My husband and I recently returned from the Molloy/CAP21 Class of 2019 orientation in Long Island. Gotta say our daughter LOVED it and my husband and I felt totally reassured that she made the best decision. As a group, the parents all traveled together from Rockville Centre with the faculty of CAP21 (Frank Ventura, head of CAP21 and two other Molloy staff) to the studios on 18th Street for a 2.5-hour Q&A session. They answered everything from how the curriculum would work, to commuting, to would they be working actors when they graduated. There are 42 students in the Class of 2019 and about 20 or so parents came to the orientation. For parents who were not able to attend, we started up a closed Facebook group called āMolloy/CAP21 2019 Parents.ā We hope this is the start of a long and fruitful support group for us and our kids!
Wow, 42! So glad to hear that the Class of 2019 is on its way. We Class of 2018 parents welcome you to Club CAP 21!
Wondering if Anyone attending this program got any merit or other financial aid from Molloy?
Yes, my D received a merit scholarship.
Is there any reason the class size is up to 42 this year. On one hand I like the bigger class sizes in terms of the odds of getting accepted but I worry that an MT class size above 40 is excess. Otherwise I really think cap21 with Molloly is an awesome sounding program.
I also saw they donāt have a season of shows but instead have performances at the Madison theatre. Does this end up being similar to other programs in terms of performance opportunities:
This really is a job for Ricky Oliver at CAP21, and Iām sure heāll weigh in with a better answer than mine. My understanding is the response to the program was so great that more people accepted than expected.(I do claim a tiny bit of credit for it!) Not a bad problem to have! The Class of 2019 is divided into two cohorts, so thereās no āexcessā problem. When CAP21 provided the MT training for NYU Tisch, I suspect they dealt with a similar size class.
Re the showsā¦freshmen cannot audition for main stage or black box shows, but the Class of 2018 auditioned for concert shows at the Madison Theater last year. One show featured the music of Marvin Hamlisch, another was Henry Mancini, and there is a Holiday concert, too. These shows all featured Broadway stars, which was a great opportunity for the kids. There is also MPAC (Molloy Performing Arts Club). The Class of 2018 basically mobbed that last year when they did Legally Blonde. CAP 21 made it clear to the sophomores that they no longer have time for either of these and should set their sights on main stage and black box, where they will compete with the CAP21 Conservatory students for roles. My D is all up with that! We were told that some CAP 21 productions will be held at the Madison Theater, and why notā¦itās beautiful and state-of-the-art. All this means that the freshmen can descend on MPAC and the Madison Theater concerts, and I bet they already have. My D says theyāre a really talented group.
Thanks for the reply! Youāre very helpful!
I am not surprised thereās an over acceptance this past year for the program. It seems perfect, being right outside the city to avoid a crazy room and board but having classes there.
As far as the main stage and black box shows you are talking about. Where on the website does it list their season. I found the theatre companyās shows but that just includes a couple of new musicals. Is this what they do for main stage work as opposed to a line up of like West Side Story, As You Like It, and Next to Normal. There is definitely merit to both approaches though.
CAP21 is all about new musicals. From the CAP21 website:
"Collaborative Arts Project 21, a.k.a. CAP21, is dedicated to creating new work, developing new talent and building new audiences. CAP21 replenishes the American musical theatre by training the next generation of performers and infusing the entertainment industry at large with talent and source material. The goal is to create programs that achieve substantial and lasting contributions to the future of the arts.
Every CAP21 endeavor embraces the following values:
collaboration and exchange between emerging and accomplished artists
a nurturing support system
an infusion of the traditional with the innovative
a commitment to serving and cultivating a diverse audience
CAP21 was founded in 1993 by Frank and Eliza Ventura to create a home where theatre artists could bring their work to life and continue honing their skills in a collaborative environment as a professional theatre company with a conservatory. CAP21 began in 1994 and continues to provide programming for new works for production at CAP21 or to move on and be produced at venues in New York and around the country. Each season, three new works are produced. In addition CAP21 works in development with over twenty new musicals and new plays providing in-house and public readings. CAP21ās season features diverse offerings of new plays and new musicals for a multi-generational audience. Hundreds of theatre artists are engaged each year to create and present new work."
Humph I suppose that system is good for artists but I believe there is a benefit to doing classic shows in college as wells as the bonus to being able to put Roger in Rent or something on your resume after college instead of just new show stuff. A lot of peopleās in their senior showcases have resumed with shows that directors would be familiar with and so they know what theyāll capable of in terms of dance and type. Definitely still an incredible program altogether
Sorry you feel that way, @ParachuteBoy. CAP21 has a proven record of success in the MT business. I staked my Dās future on that record. Iām convinced they know what theyāre doing, and D is very happy to be a part of a very creative endeavor. If you prefer a steady diet of the existing musical theater canon, then maybe this program isnāt for you. If youāre interested in being on the cutting edge of MT (by the way, the first wheelchair-bound actress to appear on Broadway, the amazing Ali Stroker who is currently appearing in Spring Awakening, is a CAP21 alum), then give the Molloy/CAP21 BFA a serious look.
I definitely still think the Cap21/Molloy program is one of my favorites I was just looking at that unique aspect of their theatre season compared to everyother MT BFA. What they do seems to be working and I like the idea of working on new stuff than just recreating yet another Curly in Oklahoma. It gives the opportunity to focus more on the actual artist part of a performing artist.
Agreed, @ParachuteBoy! BAL on your auditionsā¦it isnāt easy!
Hey Everyone!
Ricky Oliver here! Greetings from beautiful, GREEN Portland, Oregon! Iām here representing CAP21 at the Performing & Visual Arts College Fair. Portland is just one of 20 cities I will be attending this Fall. Its a thrill to travel to so many cities and meet the driven & passionate prospective applicants of 2016! So, if any of you are planning on attending one of these fairs this year, please stop by my table and say āhelloā.
EastchesterMom you are really nailing these answers! Thank you so much for continuing your support in answering to the needs of prospective parents and the like. If only I didnāt spend my budget on traveling around the country, otherwise Iād put you on the payroll!
As to the question of our class of 42. Iām happy to explain this number to you, and give you an inside peak at the Admissions Process. Truly, there is no rhyme or reason to our numbers. They fluctuate from year-to-year and depend solely on the applicant pool we have in that particular enrollment period.
Its safe to say that we had an extraordinary range of dynamic, talented, and poised applicants this past year, and we had to accept a larger number. This is not to to say that these are the only factors that go into the Molloy/CAP21 Admissions process. A studentās GPA, test scores, recommendations, and essays are among the deciding factors just as their audition is. All aspects of a studentās application and audition are heavily weighed as we select our accepted students. And, of course, there is no way to assess how many students will actually accept our offer.
I can say with assurance that count ourselves lucky with the class we received this year and last, and I am now turning my efforts of the newest class of the CAP21/Molloy College BFA Program.
I hope this helps everyone, and demystifies any confusion of our number systemā¦
Letās keep chatting, Folks! Iām all ears!
Cheers,
Ricky Oliver
Hey Everyone! Its Ricky Oliver two minutes laterā¦
Let me also clear up the matter of performance opportunities. YES, CAP21 as an institution, believes in the development and cultivation of New Work. It is the backbone of the American Theatre today, and we are proud to say, we do a lot of New Work in our Theatre Company. However, the Theatre Company does not employ the usage of our current students, as they kept busy with their training. However, the Theatre Company DOES employ the talents of our alums. Just last season, a great number alums were hired in a myriad of readings and workshops that were produced in the CAP21 Theatre Company. CAP21 can be a professional home, as well as an educational home for our students. However, that professional landscape is held for them after graduation, not during their trainingā¦
There will be, however, a great opportunities for our students to showcase their work while in school. While we do not do OKLAHOMA! every semester, there a number opportunities to put into practice the lessons our students are learning in the their training. Most take shape as devised pieces that are created by the students, in the goal to give practical application to the lessons in their curriculum. For example, when our students are learning about Rock/Pop style in their Vocal performance class, they are given a Rock/Pop devised performance that highlights that training. Itās one thing to sing Stevie Nicks, but its quite another to act, and embody that material. Our students get the opportunity to showcase their work in a way that is supported by their training, lesson-by-lesson.
How does that answer your question, @ParachuteBoy ?
@CAP21Admissions
Yes! This is wonderful. I really appreciate that you are on these forms answering questions.
The performing arts college fair is coming to my city during my schoolās fall break during which Iāll be out of town. Awful timing but luckily these forms serve as a 24/7 online college fair.
Thanks again for being here. Iām sure Iāll have more questions as the year progresses.
@CAP21Admissions ā Thanks, Ricky, for coming to my rescue; I was hoping you could take some time out of your crazy schedule to weigh in! Iām proud to help promote this unique and wonderful program any way I can. CC led us to this program, so I will pay it forward on this forum. Class of 2020 and beyond, I canāt stress enough that you should give Molloy/CAP21 serious consideration. My sophomore D is working her feet off, singing her lungs out, and loving every minute. She and a couple of her pals in the cohort are all taking Spanish (Molloy has a foreign language requirement), and the professor has already thrown up his hands at their antics ā letās just say that the BFAs are a spirited bunch! D is living in a suite on the Molloy campus with 5 other CAP21-ers, so they get the ācollegeā experience along with world-class training. Her first showcase is coming up in Novemberā¦I donāt know which one of us is more excited (I think itās me, LOL). She did the standard shows in high school, and is thrilled to be in this creative environment. The road to a performing arts college program is not easy, but trust me, it really does work out in the end, and you will be where you are destined to be.
Hi, I just auditioned for the BFA program and have a few questions. @EastchesterMom what does your daughter think of the training sheās getting? I see that the number of students varies, but do we know approximately how many audition? Iām also kind of disappointed that there doesnāt really seem to be musicals to audition for. So exactly what are the performance opportunities and about how many a year are there? Thanks!
@kgg1997 - my D is thrilled with her training and so am I. Good as she was in high school, I have seen the improvement in every area. She taped one of her private voice lessons and sent it to meā¦all I could say was WOW! CAP 21 focuses heavily on training, and the training is very rigorous, As to performance opportunities, please see the earlier posts. My Dās cohort recently performed together in an original project that told various creation myths via movement, dance and dialogue. Very creative stuff! Itās on YouTube. There will be another new project performance in March. There are other performance opportunities in the Molloy Performing Arts Club and at the Madison Theater, which independently presents shows and concerts and regularly seeks the talents of the BFAs. My D was asked to sing today at some Molloy function. So the opportunities may be different from some other schools, but they are there.
I am glad she feels she is getting good training! So I guess the opportunities are there, you just have to seek them out more and theyāre not typical plays and musicals.
CAP21 does not do the standard musical theatre canon; it adds to it. If you want to perform in the same old shows in college, look elsewhere. If you want world-class training in NYC and perform in original pieces that you helped create, while getting a degree from a well-respected liberal arts college, then this is the place for you, and weāll welcome you!