The New York Film Academy is having auditions in Milan and Florence. Milan auditions will be held at UNA Hotel Cusani Via Cusani on March 7 from 4:00PM - 7:00PM and again 7:30PM - 8:30PM.
Florence auditions wil be held at Piazza San Lorenzo on March 9 from 1:00PM - 5:00PM, 5:30PM - 6:30PM, and then 6:30PM - 7:30PM.
For information visit http://www.nyfa.edu/nyfa-on-the-road/
Europe, Are You Ready? NYFA’s Coming!
The Big Smoke. The City of Lights. Our admissions team is making their way to Paris and London to speak with the next generation of artists there. We had a chance to speak with Director of Acting Admissions Roger Del Pozo regarding his upcoming trip.
You’ve been to London and Paris before. Can you tell us what the audition process was like? The talent?
The last time that we went to Europe was amazing. We met so many incredibly talented candidates. The level of professionalism and creativity was overwhelming. We were very pleasantly surprised.
Tell us why you decided to trek back to London and Paris?
We decided to come back because of the the level of talent and the extraordinary interest in the New York Film Academy. I am always looking for the best possible talent for our programs and I consistently find some of the most incredibly motivated, serious, hard working artists in London and Paris. Along with NY and LA, London and Paris are cultural centers of the world, and so interest in the New York Film Academy is usually very high.
Do you feel its important for aspiring actors to come to the US? Why?
The simple fact is that NY and LA are the centers of the film and theatre business in the US. So many artists from all over the world are eager to study and work in those locations. The sheer amount of exposure to amazing teachers, creative opportunities and intensive training that students receive at the New York Film Academy is very appealing to international students. They’re always attempting to take their abilities to the next level. To be in NY or LA is the dream of actors and filmmakers everywhere, and we provide an amazing platform for students looking to enter that world.
Want to meet us in London and Paris? Click here.
About two years ago, I was invited to create an innovative training program for musical theatre and film at the New York Film Academy and insisted that it must be a holistic approach to fabulous acting training for both stage and screen. I also felt that with the success of behemoths like Moulin Rouge, Chicago, and Glee that we were seeing a wonderful new interest in the musical film genre. Why not develop a program where we would create an original movie musical in an experimental lab specifically tailored to our talented international group of up-and-coming actors?
It became very clear when Andrew Gerle, winner of four Richard Rogers Awards and a Jonathan Larson Award, decided to collaborate on this project that we were far from any typical academic scenario, but rather in the realm of an independent musical short film. With extraordinary resources provided by NYFA, we focused our time on musical storytelling that meant to challenge and entertain. Our motto for everything was “perfect is boring” and so we explored urban themes that were truly relevant to actual twenty-somethings living and surviving in New York City. Ask any writer of a stage musical how crazy you have to be to take on the collaborative task of creating a new musical—and you can quadruple it for an original musical film. As a filmmaker and artist, I can’t imagine a better experiment in love.
The Power of Pitchfest
Pitchfest is events at New York Film Academy held shortly after graduation for MFA and AFA students in Screenwriting and Producing. A culmination of their studies, graduates pitch their thesis projects, usually a TV pilot or feature screenplay, to television and film professionals. It’s a great opportunity for students to start developing relationships in the industry.
About 15 producing students held their event on campus in March, pitching their projects to industry professionals including guests from HBO and Network Television, and even George Gallo, writer of Midnight Run, Bad Boys, and The Whole Ten Yards. Twelve screenwriting students held their event at West Hollywood’s luxurious Andaz Hotel. By the end of the evening, each student had pitched to about 20 companies.
Since the event, a number of students from both departments have gotten interest from companies. Congratulations to our recent Screenwriting and Producing graduates!
New York Film Academy’s Alumni Spotlight: Ricky Titus
New York Film Academy Acting for Film graduate Ricky Titus is currently in production on the comedy feature Blood Games. Ricky plays a Chinese tour guide in the film from Helios Productions. Though he is Asian, Ricky is from Guatemala and had to work on his accent. “Everything I say is extremely loud through the entire movie and spoken in butchered English,” he said in an interview.
“In the audition I made everyone in the room laugh, felt a great vibe in the room, got the call back, and nailed it afterwards,” says Ricky. “Both role and career-wise, NYFA gave me a very strong and good foundation in acting, audition technique, and improv. Although I learned a lot from all my teachers… I got the most from Francine Michelle, Kelly Hughes and John Henry (Acting for Film), Josh Adler and Anthony Montes (Scene Study), Matt Gaydos (Acting Technique), Suzanne Kent (Comedy and Improv), Jennice Butler and Yolanda Sanders (Accent Reduction), Valorie Hubbard (Business of Acting) and Chris Devane (Audition Technique).” He added, “NYFA was a great experience and opportunity to work on your craft constantly, exploring and taking risks.”
Ricky is waiting to hear back on a role in another feature film, and is in talks to do a 3-D fight scene and commercial. He offered the following advice to current NYFA students: “Know yourself, your type, and what YOU can bring to the table.”
Acting allows you to live other people’s lives without having to pay the price. - Robert De Niro.
#NYFA Twitter Party: Win a 1-Week Filmmaking Workshop!
Does Nigeria love #NYFA? Does India love #NYFA?
Do YOU love #NYFA?
Our admissions team is currently in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We’ve been celebrating this with Brazilian trivia giveaways and by spotlighting past and current students from the South American nation. Our team travels across the globe to showcase what our programs offer. Over 78 countries were represented on our campuses since our school’s inception and that number continues to grow. We want you to help us decide where our team should go next. Should it be Egypt? The Netherlands? Russia?
During the Open House at the Hotel Astoria Copacabana, we want to bring our international students—past, present, future— together in order to see who loves #NYFA most. We want to know what film project you’re working on. How is your portfolio coming along? Know one of our alumni who’s getting a rad movie made? Which is your favorite movie in global cinema? We’ll collect the best tweets and spotlight you on our blog. But most importantly, we’ll randomly select one tweeter to receive a scholarship certificate for one of our 1-Week Filmmaking Workshops. Yes, you might attend the New York Film Academy for free!
When: Sunday, March 18. Time: 14:00 to 18:00 EST (NEW YORK)
Psst… Follow us on Twitter.
