BEST COLLEGES BFA MUSICAL THEATER- Page 3

[briarbrad]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 8:43pm

SUNY Purchase has a really great acting program (probably Top 5 in the country), but they have no musical theatre program, per se. I would assume that an acting major could take voice and dance classes, though.

I think Hunter College is a part of the CUNY system...they have some kind of drama program, but I'm not too familiar with it.

[brdwaybaby17]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 8:44pm

"I certainly have no clue to whom you people have been talking to but Elon pretty much sucks"

How do you even know this? And why is it getting so much attention if it "sucks?"

[Footlooser]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 9:22pm

I would really appreciate any info anyone can give me about Ithica.

[Bwaybaby109]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 10:00pm

I go to Shorter College and it has a pretty awesome program with a great reputation. Most of the auditionees at the GA Theatre Conference that succeed to SETC are from Shorter. We're highly recommended by Dave Clemmons. We have many classes in mostly acting, music theory, piano, dance and a musical theatre lit class where we are required to sing a certain amount of bway songs each sem. We take private voice from a very good mainly classically technique vocal staff. We usally sing mostly bway songs in our lessons and a few classical songs. Plus we do 2 musicals a year and freshman have leading role opportunities. We have a great staff and we have many talented people in our department. It's really great so you check it out!
I also think Elon is a pretty good school as well. I've heard great things about it.

[jaso_n]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 12:11am

Has anybody mentioned University of the Arts?


UArts

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 12:12am

I still like Rockford College...lol

[actor465]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:21am

Footlooser, I'm headed to Ithaca in the fall for MT, so I don't have too much experience-related info about it yet. But I'll definitely tell you about it once I'm up there for a while! What I do know is that everyone I've talked to who goes there absolutely loves it, and they feel like they're getting great training.

[sean2]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:33pm

I have multiple questions:

My daughter is looking into OCU for their Dance Performance program. Do you know anything about it?

We cannot seam to find any other colleges that offer a Dance Performance program like OCU. Does any one know of any?

She wanted to go to college for musical theater until she saw OCU’s Dance program. She likes both musical theater and Dance. Most schools that offer a dance program focus on ballet and modern. Although she does both she is stronger in Tap and Jazz. She does not want to go into a dance company. Unless it was a tap company. She wants to perform - Broadway, Disney, Cruise line ....

In general would she be better with OCU’s Dance Performance program or a musical theater program?

[briarbrad]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:55pm

Sean2-

My 2 cents. If her aspiration is to just be a dancer, than a dance major would make sense. However, if she is skilled as an actor and singer, as well, then a musical theatre major would make her a more versatile performer. Different MT programs place different amounts of emphasis on the importance of dance, as well, so you'd want to check into the amount and variation of dance classes at different schools. Some schools want their students to have a ton of dance, while others, it seems, look at dance as 'icing on the cake,' while singing and acting are considered the most important aspects. So since dance is such an important skill that your daughter wants to pursue, you'd want to make sure that her school is one that offers alot of dance.

[show2n2]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 4:25pm

OCU(*thanks Mr. Tuttle) Alums - Just read some of the posts about OKCU Alumni ~ Here are some that I could think of:

Kristin Chenoweth, Kelli O'Hara, Lara Teeter, Teri Bibb, Julie Hansen, John Sawyer, Ron Raines, Roy Bean, Jonathan Beck Reed, Nathan Peck, Brad Musgrove, Stacey Logan, Allyson Turner,Dan Webb. There may be more working on Bdwy now, but that's all I could think of at the moment.

The Music School and Dance Depts. are gr8 as most of the other schools that were mentioned. But go visit the campuses, sit in on some classes, talk to voice, acting, and dance teachers. See which one fits you best. Best of Luck.

Updated On: 6/16/05 at 04:25 PM

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 5:13pm

"I certainly have no clue to whom you people have been talking to but Elon pretty much sucks"

How do you even know this? And why is it getting so much attention if it "sucks?"

I know this because I know three people who attended Elon and all three left to go to a more desirable school. Sure, Elon is a small school in western NC that offers a Musical Theatre major and that can come across as very appealing to many but do thorough research on it and you will find out that it isn't necessarily a credible school to get a strong musical theatre degree in. I think most people that go there for musical theatre do not pursue a career in it.

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 5:52pm

I believe it's OCU..not OKCU.

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 6:52pm

Winkle, I totally respect your opinion but your opinion is really no more valuable than my own. It is each persons views and experiences. You are indeed correct, I was wrong about the location of the school as it is NW of the Triangle area. I am not trying to discourage anyone from going to Elon as I have never been there, I can only rely on what the three people I know said about their own experiences. If anyone is seriously looking at a school then they need to do as I said before and do all the research that they can. Find the best program that fits them. On a side note, the three people I know all went on to 'top ranking' musical theatre schools and maintain strong and steady careers. I think it is great that you have had positive experiences with Elon students and my hat goes off to them. Regardless, it still doesn't make the program one of the best in the country.

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 7:08pm

You are indeed correct. I have a tendency for saying what I think no matter what. As I have no personal experience with Elon, I should have refrained from saying anything at all. Thanks very much and I truly appreciate your response. Take care :)

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 9:46pm

I love political correctness!

Having worked with a couple Elon grads of the last few years, I can't say that I would recommend their school for a comprehensive program. One couldn't tap..the other was taught screaming=singing.

[soulman83]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:19pm

Picking schools are all about what you want out of it. I am going to CCPA(Chicago College of Performing Arts) at Roosevelt University. The faculty is awesome, the facilities are awesome, and you are in Chicago which is probably the second best theatre town in America. so lets be reall here! good luck! =)

[Aigoo]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:38pm

http://www.geocities.com/musicaltheatercolleges/

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 6/17/05 at 2:34pm

I'm angry at that website Aigoo--they don't mention Rockford College...which is a great school :)

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 6/17/05 at 2:51pm

Winkle..not sure what you mean but..

sure...okkkaaayy.

[Roxie_Hart]

Posted: 6/17/05 at 3:42pm

Freeadmission -

I'm at Elon, and while I'm not a music theatre major, I have a TON of friends who are. Our program is PHENOMENAL, but hard to get into. Definitely audition for either the BFA in Music Theatre or BFA Acting. This is a fabulous school.

[freeadmission]

Posted: 6/17/05 at 5:56pm

Thanks, Roxie. I was just about to pose a clarifying question on the very topic. I'll definatly start thinking about audition schtuff then. I'm probably going to take my first two years at a considerably cheaper college and transfer in, but your input makes my decision easier. Thanks.

[Roxie_Hart]

Posted: 6/17/05 at 6:05pm

No problem! And hey, if you have any questions or want some information on the program, feel free to IM me (ClassicFilmBroad). I'm minoring in it and I work in Academic Advising so... there isn't much I just couldn't tell ya. =)

[Joelbeans]

Posted: 6/17/05 at 6:11pm

I wish I would have been into theatre in college like I am now, but looking at all of my voice students, I would try to think of something to fall back on just in case. I have had some of the most talented singers come through my vocal studio, and now that they are in college they aren[t getting anything, and theatre has been all they want to do.....just look at how many out of work actors there are in NYC....sorry to sound like a parent....just llok out for everyone.....

[Aigoo]

Posted: 6/17/05 at 6:14pm

Which ties in with my philosophy. I'm very unsure if theatre is something I want to do, or something that I can become successful in. So when college auditions come around, I'm only auditioning for those "prestigious" musical theatre colleges (U of M, CMU, CCM, Elon, Northwestern, etc.) and if I have something to offer and apparently show "marketability", I might have a chance. But if I don't, I'll just accept that fact and go on to be some sort of boring engineer or architect or something.

[arishmoof]

Posted: 6/17/05 at 6:50pm

has anyone heard of SCAD? its the savannah college of art and design, in savannah georgia (beautiful) its a FANTASTIC SCHOOL (im biased, i go there!) we have a great performing arts program, and the shows we do are phenomenal- im a new yorker and the production of west side story they did this year was broadway quality. and we have production design too (which is my major) so you can get into the design aspects of theater too, a lot of performance majors like to see whats going on behind the scenes. anyway, look it up, its scad.edu definitely worth checking out.