<p>Does anyone have any personal knowledge about Tulane's program? I have read their website, looked at YouTube clips, and read what little there is on CC. And yes, I have emailed the program, and they were very responsive. But I would LOVE to hear from someone in the program, someone who applied there and decided not to go (and why), or even someone who just knows more about it than I do. Anyone....? Please?</p>
<p>We live in New Orleans, and my D (current hs junior) has auditioned twice for Tulane’s Summer Lyric Program and didn’t get cast. Cast is comprised of mainly adults, current college students, and a few from NOCCA (New Orleans’ Performing Arts High School. D did that in middle school, but opted for the more academic route, gifted/AP classes, and her own high school’s theatre program. She would NOT be able to participate in her own school’s program if she went to NOCCA.)</p>
<p>Anyway, Tulane’s MT program is highly regarded in the city, and performances are generally wonderful. Gary Rucker is an instructor there and he has his own theatre production company in NOLA called Theatre Thirteen NOLA. They’ve just been awarded the contract to run Rivertown Repertory Theatre in Kenner (a NOLA suburb). My D has been in a few productions at Rivertown and one with Gary Rucker in the fall of 2005 (it was the first theatre production in the metro area after Katrina). Theatre Thirteen has its own website, in addition you can look up Gary. Rivertown, etc. on stageclick dot com and get lots of info on credits.</p>
<p>Gary is very talented and is THE top theatre guy in NOLA.</p>
<p>What I don’t know – and what my D and I are using as an important criteria in evaluating MT programs – is how well they connect people to “THE BUSINESS” outside of NOLA. I honestly don’t know.</p>
<p>The other thing that I do know about Tulane is that students have been victims of crime lately. And students have recently held protests to increase security.</p>
<p>“At least 14 students were robbed – some at gunpoint – in the area around campus last semester (FALL 2011), an increase of almost 75 percent from each of the past four semesters. In addition to the spike in armed robberies, two women recently were raped just blocks from campus.” [Tulane</a> students are asking the university for beefed up patrols | NOLA.com](<a href=“http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/01/tulane_students_are_asking_the.html]Tulane”>http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/01/tulane_students_are_asking_the.html)</p>
<p>Even though my D auditioned in February for the Summer Lyric season, I was secretly glad she didn’t get the part because I was concerned about her leaving campus at night for rehearsals. The audition was mainly for the experience…</p>
<p>So, between the crime, the costs, and the fact that my D wants to go out of state, we aren’t considering Tulane.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, I love New Orleans…we have a lot of great food, entertainment, music, etc., and generally it is safe for tourists in the French Quarter, downtown during daylight hours. But the reality is we do have a crime problem that is out of hand and I would be very hesitant to send my child to a school here.</p>
<p>Mom2them, thank you so much. When I read the Tulane (non MT) CC threads, it sounded like the school was really trying to get a handle on the crime situation. Nevertheless, it is frightening to hear you say that the crime situation is out of hand. We have friends whose D just graduated from Tulane (not in MT, obviously), and she never had a problem and was never frightened…and her friends all felt the same way. What a shame…</p>
<p>It is a shame, because NOLA is a great theatre town, and we’ve hosted our share of major events just this past year College football championship, Final four, etc. We get an influx of police protection for those big events, with help from the state troopers. But day in day out, unfortunately, there are a lot of crimes committed by young males with no regard for life. Our mayor is trying to get a handle on it and he has enlisted help from the community, but it’s not working.</p>
<p>We have friends who go downtown regularly, and my D has friends who go to NOCCA and stay for rehearsals and drive themselves back and forth. The majority of people we know have not been the victim of crime. However, they take precautions. College kids seem to think they are indestructible and may not take same precautions.</p>
<p>When I talked to my D about my concerns about her driving back and forth for rehearsals if she got the part at Tulane Summer Lyric, she said, “Oh mom, I’ll be fine.” </p>
<p>The campus is lovely and I’m sure there is campus security, but Uptown New Orleans has one block of expensive mansions, and two blocks away crime areas. </p>
<p>With that being said, two of my D’s friends who are graduating this year are going to Tulane and Loyola (block away and shares many of Tulane’s facilities). I just know that for MT majors which means late rehearsals, I’d be leery.</p>
<p>Do you know where the dorms are relative to the MT classrooms/theaters/studios? Are they close?</p>
<p>Life is soooooo ironic.</p>
<p>D has NEVER mentioned Tulane. Always wanted to go OOS. Yesterday morning after spending some time Friday night with a graduating senior friend of hers who got a full ride to Tulane, she said, “Oh Mom, I think we need to look into Tulane. I know I said I wanted to go OOS, but Tulane’s okay because hardly anyone from my high school goes there.”</p>
<p>OH BOY!</p>
<p>So, I will be looking into it more and will let you know what I find out. I have a theatre friend who will be in two of the Summer Lyric Shows and will be teaching dance in the fall. I’ll contact him and see what he can tell me. </p>
<p>I do know that the MT program is housed in the department of music, not theatre. I am a little leary of those programs because singing is probably my D’s weakest of the triple threat. She is taking voice lessons now via Skype and her coach is saying she’s making big strides… so we’ll see.</p>
<p>LOL! Too funny. But it’s great for me! Thank you so much…please do let me know what you learn. I actually like those programs in the music department, because singing is my D’s forte. Tulane is a great school…it really intrigues me despite the crime situation. Please keep me posted, and good luck with your D!</p>
<p>I am afraid that I don’t have any info on the BFA in MT at Tulane, but I can speak a little to the crime concerns. My D just finished her sophomore year at Tulane (Business Major) and she said that there were quite a few problems last fall, but that things were a lot better this spring. She said that the campus itself was fine, but that there were a number of incidents just off campus that were very concerning. She felt that the university worked very hard to add patrols and take steps to improve the safety of students in the area around campus. According to her, some of the incidents were cases of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but others were the result to some extent of people not being very smart about being careful. She is moving into a house off campus next year, and she has said that she is going to have to be more careful and make sure she always was accompanied late at night.</p>
<p>All that said, my D absolutely loves Tulane and New Orleans, and wouldn’t have wanted to go anywhere else.</p>
<p>I actually just ran into an old theatre friend yesterday in a drop in ballet class who I haven’t seen in forever. I didn’t even know if she was still pursuing theatre, but she told me she was in the MT program at Tulane (I automatically thought of this thread… sad life). I didn’t grill her much about it but she seemed to be really loving it. She’s a rising sophomore and was only home for 2 weeks before heading back for some “regional work” she was doing, so that’s a great sign!</p>
<p>Thank you, AlexaMT and zebrarunner! I know so little that every little bit helps.</p>
<p>I know this discussion is a few weeks old, but this is making news here in NOLA tonight and I thought you guys might be interested in this. </p>
<p>An elderly couple on State Street was knocked to the ground and robbed of their SUV at gunpoint Monday evening, police said.</p>
<p>The victims, a 72-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman, were unloading their tan 2003 Toyota Highlander in the 2100 block of State Street around 10 p.m. when they were approached by two men who hit them and knocked them to the ground, according to police reports. The men took the couple’s keys at gunpoint and left in the Highlander down Freret Street, police said.</p>
<p>Here’s the link for the full story…
[Elderly</a> couple robbed of their SUV at gunpoint on State Street Uptown Messenger](<a href=“http://uptownmessenger.com/2012/06/elderly-couple-robbed-of-their-suv-on-state-street/]Elderly”>http://uptownmessenger.com/2012/06/elderly-couple-robbed-of-their-suv-on-state-street/)</p>
<p>It happened near the intersection of State and Freret Streets. Freret Street runs right through Tulane’s campus. State is just a few blocks away.</p>
<p>I’m not saying the campus itself isn’t safe or not to consider Tulane…just posting this to make you and/or your kids aware. </p>
<p>If people are stealing a 10 year old Toyota from an elderly couple, they must be pretty heartless and desperate!</p>
<p>But then again, it’s hard to think of these robbers as people.</p>