<p>I am a Junior in High School and have started college browsing early. I am planning on majoring in MT.
I have been looking at many colleges, and I have heard many good things about Cal State Fullerton. Does anyone have any personal experience with this school? Any things I should know about it? Any opinions?
Thanks to anyone who can tell me anything about it!</p>
<p>Please understand that this is the University of Michigan MT Progam Forum and your post belongs on the Cal State Fullerton MT Program forum which is here:
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<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/california-state-university-fullerton-mt/%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/california-state-university-fullerton-mt/</a></p>
<p>I am going to move your thread over to the correct forum which keeps the forums more organized and I'll leave a redirect so you can find your thread. </p>
<p>A word of advice....first read all you can about this program on the many existing threads on the Cal State Fullerton MT program forum which I am sending this to. Read all you can on the school's own site as well. Then, ask specific questions besides "tell me about this program." Do some legwork first. People will be more apt to reply to specific questions that demonstrate a beginning level of independent exploration of the school/program, rather than general questions that take a lot of work to answer (one could write a book about a program). </p>
<p>Also, you will notice that a faculty member who heads the program, Professor Eve Himmelheber, participates on the forum, and if you read her posts, you will glean a lot of information. Then, ask her something specific and she may reply.</p>
<p>I would love to hear from any current CSU Fullerton students that are in the program. How is it? My D and two of her friends are going up to see it over spring break. Would love to hear from a student already there.</p>
<p>Check to see if Guys and Dolls will be showing while they are there and get them tickets…that’s a great way to learn about a MT program plus the director is Eve Himmelheber.</p>
<p>Hi, Prof. Himmelheber here. I would be glad to set up an on-campus visit for you, during which you will meet current students in the BFA program, as well as those who haven’t yet juried in but are on track to (freshmen, sophomores, transfers). We have a BFA MT senior who sets these observations up, so that is one person you would have direct contact with in advance of your visit.</p>
<p>We also set up class observations (musical theatre, acting, dance, and practicum, depending on the day of the week you choose to visit). You will have a tour of the department with a current BFA student, during which time you are encouraged to ask them about their experiences: the pros and cons…very important to get a balance.</p>
<p>We try to have you meet for a short time with an MT program advisor (one of the area faculty) during your campus visit.</p>
<p>And finally, you will be invited to observe a rehearsal that evening (usually 7-10pm), if one is available (may be that the musicals - 2 of them each semester - are already in performance by then).</p>
<p>Guys and Dolls opens on March 27-29, then we take the next week off for spring break. We have more performances from April 8-12, and April 16-19 (all our musicals run 3 weeks). While I cannot offer free tickets, there is a student discount available.</p>
<p>We’re also doing SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD this semester, and that will be rehearsing weeknights through April, and runs May 1-16 (3 week run at our intimate Grand Central Theatre venue in Santa Ana). Can’t get comps for you on this either, but there is a student discount available for this, too.</p>
<p>Write me if interested in a tour: <a href=“mailto:ehimmelheber@fullerton.edu”>ehimmelheber@fullerton.edu</a></p>
<p>Thanks mamabear and Prof. Eve, My D’s boyfriend saw Guys and Dolls last weekend and said it was AWESOME, very well done with lots of talent! Hopefully we will take a look at the school soon. Still waiting to firm up spring break plans. Thank you so much for your kind and generous offers…we’ll be in touch.</p>
<p>My daughter is currently a freshman on the MT track. Her experience has not been a good one. There have been many situations with the admissions office and financial aid office that have been extrememly frustrating. Lots of buck passing and no one seems able or willing to answer questions. Now in the 1st semester of the freshman year…her opinion is that it is a very remedial waste of time. Somehow to be a Theatre Arts Major on a musical theatre track WITH NO classes in music, voice, or acting seems such a waste of money and time. Not sure if even if it gets better next semester that it will be enough to make her want to stay. Not only that but none of the classes or teachers seem to be wanting to provide an enriching or encouraging environment. She spent 6 weeks this past summer at the Cap21 summer program. It was a very demanding and intense program but was a great experience. The entire staff was very helpful, encouraging, and supportive. Not to mention she actually learned and grew in her craft. Perhaps the fullerton program might be good for someone fairly new to Musical Theatre. But anyone who has a lot of experience and enthusiasm for the Art would probably be bored to tears.</p>
<p>DD is currently in the process of applying to colleges and we are in SoCal. She has investigated the program here and decided not to apply for the reasons you have already listed.</p>
<p>In first semester of the freshmen year, the MT students take a script analysis while the Acting students take acting I; they flip those assignments in the spring, so your D will have Acting I this spring. We have too many freshmen to give them ALL acting in the first semester; we have to cover classes for our whole department and for every degree we offer - we can’t give all the MT freshmen Acting right away based on the fact that they would like it. We have to look out for the needs of all.</p>
<p>I remind any readers that we are a large state school (not a UC school, which has more money and costs substantially more than our tuition/fees). Anyone who says they want to study MT or Acting is initially accepted into that degree, whether they have talent or not…that means that initially there are a lot of kids in the program who probably have no business being here. But we allow them to get a solid foundation education (we are a school, first and foremost) before weeding down to the 10 MT taken into the jr. level each year.</p>
<p>If your D is advanced in dance training, she should assess for placement at a higher level than ballet, jazz and tap I; we have these assessments at the beginning and midterm of each semester.</p>
<p>The assessment for MT class is held at the end of the freshmen year (for early placement in the following fall MT class). If not assessed, they are by default assigned an acting track. They can reassess in the fall, the 1t week of classes; we reserve a few spots for transfer students and re-assessers. If not assessed into MT, they no longer get dance.</p>
<p>We have no “voice” classes in the degree until the jr. year - because we accepted over 100 freshmen into MT, and we have no formal agreement with the music department for voice lessons through their curriculum (which costs the students over $500 semester), we are very upfront with students who investigate the program about our lack of ability to provide voice lessons, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise to them. We strongly suggest private voice lessons, spending that money that would go to voice class at school on a private teacher that will encourage both legit and pop, country, belt, rock, belt, etc.</p>
<p>The sophomores are expected to have taken MUS 101 Theory for Non-Majors before their second semester, when they take sight singing from our Head of Voice, so that is two “music” courses taken before the jury (at the end of the sophomore year).</p>
<p>The freshmen are in a Voice & Movement for the Actor class in both their first and second semesters.</p>
<p>With budget cuts, the school has limited the units the students can take (freshmen capped at 18 units last semester, and maybe at 16 for the spring). Unfortunately, this has cut freshmen down from two dance classes each semester to only one (our sophs are taking two each semester). Even so, they have a minimum of six dance classes here before they jury.</p>
<p>It sounds as if your daughter might be interested in adding a Music minor to her degree. That would get her voice lessons NOW through Music, for a fee. It would also mean that she would likely be adding time to her graduation, as a high unit degree combined with a minor, in a time when they have cut our students from 22 to 24 unit standard down to 16-18 units, it is unlikely that even taking summer and winter session GE courses they would be help them graduate on time.</p>
<p>Sorry your D’s experience hasn’t been more positive. She is welcome to come by my office hours and chat anytime.</p>
<p>For those who want the conservatory experience, another option is to start school at a community college, take all your GE course work and any acting, singing or dance that they can get into, and then transfer here. They must work with our undergraduate advising head, Larry Peters, to ensure that those theatre, music and dance classes they take will be acceptable as a direct transfer toward BFA degree requirements; otherwise, they cannot come directly into the program, and would spend one year here taking the missing coursework required to jury for the BFA.</p>
<p>If they come in with all the coursework required, they can jury for direct placement in the BFA. I can tell you that the transfer students we receive are never as strong as those peers who have studied here at least one year. The new transfer has no idea what we are looking for in the jury; we train our students for that purpose in every performance class they take.</p>
<p>Anyway, that is another option to consider.</p>
<p>I am a recent 2009 BFA graduate of Cal State Fullerton and I have signed up to this post to help those who have questions about finding a school for Musical Theatre. When I was in High School I searched high and low for the right school that would let me study acting, singing and dance. I didn’t want one over the other, I wanted all three equally the same. I even took a week trip to NYC and visited 5 schools and researched them all. I can honestly say now that I made one of the best decisions of my life to go to Cal State Fullerton!</p>
<p>As you might have already seen on this board for CSUF, I have recently landed an equity job as Mark in the Broadway National Tour of A Chorus Line. This success is due to the amazing training that I received at Cal State Fullerton. I cannot express enough how much in debt I am to the teachers and professors for giving me everything they could and for passionately teaching me from their heart. Cal State Fullerton Theatre Dept. has become a family to me and I am so glad to have met so many talented and loving people. </p>
<p>Again, I am here to answer questions about the school and about the BFA program from the student’s side. I will be completely honest, there were many times that were rough and that I wanted to give up, but from the friends that I made and the wonderful teachers, I got through one of the best experiences of my life!</p>
<p>I would like to make a comment about Freshman year. It is difficult. It reminded me of 3 months ago when I moved to New York City and was a tiny speck in a sea of millions. I thought I would never be seen as a Freshman and I just wanted to perform and be on stage. I wanted to give up because I felt like a small fish in a large sea. (Very similar to the harsh world of theatre in NYC). But the experience of focusing on the basics and perfecting my craft in the freshman courses without focusing on a final performance on stage, was humbling and helped me realize that this is what I wanted to do the rest of my life. By focusing on the classes at hand I was able to grow in so many ways. By the 2nd semester of my Freshman year I was cast in the musical Cabaret. As a Freshman there are so many opportunities to learn, grow and to find out who you are as a person and an artist. </p>
<p>To respond from an earlier post, I do not think the program is for just people who are new to Musical Theatre. I came into the school already working on a handful of professional shows from Equity houses and dancing competitively since the age of 3. Even in level 1 classes I learned so many things about technique that helped me grow. As a Freshman you need to be assertive and take your education into your own hands. Audition for everything, test into higher dance classes, take voice lessons from teachers at school, do directing scenes. The opportunities are endless, you just might have to look and work harder as a Freshman. </p>
<p>Sorry for the long post, but I hope the information is helpful for Freshman and for those looking into the school. Please ask questions! I wish I knew about this resource when I was looking into schools!</p>
<p>Best of Luck!
-Andrew</p>