<p>I appreciate this board immensely. My rising junior son has been accepted into the UArts pre-college MT program as well as the CSSSA/Innerspark Theatre summer program. While I realize that CSSSA is not a true MT program, they do have a musical theatre elective for which he can sign up once there.</p>
<p>Which one should he choose?</p>
<p>My son is very serious about a career in the performing arts and intends to pursue a BFA, probably in MT. Here's my take:
UArts summer program seems to offer more of a "straight shot" of MT experience...
However, CSSSA/Innerspark might offer him more cross-disciplinary exposure and be a better fit for him - he's a very creative, marches-to-the-beat-of-a-different-drummer kid; his focus has been on musical theatre and he's certainly at least a double-threat in the making (that dancing part is less developed), but he also has done Shakespeare, improv and standup training, and has a real interest in comedy in general, so I don't want him to immediately get pigeon-holed in MT.</p>
<p>Both UArts and CalArts might be on the ultimate college list. I'm not sure of the degree of connection that CSSSA has with CalArts other than location (is the faculty the same?). From a college resume standpoint is one better?</p>
<p>I somewhat envision CSSSA as a chance to get my son a little more exposure to the California entertainment world (we live in Chicago), but UArts has the advantage of being in a city. Is being a non-California student at CSSSA any problem now that he's in?</p>
<p>Something that my son and I would really value is a program filled with kids who are really committed to an art career. Is one program stronger than another in this way?</p>
<p>Any guidance would really be appreciated!!!!! Thanks in advance for responses.</p>
<p>My daughter, who will be graduating from UArts MT program in 2 weeks, attended the summer program there in 2005 as a rising h.s. junior and was a T/A in the program last summer and will be a T/A again this summer. I have posted about her experiences as a student in the summer program on the UArts sub-forum however, the program has been substantially restructured since then to provide much more of a mini BFA type of experience than when my daughter attended.</p>
<p>One of the strengths of the summer program has always been that the faculty is drawn from the college BFA program so a student gets a good taste of the style of teaching and educational culture and values one would experience as a college student. The program is designed to enable students to determine if a BFA program is for them. My daughter informs me that the program has been restructured for this summer to provide a 4 week experience that even more closely tracks the programatic content, structure, balance of training and time commitment of the freshman year of the BFA. She also states that the program seeks to attract serious high school performers that are interested in pursuing a BFA in college. Students will also now get college credit. The schedule of acting studio, voice and dance classes is posted on the summer program website.</p>
<p>In addition to the the training and experience provided, Philadelphia is an exciting and dynamic theatre city for students. UArts is located on Avenue of the Arts in the heart of the city’s performing arts and business district. Within a 5-10 minute walk from the theatre department buildings and summer program dorms are no less than 7 professional theatres and performing arts halls featuring local productions, touring shows, ballet, opera, orchestral music and other concerts. There are a gazillion restaurants, restaurants and historical sites, offering all sorts of social and cultural activities. My office is a block away from UArts and during the summer, the streets are teeming with students, young office workers and families enjoying all that the city has to offer.</p>
<p>If you have any specific questions about the UArts sumer program, feel free to ask.</p>
<p>To follow up on my post, here’s a link to the schedule of classes and activities at the UArts summer program:
[UArts</a> Continuing Studies : Curriculum + Core Classes](<a href=“http://cs.uarts.edu/summerinstitute/theater/curriculum-core-classes]UArts”>http://cs.uarts.edu/summerinstitute/theater/curriculum-core-classes)</p>
<p>In relation to your post, you will note that improv is included for MT students. In addition, the core acting program for MT students is the same as for acting students. The acting coordinator for the summer program, Rosey Hay, teaches my daughter’s acting studio class this semester and my daughter has had a phenomenal experience in her class.</p>
<p>You asked about the benefit for college resumes. I think either program would have equal value in that regard. They are both intensive summer programs reflecting a commitment and involvement in performing arts. The impact on your son’s resume is very much secondary, however, to the training and experience which is offered. Your son should pick the program that he thinks will provide him with the educational and training experience that best suits his interests and desires. The mere fact of attendance at either program will not in of itself have a material impact on the college admissions process, particularly at audition based programs where resumes are looked at only for consistency of involvement in theatre and what happens in the audition room is really what counts. What gives value to a summer program is the training, experience and opportunity to be surrounded by other highly talented students.</p>
<p>Between the 2 programs, my bias is towards the UArts program because it is directly connected to a university that offers a BFA program and draws its faculty from the BFA faculty and has set its curriculum to emulate what would be experienced as a freshmen BFA. I think there is a lot of value to that, particularly where the school is on your list of potential schools to which to apply. This benefit is not unique to the UArts program; there are other summer programs that offer the same benefit. For the same reasons, my daughter also attended the Syracuse summer program when she was a rising senior. I also think that at the UArts program, your son would be exposed to a more national pool of highly talented and committed high school performers. UArts summer program draws students from the 4 corners of the country. Roughly speaking, my impression is that about half the students are from the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania areas and the other half are from points more distant. Florida, California and the mid-west are areas that have also been represented in the student body.</p>