Can I do musical theatre in college without majoring in it?

Hello,

I am a high-school student, approaching college. I know that I want to do a double major in English and Political Science/Gov, and I want to finish undergrad in 4 years and then go to law school. However, I also have a strong interest in musical theatre, and I really want to be able to do musicals and plays in college- but I don’t want to major or minor in theatre, as I feel that it will have no practical application in my life after college. So, I was wondering if anyone knows of any schools where I can do theatre recreationally at college, without majoring or minoring in it. Thanks!

There are a ton of schools that you can audition for shows … and some you won’t be able to because it’s strictly for their MT majors.

For an example: at Vanderbilt in Nashville, they have “Vanderbilt Off Broadway” - a completely student run musical theatre organization. There isn’t a Musical Theatre major at Vandy.

Conversely, right across the street at Belmont, only MT majors can audition for shows. (Unless it’s one w/ a big chorus and they need bodies.)

To list all the schools where any undergrad could audition for shows would be a huge undertaking - you’d be much better off in trying to find schools that fit financially, personally and academically and THEN take a closer look and see if you could partake in theatre.

Good luck!

D has a friend at Duke that was at her PA Studio - she, like you, did not want to pursue theater as a career - but wanted to be in a place where she still had opportunities to pursue her hobby - I think she’s been in a show every semester since she’s been there - and she’s a Junior.

Yes, there are bunches of schools that do theater productions that any student can audition for. If you are looking for schools that have MT/Acting majors, but still allow others to audition for show, the list is a bit smaller. Indiana University has a a wonderful program, but anyone in the university can audition. Non-Acting/MT/Music majors are often cast in their shows.

The University of Michigan. They have an organization called “MUSKET” that produces a couple of shows each year (this year was Sweeney Todd & Into the Woods). Shows are staged a the Power Center, the same venue as the MT Mainstage shows.

Dear Abby (couldn’t resist!):

As others have written, there are a slew of schools where you can be in musicals even if not majoring in that field. Look for schools that have very active MT extracurricular groups. Many schools have such active groups on campus for students like yourself who are talented and interested in theater but are not necessarily majoring in it. Examine the EC offerings at colleges that interest you and see what’s going on there. On visits, try to meet with these groups or even see some of these shows. I have seen such shows at some excellent colleges that are totally extracurricular in nature and truly top notch.

YES!!! My D also wanted to study more than theater. There are PLENTY of great programs that offer outstanding performance and training and the ability to study many things. She is attending Pacific Lutheran University which offers all of this and great study abroad. Other programs include Knox College, Oberlin College, Chapman University, Loyola Chicago, the list is long and varied.

Yale, Harvard, and Princeton all have quite vibrant music, theatre, and dance communities. The academics are OK too.

My niece has had scads of opportunities to act, direct, and produce at Harvard. The kids put forth an idea and the funding is available to them through the Harvard-Radcliffe Drama group. I’ve been to a few shows and they are wonderful! Also, BU has “On Broadway”, BU’s premier musical theatre group. This spring, they put up Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson! BU’s group is for students outside the College of Fine Arts.

Picking up on Harvard for a moment…I saw the Hasty Pudding Club’s original musical this year and it was fabulous. Also, Harvard is starting a theater major now.

^^Yes, they are. As a matter of fact, my niece just produced a show at Harvard for a senior who used Independent Study to create his own theatre major. His major is what the school is using for the basis of their new theatre major!! Isn’t that great? My niece is still going with her original major, but is now excited to have additional theatre courses that she can choose from. (This student’s thesis was an original twist on the Oscar Wilde story, and it was fun to watch because BU just did an Oscar Wilde play, too!)

@Marbleheader yes, I actually read about that student and his original show at Harvard in the news.

Picking up on evilqueen’s Knox mention - my daughter has had more opportunities to perform, tech, direct, and write as a non-theatre major than her friend at NYU as a theatre/creative writing major/minor.

OP - there are plenty of colleges that have great theatre programs open to anyone with an interest. Pick your colleges based on your other needs and then you can whittle it down to include those with excellent theatre opportunities. Oh, and I must disagree with your statement that acting will have no place in your career as a lawyer, many lawyers were theatre majors, it is a useful tool in litigation (and life!)

Good luck!

^^^To be apples to apples on the above comment, there is no lack of these kinds of opportunities at NYU but the theatre majors often lack the time to participate in everything they would like to do. Many non theatre majors at NYU with an interest in theater have more flexibility in their schedules to include them. As an example, we know a recent Gallatin graduate that did a ton of these sorts of things. Far more than our theatre major kid will ever do.

Northwestern is also known to be a school where non-majors can audition for all of the 60+ productions on campus every year, inluding many many musicals.

Best of luck to you!

Okay thanks everyone!