Hi. I am currently a 2nd year MT major at Muhlenberg College. Auditioned in February 2017, accepted March 2017 with a Talent Award.
On the plus side, it’s a nice school, nice campus, and (mostly) good professors.
On the minus side, I have been very disappointed with the lack of performance opportunities at the school. They do 2 main stage productions each year (one in the fall, one in spring). Since I’ve been here the cast sizes have ranged between 15 and 25. Almost all the roles go to seniors. They do have student run Red Door (black box) productions, but the cast sizes tend to be very small, and they too are difficult to get in. That’s about it in terms of performance opportunities. There are many stories around here of MT majors that never got on stage in their 4 years here.
I am under no illusions about getting parts in Main stage productions as an underclassman. It’s a competitive program, and I realize I have to work my way up. But I’ve been very disappointed in the lack of performance opportunities at lower levels. There just isn’t much. Tuition is $62K per year here. For that price tag, I expected a LOT more. It’s been 18 months since I’ve been on a stage of any kind, and I’ve lost a lot of confidence.
So, I’m thinking of transferring to another BA program next year where I can have more performance opportunities at any level…workshop, black box, anything…
I’ve heard Wagner offers a fair amount of performance opportunities. Any others? Leaning towards a big city, Allentown PA is not exactly a cultural hotbed. Thanks in advance for any input.