I'm just going to paste in what I posted in an earlier thread on colleges, so if it sounds familiar, that's why. (I'm sorry to be so lazy, but it's just that kind of day...)
There's been a lot of talk about Tisch, but nobody has mentioned about the other musical theatre performance programs offered at NYU. Under the auspices if the music department in the Steinhardt School of Education, there are both 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're looking for in your graduate training. If you have any specific questions about the program, feel free to PM me.
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 curriculum.
Best of luck with your school search!
Then from out of the blue, and without any guide, you know what your decision is, which is not to decide...
I chose and my world was shaken, so what? The choice may have been mistaken; the choosing was not. Just keep moving on...
--Sondheim
