Ask Me About Syracuse MT

<p>Hello all!
I am a freshman musical theatre major here at Syracuse, and I am available for any questions that prospective students may have. Don’t hesitate to ask! I’m very eager to help.
Thank you.</p>

<p>A few questions…</p>

<p>What have recent alumni been up to?</p>

<p>Are the majority of your classmates very good dancers?</p>

<p>How often do you have voice lessons?</p>

<p>What opportunities are there for freshmen to perform?</p>

<p>What academic (non-MT related) classes do you take during your freshman year, if any?</p>

<p>How cold is it right now?</p>

<p>Thanks!!</p>

<p>-EJ</p>

<p>My daughter graduated from SU last year; here is a list of what some of her classmates have been up to since then: Broadway productions of West Side Story, Wicked, Shrek, and War Horse; national tours of Spamalot, Young Frankenstein, Chorus Line, Rock of Ages, Cats, Fiddler on the Roof and The Grinch; some others employed in summer stock, off-Broadway and regional theaters, including the new production of Newsies; some in long-term jobs on cruise ships (including my daughter.) There are probably others that I don’t know about!</p>

<p>Re some of your other questions – freshmen are not allowed to perform at Syracuse. After having seen how intense the freshman year program is, I think this is an excellent policy – freshmen have a very heavy class load, and need time to adjust to the schedule. It also gives them time to make some very close relationships with other students before the competitiveness of auditioning begins. In addition to classes, freshmen are required to work tech on one mainstage show. And they are still performing and rehearsing scenework and monologues in class on a weekly basis – so they do have plenty of opportunities to work on their performing skills.</p>

<p>Voice lessons are scheduled 1/2 hour once a week. If you feel you need more time, you can schedule additional time (for a fee, of course!).</p>

<p>All freshmen are required to take a 2-semester writing course. I believe my daughter was taking 17 or 18 credits each semester, so didn’t take any additional courses until her first year was over.</p>

<p>I don’t live far from Syracuse, so I can tell you that right now it’s raining and temperatures are expected to be in the 60’s all week. </p>

<p>Hope that was helpful – my guess is most current students are extremely busy at this time of year, so you may not hear from any of them!</p>

<p>My D is also a current Freshman MT student. She just saw the Lion King and there was a SU alumni, Mark Kaplan playing the part of Zazu who was nice enough to visit them and speak about his experiences and also got her back stage! The weather just turned colder today and it’s raining but it was 80 at the beginning of last week. (I live here so can let you know first hand) It is suppose to be in the 60’s all week. Don’t come to SU though if you don’t like snow because we always have a record amt. No getting around it. My D is loving the program and her voice teacher. Dance is very good at SU and they break them up in to 2 groups for ballet based on their abilities.</p>

<p>Could you please help and answer this post for me? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/syracuse-university-mt/1233747-2011-2012-mt-audition-help.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/syracuse-university-mt/1233747-2011-2012-mt-audition-help.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>thanks!</p>

<p>I have a question about Syracuse MT…I just read this on their website: </p>

<p>“At the end of the second year of study, each musical theater student presents a scene and a song for the entire performance faculty. This evaluation (known as “sophomore evaluation”) determines if the student is allowed to move into the upper-level performance courses and continue in the B.F.A. degree track. All second-year students must present a scene for the faculty in order to remain in the program. Continuation in a B.F.A. program is based on faculty evaluation of the student’s sophomore evaluation, class work, and personal commitment, as well as on the content of the proposed curriculum.”</p>

<p>It sounds an awful lot like a cut program…like Emerson has. Do you know how many people do NOT make it through this sophomore evaluation? Does the school have a quota such that a certain number of people have to get cut? Thanks.</p>

<p>They do not have a quota to cut like Emerson does. My D is a Freshman MT student. She said there are a few students who have been evaluated more than once. So if they didn’t make it the first time through they got a second chance. I don’t believe that there are a ton of students that don’t move on. They want you to succeed so it’s very supportive. I wouldn’t worry about this part of the process at all. If you work hard and attend classes you should be fine. Obviously if you make it in to the program you have talent. It’s what you do with it while you are there is what they want to see.</p>

<p>Syracuse absolutely does not have a cut program or a quota. My D graduated last year, and in her sophomore year I believe only one student was asked to leave the program, and quite frankly, it was not unexpected as this student was not doing his work, skipping class, etc.</p>

<p>Most BFA programs have periodic reviews in which students’ progress is evaluated. Some schools do it every year; at SU it happens to come at the end of sophomore year. </p>

<p>At Syracuse iff for some reason students are not performing up to standards in their classes, they may be asked to re-take certain classes so they can improve. My D’s roommate, in fact, was not doing well vocally, and faculty suggested she should consider switching to an Acting major. She asked, and was given, an additional semester to improve her vocal skills – which she did and eventually graduated with high honors.</p>

<p>In my experience the faculty at Syracuse is very willing to work with students; they WANT you to succeed, and there is no program at all that requires a certain number to be cut at the end of sophomore year.</p>

<p>Thank you for the information, you and Lulu63 both! I appreciate it.</p>

<p>Beeje2011, Can you elaborate on the NY city audition for Syracuse? We’ll be there on the 5th and know the requirements, but so far we don’t have a schedule except that it involves the whole morning. If anyone else from previous years could let us know what might come first, how long the dance audition is , etc. we’d appreciate it. We’re just trying to have some idea of what to expect and I couldn’t track down an answer. Thanks.</p>

<p>Not sure if anyone still reads this, but I’m looking into Syracuse right now. I have a few questions:

  1. What are scholarship opportunities like?
  2. the program seems triple threat with good dance training - does this mean dance is very important at the audition? Would you say all 3 disciplines are equally important when you audition or that one is favored over the other?</p>

<p>I don’t quite remember the details on the scholarship options. I do know that our son auditioned at NY Unifieds and they ran a great audition last year for the students and parents. I would say all facets are important, but for the boys , at least , they did emphasize dance and our son felt that it was a good strenuous audition. He and another boy were kept to do additional dance for a couple minutes and speak about their goals for training in dance. I don’t know if it’s the same for girls or not. Good luck to you!</p>

<p>SU focuses strongly on dance, and the dance auditions are fairly difficult compared with many other schools. However, all 3 disciplines are important, and here is how the auditions are scored, as explained to me when my D auditioned some years ago: each student is given a #1, #2, or #3 in each area (acting, vocal, and dance), with #1 being the highest score. Students need a #1 or #2 in at least two of the three areas to be considered for admission. In other words, if you are not a strong dancer, your acting and singing must be very good.</p>

<p>As far as scholarships, they are available. My daughter received a generous financial offer based on her academics, and at least one of her classmates had a full scholarship – both for academic and for talent – covering his entire tuition.</p>

<p>In reply to onstage, how would one receive a full/partial scholarship and such? Would it have to be through the audition? Or through a separate viewing or such…?</p>

<p>I believe it would be through the audition, along with resume and recommendations, and taking into account your financial situation. As far as I know, there wouldn’t be any additional requirements like a second audition.</p>

<p>I was curious to know about the standard of productions. I haven’t really found alot of production shots or reviews. Thanks!</p>

<p>Copyright law prohibits taking pictures or videos of most productions. Although some people do try to sneak in cameras to take footage, the theater department at Syracuse monitors YouTube, etc. very carefully and removes any illegal footage they find. It’s too bad, because the productions are really excellent! I recommend that you visit the campus to see one if at all possible; you will not be disappointed.</p>

<p>My D is in a summer production with 2 Syracuse students. She has worked with both of them in the past, and tells me that after them being away for their Freshman year - they have come back powerhouses of capability! Syracuse is doing something right!</p>

<p>I don’t have a specific MT question, but what concerned me on our visit was the hike to and from campus to the theater. Honestly, the area around the theater didn’t look like the safest. The security officer in the theater talked about it, but I still have concerns. Have there been any problems? Do you feel safe going back and forth? Is there a problem making classes on campus? I know it was hot that day and we were tired, but WOW, that seemed like a long walk. Thank you.</p>

<p>It took my D about 15 minutes to walk to the theater from her dorm. But keep in mind that there is a regular bus which the theater kids tend to use during rainy or snowy weather, and at night. Also, many of the older students will have cars, and my D was often able to get a ride if she didn’t feel like walking.</p>

<p>Security at the theater is good, and there are several busy restaurants in the area, in addition to some nice hotels. There is usually a lot of foot traffic in the neighborhood; in addition, since the theater kids all have the same classes, they tend to travel in groups between classes and to/from rehearsals. While my daughter was there, I never heard about any problems in that area; in fact, there were often fights and other incidents in the Fraternity Row area of campus every weekend – but not near the theater. My D also lived in an apartment about 3 blocks from the theater for several years without any issues.</p>

<p>Of course, you do have to be careful and aware of your surroundings anywhere on campus, like in any other urban area.</p>