B.A. vs. B.F.A for theater major predicament!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi. I am a 16 year old junior in H.S. just starting to research colleges. I've been reading the musical theater thread on college board.com for the past couple of weeks.
Basically, I'm stumped. I'm in love with performing- I've done it since I was little. I've gotten a good number of roles in community and regional theater productions, and I've gone to programs such as Stagedoor Manor ('03-'04) and CAP 21's precollege summer program ('04)- where I felt comfortable with the levels of talent- at CAP I got all A's in acting and voice and all B's in dance (...not a dancer by any means). But I also know the difficulties actors in this field face. I am a very academic person- school and theater have always shared my top priority. I have a 4.0 GPA and take honors classes, and APS. I haven't taken the SATs yet but I've been preparing and I'm hoping to do well. Basically- I can't imagine being put in the position where I could have a "dry spell" in an acting career, and just, well, not being able to work. I need to have some sense of security and a sense of working towards goals- not just working whenever and wherever I can to make money. I'm therefore verrrrry hesitant to enter a conservatory-level program, such as that at NYU. I'm scared that it will limit me in future endeavors, and that it will prepare me for onlyyy an acting career, and if that doesn't work out- I'll really have nothing. I understand that NYU has top-notch, Ivy caliber academics. But the truth is- it is conservatory level training. Based on my experience at CAP21's summer program- I know that the emphasis (to a VERY large degree) is placed on your training as an actor/singer/dancer- not as an overall, well rounded person. Although I loved my summer program (my voice teacher is one of the CAP 21 professors who I met and fell in love with over the summer), I don't think it really provides a well rounded education, as many people claim.
I also recently spoke to the former department head at Cornell, who was my mom's theater T.A. at UMich. What he said to me was very interesting, but is contradicted by some of the things on the board. He said that B.F.A. programs- such as that offered by NYU are only realistic for already developed triple threats who think of college as training for the skills they already have. I am not a triple threat by any means. Although I've achieved many musical theater roles- I consider my strengths in acting; I am an actor who sings and moves. Let me rephrase that, I am an actor (still in need of training) who sings (but is insecure about singing) and moves (can pull off a dance move or two). The Cornell guy I spoke to said that the best thing for kids like me is a B.A. program in a college that offers a very strong theater major (such as those at Northwestern, UCLA, Cornell, Duke, and perhaps (?) UMich)- and that DOES NOT offer a B.F.A as well (because if it does, the emphasis will surely be put on the B.F.A. theater kids and not the B.A. theater kids).
My only problem with this idea is thinking that it will limit myself in terms of actually achieving my dream to be an actor. The most prominent alumni come out of conservatory training, don't they? The fact that you don't have to audition for schools such as NWU and Cornell also strikes me as strange... does that mean the theater majors are less talented at liberal arts, B.A. programs? Basically, I just want some thoughts from people going through this process that are in a similar situation. How have kids who have a need to be intellectually stimulated fared at NYU and similar B.F.A. programs? How have kids who dream to act fared at liberal arts colleges with great theater programs such as Northwestern and Cornell? Any advice would be greatly appreciated</p>

<p>Thanks,
Danielle</p>

<p>P.S. I think I know Soozievt's daughter from Stagedoor- I only went session 3 but my best friend Skylar was (I think) her co-star in "Nine" which I came up to see. If she is who I think she is, she is a very talented young lady and I wish her the best of luck in all her future endeavors!</p>

2

<p>and by collegeboard... i meant collegeconfidential. tee hee.</p>

3

<p>First welcome to this very informative forum! I am glad you posted and your post is a very thoughtful one showing me great maturity regarding thinking through your options. </p>

<p>Yes, you are correct that my daughter was in Nine with Skylar and she played Lilian LaFleur (the producer). If you are Skylar's close friend, you likely even met during your visit. She is a very good friend of Skylar's from their summers together. Her roomie was Skylar's girlfriend and his roomie was my D's boylfriend. Between first and second session, my daughter went with them all to stay at Skylar's house in fact. I appreciate your not posting my daughter's name and also thank you for such affirming sweet feedback. I am sorry to not have ever seen you on stage but we were not at third session performances. Skylar is enormously talented and will go places. I hope their paths cross again. He was amazing in Nine and the production itself was excellent and one of the best ones I have seen done there. Lotsa talent. Which show did you do and did you like the program? </p>

<p>You raise very pertinent points and I am not sure how much I can help you with it. It is a big decision but is not one that involves such permanency in your life as to change its course. Like you, my daughter is also a very good student, besides her theater endeavors. She would like to take courses beyond the conservatory ones. That is one appealing factor at schools such as NYU or UMichigan for example. While that won't be as well rounded of a liberal arts background as a BA degree, it is still a college education. But her deep seated passion is musical theater and she craves intense training type of programs that BFA degrees provide. I think a perfectly good course of action for someone like you who really wants even more liberal arts is to do a BA in theater. That leaves you with the option to then pursue theater after college or something else....but also you could always specialize in grad school by pursuing a MFA degree at that point. You would have your cake and eat it too. You would get the liberal arts degree and background and then if you want professional training, go to grad school for that. That is a viable option. As well, if you don't see yourself as a triple threat necessarily, you can pursue a theater degree that is not specialized in musical theater. I know some kids from SDM who did this. For instance, a very talented boy from past summers is now at Brown and wanted the BA degree. But besides his theater major, at a school like Brown (as well as several others), there is a wealth of extracurricular theater opportunities and groups...he is very active in musical theater there (student run productions, as well as a capella...I think he wrote a musical he is directing now too related to his second major)....and my older D who is a freshman there has met him. In fact, her older peer advisor happens to be a theater major there too and does a lot of theater, so that is a route that might suit you well, if you pick a school where there is both a BA in theater and a very active theater extracurricular involvement. I agree you might not want to pick a BA theater program at a school that has a BFA one too....check that out because I think that IS the case at UMich. I know my D's boyfriend is applying there for the BFA program in Acting and so I know they have that. Likely BA too. </p>

<p>A lot of this depends on what you want your college studies to be like. And for you, you seem to crave some more liberal arts than you might get in a BFA program. BUT, the one thing I disagree with you a little bit about is that if you get a BFA, you are concerned that you would be limitted in your career or jobs down the line. I think a smart girl like you with a college degree would not be "limited" to just performing. While I know that my D wants to perform on stage and is going for that, she also has many other skills that she could always use in another capacity, some even related to theater. She has created/directed/choreographed a show and is doing another this year and enjoys that end of it too. She is a writer and so I know there are many things she could do even with her BFA as a degree/major is not so limiting. I know she is gonna shoot for her dreams but I also know there are many things she could do if not on stage at some point. So, I do not think your job prospects would be limited by this degree. As well, I think at NYU you could double major and that might be an option for you. That is one school where there are many liberal arts opportunties even with the conservatory training. In fact, I think Skylar is applying ED, and is a good student. That is the case of several kids I know in the program....excellent academic students as well as performing talents. Just one thing to look into. </p>

<p>So, I would not let the notion of future career guide you as much as just thinking of what sort of studies you want to have in your college years. I think you would get to do lots of theater in a BA program where there are lots of theater opportunities. But if you want to eat and breathe theater as your deep seated passion and crave that intense type of training, a BFA p rogram is the route to take for those who really have their mind made up. A BA program is good for those who like keeping even more options open and you can always get a MFA later. Specializing this young is not for everyone. I have one child who will be and one who won't be and both paths are good choices. The one who is not in a professional degree program, can go for it in grad school. Only you can decide which avenue suits what you would like to do the most for the next four years. But don't be too swayed by which would take you to X or Y job prospects later on. I think the world of theater will be open to you either way and I think jobs outside of theater are open to you either way....so focus on the next four years and the type of studies you hope to engage in. </p>

<p>Best of luck and many congrats on your accomplishments to date. Your parents must take a lot of pride in you!</p>

<p>Say hi to Skylar from the VT girl's mom. </p>

<p>Susan</p>

4

<p>I was actually going through this dilemma myself. (I wasn't sure whether I wanted a BFA in Musical Theater, or if I wanted a BA or a BM in music, with a minor in theater, and the opportunity to study my other passions.) Basically if you want to be trained in your art and nothing else receive a BFA. (If you go to a university and not a strict conservatory - like Syracuse University, you may receive a little bit of an outside education, generally through core requirements, I believe.)</p>

<p>I personally believe that BFA's are for people who are 100% sure that they want to professionally pursue their art, and will be miserable, unfullfilled doing anything else with their life. </p>

<p>I was looking at a BFA in musical theater, but I decided that I have too many interests, and when I look at many LAC's most of their humanities majors interest me. This is why I plan to attend an LAC where my options will be more open, and probably get a BA or a BM in music. </p>

<p>Just be careful before you audition to BFA programs. If you could do something else with your life, and have other interests you want to be educated in at college, you probably aren't 100% sure that professional musical theater is for you (which is my case), and a BFA where anywhere from 70 - 100% of your college education would be in your art, would be too restrictive for you. </p>

<p>I am not trying to promote one type of degree over the other, it really depends on you, and what you want to do with your life. Unless you can say musical theater and nothing else, a BFA is probably not good for you. And if you decide later that you do want to be professionally trained when you have matured more, grad. school may be an option.) Check out the Colleges for MT FAQ (see the Colleges for MT thread for the link), to see a list of about 5 schools with MFA offerings in Musical Theater. (Assuming that is the art you plan on pursuing.)</p>

<p>Hope this helps, and good luck with the process of searching,</p>

<p>~ Court</p>

5

<p>Thanks, court. I'm probably going to look into more LAC's then conservatory programs based on all the info I got. I'll still check out a couple BFA's (NYU and UMich, because of the great academics there) but I'll probably be looking into many more programs with B.A. theater majors. Do you have any LACs that you particularly reccommend I research (strong B.A. theater program)?</p>

6

<p>You sound very similar to me (not a very confident singer/dancer, focus on acting, lots of community theater, strong student academically) and I'm applying ED to Northwestern.</p>

<p>I attended Northwestern's National High School Institute: Theatre Arts division this past summer. The program is for students who just finished their junior year of high school. The schedule is similar to those at Conservatories. The faculty works hard to help you decide whether a BA or BFA is the right path for you. You should DEFINITELY look into it. <a href="http://www.northwestern.edu/nhsi/Theatre.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.northwestern.edu/nhsi/Theatre.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>It was an amazing experience, and I'd love to answer any questions you have.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

7

<p>crypticism,
northwestern is so far my favorite school i've researched. its funny, because i was thinking about doing nhsi, because my friend sara (who is now starring in mamma mia on broadway, it's unbelievable) had a great experience there. i'd love to get more info on it! it sounds like something i'd love to do.</p>

<p>thanks,
dani</p>

8

<p>Feel free to email me with any questions you have on nhsi. I learned a ton, and it's a great opportunity to take classes on things you're not so comfortable in, such as dance. It's a very supportive environment. The faculty is AMAZING (I can't stress that enough) Plus, if you are interested in Northwestern, it's a great way to get a feel for the school and it looks great on the application. :)</p>

9

<p>Dani, I know Sara too as she attended SDM with my daughter for several years (were in cabaret together) and her story this past year has been an amazing success story for someone so young. She is a great singer. She called my D before all that happened to her asking about her agent as she was going to meet with her and then look what happened! Am happy for her!</p>

<p>Susan</p>

10

<p>Top tier LAC with good theater programs:
Oberlin
Skidmore
Cornell
Denison University
Illinois Wesleyan (has a BFA program also)
Skidmore
Muhlenberg
Ohio Wesleyan</p>

<p>Good luck</p>

11

<p>Susan,
Sara is a great great talent. I did Phantom with her and Skylar at Helen Hayes theater which was a great show - and its in her B-way bio. i actually have a copy of the 2002 cabaret video (i think someone packed it with my stuff after camp) and i got a chance to see your D singing "tomorrow" .. so cute! and sara singing "somebody" .. i can't believe she was only 15 at the time. i saw her in the national tour of mamma mia in baltimore, and she did a wonderful job. She's actually starting on broadway in a little less then a week! So so so exciting and unbelievable. PSATs tomorrow (not looking foward to them) so I gotta get some sleep!</p>

<p>-Dani</p>

12

<p>I will definitely include Ohio Wesleyan University, but I have to tell you that Wesleyan's strengths are its science departments.</p>

13

<p>If you are mostly and actor why don't you try BFA in acting instead of musical theatre. Most Programs for BFA acting also require you to take some sort of singing and movement courses anyway and you can still do musicals at the school.</p>

14

<p>My daughter just her letter from the summer theatre program and didnt get accepted or rejected, they said she would be considered on the next round. Do you know how heavily they count grades and test scores? I don't know why she didnt get accepted on the first round</p>