Campus Visits

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>I saw this on CCM thread. Would love the answers to these questions from those who have visited ONU:</p>

<p>Productions
How many productions a year?
Who can audition for what? (Musicals, straight shows, operas).
Can Freshmen audition?
Do undergrads compete with grad students for casting?
Is there guaranteed casting?
Are they required to audition for shows?
Regardless of Freshman performance opportunities, will there be plenty of opportunities to perform in the program?
Are there student-directed shows?
For students not cast in the MainStage productions, what other performing opportunities exist during the year? (Cabarets, student-directed work, etc.)
Ask about Senior Showcase, particularly if there is a selection process for seniors to be a part of that showcase. </p>

<p>Faculty
Ask about numbers of faculty as not all websites are up-to-date.
How are you keeping up with current MT trends? Is there ongoing training for teachers and opportunities for their growth? Sabbaticals?
Not expecting any faculty changes in the near future.</p>

<p>Class size
How many students are in each theatre department class?</p>

<p>Schedule/Curriculum
What is a typical day like for an MTer?
If you haven’t done it all ready, ask for the four-year curriculum plan so you can compare it to other schools’ plans. You might be surprised.</p>

<p>Voice
How many hours of voice?
How are voice teachers assigned?
Who is teaching voice lessons (I’ve heard some schools have under-grads doing it.)?</p>

<p>Is piano is required or offered? Do they test for level?</p>

<p>Dance
Do the students dance daily, and for what duration?
How many hours of dance?
Do they level students for dance or are they required to start at a beginning level?
Can they take extra dance if they can fit it in?</p>

<p>Tech
What kind of tech requirement is mandated - how many tech hours are required in order to graduate as an MT major?</p>

<p>Business
Do you teach the business aspect of this career?
How are seniors prepared for the transition to the real-world?
Are there internships?
Are there “business of the business” classes?</p>

<p>Master classes
What if any master classes does the program hold? Who has led master classes this year?
Are guests artists/directors/agents brought in for master classes? If so, how often? </p>

<p>Study abroad
Is there a study abroad program?</p>

<p>Evaluations
What type of evaluations/assessments/juries are done on the students and how often?
Is there any cut program?</p>

<p>Charging
Are there additional expenses for MTs outside of tuition (required software, dance wear, accompanists, etc…).
Are there extra charges for mandatory voice lessons?
How is Showcase financed?</p>

<p>Academic support
How is the academic support, tutoring, etc. (for non-performing arts classes and even some acting and MT classes, which can get academically tough like theater history, etc.)</p>

<p>Mentoring
Is there a system that assigns a professor in the program as a mentor or advisor so they connect with an adult?
Is there a mentorship program for the upperclassmen to help acclimate the new students?
Do the MTs feel they have been welcomed and helped by the older students?
Do you support the students when auditioning for summer stock?</p>

<p>Campus
Is housing guaranteed all four years?
When dorms are closed for break and you have to be back early for production rehearsal how is housing handled?
Safety? </p>

<p>Is it largely a commuter campus?
Do a great deal of students go home on the weekend?
What kind of transportation is available to get to town/stores if they are not in walking distance?
What do the students do on the weekend?
Is the school social scene ruled by fraternities and sororities?
Is there time to participate in campus organizations and activities outside of MT?</p>

<p>Religion
what is campus ministry like?
Are there churches nearby or on campus?</p>

<p>Health and Fitness
Health Center…where is it, what are the hours, how often is there a doctor in the house?
If school is far from your home, does the faculty recommend health professionals in the area if your child has an illness (i.e., doctor who works with singers)?</p>

<p>Fitness center hours…</p>

2

<p>Productions
How many productions a year?
Who can audition for what? (Musicals, straight shows, operas). Auditions Open to everyone from what I could see.
Can Freshmen audition? YES
Do undergrads compete with grad students for casting? NO
Is there guaranteed casting? I don’t know if I would call it “guaranteed” casting but everyone is involved in a production each semester.
Are they required to audition for shows?
Regardless of Freshman performance opportunities, will there be plenty of opportunities to perform in the program?
Are there student-directed shows?
For students not cast in the MainStage productions, what other performing opportunities exist during the year? (Cabarets, student-directed work, etc.)
Ask about Senior Showcase, particularly if there is a selection process for seniors to be a part of that showcase. There wasn’t a Showcase this year… they took seniors to NYC to workshop with casting directors. They will evaluate Showcase. They are watching the industry to see what might work better than Showcase.</p>

<p>Faculty
Ask about numbers of faculty as not all websites are up-to-date.
How are you keeping up with current MT trends? Is there ongoing training for teachers and opportunities for their growth? Sabbaticals?
Not expecting any faculty changes in the near future.</p>

<p>Class size
How many students are in each theatre department class? From what I was told they look for 10-12 each year. The kids said their current Sophomore class had 12 and that was big to them. Jeremy stated the reason he came to ONU was due to their desire to work with smaller #s of kids. He wants to be able to help them grow and it can be a more personal experience for the students.</p>

<p>Schedule/Curriculum
What is a typical day like for an MTer?
If you haven’t done it all ready, ask for the four-year curriculum plan so you can compare it to other schools’ plans. You might be surprised. We asked for one but they have some class additions coming and they did not have the new plan printed.</p>

<p>Voice
How many hours of voice? Students get 1 - 30 minute vocal lesson and 1-30 min “coaching” session each week where they work on rep and with an accompanist. This is INCLUDED in the tuition costs.
How are voice teachers assigned? YES
Who is teaching voice lessons (I’ve heard some schools have under-grads doing it.)? PROFESSORS</p>

<p>Is piano is required or offered? Do they test for level? YES piano is required. I did not ask about the levels.</p>

<p>Dance
Do the students dance daily, and for what duration? They do not dance daily unless they are a dance minor.
How many hours of dance?
Do they level students for dance or are they required to start at a beginning level? First semester they are assigned a class and then are leveled after that.
Can they take extra dance if they can fit it in? YES</p>

<p>Tech
What kind of tech requirement is mandated - how many tech hours are required in order to graduate as an MT major? They do have tech requirements. They have to do a stage manager practicum at some point before graduation. They offer lots of tech classes and you can take more than what is required.</p>

<p>Business
Do you teach the business aspect of this career? YES
How are seniors prepared for the transition to the real-world?<br>
Are there internships?
Are there “business of the business” classes? YES assignments are very applicable and are ones that actually get the kids out there and making contacts. Really liked this class when we visited.</p>

<p>Master classes
What if any master classes does the program hold? Who has led master classes this year?
Are guests artists/directors/agents brought in for master classes? If so, how often? They have several each year. This year they had a fly company come in and instruct the students on how set up and use the fly system. They are bringing in the agents who gave the workshops in NYC. They have already started lining up their list of Master Classes for next year. There are some really great people slated to come work with the students.</p>

<p>Study abroad
Is there a study abroad program? YES</p>

<p>Evaluations
What type of evaluations/assessments/juries are done on the students and how often?
Is there any cut program?</p>

<p>Charging
Are there additional expenses for MTs outside of tuition (required software, dance wear, accompanists, etc…).
Are there extra charges for mandatory voice lessons?
How is Showcase financed?</p>

<p>Academic support
How is the academic support, tutoring, etc. (for non-performing arts classes and even some acting and MT classes, which can get academically tough like theater history, etc.)</p>

<p>Mentoring
Is there a system that assigns a professor in the program as a mentor or advisor so they connect with an adult? YES They are assigned an advisor in their field of study (I believe there are three or four) and the advisor is there not just for academics but for whatever the student is needing. This school is small enough for all the advisors and teachers to really know everyone in the program very well.<br>
Is there a mentorship program for the upperclassmen to help acclimate the new students?
Do the MTs feel they have been welcomed and helped by the older students? Without a doubt you could tell the students were very connected with one another and with other students that are in other fields of study. The campus is very active and it is very encouraged for students to be involved with volunteering and with outside events.
Do you support the students when auditioning for summer stock? Don’t know exactly what is meant by support. I do know that there is support for them auditioning for summer stock and they have access to an accompanist that can help them with cuts and audition recordings.</p>

<p>Campus
Is housing guaranteed all four years?
When dorms are closed for break and you have to be back early for production rehearsal how is housing handled?
Safety? Really liked this campus. It is in the middle of nowhere but when you are on campus, it doesn’t feel isolated and “out in the middle of nowhere”. Really enjoyed the campus feel…very laid back and feels really safe. They have so many new dorms and dorm options. Kids are required to live on campus for four years. </p>

<p>Is it largely a commuter campus? NO
Do a great deal of students go home on the weekend? NO I don’t think so.
What kind of transportation is available to get to town/stores if they are not in walking distance? Everything seems to be in walking distance. It is a very small town.
What do the students do on the weekend? Lots of activities are scheduled for the kids.
Is the school social scene ruled by fraternities and sororities? I would not say ruled. There are a few and they are active but they are not the “social life” on campus.
Is there time to participate in campus organizations and activities outside of MT? YES it is encouraged.</p>

<p>Religion
what is campus ministry like? This is a private school that was Methodist at one time and still maintains a “loose connection”. There do have 2 chapels a week and there are no classes set up during that time. Chapel is optional and NOT required.
Are there churches nearby or on campus? YES</p>

<p>Health and Fitness
Health Center…where is it, what are the hours, how often is there a doctor in the house? Health Center is on campus.
If school is far from your home, does the faculty recommend health professionals in the area if your child has an illness (i.e., doctor who works with singers)?</p>

<p>Fitness center hours…There is a fitness center and has great hours.</p>

<p>Hope this helps. I couldn’t get everything but feel free to add anyone who has gone. :)</p>