BFA at Molloy College/CAP 21

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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Latest update on the doings of D and the rest of Class One – in three short weeks, they will present the Creative Ensemble Project:

“CAP21/Molloy College presents an original musical written by the BFA program’s very own class of 2018 artists! This semester, the students started their training with Creative Ensemble Project, designed to teach the class to work and perform together with original material, that they wrote themselves.
17 students with assistance from project directors create a musical with 17 characters, each with a story to tell.”

Keep in mind that this program is unique – we don’t perform the same old musical theatre canon – we ADD TO IT!!

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Welcome back @MolloyBFA that Freshman D of mine is fired up you are back with the program.

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I was going to reply by saying “I am pretty sure the guy we met at my daughter’s HS college fair was Ricky Oliver”. I guess it was!!

I am interested in what you all have to say about this program. I’ve known about it for a while, and am finally understanding how it all works. I am a Molloy alum, and yes, it definitely was a commuter school back when I was a student (not too long ago, finished my Masters about 8 years ago). But I had heard (prior to this) that they have some dorms. But it still attracts a lot of locals. It is in a very good neighborhood (for those who don’t know Long Island), so no need to worry about that. The campus is small (maybe slightly bigger than when I was there, but it can’t be that much bigger), and very female-heavy (nursing, education and Theatre will do that :wink: ).

My biggest issue (and this is just MY issue, lol) is that I want my daughter to go away. We pretty much live half-way between the Molloy Campus and Manhattan. I’m trying to picture this from a practical perspective, as she would need a car if she lived at home. I was kind of counting on not having that. She could live in the dorm, but for us, that’s really not ‘away’. But it’s definitely not a deal-breaker. We’re going to go to the open house so she can get a feel of the campus and the program, and we’ll take it from there.

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@EastchesterMom My D said that the show last week was amazing. Yet, very intimidating. She cant quite wrap her mind around how the Juniors wrote, composed, and choreographed an entire Musical on their own. She said " I cant even identify a B in theory yet" LOL Anyways, just wanted to say she was very impressed with the talent and really enjoyed the production.

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@mtandsbdad – Yes, it was amazing! I was blown away by the sheer amount of work and the talent on that stage. This is CAP 21 training at its finest, folks…seven weeks to create a full book musical! BTW, the kids directed it, too… My D directed the first scene between Jade and Lilly. The class did have professional help … Marshall Pailet, an award-winning director, writer and composer, supervised their work. Tell your D not to be intimidated…she’ll be doing the same thing in 2 years! We don’t perform the musical theatre canon – WE ADD TO IT!

Class One has no time to savor its success, either…rehearsals start on Tuesday for the next Project – Broadway Song and Dance, which will be presented on December 9. D and some others in Class One will appear in the Madison Theatre on November 19 in “Give Our Regards to Broadway,” a celebration of the great Broadway musicals of the 1940s, 50s and 60s.

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@EastchesterMom @MollyBFA I just got a phone call from my d. Do you have any information about what is going on with this program? Our kids are very concerned…

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@mtandsbdad , what is going on? My D is applying and is waiting to see if accepted into program.

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Now I’m very concerned as well! This is my D’s top choice for programs.

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Folks, this is what I know – The students were told today, and the parents are getting a letter, that Molloy College will assume responsibility for all musical theater training. Molloy’s top priority is the continuity of the BFA program. Classes will continue at the 18th Street studios in NYC with no changes in staff or faculty. Molloy is actively recruiting for the Class of 2021. Students will receive the same quality training that has produced hundreds of successful theatrical performers – Lady Gaga, Anne Hathaway, Matthew Morrison, Nikki James, just to name a few. I’m not sure why this happened, but as we know in show business, the show must go on!

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Update: just spoke to my D. She says this is a good thing! Molloy has $$$ to pour into this program, and they intend to use it. The Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts, Henry Fonte, came from Hartt and knows what he’s doing. Our kids are in great hands!

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@MolloyBFA @EastchesterMom So, technically is this like Ricky moving from Cap 21 to a staff member of Molloy College? Same training at Cap 21 studios with the Same Cap 21 Teachers?

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@kimmyd – Yes, nothing will change except the leadership, and I have 100% confidence in Henry Fonte, the faculty and the staff. Ricky will weigh in soon as well.

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My son is in his second year at Molloy. Here is a link about Henry Fonte. Program probably is going to be fine.
https://www.themiamihurricane.com/2015/02/25/experienced-professor-to-retire-from-theater-department/

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If you’d seen the Ensemble Project a few weeks ago, you would absolutely know that the program is absolutely fine!

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Hey Everyone!

Ricky Oliver here. I just wanted to take the time to chat thru some of the recent posts I’ve seen on here concerning our merge with CAP21.

First off, THANK YOU for your continued interest in the Molloy College/CAP21 BFA Program! I greatly appreciate the comments, questions, and overall concern that all of you express over this news about CAP21. It means to me that you care deeply about the integrity of this training, and how it affects our students.

I’m here to tell you that this news that is circling around our BFA is GOOD!!!

Plainly speaking, Molloy College has officially absorbed the CAP21 Conservatory Program. However, I have to stress that there will be no change in the daily lives of our BFA students. We foresee no immediate changes in the CAP21 curriculum or professional faculty. Also, our BFA students will continue to train in Manhattan, as well as on the Rockville Centre campus on Long Island. We firmly believe that a Manhattan campus is imperative to provide our students access to New York City professionals in the industry that are training for.

After five years of partnership with CAP21, Molloy has closely examined the BFA in Theatre Arts Training. To ensure the longevity of the program we are happy for the opportunity to absorb the conservatory and take our students to the next level. The program will still remain under the guidance of Henry Fonte, our Theatre Arts Department Chair.

I know this all sounds like a big upheaval, however, again, nothing will change for these students as they continue to go thru the four years with us. Molloy has always maintained a firm commitment to these BFA students, and now we can better assist with their training experience.

Molloy couldn’t be happier to be apart of these young artistic journeys, and we look forward to be a more integral part of their successes.

If you would like to chat further about these matters, I am, and will always be, available to you. roliver@molloy.edu. If you’d like to chat with Henry Fonte, our Chair of the Theatre Arts Dept., please feel free to reach out to him at hfonte@molloy.edu.

I hope this relieves some anxiety that some of you have felt over the last few days. Please reach out if you have further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Ricky Oliver
Theatre Arts Recruitment Coordinator
Molloy College
1000 Hempstead Ave.
Rockville Centre, NY 11571

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Thank You Ricky! Sounds Fantastic! Looking forward to hearing from Molloy on if my D will be accepted to Molloy! Fingers Crossed!

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@MolloyBFA Hello All, we haven’t heard yet regarding acceptance to Molloy, but we are hopeful to hear soon. We applied mid October, do you think we will hear before the first of the year? Also, can you recommend best hotels to look into for the auditions if we make it that far in the process?

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@kimmyd if I remember right. It was about 6 weeks after we sent in application we first heard back about acceptance to Molloy. So you should probably hear something soon. Good Luck

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Hang in there, @kimmyd – keep us posted!!

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Hey Everyone!

Ricky Oliver here, Seasons Greetings from the Admissions Office at Molloy College. We are up to our ears in applications at the moment, and I can officially say that it has been a couple weeks since I’ve seen the surface of my desk, as it has been replaced by High School Transcripts and college essays!

This is the peak of the season, folks!

That said, to alleviate possible confusion, we have amended our Acceptance system slightly. Moving forward, Molloy will send each BFA applicant an official Molloy decision in the mail after they’ve completed ALL the application requirements, including the audition. So, if you and your prospective student at home are waiting for an academic decision from us, expect to hear from us in the early Spring, after they have auditioned for the program. This will effectively diminish the back-and-forth, and present each student with all the information they will need to move forward with their college decisions.

if you have questions on this amendment or anything else, as always, please feel free to reach out to me directly at roliver@molloy.edu.

Again, Happy Holidays Everyone!

With Admiration,
Ricky Oliver