<p>For those who are interested, there's an article in today's Wall Street Journal about Carnegie Mellon and University of Michigan as "feeder" schools to Broadway. It's on page D5 of this morning's (Dec 21) paper. If you happen to have an online subscription, here's the link:How</a> Do You Get to Broadway? - WSJ.com</p>
<p>Can you copy and paste the article to the forum? You have to be a WSJ subscriber to read it…</p>
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<p>**Moderator note: Please do not post entire articles. CC’s Terms of Service allows for only very brief excerpts of copyrighted material. You can Google the name of this article and publication and find the article online. I have edited this post of the entire article to the first few sentences from the WSJ article. **</p>
<p>Thanks lojosmo. I was going to pick up the WSJ for this article.
Michigan…worth every OOS penny!</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing…great article!</p>
<p>With a public library card, you may be able to access the WSJ for free. We can in our fair city. I am always amazed at all the free online access that is available with my library card. Our tax dollars at work…</p>
<p>You can also simply Google the title of the article and the full text comes up. Very interesting article, causing a lot of consternation on Facebook among students who do not attend one of these 3 schools. I thought it was extremely interesting.</p>
<p>Interesting, but for those sweating either getting into CMU/UMich or in despair because they’re not, a few caveats:
- 17 out of 20 NOW. There is a very rapid turnover rate. This could be a statistical blip or it could be more meaningful. We don’t know from the data we’re given.
- 17 out of 20 includes ensemble (lots). While it’s awesome getting into ensemble on B’way, it’s a different skill set from getting a lead/supporting lead. Ensemble members on B’way have to be a certain height, build, weight, look, as well as having, usually, superb dancing and excellent singing skills. I have a theory (it’s just a theory!) that some BFA programs seek to up their stats by accepting a certain look/type of students who are most likely to land an ensemble role within a year or two on graduation. Of course that’s great, but bear in mind that B’way is littered with young people who had one-three ensemble roles and then were heard no more. Ensemble roles look for type/height/youth more than any other role, and in B’way you are aged out of ensemble VERY quickly.<br>
- I find it very questionable to base your stats on whether you have a graduate of your program placed on B’way ever. For me, a far better stat is what percentage of your alums are WORKING PROFESSIONAL ACTORS 10 YEARS LATER, B’way or wherever. Not whether once they landed a role on B’way. Again, it’s wonderful to land a role on B’way. But it’s not a meaningful long term indication of anything much except that your program has trained a certain type–x height, y weight, z build, q dance/singing skills. These qualities can segue into a career, and don’t get me wrong, any edge is great to have—but alone by itself, it means much less than it sounds.
- Finally, KNOW YOURSELF AND YOUR SKILL SET & TYPE. I have a family friend whose son was thrilled to have gotten into a top BFA program. He is certainly very talented, with a rich voice and strong acting skills. But the program molded him to MT and B’way focused (to the point that the poor naive dad was already preening that the school 'is known for sending their kids to B’way" and, the dad reasoned, since his son was one of the best students there, always landing lead roles, surely it was highly likely he’d start a career in NYC). </p>
<p>So the poor kid gets rave reviews from his BFA program, lands an agent, and with stars in his eyes, goes to NYC. Well, the kid is well over six feet tall and over 250 pounds and can’t dance. This means that his chances of getting ensemble in MT is close to nil. Such a build is positioned mostly for leads/supporting leads and only in certain shows. But at 22, for MT leads/supporting leads, he was competing with 35 year old men with huge resumes for lead/supporting lead roles. This kid’s chances are SO much less than, say, an athletic, graceful dancer/singer of 5’7". I believe he would have been FAR better served had he concentrated more on his acting (while training his voice) and going regional at first. But he and his family had this idea that it was B’way or bust.</p>
<p>Articles like these contribute to the idea that’s it’s B’way or bust. I realize that that’s not literally what people think, & again, it’s wonderful to try if that’s your dream, but again, KNOW YOUR SKILL SET & TYPE. I believe that articles like these, which implicitly measure success in terms of how many grads are in a single role on B’way, do a disservice to many of us–if we’re not careful to know what we want & what we can offer.</p>
<p>Excellent points, connections!</p>
<p>I agree. Great thoughts, connections.</p>
<p>Yes Connections! My son knows his type. He is a character actor through and through. He sings like an angel and is a fine actor but dancing, eh… Not so much. He always says he will make his fortune at 40!!! And yes, there are certain schools that may pass on him. They are interested in dancing ensemble guys. It’s just the way it is these days and he has no illusions.</p>
<p>Connections hit it on the head! Although I believe Carnegie is a very strong acting program. Michigan however is definitely a “cookie cutter” school, along with CCM. It’s very true that the school looks for specific type for their class to get them immediate work in the ensemble of a b’way show. It happens VERY often on B’way and National tours. It quite sad thinking about this.</p>
<p>Connections presented a ‘theory’ about ‘some’ BFA programs, which was reinforced by 39652310 as ‘definitely’ and ‘very true’ for Michigan. (and also ‘quite sad’.) This wasn’t my take from the article, so you must have some other reliable source for these ‘facts’. Please elaborate.</p>
<p>I was a bit surprised by the Michigan reference. While I agreed that some schools are certainly more interested in dancing male ensemble members, we found Michigan to be quite different.
We know several people in the program and my son spent the summer at MPulse.
From my experiences the opposite is true. It appears to me that Michigan is looking for a diverse and interesting class.</p>
<p>There is no doubt in my mind that UMich and CMU are incredible schools that have fabulous training. Period. I know my D would be honored to attend either program, and I’m sure that’s true for most of our kids. Similarly, she would be honored to be in an ensemble on Broadway. But, as has been said many times before, the “best” school for your child may not be the “best” school for someone else’s child. It’s about fit. And, there are many, many paths to “success,” not to mention different definitions of “success.” </p>
<p>I found this article interesting. It doesn’t mean that if you go to a program other than UMich and CMU, you’ll never be successful. It shows that certain people in the business really respect the training that is given by these two schools. I think it confirms the high and well deserved reputation of UMich and CMU, but it DOESN’T - in any way, shape or form - slam any of the other schools. </p>
<p>So, bottom line: UMich and CMU are great schools that provide excellent training and they are incredibly well respected. It doesn’t mean that all other schools are a waste of time and money. Go to any Broadway show or National Tour and you can read the bios and see that cast members come from everywhere: AMDA, CAP 21, Temple University, Elon, CCM, NYU, Ithaca, Shenandoah, etc. Hopefully, our kids will end up at schools that foster their strengths and work on their weaknesses, and prepare them for a career on stage somewhere, whether it be Broadway or somewhere else.</p>
<p>One note to add on UMich - My S recently did a master class with Mark Madama and he was told that UMich does not select based on type. Everyone gets a separate score for singing, acting and dancing and applicants with the highest overall scores are accepted.</p>
<p>For CMU I have also heard stories about extremely talented individuals not getting accepted due to obvious ego problems.</p>
<p>It is also important not to confuse the quality of graduates with the quality of training, as they are not the same thing. </p>
<p>Schools that are extremely selective, obviously including UMich and CMU, admit students who are carefully cherry-picked. It would be shocking if these performers, who typically enter the programs very well trained and naturally gifted, did NOT get work in higher-than-average rates. We know several kids in both programs, many of whom had gotten professional work prior to entering school, and all of them would have been highly employable post-graduation whichever program they had attended.</p>
<p>Great article and great publicity for CMU and UMich. Both schools are deserving of the praise. I went to see Book of Mormon in Chicago last week. It is phenomenal. I’m sure that the show will have a very successful and highly lucrative run there (they just extended it another three months already). My point though, is that many schools were represented in the cast. Nic Rouleau- Elder Price received his BM fron NYU Steinhardt. Ben Platt-Elder Cunningham has not yet started school and has deferred his admission to Columbia (NY). There were Michigan, CCM grads, and many others, including three cast members from Florida State, whom we met after the show. Although all three FSU grads studied theatre, only one of those three was in the MT program there. I don’t think the Book of Mormon Chicago cast was unusual or an exception in its representation of many schools. There are quality graduates and quality training in lots of places.</p>
<p>Add a James Madison alum to the cast as well. I am hoping to find a time to make it out to Chicago to see the show!</p>
<p>I really appreciate ‘Connections’ insight. I find it a must read for people using this board trying to educate theirselves better on the prospects of Musical Theatre. A well articulated and insightful point of view.</p>