CCPA @ Roosevelt University

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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<p>Hello Everyone! So, i am new to this board and i decided to join to give you all first hand insight about the Theatre Conservatorty @ Chicago College of Performing Arts(Roosevelt Univ). You honestly wont get information liek this from anyone else, because they only know what they hear. luckily for you, i attend this school and am a Musical Theatre Major, so i know first hand about this program. I hope you all get the necessary information you need to help you make the right choice for colleges.</p>

<p>First off, i want you to be aware that CCPA is a conservatory program and that means that we get down to business here. We are all about learnign and becoming ARTIST here. being and an actor or a singer or a dancer is just fine, but being an artist is what separates the good from the bad. KNOW YOUR ART. make sure you figure out what separates you from everyone else. Use your best tools to get where you want to go. All we have are our gifts, and we have a responsibility to share those gifts. TAKE RISKS. go against the grain. those are things that CCPA looks for. Chicago is known as the second best theatre town in the united states, and some would put it ahead of New York, because Chicagoe Theatre and actors take risk. Chicago is the Improv Capital of the world. All those improv actors from Saturday Night live have studied in this town and continue to work here and make a very nice living. we have musicals, plays, imrpov, theatre companies, gay theatre, theatre for african americans, theatre for the deaf. ITS ALL HERE IN CHICAGO! not to mention shows such as PRISON BREAK and ER are shot here in chicago. In fact, the casting director for ER works as a teacher in the theatre conservatory here, so, talk about making connections. Its an easier transition from chicago to NEW YORK. Actors are willing to share their knowledge and guide you. its not cut throat, its helpful. We work together in chicago and everyone knows everyone. If you move to NY fresh and naive, beware that its a different ball park. There are people in NY that have more experience and will always get the job over you. Come to chicago to learn your craft! All your favorite broadway shows played in chicago before going to Broadway.</p>

<p>At Roosevelt, you live downtown in the heart of the city and theatre district. Wicked is right down the street from me. Its seriously, 3 blocks away. There are shopping areas all over the place. Chicago prepares you for city life. The dorms are GREAT! university Center is very popular and allows you to connect with friend from Depaul and Columbia who also live in the dorm. Apartments are cheap, although you are required to live in the dorms your first two years. Its for your benefit. The Faculty here is sooooooooooooo well connected and many of them are important in the theatre world themselves. </p>

<p>We have some of the best acting teachers ever. Your freshman acting teacher will turn you into the actor you never thought you’d become. honestly, he has been kicking my butt all year. Most transfers from non-conservatory programs (such as myself) come in as Freshman. TRUST ME, it is to your advantage. if you are transferring, get those english credits out of the way. WE DONT TAKE MATH HERE. Those of you who hate math are in luck. YOU CAN, but you dont have to. Everyone here is incredible and chicago is just nuts! i love chicago…and i am from NYC! so…there you go. WE have people from interlochen, walnut hill, PA schools in Florida, New orleans, california, EVERYWHERE. </p>

<p>I actually got a rundown on schools the other day and i found out that roosevelt has actually become rated up next to michigan and only under Carnegie Mellon. Carnegie is the top. so…there you go. its great here. come visit. you get so much attention and you get to cut loose in the freshman showcase within the first month. ltos of great oppurtunities. </p>

<p>OH! i almost forgot. LUIS PEREZ IS GOD! lusi is new to the faculty and he teaches acting for the musical stage. he has directed and choreographed several broadway shows, including Man of la mancha with brian stokes mitchell. He worked as fight director and choreographer on Violet the musical and MArie Christine with Audra Mcdonalds. he is good friends with Jason Robert Brown and his wife Georgia Stitt(amazing composer! check her out for audition stuff). He knwos everyone and everyone knows him. Its just a fact. John Bucchino was here last year along with several other composers. Luis is just amazing. Its been said that even more broadway actors and actresses are coming in to be on staff for long and short periods of time. so…take Roosevelt into consideration. It has great prestige for having just been created in the early 90’s (The Theatre conervatory). You will go really far here. trust me.</p>

<p>if you have any questions, feel free to ask. You are welcome to instant message me on aim as well. i am willing to give any one advice on audition songs. best of luck to you all!!!</p>

<p>Top theatres in Chicago and the world: Steppenwoolf, Goodman, Oriental, Chicago, lookinglass, Second City, many more…</p>

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<p>i am auditioning as a transfer into Roosevelt as a MT Major, so i'm really happy there's smoeone on here who can give me some info!!</p>

<p>as a transfer applicant, do you know approximately how many they accept? i'm completely fine with entering as a freshman -- that's actually what i'd like to do!</p>

<p>in terms of auditions, do you feel that the school has "types" (physically, voice-wise, whatever!) that they look for? if so, what are they?</p>

<p>How many are in this year's freshman class and what is the acceptance rate, if you know, also?</p>

<p>Thank you so much,
Maggie :)</p>

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<p>Hey Maggie!</p>

<p>Glad to see you are interested and i am glad to answer any of your questions. its my pleasure!</p>

<p>so, this year they brought in 52 kids which consist of acting and musical theatre. 35 are MT's and the rest are acting. let me make it clear that they dont take this many usually. usually they take around 20 to 25 at the most. they wanted to up the ante this year so they brought in more. I honestly would say that there isnt a specific amount of transfers, its more what you have to offer. the school actually likes transfers because i think they feel that we come in ready to work with maturity and bring what knowledge we know. </p>

<p>I would honestly say that there is no real type. we have a lot of girls that like to belt, but i wouldnt be worried about it. NOT EVERYONE BELTS. the idea is not to cater to THEIR type but be yourself. thats the best way to get in. use what you have and be proud of yourself and all things will fall into place. trust me. my friend major is a large man and he got in. his voice is ridiculously gorgeous, but there is no type. do your thing.</p>

<p>i hope i answered everything.</p>

<p>feel free to ask more.</p>

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<p>Ccpasoulman...thanks for starting this thread. Is there a cut policy at Roosevelt? that seems like a large class of MT students.</p>

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<p>Soulman,</p>

<p>I am sorry to question you on this, but I would like to know your source for this: </p>

<p>"I actually got a rundown on schools the other day and i found out that roosevelt has actually become rated up next to michigan and only under Carnegie Mellon. Carnegie is the top." so...there you go.</p>

<p>Undoubtedly Carnegie and UM are the top....I think we have all "heard" that, but where did you find a source that ranks the schools?</p>

<p>I have been down to Roosevelt, Columbia, and DePaul a couple years ago. I agree with your comment on the location being prime, however I must say their facilities need some updating...IMHO. I believe DePaul was considering doing so.</p>

<p>I do love Chicago!! :)</p>

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<p>Hi soulman:</p>

<p>Good to hear about your school! Can you give us some more info, so we "coaches" can help guide our students who are considering auditioning?</p>

<ol>
<li><p>In what MUSICALS are you grads working? (local, regional, nat'l tours, European tours, B-way) The more specifics we have about this, the better! I emphasize musicals b/c that's most of my students' chosen medium...</p></li>
<li><p>Can you describe the voice and overall music aspect of your program? How long are private lessons? Do you have them for all 4 years? Do you also take theory and piano? </p></li>
<li><p>Do you have any kind of showcase for NYC agents or Chicago agents and casting directors?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I'm sure you're incredibly busy, so thanks for ANY answers you have time to give!</p>

<p>CoachC</p>

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<p>Hey, soulman. I'd also like to know the answers to Coachc's questions. I'm always wary of hearing these 'rankings' because, frankly, they're usually way off from reality. Did one of your teachers tell you about rankings? I guess I'd question it if it came from a teacher because rankings are not what they should be focussing on, IMO. </p>

<p>What kind of courses are you taking? Or is there a page on the school's website that will show the classes? </p>

<p>It's nice that you love your school and Chicago so much, that's important. I'm not sure why it's a benefit to have Wicked playing three blocks from you tho. LOL. And not EVERY Broadway show plays Chicago first!</p>

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<p>Hi! My D is very interested in Roosevelt. Can you tell me anything about their accrediation? Thanks so much for your help!</p>

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<p>I'm curious about the accreditation issue as well; my d was very interested in CCPA Roosevelt as well, until this summer when several people told her it was an unaccredited program. Seemed like an accredited university from the website (I vaguely remember checking), but wondering why it has this rep if not true?</p>

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<p>I don't know much about Roosevelt and would be interested in learning more. Two students who graduated from Walnut Hill last year started in this year's freshman class so I know it's at least on the radar screen at a good performing arts high school. I also know they are accredited. I checked both their web site and the regional accrediting body for the midwest and they are fully accredited. They are going through their periodic reaccreditation review this spring, but that is standard with all accredited schools. Here is their website info re: accreditation: <a href="http://www.roosevelt.edu/hlc-accreditation/default.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.roosevelt.edu/hlc-accreditation/default.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Thanks Kedstuff, after reading the link, maybe what people mean is that it's not accredited by NAST (National Association of Schools of Theater); not sure of the significance of that? Seems to me there are quite a few programs not NAST accredited.</p>

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<p>Hi Soozievt! I have a (some) question (questions!) about Roosevelt--I am thinking that since you are a college counselor, and particular to MT schools as well, that perhaps you have some definitive information on this University. Can you enlighten those of us who have so many questions about the program? Many thanks, as always!</p>

<p>Julie</p>

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<p>Julie, Roosevelt is a program that I don't know much about. I don't know kids applying from my sphere of theater kids, nor any clients either. So, I would have to research it fully myself and I have not yet at this juncture. I do know a boy from my region who went to Walnut Hill who had Roosevelt as his safety school last year but now is a freshman at Ithaca. I'm sorry to not be more helpful though it is nice to see a current student shed some light on his experience. </p>

<p>Like others, I am curious where he got some list of ratings of college BFA programs and how Roosevelt fell where he says it did on said list. Perhaps he will come back and share more!</p>

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<p>oh wow! lots of questions to be answered and i hope i can answer all them to my best knowledge. </p>

<p>First off let me start by saying that roosevelt does not have a cut program. the only way to get cut here is by not focusing on your craft, or just failing your classes. cutting is unnecessary because most freshman decide that this business isnt for them, during the first few years. </p>

<p>As far as my source for rankings, i was informed by a friend, i am not sure where she got the source. so you can feel free to take what i said lightly. i trust my source for she got in to both michigan and carnegie mellon, and made the choice to come to roosevelt. it all depends on what you want and some kids want what people say are the top schools. when it really comes down to it, it doesnt matter because its not about the school but the training you get from that school, and if you arent getting attention, its not worth your money. trust me. </p>

<p>my school has grads in several musicals on broadway and national tours but i will have to get you an official list. we get emails whenever a student gets cast in a broadway show and recently we had a student who got cast in woman in white. </p>

<p>it is a fact that several grads decide to stay and work in chicago. many of our grads start there own theatre companies or work at Steppenwoolf, second city, the goodman, chicago shakespeare, all working with top actors in chicago and new york.</p>

<p>do take into consideration that this only knowledge, from my experience and what i have learned. i wont stretch the truth at all. </p>

<p>voice lessons are done differently here. first semester you take group voice lessons to set you up with basics. teachers give you a full run down on how to keep your voice healthy, what kinds of medicine to use, etc. its really helpful. second semester you start taking private lessons most with the teacher you take group voice with. she is RIDICULOUS!!! INCREDIBLE WOMAN! ah!</p>

<p>feel free to email me personally as well for more info. <a href="mailto:ccpasoulman@yahoo.com">ccpasoulman@yahoo.com</a></p>

<p>i want everyone to understand that i will be partial to my school. i love it. not everyone loves their school. you will decide whats best for you when you go to your schools and actually sit in on a class or see a show. thats the honest truth. always ask students what they think. and not just the students they give you on the tours, but regular students who are not doing tours. i will be glad to share more. i do have class, so be patient. i will be checking this board. i'll have my friends stop by and give you insight. kelsee is on the board and she goes to columbia and she is always here, so she will give you honest feedback as well. best of luck. i hope i didnt miss anything.</p>

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<p>oh and its true that not every broadway show plays chicago but many of them do. all shook up, sweet charity, light in the piazza, woman in white got cancelled here, and several more.</p>

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<p>Did your friend reflect upon why she chose Roosevelt over CMU or UMich since she did apply (and got in) and must have liked those two schools enough to have applied to them in the first place? I'm curious what drew her to choose Roosevelt as with any student, they have reasons of why they feel a school fits what they want over other schools. Fit is more important than prestige. However, usually kids do like most schools on their list (or why apply to them?) and so I am wondering her criteria for choosing this school over the acceptances to those two well regarded programs on her wish list. Thanks, if you do happen to ask her. Maybe she also can point to the source of where she got a ratings list.</p>

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<p>when talking to my friend about her choice she expressed that her decision to attend roosevelt was based on the individual attention she gets here, connections, supportive faculty, no cuts, and chicago being known as the second largest theatre town in america. i will be sure to ask her for her source for ratings. i hope her decision makes sense. At the end of the day, its all about what is most fitting for you as an artist. i hope everyone on here finds that special school.</p>

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<p>CCpassoulman, that is great that she has reasons she chose it as any student should have. Those are reasons that make sense to choose a school by but they do not reflect a comparison as to why she chose it over the other two mentioned. They stand as reasons for their own sake for the school being a good fit for her (as anyone should choose a school for that reason). I was asking more why she chose it over those others which begs a more comparative type answer. For example, if one school is smaller than another, a kid might say they like that is smaller. If one schools has cuts and another doesn't and the kid does not want cuts, then that is a contrast. The points you brought up about supportive faculty, no cuts, connections, individual attention also exist at the other two schools. The only contrast is the point about being in Chicago. Again, those are solid reasons to pick a school but I can't tell by the answer why she chose it over the other two that she apparently had an interest in if she applied and it is unusual in some ways for someone to pick what some might think of as a less selective school over two admissions to top programs UNLESS they liked it for reasons that contrasted over a more selective one. Prestige is not that important. My own child, not in MT, when it came to picking her final favorites of her choices in April, had two schools she was seriously considering attending over an Ivy League school in which she was accepted and chosen as a Scholar so believe me, it is not all about prestige but I know what her reasons were and they very much contrasted with the schools she liked better. That is why I am currious about your friend.</p>

<p>I am also curious about this source for ratings because on another board I saw you post a similar post on, I noticed another student posting how HIS school, Western Michigan was rated third for MT behind CMU and UM. It was interesting to read someone else say this about THEIR school and now to read that same statistic about your school. I have not seen such a list. I could not even tell you which "rank" my own kid's school, (NYU/Tisch/CAP) had!</p>

<p>Susan</p>

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<p>What are the Ivy League Schools of musical theatre and theatre?
Does Susan or anyone have a list? Are they listed on this board somewhere?</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>Mary Anna</p>

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<p>Mary Anna...I do not have such a list but I wish to clarify that my reference in the above post had NOTHING to do with MT schools and I had written that the Ivy League schools pertained to my other D who is currently a soph in college and had written "not in MT" and used it as an analogy to her picking the schools that she liked best, not which were more prestigious. When narrowing her options down after all her acceptances came in, I was saying that she knocked off one of her Ivy League school acceptances (I am talking the real and only Ivy League as it is officially called, not a term that some may use here loosely with MT programs) and preferred two of her other schools over this one. I was saying she had reasons for those choices that contrasted with the Ivy League school she had gotten into that she opted to not attend. </p>

<p>As far as Ivy League schools for MT or theater.....the term Ivy League can only be loosely applied as the Ivy League consists of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Penn, Cornell, Columbia, and Dartmouth and is a football league. </p>

<p>I suppose you are asking about the "top" rated programs. I do not know of any rankings for this field (nor do I like school rankings anyway and never paid attention to them for my first daughter who had no clue where her schools ranked on USNews). If anyone knows of official rankings for MT BFA programs, I'd love to hear but none exists in an official list that I know of. What DOES exist are reputations and there are some MT programs that are often thought of as the "top programs in the field" though not necessarily in any particular order. I think most who read this forum know which ones as a loose group are often thought of in this regard to reputation. As an acting coach, I imagine you are also aware of which programs are considered the top ones in terms of reputation. There are a handful and some might dispute which are in that handful so I am not going to state the ones that I often hear of in that handful. I am not aware of any ranking of them, however. None are in the Ivy League.</p>

<p>Susan</p>