Wondering About Pursuing Musical Theatre

Look into getting a college audition coach (like Mary Anna Dennard or someone in your area) for auditions. They are VERY expensive, but I've seen coaches get people into great colleges I never thought possible. And perhaps you can just take a few lessons in order to find and work on a monologue, without taking from them every week.

Obviously musical theatre is the best way to combine dancing, singing, and acting. However, unless you are a GREAT singer there's not much point in trying for a prestigious musical theatre program. Rarely does great acting make up for mediocre singing in the world of collegiate auditions.

However, there are tons of programs that allow you to do musicals AND stage plays with a basic theatre major. And there's theatre studies majors or theatre majors with musical theatre concentrations. Often a good bet is to be an acting/theatre major and take voice lessons on the side if you want to continue growing vocally yet aren't yet strong enough for a musical theatre program. Of course, I don't know you, so you could totally be strong enough! Just if you feel a little insecure about it that can be a good way to go.

Purchase the Dramatics Magazine college theatre directory or the newest addition of the College Guide for Performing Arts Majors for a rundown on schools. Also the Theatre/Drama and Musical Theatre forums on College Confidential have some good first-hand information. Every program is different, so it's likely you can find one with the setup and flexibility right for you.

If you audition for musical theatre programs, you can still be considered for acting programs as well which can help you choose in the long run.

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