Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) -- A Mozart requiem booms over the loudspeakers as a casket is carried down the theater aisle on the shoulders of dark-suited men. Young women, eyes lined with mascara, tremble and sob.

This isn’t a real funeral service, however. The mourners are acting students hoping to be the next stars of Mexico’s popular, prime-time soap operas.

Televisa and TV Azteca, Mexico’s two largest broadcasters, run drama schools in Mexico City that train actors in their late teens and early 20s for parts in their steamy telenovelas. Students are taught how to cry on cue, eat properly and pick the right red-carpet wardrobe. The schools get thousands of applications from hopefuls dreaming of a role on melodramas such as “Dare to Dream” or “What Women Don’t Tell,” where crying techniques come in handy.

“You have to prepare the actor to be capable of creating great emotions,” said Raul Quintanilla, director of TV Azteca’s Center of Studies and Actor Training for Television. “When the human being suffers, he says very beautiful things,”

Salma Hayek studied at Televisa’s school and starred in a Mexican soap opera before gaining international fame and receiving an Oscar nomination for “Frida.” The next Hayek could come from one of today’s telenovelas, which accounted for four of the five most-viewed programs in Mexico last year.

No Tuition

While the acting schools are tuition-free and some students even get monthly stipends, they’re considered a cost-effective way to breed talent.

About 85 percent of Televisa’s performers come from the broadcaster’s school. When the network’s producers need fresh faces, they come to Televisa’s Center for Artistic Education, located in a studio backlot in Mexico City.

The school was established in 1976, but it underwent a significant change when Eugenio Cobo became director in 1986. He placed more emphasis on producing actors who were ready to work immediately.

Each year, faculty and Televisa producers whittle about 7,000 applicants down to 50, based on screen tests and live evaluations. About 60 percent of the students are women and most are Mexican, though the school has recruited from the U.S., Europe and other parts of Latin America.

Looks Matter

TV Azteca’s school, in operation for 13 years and located on the same studio lot where its telenovelas are filmed, gets as many as 5,000 applications a year and accepts 40 students, about half of them female. The school looks for actors with strong personalities and a willingness to obey instruction, Quintanilla said. Physical diversity is also important.

“We can have a really good-looking girl or a really good- looking boy, but we’ll also have one that’s ugly, ugly, ugly ... but interesting,” he said.

Both schools cut about one-half to one-third of each incoming class through quarterly evaluations.

“If most of the teachers’ critiques indicate that it doesn’t make sense for you to be here, then it’s best to part ways,” said Mariano Palacios, 21, a first-year student at the Televisa school. “Fortunately, that hasn’t happened to me.”

Palacios and his classmates study diction to develop a neutral accent and learn about nutrition and proper exercise. A poster outside of Cobo’s office warns against the danger of eating disorders, and the director says the school has psychologists to help with a variety of emotional problems, especially for young actresses whose families have rejected them for entering the profession.

“There is a big focus on helping them be healthy young people in all aspects,” Cobo said. “We’re preparing them to work, but above all we’re preparing them as human beings.”

Class Time

Students study an average of nine hours per weekday. In addition to acting classes, they take literature, body movement and diction, to help rid them of regional accents.

“You leave your family and friends and you’re here from 8 in the morning until 8 at night, Monday through Friday,” said Carlos Harfuch, 22, a second-year student at Televisa’s school. “The first year is very tough because you’re adapting to it.”

After three years, most of Cobo’s students sign a one-year deal with Televisa and begin looking for work with the company at casting sessions. For many, including Palacios, a telenovela is the top goal. Others aspire to be TV hosts or comedians.

While Cobo acknowledged that soap operas have a reputation as “sob-fests,” he said they pose a challenge for actors. Quintanilla traced melodrama’s history through writers such as Balzac and Charles Dickens, whose novels were serialized just as telenovelas are today.

“Our students are trained to do comedies and tragedies,” Cobo said. “An actor is one who makes you believe.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Crayton Harrison in Mexico City at tharrison5@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 28, 2009 00:01 EDT