Musical Theatre in College

[actnggrl04]

Hi everyone,
I'm doing college research this summer so when i get back to school in the fall it won't take all my time. I was wondering if anyone is attending college and with Musical Theatre as their major? Or any theatre majors. Where do you go to college, and what do you like or not like about the program.
For awhile i was planning on going to a area college, but then i was talking with one of the directors i was working with at our community theatre who suggested i look into a more advanced program then that.
Recently I've looked at Emerson and DePaul, amoung others, but i am not limited to those.
Please give me whatever information you have if you can.
Thanks in advance, this will help a lot.

 

[lyzziesmom]

My first piece of advice would be to learn how to spell collEge. A collAge is an art project.

 

[actnggrl04]

That would be a good idea, except i know how to spell it and that was an innocent typo, sorry. I'm editing it out, hopefully.
But thanks for bringing that up.
That should do it, i think i've fixed it all.

 

[Simba's Mom]

DS goes to the University of North Texas, majoring in music performance. I know they have an extremely strong music program, and they're also supposedly pretty good in all the arts too, including theater. He loves it there-so many opportunities! And I know the school has an excellent reputation with the entertainers at WDW and DL that we've met, a definite plus! UNT's website is www.unt.edu if you want to browse at it.

 

[SoonerKate]

I know quite a few people who did the musical theater program at Oklahoma; a bunch have gone on to work with Disney, and many of them are in New York working right now. It's a purposefully small program with lots and lots of opportunity and personal development. You can find out more about the program here.

 

[actnggrl04]

Thanks for the info and links simba's mom and soonerkate
i'm sure it will all be helpful info for me
thanks again

 

[DisneyDoll10/28]

First off let me say CONGRATS on College and your choice of major. I don't know about your area, but I graduated with a BFA Theater Production and Design from a NAST Accredited school in Ohio. All I can tell you is that you must be prepared to work HARD. In my experience, especially if you are going after a BFA (at my alma matter, the musical theater program HAD to be a BFA) you need to realize that ontop of your classes & any jobs you might need to have for money, you will have endless rehearsals, you will be there from sun up to sun down. I'm not trying to discourage you, I'm just giving you a glimpse into my life as a Theater Major. It was an amazing time and I would do it again in a heart beat but I had fellow peers who didn't realize how much effort it was. After all, it was just "theater".
My typical day day started with classes around 7 til 5, 1st rehearsal from 5:30-9 and then second rehearsal from 9:30-12 or 1am. Inbetween classes, I held 3 jobs, 2 on campus and 1 off. There were some nights that it just made more sense to sleep at the theater than try to drive home (I lived close enough to my college that I didn't stay at the dorms). It was hard work. It paid off. Having said that though, I can say, PACE YOURSELF. I pushed myself so hard that I didn't have time to "enjoy college" so to speak, don't burn yourself out. Do what is required of you (most colleges do require X amount of shows a year) and do what will make you shine against the others. Ask your college professors if they are members of ARTSearch and if they will let you see a current copy - it will list all the jobs and summer internships available. GO FOR THOSE! Once you graduate, regional theaters will look at your interships to see what kind of experience you had without your professors there to catch you when you fall.

If your professors are anything like mine were, they expected the same professionalism that a regional theater hiring you would expect. They wanted things perfect, on time, better than the person before doing the same job, shining examples why you should be in the program. The work I did there was some of the hardest things I've ever done and some of the most rewarding. I think I've rambled enough and I've either scared you or will get flamed for my opions but either way, there ya have it! Good Luck

 

[barkley]

i minored in theatre and did advanced training at a.c.t. (american conservatory theatre in san francisco)-and have lots of friends who majored in it.

it's def. a challenging major and very time consuming (between the rehearsals for the college productions and then doing any professional gigs i could get i was constantly on the run-made for some interesting searches for part-time jobs that could work around my schedual).

there are some great programs out there-but you have to search them out. some will provide a portion of the training you need, but the best will provide you with training in all aspects of theatre performance.

one program you might check out is "pcpa"-the pacific conservatory for the performing arts. they are located in california and have had an awsome reputation for years-they operate an equity company that does on-going performances, but their advanced interns are able to participate as well. if the program still operates as it did some years ago, once accepted continued training is only on a year to year basis (your skills/talent are constantly evaluated by the staff and you must be invited to continue with the program the following year).

there are also great opportunities for training with non collegiate schools-a.c.t. has an intensive actor's training program but no degree is associated with it. there are also phenominal internship programs offered by top regional theatre companies across the united states. also-don't rule out community or junior college programs-our 2 local ones have incredible actor's training programs that benefit from some of the top san francisco bay area directors, actors, choreographers, scenic designers and the like (in fact the one closest to me offers some classes that are not offered-or are not as indepth-as those at the well regarded university theatre programs in the area, and the same class that a student pays maybe $100 to attend for 12 weeks has a wait list of 6 months or more for the 1 day version offered to the public for around $750-$1000).

good luck-it's a challenging field!

 

[actnggrl04]

Thank you so much! There's so much out there, its hard to know where to start. I know this will help so much! Thank you thank you thank you. I don't think i can thank all of you enough! Thanks again

 

[SamRoc]

My dd is also looking into Musical theatre now as she is starting her senior year of high school in sept. She wants to stay close to NYC for auditions so she has been looking at local colleges with theater programs. Some of my dds friends go to NYU but their programs are really hard to get into at Steinhardt or Tisch, but they love it there. Another good choice in NYC is AMDA which is a conservatory program. So many choices out there!

 

[Haveamagicalday!]

Hi everyone,
I'm doing college research this summer so when i get back to school in the fall it won't take all my time. I was wondering if anyone is attending college and with Musical Theatre as their major? Or any theatre majors. Where do you go to college, and what do you like or not like about the program.
For awhile i was planning on going to a area college, but then i was talking with one of the directors i was working with at our community theatre who suggested i look into a more advanced program then that.
Recently I've looked at Emerson and DePaul, amoung others, but i am not limited to those.
Please give me whatever information you have if you can.
Thanks in advance, this will help a lot.

I will be a senior in High school this year, but I would like to tell you about Oklahoma City University's Musical theatre program. I also plan to become a Music Theatre major and this school is my top choice. I just returned from a 3 week summer musical theatre camp there and it was an amazing experience. OCU is one of the top MT schools in the nation and is a small, methodist university. Some of it's alumni include Kristin Chenoweth and Kelli O'Hara. The just opened a brand new HUGE music facility with literally hundreds of practice rooms and all the rooms accompanied with a Steinway piano! THis is one of the most beautiful and laregest facilities I have ever seen!Also, if you major in MT here, the program puts a special focus on voice, rather than acting like most colleges. I also know that Disney reps come every year for recruitment! Hope this helps!

 

[familydisney]

The previous Poster is right, OCU is a top-drawer MT school. They draw from around the country.

Other very good schools are the Cincinnati Conservatory, Brigham Young University(mormon) and I had a friend who went to Indiana U. and had high praise for their program.

I was a MT major (got my degree in Journalism, but studied dance, music and did over 60 performances per year). Biggest thing I can recommend is to perform at every opportunity you can, get a good voice coach and take TONS of dance. As a young, professional performer, you will likely be auditioning for smaller roles and your ability to be a triple threat can be the difference in getting cast or not!

Good luck!

 

[TheGirlin14G]

I'm a senior this year going for Musical Theater as well! And depending on where I go I'm minoring in studio arts or dance.. I'm in southeast Pennsylvania, and my mom doesn't want me going TOO far, so applying to Muhlenberg College, U Delaware, Westminster Choir College, DeSales, and possibly Dequesne and Ithaca(both about 6 hours away, which is pushing the distance thing)...

I think a major part of getting the best possible Musical Theater education is taking advantage of internships and auditions as much as possible wherever you go.. I have a friend with an internship to the Globe Theater in England, another to an opera house in Italy, and one(just finished his freshman year at Ithaca) is performing in Hershey Park this summer - the professional experiences and connections they are making are unbelievable!

Also, look into class size.. my friend who goes to Ithaca said there are only 15 other people in his class majoring in MT - which makes it a very selective program, but you get so much individual attention - where as other places, I know NYU does, have very large class sizes.

We should make a class of 2007 - senior year/college thread so we post updates and go through this together!