long uni course or short course??

Hi, I just joined so I'm not sure if the topic I'm posting is in the right place... sorry in advance! Anyhoo, I just wanted to know your thoughts... if it's better to do a 2yr+ long theatre course at a university or numerous short workshop/courses to develop my skills in acting? I've had no training pior, but I'm willing to fully immerse myself into studies that would help me get into theatre. Basically what I'm asking is which one would be more beneficial, drawing on your experiences in either one. gtrx!

There's no real difference... well, actually there is. Short courses are designed to introduce you to skills or develop/build old ones. They're very good to do if you're new to acting, and it does help you by getting your feet wet. Additionally, it's a good way to meet others in the same boat. Having said that, a longer course offers much more: usually better chances at gaining employment, industry contacts and work experience placements, practical and theoretical training not offered in short courses, etc. Taking into account that you say you don't have any training (does this mean you've never done acting, or just that you don't have formal training?), I'm going to suggest that you start with short courses. The advantage of this is that you don't dive headlong into a longer course that you may not end up liking. Additionally, longer courses can and do take up most of your time, which makes it hard to work and/or participate in extra-curricular stuff. There's plenty of places to go in Melbourne for either option. (By the way, it helps if you add your location on your post: I checked your profile) Mermaid shadow puppet now on sale at Puppets in Melbourne

Well thanks for that :) I'm still contemplating... I'd 'rather' do the longer course, and throw myself headfirst into theatre. But yes, like you said I might not enjoy it in the long run. I have a day job, but I'd compromise it to do a uni course, so having the extra time isn't really an issue. I'm considering doing a couple short courses here and there and then see what I feel like and then maybe get into something heavier.... I'm from Melbourne btw... I changed my bio details. grtx!

If you'd like to do a longer course, then I'd recommend not applying for VCA, WAAPA, NIDA, but instead checking out Swinburne, Deakin, Monash or NMIT - while they all expect you to continue in the area once you graduate, they are much more for people who want to get their feet wet. Having said that, I still believe it's better to do a couple of short courses first. Mermaid shadow puppet now on sale at Puppets in Melbourne