I am a complete novice here. We just went through my sons college search process this year. My daughter will be a senior next year and is very interested in musical theatre/acting. As this is a completely different process than a normal college admission process any help would be appreciated—-I assume she would apply to the university first, but how early should she be looking to schedule her audition, how should she choose between musical theater vs acting? We are lucky to be local to Point Park University, but I’m finding out this is such a different process that I want to make sure I understand how it works. Thanks in advance
You might want to post this on the general musical theater board, as you’ll get more responses. MT admissions at the top schools like Point Park are highly competitive. For girls, it’s generally recommended that they apply to 15-20 schools and have a balanced list that includes more than just the top programs. Typically you apply to the university first and then schedule your audition. In addition to auditioning on campus, there are several Unified auditions across the country in New York, California and Chicago. For schools that you can’t get to, Unifieds are a great way to audition for a number of school in various location in one weekend.
If you have questions feel free to reach out to me. My daughter just finished her junior year as a BFA MT at Point Park. I think you need to have a few more posts in the forums before you can send me a private message, though.
In almost every case, your D will apply to the University first, and then be directed to schedule an audition. Some schools (more than not) require pre-screens which are video clips of singing, dancing and monologues. Point Park does not require prescreens (yet) and you are able to schedule an audition as soon as you apply to the university. Each university opens their applications at different times. You can apply to several via the Common App. Point Park, you apply right on their website. I would recommend scheduling as early as possible for auditions. Some schools will fill up! My D’s first audition was her PPU audition. After 22 other applications/auditions, turned out she loved PPU the best. She just finished up her Freshman year. Best of luck to you!
@jenniferm1973 @CTDramaMom Can you provide info about PPU’s dance curriculum for MT’s. Reputation has it among the top but since you have direct experience it would be great to hear more details.
My daughter has at least two, sometimes three dance classes every semester. She always takes ballet and has also taken jazz, tap, and I think something else but honestly I can’t remember. She is pretty good at determining her own curriculum. I know she feels her dance has definitely strengthened at PPU. And she’s not a dance minor.
Can you tell me where the general MT board is? I’m new to CC and can’t figure out how to find specific forums.
As a Freshman, they are required to take Ballet every day, Monday-Friday. All year. It really made a huge difference in her dancing, as she got back a lot of technique that she hadn’t used because she hadn’t had a Ballet class in a couple of years. As an MT major, you can audition for a Dance minor in the second semester also. This year, Sophomores will still take dance every day, however, it will alternate between Jazz and Modern. My D will also be taking a Tap and a Ballet class because there are a lot of dance classes required for graduation. Having Dance every day (especially the 7:30 am Ballet class) really helped set the tone for the day and the year. It taught discipline to have to get up everyday as well as strengthened dance ability. Good luck!