<p>I am a college student looking to transfer to a four year university to pursue a stage manager career. I have a list of DePaul, U of Illinois, Syracuse and Rutgers. Anyone have inform on the acceptance process (i.e. the number of students selected), or any general information, and which is the best. Thanks</p>
<p>Elon, Sorry I don’t know more than well connected mentors told students to go to Elon.</p>
<p>Emerson has a good program-- I know two very good stage managers who graduated from Emerson in the last few years. Ithaca is also said to be strong for all theater tech.</p>
<p>I’ve had friends attend both North Carolina School of the Arts and Carnegie Mellon for Stage Management and they’ve raved about their programs.</p>
<p>the best college is the college that is best for you. Do you want a more well-rounded undergraduate education or more of a conservatory approach to training? </p>
<p>All of the programs mentioned above are strong… you may also want to look at Penn State, Western Kentucky, James Madison, Muhlenberg.</p>
<p>Boston University has a good reputation and network.</p>
<p>Be prepared to start over again at the beginning and take a full 4 years at some schools. This is more likely at a conservatory program.</p>
<p>The programs listed here differ quite a lot. They are all good but not identical. Stage management is a bit like the elephant defined by the blind men. One emphasizes technical aspects, another management, and so on. </p>
<p>The number of students accepted varies, of course, but the ratio of acceptances to applications seems to be about one in three or four.</p>
<p>Wagner is also worth looking at. </p>
<p>You may find it easier to complete a program in four years if you transfer to a BA program…</p>
<p>Another option is to complete school at your current college and go to graduate school for stage management (or not – I have worked with many strong stage managers who have undergraduate degrees in theatre or other non-related fields who have pursued internships and and other non-academic “apprenticeship” opportunities to develop their stage management skills).</p>
<p>There are many ways to develop a career in stage management.</p>
<p>I hear SUNY Purchase has a good program. A lot of there students work directly on Broadway as assistants while their still in school. They have Narda E. Alcorn and Lori R. Wekselblatt who are some of the top SM in the NYC Artist world.</p>
<p>The USC School of Theatre offers a BFA in Stage Management. On the website is a complete listing of courses which lead to the degree. </p>
<p>Since Los Angeles is a huge entertainment center there are many opportunities for internships. More information about the school and major are available here: theatre.usc.edu or phone: 213 821 1193 .</p>
<p>DePaul- Chicago is basically DePaul’s tech scene. They practically own it. Their programs accepts 3/4/5 each year out of 80-100 applicants. You’re going to kill your social life if you pursue stage managing, but that’s true anywhere. But yeah, look at DePaul. You immediately start stage managing productions first quarter, and from my impression, the education is heavily experiential.</p>