Is it time for this now??? Who all is ready for this crazy journey with our Ds and Ss?
It looks like the 2019 thread was started in April last year so I’d say as scary as it is, it is time now.
I’m going to be a senior next year and I look foreward to getting to vent and get through these crazy next 12 months.
Thank you @songgirlsmom for starting this!!! I thought it was time! Mom to junior girl, and here we go!
Well, too keep up with prior years. I’ll kick it off and introduce myself.
I’m a bass/baritone guy from Minnesota. I have been lurking these forms for quite awhile and I suppose it’s time to take the information on here extra seriously now. I have been doing Theatre for a long time, 8 years about. However, I do not have any big professional credits or something fancy like some people. I have a pretty low gpa. Which is embarrassing, but I’m hoping to push it up this semester.
My favorite schools right now are: Columbia College Chicago, Roosevelt, Montclaire, Marymount Manhattan, and the University of Minnesota.
What the heck, I might as well jump in on this as well. I’ve been reading around all school year, but I’ve only posted a few things so far. (:
My name is Grace, and I’m a soprano from Ohio. I’ve been singing since I was little, but I did my first show in the 8th grade. I probably don’t have as much training as a lot of the people out there - but I’ve done what I have been able to so far. I’m ready to push myself even more and I am super excited for the opportunities ahead! Hoping that some hard work and my good grades will get me where I’m meant to be.
School wise… I have a super huge list right now that it’s probably about time I start narrowing down… yikes.
Welcome all (even lurkers)! We “veterans” are rooting for every one of you as you go through the next crazy year.
Here’s our intro: My d is a rising senior. She’s a petite legit soprano who is working on her belt. She’s studied voice for seven years, dance for two and acting for one. She started doing school shows in middle school and now is active in her high school drama and choir department. Her grades could be better. She’s done a couple of small roles in community theater and one professional theater. We’ve visited a few schools to get a feel for what she wants, and we are trying to get her list finalized. She looking for a small program, preferably at a small school. We are keeping the search primarily to the Midwest. I’m looking forwarding to sharing and learning from everyone, and also hope my D will come and get involved in the site too!
Good luck to all of you! Going through this process was the most horrible and the most wonderful thing I’ve ever done, but, at the end of the day, while there are plenty of things I would do differently, there are no experiences I would trade - not even the “bad” ones. Remember to breathe, stay focused, and stay genuine. Don’t get so caught up in the unwritten “rules” that you lose your unique voice, and, most importantly, always try to make the process fun.
I’m sure I’ll hang around next year to lurk and lend a hand where I can. If anyone has any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me! I applied to schools for both acting and directing respectively, but I’ve been known to hang around the MT forum because it’s more active than the Theater/Drama forum.
You guys are going to kill it!!
Hi all!! Thanks @songgirlsmom for starting this thread.
My D is a rising senior, she has been performing in musicals since 4th grade & dancing since age 3. She is a straight A student and by hs graduation will have 18 college credits. We, the parents want a BA for her, she would love a BFA. So we are looking for a strong BA program where she can keep up her dance, voice and acting and be able to either double major (hoping most of her college credits transfer and free up space) or minor in perhaps Eng Lit or Theater Admin.Both areas she is interested in. She initially wanted to be near home, NY but is now open to looking at a good school fit. I am excited for her and overwhelmed and so happy I found this CC forum!!
Vassar and Sarah Lawrence both have very strong theater and strong academics, though they might be slanted towards straight (non-MT) drama.
Bennington, too!
Fordham (auditioned BA)
@Jkellynh17 yes those programs are more theater as well as Fordham @toowonderful. Though we did take her to see it anyway, but it is a vertical campus and she wants a true campus experience.Keep the ideas coming though they are Much appreciated!!!
Well 40 years ago when the dinosaurs roamed, Sarah Lawrence did do some musicals. I remember seeing a few. And I know they were doing Next To Normal a few years ago when we visited.
Jumping on this crazy train, ready or not. 
I’ve been mostly lurking on both the MT and Theater forums. Daughter is heading toward theater/drama/acting but possbile minor/emphasis/whatever in MT. Like joyfulmama, hubby and I are leaning a bit toward a BA, suggesting she not ignore her academic strengths and also looking at possible minor that would compliment the acting (like writing, which she is very good at). She quite likely will be NMSF/NMF, so there’s that… and the carrot that is dangling because of it from schools that offer really generous scholarships (does she even like those places? who knows?). Anyway… I really appreciate the knowledge and experiences shared by folks in the past couple years and know that I’ll continue to find interesting tidbits here. Cheers!
Just an FYI @jbeansmom - at Wright State (Ohio), what is called an MT BFA is really an Acting BFA with an “emphasis in MT” (also have straight Acting BFA as well as Theater Studies BA). Some students are true triple threats, but acting is a real strength. They offer full ride scholarships (in-state tuition, but talent scholarships can be stacked) to NMSF/NMF. WSU is not selective academically, but they do have an honors program.
@Joyfulmama Have you checked out Wagner College’s programs? Their MT is a BA.
@Joyfulmama D wanted a program with strong academics and the ability to major in music theatre or cobble together a program that would allow her to have voice lessons and acting opportunites while majoring in theatre or English.
She had a 98+average and 2130 SAT with great EC’s (president of her HS, lead in HS show etc.)
In the end she attended NYU Steinhardt for her BM in vocal performance (MT concentration) and minored in both the business of entertainment, media and technology, and English literature.
Her other top choices were Barnard and Brandeis.
@austinmt on paper only but the academics are not great there. Fits all other categories though.
@uskoolfish That’s great! NYU was not on her list bc she wants a campus but we just spoke last night about at least doing the session there, it would be Tisch . Even though BFA looks like students double major or minor.
@jbeansmom I’m probably a little biased since it’s the school and program I’ll be attending, but have you checked out the BFA Theatre Arts degree at DePaul? It sounds like your daughter and I have several of the same priorities, and DePaul fit the bill for me.
It’s a BFA in title, but it’s a really flexible program that can function similarly to a BA, if that’s what someone is looking for, especially if a student comes in with lots of AP credit and is looking at double majoring or minoring. A good option if she has her heart set on a BFA but wants to explore other areas of interest, too. I was always told I couldn’t have both, so finding DePaul was exciting for me.
While my test scores and grades are well above the university’s as a whole, scholarships from The Theatre School are holistic and consider talent, need, and academics - meaning my grades opened up a LOT of scholarship money for me. Plus, I’ll be in the honors college, which will increase the rigor of my gen eds.
A couple potential drawbacks, however: There are performance opportunities for Theatre Arts students, but not in mainstage productions. This wasn’t a deal breaker for me, as training was more my priority than performing, but I completely understand if that’s not a sacrifice she’s willing to make. Also, I think there are MT classes available, but there’s no designated MT major or minor.
What I loved about the program was that I’ll be in a conservatory setting with conservatory rigor but without conservatory rigidity. I’ll have almost complete control over my schedule. Anyway, just another option to consider!