BEST COLLEGES BFA MUSICAL THEATER — Page 13

MT at Tisch is faltering? Gee, tell that to all the working actors in NYC that came from there...regardless of whether or not they graduated.

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One of the most inexpensive Mus Thtr BFA programs is at Cal State Fullerton on the west coast. Since it's a state school instead of private, tuition is about 4,000 a year.

Some of our alums are...

Dashaun Young (one of the only people who DIDN'T get fired from The Lion King last month), Mara Davi (Maggie in ACL Revival, Janet in Chaperone, and Judy in White Christmas). One of our juniors just ditched us to join West Side Story as ensemble & u/s Chino. We also have recent grads on tours...the upcoming non-eq Grinch tour, the just closed Chorus Line tour and the new Sonny, u/s Usnavi for the In the Heights tour.

I go to Ithaca (for music ed, though). I'd like to say that Kerry Butler and Matt Cavenaugh graduated from here. So did the actor that plays Lurch in Addams (I think his name is Zachary Taylor?). And, Aaron Tveit went there for a semester but he left because he got in a show. =]

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I'm starting to think about college, and specifically colleges with a good MT program. Below are the colleges I've already explored (through their websites):

College of Charleston
Elon
Syracuse
Rockford College
Florida State
Ithaca

Of that list (this list will most likely grow), which colleges do you think really stand out? Also, I'm really looking for a school that's not huge. I know some of these schools are big. I'm coming from a small high school (600 students grades 3-12). I'd love feedback on the schools I listed, and also other schools that anyone has in mind. I want a school that's semi-small since I'm coming from a small high school, and a place that has individual attention... I don't want to be person in a crowd of people.

Updated On: 7/10/10 at 12:17 AM

Anyone know anything about Central Washington University? I believe they have a fairly new program.

I heard Pace is really good

seaweedjstubbs - Thank you so much for the link, and all the things you said about Elon. I will defintely be sent you a PM during the school year, thanks so much! =)

Updated On: 7/17/10 at 01:02 AM

my opinion isn't going to sway anybody, but i wanted to get my thoughts out there. i agree with the majority of you guys. i am still in high school, but i know i want to go into theater, so i started researching schools. this is my current list:
boston university
emerson college (i am part of a theater group and the director/founder went to emerson. he is a well known actor and director in the area. he has been very successful.)
ithaca college (what else is there to say hahaha it seems as if everyone has been saying great things.)
syracuse university
fordham university
nyu (but after reading this thread i wonder now...?)
wagner college
uarts
i live in nj so i'm not looking to go very far but i have to add these are also great schools:
fsu, columbia college chicago, suny purchase, point park, northwestern, ucla.
and i can't forget carnegie mellon. i have a friend who is going to be a senior in the fall and she is currently at their pre college musical theater studies program. great school.
someone mentioned rider. i have to disagree. my older brother is going there in the fall. granted, he is not a musical theater major, but i've done my research and i've visited and their program is nothing to brag about.
someone also questioned if someone from indiana can "make it". aside from the nyc area, the midwest is actually a great place for theater. my friend who just graduated is going to be a musical theater major at butler university's jordan college of fine arts. i'm surprised no one has mentioned butler before? its a wonderful program.
QUESTION: honestly, if youre planning to be a mt or just theater major, do the schools really care about your gpa/class rank/sat scores? how important is that stuff? because i am currently ranked in the top ten of my grade... but do theater schools even care???

I do know people who have been accepted as part of a college's theatre program but then had issues with admittance to the school itself, so yes, don't let your grades slip just because you are planning on going into theatre.

MANY of the schools being bandied about here are schools with pretty stringent acceptance requirements. MOST of them expect their theater students to meet them and THEN they care about your audition.

So basically: if you don't qualilfy academically, you don't get in.

Carnegie: damn tough school to get into -- for any field of study.

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totally depends upon the school, some programs don't take transfers as you would have missed 1/2 their training. MANY will, though.

Just like anything: you need to research.

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"The main issue for me is the money, though. I'm paying for my tuition entirely myself, and my family doesn't qualify for any financial aid...we're not even close to being considered low income. NYU's insanely expensive tuition plus their lack of scholarships is the main thing that made me realize I can't even consider applying."

Apply anyway. You never know what opportunities may come your way, and until you fill out the FAFSA, you won't know what financial aide you will receive. Even if you say now your family won't qualify, you have nothing to lose in taking the steps and seeing what may come out of it.

I applied to a school I originally thought I could not afford. Before I applied, my chances of attending if I was accepted were pretty slim due to financial concern; however, I filled out the necessary financial aide paperwork and ran into aide I did not expect. I ended up attending and had a great four years. Yes, I have loans, but I would not take the time back for anything.

I strongly encourage you to apply to NYU if you think it may be a good fit for what you're looking for in an education. Worry about things like money/loans when you actually have the financial package in front of you.

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The commercial Musical Theatre viability of a classically trained voice is another debate but most of the actors I have worked with who have a "classical voice" have trained their voices separately to undertaking acting/MT training. The "stage acting and dancing... [and] stage movement" you receive as a Voice Major is NOT close to the level that you would get in a good MT or Acting** program. The acting classes in Voice programs are designed for acting in Opera, not in Musical Theatre.
**Some acting programs are great places for singers who want to act and vice versa.