top three theater schools- Page 3

[MaRiO54]

Posted: 4/24/06 at 11:08am

What do u mean go to CCM If u want attitude. I want to go to CCM. Do u mean the instructors have attitudes problems or you learn how to perform w/ attitude.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 4/24/06 at 12:10pm

Ithaca College

http://departments.ithaca.edu/theatre/

Graduates include:

Kerry Butler '92 Actor; featured on Broadway as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, also featured in Hairspray, Blood Brothers, Les Miserables, and as Belle in Beauty and the Beast; appeared off-Broadway in Bat Boy


Michelle Federer '95 Actor; Nessarose in Broadway's Wicked

Mark Price '96 Actor; Broadway cast of Wonderful Town and Mamma Mia, and cast member of Sweeney Todd at Lincoln Center

Matt Cavenaugh '01 Actor; leading role of Bud in Urban Cowboy on Broadway

Brandon Andrus '02 Actor; Curly in the national tour of Oklahoma!

Ben Feldman '02 Actor; understudy for Jason Biggs in Broadway's The Graduate and a new Fran Drescher comedy for WB

[Illegally Blondish]

Posted: 4/24/06 at 12:15pm

I've seen many a production at Boston Conservatory and have never been impressed by the talent put out there. What alum have they actually produced who's made any name for themselves? I always hear it's a "top school", but I don't see how.

Am I alone in this? Because I often feel I am...

My voice coach is a CMU grad and is one of the most talented ladies I know. I say it still takes the cake as the best program out there that produces well versed and individual actors.

The problem with so many "top schools" is the cookie cutter performers that may walk away with BFA's from a well known school, but on the flip side have lost their own identity.


I personally have had my own experiences with AMDA and I don't have many good words to say about that school except that I'm glad I escaped when I did. And let me tell you something, all the scholarships in the world they wanted to give me couldn't keep me there. (And yes, most AMDA students, especially at auditions, are obnoxious... they think the sun rises and shines out of their *ss... try being in a class with them).

I have to agree with DDTruit. The fact of the matter is you either got it or you ain't. You basically learn by doing. A good school can provide you with the tools necessary to hone your craft, but so can a really good private teacher.

At the end of the day, it's all about what is right for you, personally. All this competition about going to the better school automatically makes you the more superior performer... it's a load of crap. I've seen schools turn out unbelievable talent and the very same school turn out people who shouldn't be allowed to step foot on a stage.
Updated On: 4/24/06 at 12:15 PM

[batboy4692]

Posted: 4/24/06 at 12:50pm

Hey there! I graduated University of Michigan's Musical Theatre program, and pretty much everyone in my class is working in major contracts, half of them have been/are on Broadway at the moment.

It's definitely in the top three schools, along with Carnegie Mellon and Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Next, I would say are NYU, Florida State, Boston Conservatory. Others that I know of that have turned out talented people are Webster, Millikin.

But since we're listing grads as 'credentials' to schools...here are past Michigan grads you may have heard of.

Jennifer Laura Thompson (Footloose, Urinetown, Wicked)
Hunter Foster (Urinetown, Little Shop of Horrors, Producers)
Celia Keenan-Bolger (Little Me, Summer of '42, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Light in the Piazza-Seattle)
Gavin Creel (Thoroughly Modern Millie, La Cage Aux Folles)
Erin Dilly (Into the Woods, Martin Guerre, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
Dan Reichard (Jersey Boys)
Kate Reinders (Gypsy, Good Vibrations, Wicked-Chicago)
Barrett Foa (Avenue Q, Godspell)
Alex Gemignani (Assassins, Sweeney Todd)
Todd Buonopane (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee)
Glenn Allen (The Light in the Piazza)
David Burtka (Gypsy)
Lauren Molina (Sweeney Todd)
Danny Gurwin (Little Women, Urinetown, The Thing About Men, The Full Monty)
Rachel Hoffman (of Dave Clemmons Casting)
Jesse Nager (Mamma Mia!, Good Vibrations)
Andrew Lippa (Composer of The Wild Party, new music for You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and The Wiz, The Little Princess)
Josh Rhodes (The Boy from Oz, Urban Cowboy, Bells Are Ringing, Chicago, and assistant choreographer on The Drowsy Chaperone)
Darryl Semira (Mamma Mia!, Bombay Dreams, Spamalot tour)
Chris Peluso (Assassins, Lestat)
Brynn O'Malley (Beauty and the Beast, Avenue Q-Las Vegas)
Megan Reinking (Dracula, Lestat)
Toni Trucks (Showtime's Barber Shop)
Logan Lipton (Cupid and Psyche, Wicked tour)

Anyway - that's a taste. You can find their full alumni list at http://www.music.umich.edu/departments/mustheatre/alumni.htm

[cathyhyatt]

Posted: 4/24/06 at 1:27pm

I honestly couldn't narrow it down to a top three, a top five or a top ten. Here's a list of 20 schools (in no particular order) that I would consider to be at the top of the list.

Ithaca
Umich
Carnegie Mellon
Boston Conservatory
CCM
Syracuse
NYU
Emerson
Muhlenberg
The Hartt School
Oklahoma City University
Northwestern
Marymount Manhattan
Wagner
Miami
Florida State
UArts
Penn State
Julliard
Otterbien

[Sporti2005]

Posted: 4/24/06 at 1:30pm

when will people stop trying to "rank" schools?? it never works.

choose a school based on how well it fits you, not on name, seriously.

[travismoser]

Posted: 4/24/06 at 1:44pm

Point Park University in Pittsburgh is suppose to have one of the best musical theater programs in the country.

[Dre2387]

Posted: 4/24/06 at 2:02pm

for stage management, I've been looking at the University of Ilinois Urbana Champlain. They seem to be the best for that masters program, as far as I have seen. I think it really depends what program you want to get into.

[catstagestud]

Posted: 4/24/06 at 3:38pm

I think it's an interesting point that some people have made. I really liked the post (can't remember whose it was) about depending on how important each area is focused on. I go to The University of Arizona,which I know is not a "top three" MT program, not is it a program that is not talked about much, but a lot of people from our program have gone on to do professional work and be successful artists (Beauty and the Beast tour Belle for a while, Phantom tour Phantom currently I believe, Ave. Q in Vegas Kate u/s etc).

Our program focuses more on the acting/singing aspects than on dance; it is something I wish we could work on but each school has their own perogative when it comes to curriculum. I feel really lucky that as a Musical Theatre major it is required of me to study Chekhov, Shakespeare, Restoration etc...some genres of acting that some MT programs don't require their students to take. And I'm not trying to bash those that don't make you, but am just saying I feel lucky that I get to explore those other venues because if I work on style pieces, it's another type of play I could do even though I am pre-dominantly a singer. All the talk about ranking is hard because of the variable factor that is put into it. I've heard great things about NYU, Michigan, etc. but then you get stories about not great experiences etc. So it's hard to judge until you go out and experience the school for yourself, whether it is being in their program or checking out the types of productions that are being done; productions are great reflections of the program most times... Sorry for the long rambling, but just thought this was an interesting topic.

Cheers,

Christopher

Updated On: 4/24/06 at 03:38 PM

[LouW95]

Posted: 4/24/06 at 3:46pm

Brooklyn College (City University of N.Y.)has an outstanding theater program on both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

[Fridmanlam]

Posted: 4/24/06 at 4:44pm

No one has mentioned THE HARTT SCHOOL in CT as well.

How does one judge the number 1 school anyways? I believe that there are schools that do select fewer number of students which allows the school to have a higher talent pool to pull from, however after speaking to many professionals they all say they have huge respect from CCM and CMU however it is all about the individual and if they can do the job, not the school. But it is important to find a school that will supporting you even after you leave and still help with alumni and contacts.

Posted: 4/24/06 at 4:49pm

Ithaca College

Cornell University

Syracuse University

and the U of Mich

[otis33]

Posted: 4/24/06 at 5:24pm

As a graduate of Juilliard's drama department, I believe you've got the find the program that fits you best. There were classmates of mine that the program was a perfect fit for, and others that really struggled. I went in and out. I really connected with some of the teachers, while others I had a hard time "getting." What I appreciated from the experience, is that at no time did I ever feel like their techniques were being forced on me. I was allowed to take what worked for me personally, and create my own technique, but still have ALL the lessons in my back pocket. As I've gotten older and more secure and confident with myself, some of those back pocket lessons began to makes sense and are now techniques I really rely on.

Has the name "Juilliard" opened doors for me? Yes, but I've had to deliver once inside the door. Ultimately, it was school. It was hard and I cried a lot, but I was glad I went. At the same time, I have a friend who went to his local community college's drama program and has been working on Broadway for years - while Juilliard classmates of mine have completely left the business. I think it's about what you're willing to put into it, and how open you are to learn.