarious balancing act of a UCLA theater student.
“If I get a C+ in ballet, my parents won’t care if
everyone else in the class did badly, it still brings down my
GPA,” said Esperanza Ibarra-Valenzuela, a first-year theater
student.
Ibarra-Valenzuela and her classmates struggle with the same
basic conflict of all UCLA theater students: how to take advantage
of their opportunity in the blessed Los Angeles surroundings while
still keeping up with the rigorous expectations of the theater
department.
In addition to being one of the top theater schools in the
nation, the department’s location in the entertainment mecca
of the world is what draws about 1,500 applicants to apply for 60
spots in the theater department every year, said Bill Ward, theater
chairman.
However, when these aspiring thespians arrive in Los Angeles,
the hands of Hollywood are not always reaching out to them.
Instead, some believe strict academic requirements pull theater
students away from Los Angeles, while the film, television and
digital media department pushes students to try out the real
world.
“We want you to know the outside world exists, but
concentrate on school and know (the UCLA) world while you are
here,” said Gary Gardener, a theater professor.
Meanwhile, in the film, television and digital media department,
classes like Denise Mann’s Film and Television 195 are packed
with students interning at places like ICM and the Style Network,
trying to test the waters of the volatile industry.
“The undergraduate advisor, Becky Smith, has said several
times to us, “˜Work on as much stuff as you can in and out of
school. Take advantage of what is here,'” said Sean
Eppenstein, a third-year film student.
So, why do the only two departments in the UCLA School of
Theater, Film and Television contrast so sharply in their teaching
philosophies?
It appears as though the tradition of training in the
departments differs.
While the theater department believes the purpose of UCLA is to
train its students for the real world, the film, television and
digital media department feels comfortable letting students try it
for themselves.
“The next four years of my life I plan to solely devote to
my training,” said Ryan Borcherding, a second-year theater
student.
For students who came to Los Angeles to be exposed to
entertainment careers, devoting themselves to training can be a
challenge, especially when job opportunities arise.
“I actually had to skip my Writing I class for a callback,
which is the way I guess it’s going to be. I’m just
glad I had a callback,” said Sean Jones, a first-year theater
student.
The theater department’s philosophy is not to keep
students from auditioning, but rather to offer them a complete
theater education to support them post-graduation.
“I plan to focus on school. The whole point of going to
college is to improve my talent,” Ibarra-Valenzuela said.
“I cannot just make it by being an actor, so I will at
least have an education.”
In fact, while the expectations the theater department might not
leave much time for extracurricular activities, the department
believes students still prosper from other L.A. offerings. Each
year, Professor Michael Hackett teaches a required freshman class,
exposing new students to the myriad L.A. theater possibilities.
“L.A. has more theaters than anywhere else in the world,
so students have the opportunity to work in theaters and see things
they couldn’t see elsewhere. Several of our own students
started theater companies, like Tim Robbins’ Actors Gang, and
Brian Kite’s Buffalo Nights,” Ward said.
In addition, leaders in the entertainment industry come to UCLA
as guest lecturers and adjunct faculty.
Artists are drawn to the school, and students agree exposure to
their advice is invaluable.
“Having the school in L.A. makes a huge difference because
we get to see different artists since people want to come here. If
I went to Northern Illinois University in the middle of a
cornfield, they wouldn’t want to go there,” said Lauren
Oppelt, a second-year directing student.
Ward, who teaches an internship class for theater majors, agrees
that exposure to the real world is crucial for a student’s
success.
The theater department offers a class to seniors requiring they
actively pursue work, as the only way to pass the class is to turn
in proof of a paid job or signing with an agent.
“Many students begin to think about jobs as they are
ordering their caps and gowns. That’s too late. They need to
think about it from junior year forward, and a really good way to
do that is through internships or field studies,” Ward
said.
This disconnect between curriculum and reality seems to be the
essential struggle for students who want to live up to both.
For many, living the double life of a professional Los Angeles
actor and UCLA student is impossible, and the only relief is
dropping out.
“We had significant dropouts in my class. I’ve been
so overwhelmed by the work in the department, I haven’t
pursued other things,” Borcherding said. “My classmates
have agents and try and work outside of class, but that requires a
very delicate balancing act.”
As a freshman, Borcherding wrote a play for a theater class,
which he sold to a children’s theater group in New York this
summer. When school began, his exhausting course load required him
to focus completely on school.
“We want them to stay in school and be good students. They
can take a leave of absence, but if they do well professionally,
they leave and never come back,” Gardener said.
The department wants its students to succeed, and its
conflicting desire of helping students achieve professional and
academic success can send students mixed signals.
“Jack Black was here for two seconds, and we plaster his
name everywhere,” Oppelt said.
After working so hard to get into UCLA, the idea of dropping out
may seem absurd.
But when reality is arriving in Los Angeles but being in school
from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m., said Oppelt, this leaves no time for
pursuing the city. Some students get anxious and take action.
“I try and devote a couple hours a week for doing that.
I’m usually out there, but not through the school,”
said Michael Lovin, a third-year theater student.
“The school does have a lot of connections to a lot of
theater companies, but it’s up to the student to go out there
and do it.”
Still, the question remains: Is it UCLA or Los Angeles that
draws prospective students?
Glancing around at Macgowan, with actors-to-be toting scripts
and English texts, stressing over grades and callbacks, it’s
difficult to tell, but they seem comfortable wherever they are.
“It is great to be at UCLA because you establish yourself
and you have a reference to all working people in Los
Angeles,” Oppelt said.
“When you graduate, you’ll have that UCLA insignia
and that doesn’t hurt.”