<p>I have a daughter (senior next year) who is very interested in pursuing musical theater, and has been focusing on acting and voice at a public magnet high school. We're in the midst of trying to find colleges with good programs (BA or BFA) in the Northwest part of the country for her (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia, possibly California) . We would love to consider other schools in the midwest or east coast, but are concerned about airfares adding up over time so we're beginning our search closer to home. She's a straight A student, but with very average SAT scores.</p>
<p>Thanks so much! I'm new to this website, and am so grateful for the detailed info I've found so far.</p>
<p>Hi Theater Mombo! - we are from your area and did my D’s college search and auditions, including around the northwest, this past year. I know we would have a lot to share so if you want to email or PM me we could get in touch. We did it “from scratch” last year and I would have loved to talk to someone who had experienced some of it. We got a late start and really learned as we went along. also typical college counselors seem to know very little in our area about theater and about the other parts of the country and theater.</p>
<p>Hi Theatre Mombo-we’ve just connected with oregontheatremm and discovered our daughters were in a workshop together last summer. She will be a great help to both you and me, as my daughter is just a rising junior. With the aid of this site, we began our search early on last year and visited some colleges back east and midwest already. My daughter is convinced she wants to go there, as she’s afraid the schools out here don’t feed easily in to the major tours, summer stock opportunities, etc. She is not interested in L.A. stuff at all! I have read some info that does support that opinion. Perhaps others on this site can chime in about that.</p>
<p>Regarding flight costs, there are numerous colleges in Ohio that have excellent programs and that you can get to more cheaply on Southwest if you book early. Also, if you have to cancel flights on SW, there are no penalties, and your money gets put into a ‘fund’ for you to use later, within a year. Have you checked out the “Big List” on this site that lists most of the MT programs? Although, I keep running across others back east that aren’t listed . . . Northern Colorado has a great program, but my quest did not reveal any others outside of California and in the Northwest that impressed me.</p>
<p>All told, I would be glad to share any of what I know with you. Although Oregon Theater Mom may be more of a help, as she’s completed the process . . .just post, message or email me. She can also share with you the name of a local theatre person who does audition coaching.</p>
<p>If you are checking out state schools in the Northwest, look into the Western Undergraduate Exchange. [WICHE</a> - Student Exchange Programs](<a href=“http://wue.wiche.edu/WUE_constituent2.jsp]WICHE”>http://wue.wiche.edu/WUE_constituent2.jsp). Students from participating states pay just 150% of in state tuition at participating schools. University of Northern Colorado is one of the member schools.</p>
<p>Since Christie2 and SoundMom mentioned the MT program at University of Northern Colorado, you may want to know that a scandal in the MT department broke this past week. and may (or may not) make a difference in your decision. It’s too early to tell what the impact on the program will be. You can get details from The Denver Post: [Anger</a> aimed at prof, UNC over sex conduct - The Denver Post](<a href=“Anger aimed at prof, UNC over sex conduct – The Denver Post”>Anger aimed at prof, UNC over sex conduct – The Denver Post)</p>
<p>This is so awful - I too feel sorry for students and faculty who have been adversely affected by this professor. I don’t have any firsthand knowledge about UNC’s MT department, but have heard it mentioned in a positive light a few times. I wonder how a department (students and faculty) bounce back from this sort of situation. How devastating. Thanks for the warning. </p>
<p>I think Washington State dropped their theatre department this past year because of budget cuts. Western Washington has had a few problems of its own in its theatre department. (No first hand info-just what I read in the paper.) Options are quite limited in this part of the country.</p>
<p>On a different topic - we have had good luck flying Southwest and have appreciated the ability to switch reservations with no penalty. Another plus is their policy of two free checked bags. That came in handy when we were moving our son last fall. </p>
<p>Thanks for making us all aware of this. If you read the updates, it sounds like the atmosphere from which something like this could develop at Northern Colorado has been going on for a long time. Interesting that it took this long to be revealed publicly. This is not a situation parents would want to send their student into!</p>
<p>Oregontheatermom, I would love to hear your experience. We are still trying to decide BA vs BFA, and what are good possibilities with regard to affordability, i.e. very expensive, pretty expensive and expensive. Thanks!</p>
<p>Hello. I’m a brand new member, so I’m not positive how this all works, however-- oregontheatermom… I would love to hear what you came up with for musical theater colleges in CA,OR, WA area!!! How can I connect with you on this???
help!</p>
<p>Hi L& L Mom
We moved from Orinda - see you are from the bay area too. You have an advantage with California colleges. If you are a resident it is much easier to be admitted to the college - tho not necessarily the theater studies. MT kids I have heard about are going to attend UCLA or USC or UC Fullerton in CA. Up here in Oregon Southern Oregon U has theater but not MT. They are big on Shakespearian theater being located in Ashland. Seattle has Cornish. Central Washington U has a theater dept offering BFAs in theater and MT. U of Idaho also offers BFA in MT and I am not sure what else as MT was my D’s main interest. There is just not a lot out west! D really wanted the BFA so other colleges didn’t work for her in Oregon even if they have a theater department. If you go to me sign on name I think my email comes up. I would be happy to be more descriptive with you but don’t want to go on and on here. My D ended up deciding to attend college on the east coast. That was where she found the program she loved.</p>
<p>I don’t have additional info to impart, but just wanted to say hi…we live a hop skip and a jump from where you were in Orinda, oregonmom. My son, now a rising junior at Northwestern, was accepted to USC and cancelled his UCLA application. CA options were limited. Welcome L&Lmom.</p>
<p>Hi CA Griffin - We have been in Oregon for 15 years now but have great memories of many years in the Bay area. CA options were really limited for out of staters and also very expensive of course.</p>
<p>Just joined and this is my first post. My older daughter will be in her senior year at USC School of Theater and my younger daughter (high school senior) is looking for MT and Drama BFA programs. I went to SF State in the late 70s/early 80s and it had a great theater program then. Annette Bening was there at the time and Dana Carvey used to come back on the weekends to perform (pre-SNL). I was a Broadcast Communication Arts major so I can’t speak for the program but it has turned out some impressive talent (Danny Glover, David Carradine, Delroy Lindo).</p>
<p>My oldest LOVES USC. She didn’t audition for the BFA program because she wanted a more general theater education but kids who want to get in the Department productions definitely should audition. BFA students are given priority in casting. Not known for MT, but Jason Robert Brown teaches there.</p>
<p>My daughter is also going to BADA in London this semester through USC’s foreign studies program and I hope I’ll have something good to report about that. The campus at USC is nice, however the neighborhood is dicey but improving (slowly). And for students who want to sing, there are some great a capella groups at USC.</p>
<p>hey guys i’m from seattle area, but used to live in the bay area. i am currently planning on pursuing a ba in theatre, but was bfa crazy for many years, so i know the search pretty well. university of idaho, and central washington have bfa’s. southern oregon has one in acting(shakespeare heavy). i think irvine has one, and fullerton too. does anyone know any good ba theatre california state schools besides like ucla, ucirvine, and fullerton?THANKS!</p>
<p>A college I have seen mentioned on this site and also represented at Performing Arts College fairs is</p>
<p>Notre Dame de Namur</p>
<p>It is a small private college in the San Francisco Bay Area that offers a BFA in MT. That’s the extent of my knowledge about this college.</p>
<p>Their website reads “The Department of Music and Vocal Arts offers a comprehensive professional training program for the aspiring performer in musical theater. The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre degree is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). Integrated, interdisciplinary training is provided in voice, music skills, audition technique, acting, and dance, with full support from the Department of Theatre and Dance”</p>