Acting training at OCU

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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<p>D is trying to decide between OCU and UCI. </p>

<p>We are hearing some disturbing things about the acting training at OCU. No question that the vocal training is top of the line and they get a very strong foundation in music and dance (excellent dance program). Can anyone enlighten us about the quality of the OCU acting training, strengths and weaknesses, or speak to the success of students other than Chenowith and O’Hara–in particular their success as working actors? </p>

<p>UC Irvine does not have the kind of quality vocal training that OCU provides, however, they have a very heavy focus on quality acting training and have an internationally known dance department. UCI’s academics are outstanding as well. If she attended UCI she could continue her private voice lessons with her local teacher here who has trained numerous Broadway performers and is very connected to the local theaters including a working relationship with the head of UCI MT program. </p>

<p>D is very torn between programs. We have visited, talked with students, talked with professors and still don’t know which direction is best.
D is a good dancer but feels her strongest suit is her singing, would like to have the intense training in music that OCU provides and would love to ‘get out of town’ for school, but feels she needs lots of work in her acting- her weakest area.<br>
Any feedback on this subject is greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>She is also on the waitlist for Wagner College with a nice music/academic scholarship but even if she gets off waitlist, she has been leaning much more to the other two schools.</p>

<p>Help, the clock is ticking.</p>

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<p>Hi again CalMTMom!</p>

<p>I am curious as to what you’ve heard that disturbs you! If you don’t feel comfortable mentioning it on this public forum, feel free to send me a PM/email, and I’ll see what I can address specifically.</p>

<p>Talking in generalizations, I can say that the acting training I’ve gotten at OCU so far has been superb. MT (and VP) students take Acting for Opera and Music Theatre (a five semester sequence consisting of Acting I, II, Improv III, Advanced Acting IV, and Period Movement V) - I, II, and V of which are taught currently by Paula Dawson. I have taken both Acting I and II and have made some artistic gains that I couldn’t believe.</p>

<p>Acting III is taught by Jeannie Sholer from the theatre department. Acting IV is taught by Karen Coe Miller, the new Assistant Director of Opera and Music Theatre (who also teaches Opera Studio and MT Workshop). If you saw either Die Fledermaus in the fall or The Consul in March, you have seen a Karen Miller production - both of these productions were SUPERB in terms of acting (especially the Consul! What a show!).</p>

<p>If your daughter wants more acting training than what is simply required by the degree - well, that’s what the theatre department is for! I have had friends who have picked up Directing minors or have taken Chekov and Play Analysis classes through the School of Theatre for additional acting training.</p>

<p>In terms of “working actors,” besides Kelli O’Hara and Kristin Chenoweth, we have an amazing list of alumni who are working in the field. Take a look at Alyssa Fox (who replaced Felicia Ricci as the understudy for Elphaba on March 30), John Jacob Lee (currently in the Nat’l Tour of Cats as Skimbleshanks), Jennifer Sanchez (Rosalia in the most recent revival of West Side Story), Wes Hart (Luis in West Side Story) - the list goes on! These are just RECENT graduates in MT on Broadway. If I did a search back a few years, well. … :)</p>

<p>And, of course, I would be an idiot not to mention Sarah Coburn - though an opera graduate - who is literally one of the most talked about opera performers currently.</p>

<p>If you want REGIONAL work - I could write a NOVEL! </p>

<p>As always, I’m available for any specific questions regarding acting curriculum. :slight_smile: Let me know! I hope I’ve helped.</p>

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<p>The acting training has changed considerably since my D graduated with the creation of the new school of theater, so I have little firsthand knowledge. I can only assume it has improved, but it wasn’t bad to start with. My D feels she got excellent training. A friend of my D’s is attending OCU in the fall as a theatre major. He made the decision after seeing a recent production by the theatre department that he said was amazing.</p>

<p>Both of your options sound good to me. Sounds like your D has a tough decision to make!</p>

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<p>To clarify: the working actors that Georgeanne mentioned however are working because either A) They are a FANTASTIC singer or B) They are a FANTASTIC dancer. All of them can act, but that is not why they got the job. (PS Wes Hart is Action and U/S Riff)</p>

<p>The acting department WAS really bad for a long time. They did turn it around for a while. They had singers coming out who connected with their text and actually did more than look pretty on stage. They did however get rid of a fantastic acting teacher last year who had really done wonders for the MT kids. But he was fired because there were a select few MT undergrads who didn’t want to put the work into their acting classes and got angry when the teacher called them out for not working hard, so they complained to the Dean. And so the teacher was fired.</p>

<p>In short, what you heard was most likely based on a little truth. OCU is best known for the music, not acting. That being said unless you are a FLAWLESS actor you aren’t going to make it far if you can’t sing. As much as people say it is all about the acting, you HAVE to have the pipes to back it up. (Like all the working actors mentioned above who are all SUPER talented)</p>

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<p>JuicyBooty is right about the acting teacher who was fired. My D loved him and learned a lot. She talked about him and her acting classes more than anything else during her 4 years there. Although it didn’t affect her since she was graduating, she still was upset to know that he was being let go. Since they now have a bonafide theatre department and there are more theatre electives to choose from, I think the acting training is good. She also worked on acting the song with her voice teacher. As with anything, you can get as much or as little out of it as you put into it. </p>

<p>JuicyBooty, are you still a student? What is your take on the theatre department classes?</p>

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<p>So if accepted into the BA in Music program and the BFA acting program would it be better to pursue the BA in Music at OCU? What D wanted was MT.</p>

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<p>Fairoaks, your D can pursue both a BA in music and BFA in acting.</p>