Good Musical Theater Colleges?- Page 3

[JoizeyActor]

Posted: 4/10/04 at 8:29pm

No word on Marymount Manhattan College's program?

[Thezbean]

Posted: 4/10/04 at 9:46pm

My two cents on theatre colleges. Any school that does a NY showcase for seniors has a huge leg-up on the competition. Don't bother auditioning for ones that don't provide this opportunity. That means you'll automatically be auditioning for tougher schools, but that's the way it goes.

Properly trained voice teachers indeed ARE a must. But a teacher well-versed in Opera might not know a good belt from a hole in their heads, as it were. Ask them, talk to them about it. Well-rounded is the key.

If you're auditioning for a school that doesn't allow freshman to perform in mainstage shows (many of the bigger schools do this), make sure there are other performance opportunites for freshman. This is a craft you learn by doing. Also, weigh the pros and cons of attending a school where you'll be competing with graduate students for mainstage roles. This can be a significant drawback.

Finally, visit as many schools as you can. Spend a weekend. Talk to students. See who you like and where you feel you fit in. Because regardless of the school that accepts you, you will only get out of the experience what you put into it. And if the people make you miserable, it can be the longest 4 years of your life. And know that the schools in Manhattan seem to have an unwritten rule that you're cooler if you book a show before you graduate and leave. At least, most of the students seem to think this is a good idea. I would beg to differ with the vast majority of them. But then again, with only one National Tour and one Broadway credit, what the heck do I know?

BTW, I went to Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio. Small, but mighty. They offer BFA's in MusThr, Acting, Tech as well as BAs in Acting, Tech, Music, etc. Well-rounded. Good stuff.

[chasing_rainbows43]

Posted: 4/10/04 at 11:06pm

Woo-hoo for the Wagner shoutout!
I'm a Waggie, I love it, granted I'm not a performance major (theatre admin, here) or a performer at all, but our kids are all really great.
I'm more than willing to answer any questions about Wagner or serve as tour-guide for any visitations

[DoReMi]

Posted: 4/11/04 at 2:56am

Just a word on schools who have a NY senior showcase. They don't have a leg up in the business.

Do you know how many industry types attend each one of these? If you are not in the CCM or U of Michigan showcase, your odds are pretty slim. Why? Simple. Every schools that has a music theater program and wants to make their mark puts on what they think is a showcase. Do you really think that the industry power decision makers are going to sit through 30 plus show cases year?. My cousin was in one a few year ago put on by an Eastern college and it was god awful. And they had all of 5 "industry people" in the audience...including the guy who ran the mail room. Hence to say that shortly after, that school disbanded their showcase presentations. And this is a school that still has a good MT rep today.

Bottom line...if you're not going to CCM or U of Mich, one of the deciding factors should not be showcases. With 30 plus out there, who do you think is attending them all? Do you think the industry decision makers are hitting them all? Do you really think these busy people clear their calendars and attend most of them? Why do they want to watch a show for 2 hrs with ten people when they can have better results with an open call?

Showcases today are a dime a dozen. I'd rather base my college decision on the strength of the program and the success of the alumni. Updated On: 4/11/04 at 02:56 AM

[DangerousTalent]

Posted: 4/11/04 at 8:48am

DoReMi & bestofbroadway, i don't mean to be rude in any way, but how to do you get your information? do you have some kind of occupation that gives you all of the inside scoop? i know that some of the people here, myself included have said that they are college students who know from looking @ schools, talking to students, alums, faculty, & seeing performances or that they have their information from speaking w/other people, etc. bestofbroadway, all you've pointed out are 5-6 alums of CMU or CCM. You could go through most good musical theatre programs and find distinguished alums- or at not as good programs as well.

I don't mean this in a "i don't believe you" way, I'm just wondering why your comments seem to act as an authority on this issue.

Always,
Abby

[Thezbean]

Posted: 4/11/04 at 11:56am

DoReMi, I see what you're saying. And yes, the mere presence of a showcase does not guarantee any measure of success. Especially if they don't manage to get agents there. As a matter of fact, my school didn't have a showcase when I graduated. I *lucked* into my agent. But here's the thing - every agent is always looking for new talent. And yes, everybody and their brother is going to go to the CCM, UMich, and CMU showcases. But then you've got dozens of agents competing for very few grads. Agents DO attend other showcases to find talent. If you look at a school that either doesn't do a showcase or has done one that they're considering abandoning, ask them why. Ask them what they could be doing to make it better, to get people in the seats.

This business is always looking for the Next Big Thing. And not every Next Big Thing has to come out of the "top five" schools. And if you're one of those people. someone needs to see you. And if you don't have a showcase, prepare for two things - 1) YEARS of crappy way-the-hell-off-Broadway shows with hours spent on agent mailings trying to get someone to see the show (this is harder than getting them to a showcase ANY DAY OF THE WEEK) and 2) praying every day to your own personal Luck God that you'll serve an agent dinner at your restaurant job and they'll just happen to look you up and down and in a non-seedy way, ask if you happen to have a headshot on you.

Clearly, a showcase is not a prerequisite. But a well-executed one can make getting off the ground in this business much less painful. Then it's just up to you to book the work.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 4/11/04 at 12:06pm

Syracuse University, Carnegie Mellon University and Boston Conservatory.

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 4/11/04 at 2:31pm

Everyone here keeps talking about the "Best" or is there a "best." Seriously, each school is different. Reputations are made by a small percentage of students. Think of how many students each school puts out every year. No way all of them are going to make it in big cities, much less Broadway. Those that are successful found a program that's good for you, and while it is true that an opera teacher may not know about belting, you NEVER want to take from someone that has no opera background. They really need both. Opera is all about vocal health, and you need that classical background to belt well. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Most schools will let you observe classes or take a sample lesson, let them. Figure out what's right for YOU. Remember a lot of schools buy their rankings anyway, it doesn't matter. All schools are going to have some successes and a lot of "failures."

[~*MusicalTwinSiStar1*~]

Posted: 4/11/04 at 2:48pm

What about AMDA? Isn't it a very good one, too?!? I think when you go to their homepage and look around a bit, everything sounds amazing (except the tution and accomodation fees... :p)!!! And I think it's great that you can choose between whether studying the whole two years in NYC or in LA or either one year in NYC and the second one in LA, that's WOW!!!

But does anybody here know it better than I do? Please give some more information!!! :)

Nice greetings, ~*MusicalTwinSiStar1*~
The ~*MusicalTwinSiStars*~ online!

[NYUstud]

Posted: 4/11/04 at 3:57pm

I could not agree more, MusicPos2, I think each person has to find out what is right for them. I looked at all of those big name schools Mich, Cinn, Bos Cons, OCU, and I figured that if you want to be in the musical theatre industry, then there is no better place than NYC. To live in the city and be there where it all happens is a major advantage, as opposed to someone who goes to like OCU or Mich. They are so far away from Bway and all of the greatness of NYC. IF you have any NYU Tisch vs. Steinhardt, or any NYU musical theatre questions, I would be glad to answer them.

Updated On: 4/11/04 at 03:57 PM

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 4/11/04 at 4:04pm

I'm an NYU graduate too (Steinhardt Music Ed). I would highly recommend staying away from AMDA, I have a friend that goes there, and she thinks that veins in the neck are a natural part of belting...You need to find out what is best for you, but no opera is usually a bad sign.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/11/04 at 4:11pm

I'm not a performer, but I have friends who are, so that said... they go to/will be going to:
Wagner
Marymount Manhattan College
Emerson
NYU (Tisch)
.... and all are very happy and doing well.

also:
University of Michigan
Carnegie Mellon University

Updated On: 4/11/04 at 04:11 PM

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 4/11/04 at 4:14pm

Stay away from Tisch unless you want to hire your own outside voice teacher! Although, there is in the works a plan to move the Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions into Tisch or possibly a School of Music (with CAP21 joining Steinhardt's program). That would then be an amazing program b/c they both lack what the other is really strong in!

[NYUstud]

Posted: 4/11/04 at 4:21pm

where did you get this CAP21/Steinhardt merge? I haven't heard anything about it. Please tell me more and where you got your info! THanks.

[emonkeygirl]

Posted: 4/12/04 at 9:53am

In regards to AMDA, they do have classical voice training. That's what the private voice lessons are. The teachers teach you how to sing correctly, unfortunately, many students think they know better & choose to sing incorrectly.

[Dancersmom]

Posted: 4/14/04 at 7:58pm

If any of you are interested there is a very active Colleges for Musical Theatre forum located at www.collegeconfidential.com. We are on page 13 of our discussion. There's a wealth of information available here about college MT programs. Go to Discussions, then College Search and Selection. Look for Colleges for Musical Theatre Page 13

[guido22]

Posted: 4/14/04 at 8:36pm

the two best schools I can think of are Elon (NC) and Point Park (Pittsburgh)

[Nomimalone]

Posted: 4/13/05 at 2:53am

They Don't call it SCAMda for nothing!

Um, Having recently graduated from one the aformentioned Conservatory programs I have to say that, 1. There is no "best". There are so many variables. You have to pick the schools that best fit your needs, wants, budget, etc. 2. When CCM posted that quote about themselves and Boston Conservatory being the best in the country, that was based on an agent book that got that statistic from how many actors are working as members of Actors Equity and they were the leading 2 schools. That dosn't make them the best, it's just a statistic. 3. Showcase is REALLY important IF...you want to get an agent right out of school. It's really hard to get one if you don't have connections or if you aren't in a showcase that agents and Casting directors actually attend. This past year, the best turnouts as far as Agents and Casting Directors for Musical Theatre showcases were CMU,Boston Cons.CCM and Michigan.I had friends in all 4 of these programs who were scouted by the same group of agents and called in to auditions by the same casting directors, Tara Ruben, Bernard Telsey, Dave Clemmons, etc.
Seriously.....all of these programs are exceptional and if you are fortunate enough to get into even one of them then you are going to get great training....hands down.