@EastchesterMom, thanks for the information! That sounds like an amazing opportunity. Glad you D is having such a great start to her career!
@speezagmom - BAL to your S as he embarks on his college career - he will love it! I have to confess, Iâm a little jealous!!
@EastchesterMom Such exciting things happening for your D! I completely understand! Yes @CentralOHmomof4 and @waitingforlife contacted me. I appreciate all the help for my D! Thanks so much everyone!
@MTSongbirdMom - you will find that the Molloy/CAP21 family is welcoming and inclusive. As one of the Class One pioneers, I can truly say that Molloy/CAP21 offers superlative training in the best city in the world for MT. I
am the first to admit that my D was not a good dancer when she arrived on campus 4 years ago. Now, she is a dancer with a capital D⊠and she owes it all to Molloy/CAP21. Give us a serious look⊠you will love what you see! Break a leg to your D as she embarks on her audition season!
Thanks @EastchesterMom ! After orientation, Iâm pretty sure that S would have moved into the dorms at that moment if he could have. To say he is excited is an understatement. And at one week til he leaves, I am so comfortable with the school (even though we will be thousands of miles away) that I cannot be anything but excited for him - even though Iâm sad at the prospect of him leaving.
@MTSongbirdMom S did the Baldwin Wallace MTO program the summer before his senior year, and we were in love with that school. He made the wait list after the early auditions. He didnât look at Molloy/CAP21 until we were on our way to unifieds and I told him to look at about 10 schools that would be there that I thought might be interesting for walk-ins. On our way home after unifieds, I asked him what he was thinking after the experience. His biggest desire was to get into Molloy after having looked at their program and met Rebecca. He said that if he got in, they would be tied with BW. I was shocked. After visiting and touring both the campus and the studios, it was a done deal. He didnât really have to decide between them as he never came off the BW waitlist, but Iâm 99% sure he would have chosen Molloy if he had. It just felt like home. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly. It really is a unique program/experience and amazing place. I hope you get all the answers you are looking for and that your year of auditioning goes well.
@MTSongbirdMom and other potential members of the Class of 2023 - Here is my annual speech to kick off audition season! One unique aspect of this program is that CAP21 does not put on mainstage shows constantly. The kids demonstrate the skills they have learned via performances called Projects - Pop/Rock, Song and Dance, Composer, etc. In the fall semester of junior year, the class creates an original show. In just 6 weeks, they write, choreograph, compose, act, direct, everythingâŠand the result will amaze you. The CAP21 mantra is: we donât just perform the Musical Theatre canon; we add to it! In the senior year, the class puts on a mainstage show (although this year they had to break the junior class into 2 cohorts, with one cohort presenting its mainstage show in the spring semester of junior year). Another unique feature: everyone auditions and gets a role. Some schools are not so egalitarian; I know a few at a school I will not name who never got a role in a single show in all 4 years of college. They say rejection is a real-world experience in this business. I say, this is school, not the real world, and you should be able to showcase what you have learned by performing.
Next unique feature (well, maybe not so unique, but great): juniors and seniors must live off-campus; there is no dorm space for them (unless you are an RA). There was some rage about this from some Class One parents. Donât fret; most of the kids move to Brooklyn, Queens or Manhattan, where they are closer to the CAP21 studios, AND - drum roll, please - perfectly placed to start auditioning for real-life shows WAY ahead of their colleagues at programs in the middle of nowhere. Youâve got to be in it to win it!
My D and her Class One cohort were the guinea pigs. This program was fine-tuned even as Class One was progressing through it. Most of these kids had friends in other programs, and Class One found out fairly early on that their work load was significantly more intense than some older, more well-known (I will NEVER say âbetter,â because it would be a lie) programs. To make it through this program, you need to be 100% full-throttle committed, 24/7. D never worked so hard in her life. Amid the joy there were plenty of tears and complaints. Now the hard work is paying off.
OK, Iâll stop now. I said I would retire from this thread and let the current crop of parents take it over. But I love this program so much I just canât stay away. Iâm always here to help. Break legs, gang!!!
@EastchesterMom Thanks so much for all the insight! I have heard nothing but great things about the training. Right now my D is really is hoping for a school where they very much have a teamwork/family mentality where they encourage/build each other up while also getting intense training. It really sounds like a great program and might be a great match should she be accepted!
@speezagmom Very interesting as my D went to CSI at Baldwin Wallace this summer and completely fell in love and it shot to the top of her list. Of course she wasnât working with the MT professors BW. I think itâs a longshot for her to get into that program (but to some extent all are longshots).
Thanks again everyone for the input. I am excited and nervous to see where my D lands and proud of her for knowing what she wants and working hard to get it. I know that Molloy/Cap 21 has grown quickly and become more competitive. Hope we get a chance to visit!
Happy first day to all the first year Cap students. Hope your childâs experience will be as pleasant as my Jr. D has been so far!!!
Wow - I knew this program would allow the students to form connections with NY/Broadway professionals, but I am blown away that it has started already. Less than a week into freshman year (this past weekend), my son attended a show on campus at the Madison theater. The CAP students got to have a talk-back with the cast and director, Mark Stuart who has the Mark Stuart Dance Theater and is a tony winning choreographer. Mark liked what he said at the talk back so much that he was asked to record a promo video. What a fantastic opportunity!
This is just the beginning, @speezagmom - sounds like your son hit the ground running. Prepare to be amazed! There is NOTHING like this program!
Exactly @speezagmom my d walked into the Madison for rehearsal last night, ran into the guy who runs things and he says - oh by the way do you want to perform with Judy Kuhn this weekend. Like - no big deal⊠LOL⊠We saw her in Fiddler a couple of years ago, and she has 4 Tony Nominations. Was also the singing voice of Disneyâs Pocahontas. Just wonderful opportunities left and right. She still gets chills when she thinks about dancing with Matthew Morrison her freshman year - which was just an improv by him due to the master class he was putting on for CAP kids before the show. SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES!!! They are definitely in the right place.
My daughter was accepted at Cap21 this year but decided to go elsewhere. We never were able to locate any information about the actual curriculum or current faculty and the alumni all listed on their site are from when the school was part of NYU, not the current program. I kind of wish they had better information available about the school at the time in order to fairly weigh that as an option. We also never got any official mailing from Molloy about her acceptance (just a video on my cell phone) and an email from Rebecca offering her a spot. It sounds like a great program from all accounts here, but seemed to risky at the time given how little information was available on their website and the delay in offering acceptance offers. Hopefully things run more smoothly for the class of 2023 applicants.
@collegemom2000 I also felt like the curriculum was a state secret, but I was able to get the 8 semester curriculum plan and 8 semester studio class schedule. Itâs amazing, and I hope they do get a little better with the information they have available.
@speezagmom glad you are happy with the choice! Best of luck to your student. 
If anyone needs the 8-semester curriculum, I will be happy to dig into my archives, lol. For now, I will share my Dâs (sophomore) program schedule for this fall:
Monday and Wednesday (Molloy):
Movement, Story Theatre (thatâs the sophomore fall show), psychology, and Spanish.
Those last two are gen eds and will vary for each student.
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (Manhattan Center):
Voice & Song (T&Th), Vocal performance (Th&F), Ballet (T&Th), Acting (T, F).
When theyâre in the city, theyâre there from 10 am to 5 or 6 pm T&Th; F lets out at 3:30
Once a week: private voice lessons
October/November, sophomore show rehearsals M and W till 9:25, and all day Saturday
Plus, there are additional/surrounding opportunities sheâs taking advantage of:
*D works at the regional theatre on campus - set building, stage crew, ticket sales, usher, costume repair, you name it. She has some tech experience from her high school performing arts but she has learned a lot, it pays pretty well, and they work around her MT schedule. Plus, she gets to watch the shows for free and occasionally even meet/talk with well-known performers who pass through
*CAP21 students can audition for Madison Theatre productions after Freshman year; sheâs done two Madison auditions this year (once in spring for an early fall show, and once in fall for the rest of the yearâs shows)
*CAP21 Manhattan center does hold some classes for the public, for instance, this week she attended a jazz class after regular classes
*Location: D has been able to audition for multiple out-of-school opportunities in person, without disrupting her schedule or really needing to travel any distance. She hasnât taken dance classes anywhere else in the city (yet) but I would venture that the options available are unmatched anywhere else in the world. She was even able to try on her LaDucas in person. It is just that much easier/accessible to fit more career-oriented âstuffâ into her life because itâs all right there.
Great Idea! Iâll post my sonâs Freshman âright nowâ schedule.
MW (Manhattan Center)
Ballet 1.5 Hours
Jazz 1 Hour
Vocal Technique 1.5 Hours
Acting Technique 1.5 Hours
T/TH (Molloy Campus)
Art History (Cinema) - This is a Gen Ed. Some kids have English Composition.
Acting 1
Voice/Diction/Acting
Friday (Molloy Campus)
Class Piano
Music Theory
Freshman Experience (Required Gen Ed)
Saturday (Molloy Campus)
Private Voice - 1 Hour
It sounds like the Freshmen all have their voice lessons on Saturday so they have been using Saturday to do homework, practice, do laundry, errands if needed, etc. Sunday, they try to relax some.
Brilliant idea! Iâm so excited for all of you; just realized I get to re-live Dâs college years through you! No need anymore for whatever smidgen of anonymity we might have had - my D is Jen Brett, the working actor!!! She leaves in 10 days for the Fireside Theatre in Fort Atkinson, WI, where she will appear in âElf: The Musical.â
Junior Fall Schedule :
MWF - Manhattan Studios - Leaves apartment about 7:00 AM - Gets home around 11:00 PM - Not sure what exact classes she has : But know its tons of dance, along with her privates and Vocal Tech classes. Plus Song and Dance Project rehearsals ( She says this has been her favorite project so far and is very excited about the show )
T and Thurs - Molloy Campus : Core : Writing for the Web ( Elective ) : Acting Shakespeare
Sat - 11 AM - 5 PM : Song and Dance Project Rehearsals.
Needless to say : She stays extremely busy - The life of a BFA student.
I teach and coach - I hear all the time about how difficult college is for athletes and sometimes I just snicker and say - You should try to be a BFA⊠Without the benefits of student housing and the training table + Transportation. Then we will consider your âdifficultiesâ
Should take you to the 8 semester plan for BFA students
@mtandsbdad - The fall semester of junior year is the toughestâŠand please donât miss the Song and Dance Project, you will not believe your eyes and ears! Break legs to your D!!