Musical Theater Colleges — Page 3

no opera. sad sad sad. oh well, there'll be others i suppose...

really sorry you missed it. I saw it twice and laughed my butt off. The vocals matched the humour, in its greatness. I am very proud of all of them, and can't wait untill the next one.

Will

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I'm graduating in a year, and I'm looking into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Julliard, and Joope Van Den Ende Academy in Germany.

See Ya!

Phantom05

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Updated On: 10/21/03 at 09:31 PM

AMDA is one of the best musical theater schools in America?

hat was the best laugh I've had in years!

I can't believe anyone has actually said that. Perhaps you're not familiar with their name in the education industry...SCAMDA. If you have the money, you're IN! And believe me, after seeing and "working" (I use that term loosely), I can say that AMDA is the most expensive community college ever (and that's an insult to many fine ones in this country). I asked one "graduate" (again, use that term loosely) a question about a piece of music. The poor, uneducated child could not identify the key signature but also most of the notes on the staff. She proudly told me she had one year of music theory at Scamda. Hmmmm.....and you were studying the choral structure of Mariah Carey works?

Another "graduate" informed me that he would need a larger space at the make up table because, as he was taught, a true professional needs room for all his make up. Then he proceeded to drag out something resembling a shopping bag full of make up. Hmmmmm...well if you can't act the part, then cover it up as best as you can.

I don't know if you are a student there or are just curious about what they offer. And everyone's opinion is different. But in the professional world, Scamda is a total joke. I advise you too look elsewhere for a valid, scholastic degree program and get the education you deserve because you are talented...not cause you have the bank roll.

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Updated On: 10/13/03 at 12:39 AM

Oh boy, please dont chose AMDA. Im a theatre major myself (first year) at NYU and recently, i went to see an off broadway show "A Stoop on Orchard Street". It was a hokey show, but even still, you could definitely tell every actor who was an AMDA "graduate" by their mediocre singing and god-awful acting abilities. look somewhere else for your own good.

There's been a lot of talk about Tisch, but nobody has mentioned about the other musical theatre performance program offered at NYU. Under the auspices if the music department in the Steinhardt School of Education, there are undergraduate and graduate programs in musical theatre. The faculty is outstanding, the guest artists are all broadway professionals and the alumni work consistently (several on Broadway and in national tours right now). It's not going to teach you the finer points of acting Shakespeare, but as far as professional musical theatre training-- learning the business and preparing you to get work--it is fabulous. I got my master's there, but I already had an undergraduate degree in drama, so I went in with a lot of acting training under my belt. If you are a good actor, or at least already have good instincts, and want to perfect your voice, make professional contacts and learn how to audition, this is the program for you. It really depends upon what you need to get out of the program.

One bit of advice on choosing a school on general: Make sure you look at the actual course offerings and see that there are courses devoted to the things you want to study. A lot of the viewbooks you get in the mail will say that a program teaches a certain thing, but that can just mean that it is touched upon at some point in some class. It doesn't necessarily mean there are whole courses devoted to it. If there is something that's important to you, get a bulletin and make sure it's a solid part of the curriculm. Good luck!

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I still haven't heard much about CMU, does anyone know anybody who went there? Anybody have unput on that school, or The University of Michigan?

Well the wait list is actually in your favor, what it means is that you were good enough to be in the department, they like you, and think they could turn you into what they want you to be, or that you wouuld be a good adition to their dept, BUT that when filling their QUOTA they had people more deserving, yet they are giving you a chance since they still want you, many people don't even get the chance to be wait listed, Wait listing is a good thing. It was actually how I allmost ended up in NYC, I was wait listed at Marymount Manhattan for the acting program. And I got in late in the year. Didn't go but it was still nice to know I was accepted.

STEVOS

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BroadwayGirl107-
I know several people that are both musical theater and acting majors at Carnegie Mellon University. It is without a doubt the best musical theater program in the country and second only to Juilliard in acting. The reason that CCM (which is a wonderful school) and Michigan can't compare to CMU is because CMU places strong emphasis on acting, where the other two do not. Just look at the coursework of the 3 schools. CMU believes that musical theater students are and should be before anything else actors. But they also provide a very balanced courseload. If anything they are lacking in the area of dance. But the strong emphasis of acting make the alumni all so versitile and help them to do so many different things. There are the obvious alums- Ted Danson, Holly Hunter, Rob Marshall, Billy Porter, Emily Skinner, Patrick Wilson... and even Sutton Foster who didn't make it through all 4 years. But there are so many recent graduates who are doing so much. One of the graduates just replaced Laura Benanti for the Violet Hour. Several students that graduated ONLY last year have featured roles on primetime television shows (these are musical theater majors.)
Just to give you an idea of some of the things CMU students get, this weekend the musical theater students are having a series of master classes with Jerry Herman (Hello Dolly, Mame, Mack & Mable, etc.) and next week Rob Marshall is coming back to the conservatory to talk with the student and hold master classes. Last year Lloyd Richards was a featured guest. I'm sorry but you just can't find opportunities like that anywhere else. There teachers are amazingly talented, the productions are the best out there...nothing can compare.
So if you want spend your entire life as a chorus girl or boy CCM might be the place for you. If you want to be a versatile performer who can do musical theater, cinema, television...than not a single school can come even close to offering what CMU has. All I can say is I sure wish I had gone there for college. I have directed several of the Carnegie Mellon alumni, and as a director all I can say is that nothing compares.

Updated On: 10/15/03 at 06:31 PM

Oh..and you're CMU thread makes it sound as if Sutton Foster didn't make through all four years because of some difficulty with the intense program.

In fact, she left to join the national tour of Will Rogers Follies.

That is correct Sutton was in Will Rodger's during high school. Also Sutton wasn't told that she wouldn't amount to anything. Actually, from what I have heard they loved her there but Sutton (although I adroe her) the girl has some major confidence problems. She left by her own choice and decided that theater wasn't for her.

I think it's also important, however, to look beyond educating oneself as an artist. The best writers/actors/directors are also incredibly well-rounded. Choose a school with an excellent theatre program, of course that is going to be the first priority. However, don't forget to go to a school with a good liberal arts program-- and take advantage of the program if you're not required to participate in it! Be conscious of the world around you outside of theatre, because it's from that world that the theatre comes from.

Juilliard is famous for taking in students who are then never seen for four years, except for rare moments when I see string quartets hailing a cab around 66th. I've taken to pity some of the Juilliard students I've met (including one I've dated), because their minds are so one-track (particularly the musicians as they're more often child prodigies who spent all but three years of their lives performing and touring). And you can't blame them because that's the environment in which they're raised. They're taught to have focus and drive, both of which are admirable qualities in an artist, however they're not taught how to be human beings. You can be a virtuoso, to paraphrase Aristotle, but if you're not at the least virtuous in other areas, your life is going to be incomplete. And does the diploma from Juilliard really matter after that?

And once again, I'm going to take this time to mention that Fordham fulfills all of the aformentioned prerequisites I think are important in choosing a school with the intent to pursue theatre.

Be an artist, but be a fulfilled artist.