<p>I'm the mother of a 17-year-old actor/singer who is applying to BFA and BA programs for next year. He loves musical theatre but realistically is not likely to be accepted into a top MT program because he isn't a dancer. He can do what he has needed to do in MT shows, but has no talent for it.</p>
<p>He is, however, an extremely strong singer.</p>
<p>I know that it is common for students to audition for both acting and MT. Would it help his chances in an acting program, to have on record that he's a great singer?</p>
<p>Acting program acceptances are based on how the students do with their monologues at the auditions. Singing skill really doesn’t make any difference. </p>
<p>I’d say that a student who is a boy, and a good actor, and really strong singer does have a shot at MT programs…so long as he can move fairly gracefully and isn’t stumblingly bad at dancing.</p>
<p>Some programs have emphases in their MT programs. So you can be “MT, emphasizing dance” or “MT, emphasizing singing”.</p>
<p>I think what NJTheatreMOM was trying to say is that there is much less competition for boys than there is for girls. Your son will not be competing against the girls, he will only be competing against other boys. How does his dancing measure up when compared specifically to the other boys? Many MT programs will just be EXCITED to find a young man who can sing well and is interested in musical theatre, and can do whatever dancing is expected of him.</p>
<p>If you think he can’t get into the “top” MT programs, would he consider one that is quite “top”?</p>
<p>In addition to the points made above, it is important to thoroughly investigate the audition requirements and criteria for evaluating auditions when looking at MT programs. There can be significant differences. At Ithaca, for example, a very well regarded MT program, there is no dance component to the audition. At Emerson, the dance component is very basic, just an evaluation of whether a student can move and follow some simple direction, and is given much less weight than singing and the monologues. There are MT programs where all 3 components are weighted equally but high scores on 2 out of 3 components can compensate for a lower score on the 3rd. Then there are acting programs, such as at UArts, where acting majors can audition for a MT minor as a freshman based on voice and acting and MT students can cross audition for all the same shows. Also look carefully at whether a school permits students to audition for both acting and MT, many do not. It’s important to really dig in and “peel back the onion” on schools under consideration and try to match admissions criteria and program options to what your son brings to the process.</p>
<p>I guess my question is what does he want? If he reads Acting curricula and doesn’t get excited, but is over the moon about MT courses of study, then he should apply to MT programs and see what happens. Also, many (if not most) Acting programs allow for music or dance minors, or an actual MT minor, and pretty much any kid in a theatre program can continue voice or dance lessons. Often anyone can be cast in musicals. </p>
<p>He shouldn’t have any trouble getting work in MT with an Acting degree, especially if he sings well - as we say so often here, BFA, BA, and non-majors all can have careers in the theatre. </p>
<p>If we use the analogy of a kid who wins awards in physics but whose passion is archaeology, wouldn’t we tell that kid to go ahead and follow his heart? I understand your fear that he might not get in, but part of dealing with that is not just focusing on the tippy-top schools. People have all kinds of success in life who didn’t attend Ivies, etc. Just look for programs that appeal to him, Acting and MT, and have some good non-auditioned safeties, too. He stands the best chance of being happy and successful if he goes to a school that he likes, not just that likes him.</p>
<p>Maybe he should apply to a few non-auditioned BFAs in Musical Theatre – he could do musical theatre without being rejected for his weaknesses, and would receive training to improve them.
Off the top of my head, UC Irvine has a non-audition BFA in MT, and because their training is primarily with singing and acting, and few dance classes, it may be a good fit.</p>
<p>I agree with EmmyBet. The question is this: does he or does he not want to take courses in vocal training and dance training? </p>
<p>My D chose to audition for straight acting because she doesn’t really want to take a lot of dance and voice classes right now. She danced and did vocal training all her life and had leads in musicals, however she wants to focus on acting now that she is in college. We did however ask questions about the programs where she auditioned to make sure that she would still be allowed to audition for musicals, because she enjoys both straight plays and musicals.</p>
<p>Now a very happy freshman theatre major, she sang in her first show in college and has been encouraged to continue to audition for musicals and take coursework in voice/ dance. Except for the additional courses the MT students are required to take, the theatre and MT students at her school are all part of one big, happy family. A boy that sings well will always get cast in musicals, as long as he gets the opportunities to audition, I would imagine.</p>
<p>I don’t think it helps much to be a great singer in the acting program. You have to be first and foremost a great actor. That is what will get him in the door. </p>
<p>Several of the top schools do require acting students to sing as part of the audition. But it is more to hear the total quality of their voice in regards to acting, and not for singing. At least this is what I have heard/read. There are six schools on our list that require singing as part of the acting audition and it is all 16 bars acapella. For MT they sing multiple songs accompanied.</p>
<p>If he is a great singer and actor and wants to do music theatre, I think he should audition music theatre. They can teach him to dance. But if he really wants to do straight acting he should go for acting.</p>
<p>Finally, I know of at least one school that moves students from MT to acting during the audition process. When we were at Carnegie mellon the student giving our tour had auditioned for MT but was accepted into acting. He then took extra classes in voice and dance and was cast in musicals. In these cases, your son could audition MT but if he wasn’t quite up to par he might get into acting. But you should ask schools how often this happens.</p>
<p>I’m sure you are worried about the possibility of your son getting denied, but he could very well get denied from an Acting program as well as an MT program. Either way you go, auditioning for a BFA in theater (Acting or MT) is very difficult and selective (in most cases). My advice to you is to just let your son audition for either one he prefers. If he prefers musical theater, I suggest that he auditions for a MT BFA. If he prefers straight acting, have him audition for an Acting BFA. You don’t want him to have “what ifs.” Yes, what if he gets denied from a school he loves? Most of us applying to several BFA programs will more than likely get denied from one. That’s the process, but in my opinion, you should encourage him to audition. If he gets denied, then you know he wasn’t what the program was looking for, but if he doesn’t even audition, then he is ultimately missing out on a potential opportunity.</p>
<p>If he’s a truly great singer and actor and a boy he’s got a great shot at MT programs. It’s so much tougher for a girl. Every boy I know (and not all amazing) have come through this process in good shape. That’s not the case for the girls. Of course, it ultimately depends on what he wants.</p>
<p>This is all great advice-- I’ll add that I know MANY actors who auditioned for MT programs and were offered spots in a school’s acting program instead. So if you have a strong voice (and if, like many people, your acting is enhanced when you sing), it would be worth auditioning for MT at schools that offer both (NYU, Syracuse, etc.) At Ithaca, last year, the MT audition was an acting audition plus singing a song-- so MT’s had more time to show their stuff. </p>
<p>I think that mother’s who get a kid through the BFA process should have some kind of AP credit for law school! So many details, so much fine print! (Maybe a coupon for the optometrist!)</p>
<p>My s is an actor and a singer. He took a class in dancing for musical theater for 8 weeks when he was a junior to “get a feel” for dance because he is not a dancer. He chose to audition for acting programs vs. MT because several places we visited told us “you really need to be a triple threat” to get in. Now, I’m not so sure that was really true but he really wanted to improve his acting skills. He is at DePaul where they don’t have MT but do produce musicals which is a great fit for him. He sings in the A Capella group there to keep up his singing skills. (He did lots of musicals in high school and community theater)</p>
<p>My best advice is check out the curriculum at schools–if he really likes musicals but wants to strengthen his acting skills, the school that does some musicals may work for him. </p>
<p>Two of his friends with serious vocal skills will be auditioning this year for acting programs but will also be auditioning for music programs (vocal performance) with a minor in theater.</p>
<p>Yes, definitely look carefully at what happens at the schools he applies, to, whichever major he chooses. My D’s school (Adelphi) only does musicals once every 3-4 YEARS. Kids who really want to be in musicals on a regular basis should NOT go there. There is a great dance program and lots of music opportunities, but you will not be in musicals. Interestingly, although my D loves musicals and loves to sing, she is very happy with this situation (one reason is that it is so easier to find musicals in summer theatre than in straight plays). Someone else might not be.</p>
<p>The basis for any Theater Performance major, be it Acting or Musical Theater is ACTING. An MT major has the added burden of being judged on their vocal and dance abilities/potential, but in their audition, it is their ability to tell the story and be believable in their character that is important. The recent NHSMTA (the Jimmys) PBS feature “Broadway or Bust” featured one of the male contenders who was chosen as one of the top 3 finalists vying for the top prize. He wasn’t the most vocally talented performer, (both the judges and he admitted to this) but the judges chose him as a finalist because he was fearless in his performance, and told his story through song so well.
There are schools that offer the opportunity to apply for both programs, but doing so may not work in the applicant’s best interest. The adjudicators of each degree program may feel the applicant is not serious enough about their interest in the individual program if they can’t decide which they’d prefer to pursue. It may be better to apply MT and allow the program to offer the alternative Acting or even Theater Studies should the MT program not be the right fit at that school, if warranted.</p>
<p>Good luck with your applications. It’s a long road, but so worth the journey to follow your heart (like I tell my kids, there’s always a musical theater reference!)</p>
<p>I will encourage your son to go for it, but I have to offer a word of warning: I’m a good singer myself, and I’d like to think I’m a good actor (currently studying at Chapman), but I crashed and burned at dance callbacks for Coastal Carolina and was explicitly told at Texas State that someone with a colossal lack of dance experience such as myself would have a difficult time hanging with the program. So don’t be afraid of trying out, but do know that the deck is stacked at least mildly against him.</p>