Musical Theatre schools — Page 3

"are you meaning to tell me that one can waltz into new york city with no professional training and expect a job?"

BTW, that is the sentance I was referring to.

Haha, it does get confusing on here after awhile!

=)

I, personally, just do not agree with a cut system.
I only applied to four institutions, CCM, CMU, BoCo, and U of M and was accepted into all four, so my list was not jeopardized =)
I personally feel that when an institution goes through the process of auditioning you and even moreso accepting you, that they see that "something there" in your performing that makes you unique and gives off that special quality about you as a performer and they think "Yes, I want that person in my department"
People and performers peak at different moments, and I think it unfair to judge a person's "progress" after a few months of having them in class and therefor say that they are not qualified anymore to attend the institution.
Yes, progress and growth are important to earning a successful degree, I agree completely. But giving time limits and expectations as to when they "have" to have progressed by, I just think is silly.

i understand where you're coming from. boards are a bit aggressive, but it really does take a lot for one to be "cut." that is, in the drama program. i'm not quite sure how the musical theatre dept. works, but i know that you are only cut from the drama dept if you are blatantly slacking, you have a constant C in a conservatory class, or you have a D in a UC class. in my opinion, those students are asking for a "cut."

Yes, right from the horses mouth I discussed this right now with a current CCM student.
4 first-years were cut this year, and he said it has nothing to do with grades and everything to do with growth and attitude.

Yes, right from the horses mouth I discussed this right now with a current CCM student.
4 first-years were cut this year, and he said it has nothing to do with grades and everything to do with growth and attitude.

yikes! musical theatre students, i suppose? i know one was cut from the drama dept this year, but i think there was more to the reason than lack of progression.


by the way, where exactly are you going to go?

good luck!

I have to completely disagree with most of you! There is no such thing as natural talent. I have met maybe one person in my life that I couldn't teach to sing (and it was because he was born with severe disabilities, so he couldn't discern pitch). Everything in music and theatre is learned. There are lots of different ways to learn it, and it doesn't have to be in college. The first rule of teaching is to recognize different learning styles: there are some people that learn just by observing, and I think that's really what you see in those that haven't really "studied" acting/singing. While places like Oklahoma City have sent out some great performers, including someone that I think will be known as one of the best singers of our time (especially as a coloratura): Kristin Chenoweth, people like her would've done well anywhere, she's that talented. That's not to say that she didn't get great training because it's obvious that she did, but she chose the school that was right for her. You want to go to a good school, but no school is right for everyone. I wouldn't worry about cookie-cutter schools because few schools actually teach their students to be cookie-cutter performers, it's that the students can't break out of their inhabitions. Read what JLT said about how her Glinda compares to Kristin's: that's how any performer should take a role. Remember talent can be taught, but you have to really work at it. Read what Idina does every day to make sure that she's amazing on stage, when she's out of it, she's an average performer at best. Effort means a lot in art.

I agree that talented people will achieve success no matter where they train.

However, I don't agree that it doesn't matter where you attend school. Just cause you can sing and dance when you enter college doesn't mean anything. It's what a school gaves you to develop as a performer.

Some schools are better at providing a nuturing atmosphere that allows a student to further develop their abilities.

Having said that, after years of working with college students and recent grads, here's my assement of the "best":

University of Michigan
Oklahoma City University
NYU Steinhardt (and yes...NO Cap 21 for voice)
Boston Conservatory (but not what it use to be)

From other name programs, I've found some very selfish, egotistical folks whom I would never want to work with again. Some that have been mentioned here.

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She's not the head, but she does teach voice. The people who I knew took from her liked her!

i just want to say that i didn't mean that where you attend school doesn't matter - obviously people go to good schools for a reason. however i just wanted to remind everyone that you can achieve sucess no matter where you go to school. going to stanford isn't a guarantee that you'll be sucessful in life. it's the same with musical theatre schools. they can help you recieve the best training and make great connections, but there's something inside yourself that will let you suceed no matter where you go to school.

PaulLW is right on the money....those are the 4 schools...they are great.

i had an audience at my university with a broadway composer/lyricist who sits in on all auditions for his shows, and i asked this specific question (because i'm graduating from college in may with an english degree, NOT a theatre degree):

"does getting a job strongly depend on what school you attended?"

his response:

"strongly depend? no. granted, if i look at a resume and see that you went to carnegie mellon or another strong theatre school, i'll know before you ever open your mouth that you have been well trained. however, nearly everything depends on what you do in the audition. we just take a peek at resumes - they're not what get you the job."

although i want to go for a masters degree in a theatre program, this made me realize that it can be done without the formal education of a university. and people are right - passion only gets you so far. obviously, there HAS to be real talent.