AMDA College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts

What to say? Well, I attended the High School Conservatory Program in New York and the worst part of this whole experience was that we all got treated like we were at a day care. Like infants. I’m surprised they didn’t require us to hold on to a little fabric chain that keeps us all in line (the same ones that’s children use) that was being led by a counselor. The «rule» is that you can’t even hug people, they like high fives only, and you can’t visit others’ rooms. You can’t even talk. They love to drive home the whole «conservatory, adult life» and they take all responsibility away from you. What conservatory does that happen at? They wake you up in the morning! Not to mention there is no way, you’re going to see any of the city and genuinely enjoy yourself and roam free in the city, which is especially hard for people like me that have never been to the city before. They even change people’s schedule without telling them, then you show up to your class on time, and they walk in and say «Oh your not supposed to be here», as if you already knew. And this happened to quite a few people in my session. And the DORMS! THE DORMS ARE THE MOST CRAMPED AND UN-​LUXURIOUS UNCOMFORTABLE DORMS EVER. To make a horribly long story short, it’s very unprofessional, very freedom depriving, and very camp like. If you want an AMDA CAMP… best place in the world. I’m not used to paying so much money to be controlled. And I’m sure none of you are either. Try another choice. Because the «esteemed AMDA» is much overrated, and much lied on.

Hi my name is danny and I went New York for my third semester in the studio program. I learned a ton about professionalism and how to carry myself as an actor who takes responsibility for there own work and who is held accountable for what they bring to the table. For Acting 3 I had Mr. Pearson and in that class I learned how to work professionally. Though it was a rigorous process, from day one we all new that this class would be a lot of work but that it would pay off in long run. Other examples of learning professionalism would be in my VPS 3 class with Tim Ryan. I was struggling with transcriptions before I got to New York and Timothy Ryan completely ridded me of that and now I confidently transcribe passages. he also had us memorize large amounts of text in a short time frame too show us what the pressure can be like. An elective that I thoughroughly enjoyed was the dialects elective taught by Chris Neher. Over a 15 week period of time we explored the dialects; southern, Received pronunciation, Cockney, New York, and then for our final demo we got to choose a dialect that we felt would be fun to work on. I chose to do a Boston dialect with my Good Will Hunting scene. I have to say the best thing about the New York campus for studio actors in there Stage combat program. The teachers there are kind and very professional and they really do a great job working with each individual student and answer of the questions that are addressed. Plus they choose great material. I strongly recommend to any 2^nd semester’s who may be on the fence about weather or not hey should attend the New York campus. The answer is yes, you absolutely should. It’s important to get a taste of that conservatory program because it changes the way that you work! And might I add that you have the broadway theatre in your backyard, you take the 1 train downtown to 42^nd st. Time Square and you’re there. And you should really go see shows while you’re there. It’s your job as an actor to be updated and current on what’s new in the theatre. Best of luck. Counting the day till my next trip back to the Big Apple, the city that I love!

I was really happy with my time at AMDA. I met a lot of friends and the faculity was helpful and amazing. It was a once in a lifetime experience to be here in NYC and I was honored to be a part of it. I chose to do the 2 year conservatory because I could not afford the 4 year. That worked well for me because I could audition right away while the training was still fresh in my mind. I would only recommend this program for serious performers that want an intensive training experience that focuses on creating a professional well-​rounded performer.

Wow, I am reading some pretty ugly reviews here. Now everyone’s experience is different but I absolutely loved my time at AMDA in NYC. I had amazing teachers who taught us by day and were on Broadway at night and taught us from their real world experience.
I had wonderful training and have gone to work professionally for the last 17 years. Many National Tours and regional theatre. I now live in Los Angeles and have continued to work professionally and teach, especially with the amazing base of training I got at AMDA NYC. I am also so excited to use the Alumni and Library services at the LA Campus. Annissa Williams is an amazing Alumni Coordinator and is very supportive.
Don’t listen to all of the negativity! Check the school out for yourself — you will love it!

I attended AMDA for their musical theatre program in 1999 through late 2000. I completed the program and graduated, but I take issue with the business practices and facilities there.
First of all, the school’s marketing and representatives twist the image of the school and the potential benefits of attending to prospective and current students. The reality of the situation is that getting work in professional performance of any type is difficult. That is a given, and it is understood by all attending; however, the school has a severe problem of rarely saying «no.» They are a business and sometimes admit people without regard to any actual talent in order to receive the tuition and funds. They then divide the incoming classes according to age and experience, and the quality of instruction is inversely applied, focusing the best teachers on the older and more talented students while assigning mediocre to poor instructors to the novices. First off, there should ONLY be quality instructors at a conservatory in NYC which charges the fees AMDA does, but they do have some bad ones. If you’re unfortunate enough to get one of the less helpful instructors in your first term, your entire development in the program could be stunted significantly, especially if you are in a class with students whose talents are less than apparent (to put it nicely).
They used to (and probably still do) represent the school as being fully accredited, but you later find out that that accreditation is limited and only counts toward a BFA in Theatre at the New School University. Outside of that institutional agreement, it was impossible to transfer credits from the program to any public university in the country, because real universities do not recognize AMDA as an accredited institution.
The housing situation is expensive and atrocious. The Stratford Arms and Greystone properties in which students are housed are both extremely old, small, and unsafe. Students in the Stratford used to share common spaces with tenants who remained from when the building was a flop house/​mental health facility. The Greystone doubles as an apartment building with regular tenants, but security and background checks of those people seem to put safety at issue.
Overall, I just wish that the administration focused more on quality than quantity in the admissions process, and they should put more effort into recruiting quality instructors and regulating their curriculum. Unfortunately, the problem of a sagging reputation affects their ability to bring in a greater amount of talent on both the student and educator sides, and this presents a catch-​22 of sorts.
While I made a number of good friends and had a handful of good teachers here, I really do wish I had done more research before going to school there. If only the internet and review sites as this were more prominent back in 1999.

Hey AnnieAnnie A … an FYI: Jason Mraz dropped/​was kicked out of AMDA (he was there at the same time as me), not to mention quite a few others that are «talented and passionate» «successful Broadway/​Off-​Broadway/​National Tour performers,» including several of my friends.
An excerpt of an interview with Jason:
«WBRS: Where did you go to school?
Mraz: I went to school a couple different places. I went to a school called AMDA, the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. We called it „SCAMDA,“ because it really didn’t do any good for any of us. Except it did get us to New York, where we experimented with a lot of drugs and sex, which we don’t need to tell the young children.»
Secondly, considering I am the only other reviewer on here, I am going to assume you meant me as the person who writes «shit about the school.» Well, honey, I didn’t drop out & I certainly could handle the «pressure,» which, by the way, is nothing compared to the real world.
I stand by my review. The housing is borderline squalor, the «no audition» rule is ridiculous, &, like I stated earlier about the physical risk involved with adding experienced dancers with beginners was insane. & telling a novice to «dance through» a severe knee injury is irresponsible at best.
SCAMDA … I like the sound of that, Mraz.