Anyone recently been to visit this school for MT or auditioned there or been accepted/attending? It is on our list but all the threads I have searched for seem to be from many yrs ago.
Very talented girl from our HS graduated from Catawba a few years ago from their BFA MT. She’s now in LA, auditioning and working in local theatre here. She auditioned for very few MT schools back in the day and most were the “lottery schools”, so when that didn’t work out she applied late to Catawba as a last resort. Ended up very happy there.
@theaterwork I know a young man who graduated from Catawba in 2008. I could probably put you in touch with him if you’re interested.
Yes @alwaysamom that would be great . Just pm me the info or he can pm me
I have been to visit twice with my son since the summer (once to audition for their talent scholarship). I have been incredibly impressed with the faculty and they have generous financial aid (talent and academic) which is why my son was initially drawn to Catawba. He has since grown attached to the feel of the campus and the faculty. It’s worth checking out.
That’s great to hear @VaTheatreMom
We have it down to investigate further!
Also @VaTheatreMom is that program audition or not. I thought it was but now am confused as to whether it is or not
Everyone starts their first year in the BA program so the only audition initially is for scholarships, including the full-tuition scholarship. It is not mandatory to pursue a scholarship, of course. Auditions to enter the BFA program are held in the first year. Before we toured my son was against a small school but the intangible component of “fit” seemed to kick in as he toured and met faculty. My son was fortunate to be offered a generous scholarship as part of his acceptance (he applied in August) so it’s a serious contender. He has several auditions ahead so we’ll see how it all turns out. I’ve been very impressed so far with the personalized attention - but that is one of the benefits of a smaller school I suppose.
Oh darn then it’s an out for us because of that later audition. I think if my D wants the BFA , she would be bummed if she had to attend and then audition and for some reason wasn’t accepted into the BFA. We have been nixing those schools that have that later audition stipulation. Is the BA in MT or just Theatre?
They have a BA and BFA in Theatre Arts and a BA and BFA in Musical Theatre. I believe you can also minor in MT. I would reach out to them if you have questions - I don’t know that I ever asked how many apply for the BFA and are not accepted.
I went to Catawba my freshman year before transferring! It wasn’t a good fit for me, but the majority of my classmates were absolutely in love with the school and the department. I was an intended BFA MT, dance minor.
Catawba has a BA and a BFA in MT. Based on scholarship auditions (which you can do online via Acceptd!), they either preliminarily accept you to the BFA (which basically just means you don’t have to audition again once you’re at the school) or recommend you for the BA with the option to re-audition for the BFA. At the end of each semester, the department accepts BFA letters for all majors - basically a letter to the faculty stating why you wish to declare a BFA - and the faculty decides from there. You can resubmit the following semester if you’re rejected. The MT BFA is not very competitive; your D should be more than fine if she works hard.
Freshmen can’t formally declare a major until spring semester because it is a liberal arts school, but intended theatre students take the theatre core in addition to their gen eds and MTs often take choir, dance, and/or private voice as freshmen.
Catawba is VERY generous with talent and academic scholarships, more than any other school I applied to by far. They also offer a full-ride theatre scholarship to an incoming freshman every year.
If you want a true liberal arts program, Catawba is by far one of the strongest in the country. You will graduate knowing a little bit of everything. Students take 6 semesters of Applied Theatre, which entails completing a major tech position, minor tech position and stage operations position for mainstage shows, attending a lab in the scene shop every week, doing a certain number of load-in hours per semester, and attending all strikes, department events, and forums/discussions every semester. As a result, most of Catawba’s graduates (~80%) are offered work post-grad because they have leadership experience and are well-versed in all areas of the theatre, not just performance.
They also have incredible productions and work hard to create a sense of community within the department. I still love many of my professors - one of them even had my class over for a homecooked meal!
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me! I can also get you/your D in contact with current students @theaterwork
Ok thanks for that update @sequinclad I will take that into play when we finalize a list of schools. If you don’t mind me asking where do you go now?