From Cap 21’s Facebook page today:
"Due to coronavirus concerns (and an abundance of caution), Molloy/CAP21 classes have been moved to an online format through March 28th and all campus tours and visitations are temporarily suspended.
For ACCEPTED and WAITLISTED high school seniors who have already booked travel to NYC, please reach out to Rebecca Overton at roverton@molloy.edu to discuss options.
We are working on the possibility of offering virtual tours and/or live chats, should closures continue into the month of April, and of course we will continue to update students as things progress. Thank you for your patience and stay well!"
This is such bad timing for CAP seniors. There’s a strong possibility they are not going to be able to have senior showcases. Working with talent agencies, and all the other things that the seniors do to get started and a leg up in the business the last 3 months of school. I really don’t think “online classes” is going to help them much. I really hope CAP comes up with something for these kids, besides sending them out to the world and saying - Oh well - good luck…
Unfortunately, right now there is no “world” to send them out into. All the theaters are dark, there are no auditions happening for anything. My D is fortunate (for now) because her ship’s launch is delayed, not cancelled; she is getting paid and rehearsing daily. Her crew is in quarantine on the Apex in France for their own protection. This could change at any moment…a number of her classmates and colleagues have been sent home from their gigs - cruise ships, national tours, regional theatre, you name it, it’s shut down. Hopefully the seniors will get their showcase later, when this has blown over. If I know Henry, he’ll make it happen.
@mtandsbdad Just saw this on facebook. Not the same - but seems worth doing for seniors…
From a Producer at Be More Chill and the Creative & Programming Director at Feinstein’s/54Below
If you’re a college actor who had your senior musical theatre showcase cancelled because of the crisis, post your favorite video of yourself with #MTShowcase2020 and your contact info. I will watch and keep on file for any future concerts or projects possible
@Twelfthman It’s a BFA in acting… All three parts are top notch… Singing, Acting, Dancing… All these kids can sing when they come in. The largest improvement is watching them from their sophomore projects to the final main stage and how much better actors they are…
@speezagmom - this is why I love the theatre world…when life hands them a lemon, they make lemonade. It’s a great idea in any event to make a reel and have it at the ready; some casting folks do a lot of casting by video these days.
@Twelfthman - I agree with @mtandsbdad , there is a very strong focus on acting, as well as singing and dancing. It is the foundation of their learning and programming.
I’ll pile on. This is definitely a triple threat program with a strong foundation in acting. Freshman fall semester - Acting Technique 1 and acting 1. spring semester - Acting technique 2, movement for the actor 1. Sophomore year fall - Acting: chekhov/williams, vocal performance (essentially acting through song), movement for the actor 2 - Spring - Musical Scene Study. Junior year fall- Musical scene study 2, Acting in Shakespeare; Spring semester - Acting (Character/Comedy). Senior Year - Acting (british comedy) - Spring-- cold reads/roles/sides. Through all of the semesters, they’re doing voice and speech which focuses on diction and different accents, etc.
Anyone know how many people are accepted into the program, how many people are on the priority waitlist, and how many people are on the regular waitlist? Thank you!!
@bfayay I think the number varies by class.
The most commonly cited class size I have seen for Molloy was 26. I’m not sure what that was based on. Recent specific freshman class sizes cited (by parents with kids entering with that class) are:
2018-2019 freshman class size - 35
2019-2020 freshman class size - 48
I presume they are trying to grow the size of the program and / or coupled with some attrition, but I don’t know for sure. Perhaps some Cap21 parents can weigh in.
@Twelfthman and @bfayay The numbers you have are correct for class size. That said - I don’t know if last year was a purposeful growing of the program or if it was due to a higher than usual yield. I have theorized that it was to grow the program since CAP21 did the studio training for NYU til around 2012 and those classes are roughly 60 kids, but I I have also heard that they just had more people accept than they expected. I know the target class size for the sophomore class was 34-36. This year’s class size will likely give us more evidence in determining planned class sizes. The sophomore class is “class 6” for the program. I don’t know what the prior years classes started at, but every program has some drop off, and this one is no exception. The sophomore class started at 35, but has dropped to 29 due to personal reasons, changing majors, etc. I don’t know offhand, but I would assume that they are referencing the graduating class and that 26 is the current size of that class.
Beyond that, I don’t have any insight into numbers like - acceptances, priority WL, and WL. I asked my personal “source of truth” since he’s home and has helped with some of the on-site auditions, but he had no clue.
@bfayay in speaking directly to Molloy/CAP administration, we were told 3 weeks ago that they CAN take up to 48, for 3 sections of 16. Current freshman class is 47, and we were directly told that all have decided that this is TOO MUCH. Guessing that they’d take a max of 32 this year, just based on this info, but that is my personal guess.
@bfayay@Libish my D got from the facebook group that 30 were initially offered spots, that 2 sections of 16 is what they are looking for also so I think that is a good guess. Not sure how many waitlisted or priority waitlist.
D attended a virtual info session Q&A (for admitted and waitlist students - as they try to offer resources in lieu of visits) yesterday. They stated they aim to field a class of 32-36. Also mentioned they can accommodate 48 without issues because the class is broken down to smaller units of 16. They actually prefer to have smaller units. Cited examples of vocal classes being smaller than acting (because they want you to have different scene partners throughout the semester).
They didn’t address it directly but I got the sense they accepted far fewer this yr than last and are using the waitlists to get to the right number vs. risk accepting too many with a very high yield.
@rickle1 we are attending this session tomorrow, did they mention anything about aid offers? Not sure where we should ask or how to even begin to appeal. In general, are people successful in appealing financial aid at Molloy? D is pretty convinced she wants to go, I just have heard Molloy is very generous but for us this was the smallest aid package of all the schools she has been admitted to so it’s puzzling to me.
@2020MTMom Quite a few kids were successful at getting some more aid last year… don’t know how much more. My D’s package was initially smaller and then we found out they hadn’t connected her FAFSA to her student account. Once that was corrected it was good. Rebecca also forwarded a few additional scholarships for her to apply for. But my D was able to apply for a few external to make up the difference. Pretty sure my D contacted financial aid but cc’d Rebecca on everything. Fingers crossed!
@MTSongbirdMom she also applied for and received an additional scholarship from info forwarded by Rebecca, and I do believe her FAFSA is connected because it shows our expected family contribution and a little more came in after the initial package too. Numbers wise it appears we don’t qualify for much so I’m afraid I don’t have an arguement but this is our second child in college so it has us majorly stressing, especially since hubby works commission and the recent state of affairs isn’t too great in the sales market!!
@rickle1 thanks, I wasn’t sure how many people are in each session, sounds like its more general for everyone than personal. I’ll have D touch base with Rebecca privately. Overall is your D as excited as mine is? I am pretty sure this is going to be her choice, it’s all she’s talked about after her acceptance came in and she didn’t stress at all about the canceled visits over Spring break from other colleges, she still hasn’t even heard from all of her schools yet but I don’t think any one of them will change her mind at all.
