@type1mom there have been comments and threads on CC about acting programs that crossover with MT, allow actors to audition for musicals (some schools don’t), and where actors
Take dance and voice or can supplement with private lessons.
I think there is crossover at Webster and CCPA but someone with more knowledge than I have should confirm that. There also seems to be crossover at SEMO (southeast Missouri state). A school like Southern Methodist offers an MT minor for those in BFA program (but they apparently don’t do as many musicals).
My daughter goes to UNCSA which is a drama school but many MT kids consider it (and attend) as they take dance and singing regularly as part of the curriculum. It is a very physical program. The focus is acting though and more “straight” plays are done than musicals although both happen.
The BM route for MT sounds promising too. Hadn’t thought of that. Lots of options. Maybe a different coach would be helpful.
Great question @marg928. We have a great local college coach who focuses on kids in the arts but we found said coach is awesome with the academic piece but lacks a true understanding of the BFA audition and admission process.
@HappyDancer98 and @toowonderful - not sure if I am tagging the right people and not sure what thread I was reading yesterday. I am kind of exhausted. Anyway it was about UMich and how if you get in off the wait list there is no financial aid. My girl is waitlisted for UMich MT. It has been her dream since she was 10 and I don’t know if it will end up working out or how long we will have to wait to find that out but does anyone have any info about financial aid if you get in down the road. No aid will be the end of her dream.
I felt the same as many of you when facing my D’s freshman year of college, and she’s the oldest of 4! It’s an awful feeling. So many tears and choked up moments that year… I kept thinking, “This is or is one of the last times we’ll___!” I was not ready to let her go, but, like you, I was excited for her, too.
Guess what? That job you’re feeling let go from? It’s still going to be there; it’s still important --just in a different capacity. Yet, I still found myself in a funk sometimes without knowing why, until I’d think, “Oh, of course–I miss D!” It was so hard when she left because our relationship is so good, and I worried for part of that first year that that would not continue or that I’d be somehow forgotten and replaced. Silly, I know, but I’m just being honest with you. My worries were unfounded. No, I don’t know everything that happens to her daily, but that is actually healthy, and we do communicate with each other a lot, so she still keeps me in the loop about a lot of things, and we have great conversations. (Thank God for technology and all the ways we can keep in touch.) Visits are wonderful. It’s fantastic to see how excited everyone is in our family to see each other, and we love spending time together. It’s also wonderful to know I’m still needed and wanted by D–that our relationship has stayed as close as ever and has actually even become closer. Fortunately, my D loves where she is and is thriving; I’m sure that makes it easier; it’s fantastic to see that, and it makes it so that I want to her to be gone and doing what she’s doing! She did have a time last year when she went through a personal hardship, and I couldn’t be there until about a week after it happened. As soon as we saw each other, we both started crying and just clung to each other, but, again, thank God for the technology that connected us when I couldn’t be there. Hang in there, everyone! You can do this! It’s exciting to watch them soar!
On another note, @theaterwork, my D has known of several people who were put on a waitlist at UArts. She personally knows one current student that was accepted off it; others were not accepted.
We’re still waiting to hear from Syracuse and had heard that Fridays are the days notifications are made. Didn’t see much here from people who heard from Syracuse. Are there any new acceptances out there?
@type1mom I had a similar experience with our first college audition coach suggesting my MT-bound daughter apply to only acting programs. Although she had been doing MT for 6 years (1/year at our public school and summer programs), she had not had dance training since 2nd grade. Her voice training was primarily classical-based although she had belting roles and a lot of solo voice experience. We met with this coach a couple of times and felt that my D’s dreams were being “shut down” with very little exposure to my D (of course that’s what the college audition process is like too - right? 2 mins and a decision is made - so I got where she was coming from but it didn’t feel right).
Before we proceeded with this coach, I decided to consult with another coaching company I heard about on here even though it was four hours away (MTCA in NY). The consult was very reasonable and the approach was totally different. Instead of saying I want to make sure your D is successful at getting into schools so I am going to put her in a “box” that I know will yield results… the attitude was “can do”. They looked at my D as someone above said - a unique individual with potential and said - these are the tools we can give her so that she can best present not only her current skills but her potential. This was already late August.
I wished we had started sooner but we got a lot done in those few months and she has been empowered by some wonderful loving caring people who were rooting for her and cheering her on. my D got accepted to 8 audition-required programs both BFA and BA, some requiring dance auditions and some not, some Acting only some pure MT, some very big scholarships, some no money at all. Being nervous about whether she would have any audition-based acceptances given the fact that they are all so competitive… we also applied to a number of non-audition programs which yielded another 6 options. My point is that if this is what your D really wants, get a second opinion! And definitely search out those smaller “up and coming” MT programs where they may appreciate your D’s uniqueness and potential and not have as much of a fixed impression of the type of polish they want the incoming student to already have. Yes, her dance skills weren’t good enough to get her into some programs but they were perfectly fine to get her into other equally desirable programs.
I hope this helps! Best wishes to you on your journey!
@type1mom - My S wanted BFA Acting but he has done a TON of MT and choir, so we looked for schools where we felt he could keep a foot in the door for MT. I agree with what @bfahopeful said–we had UNCSA and Roosevelt CCPA on our list. But also UArts has an MT minor and we also had MaryMount and Millikin. Probably should have auditioned for CMU in hindsight but he really wanted a city school. He is a decent dancer but needs more training. Vocally he has a beautiful, well trained voice but he is a Bass reaching for Baritone, so not a lot of roles out there for Bass! His current voice teacher says if he keeps at it, he should be able to expand his range to be a solid baritone and may even be able to get some tenor roles. So maybe we are landing in the right place by choosing a school where he can keep his foot in the door for MT.
As a mom to a student who applied to “only” BFA acting programs I would like to point out that acting is not a guaranteed admit either. It too is very competitive. This year especially the kids we know applying (all super talented) are meeting with a lot of rejection. Most acting programs also have a 1-5% admit rate. The “easier” admits may be 10%. Just like MT.
Similar to MT, there are more selective schools and those that are less selective too. There are BFA and BA options. Runs the spectrum. But NOT a guarantee.
I think some MT kids who are strong actors may apply to both programs at a school and get into acting as it is a better fit at that school. But there are kids who don’t get into either program. We even know an actor redirected to MT at a top MT school. (Rare - but it happened).
As already posted more than once–Being yourself and applying to a range of programs your child could be happy in is the best advice.
Just don’t assume acting is an automatic admit.
So true @bfahopeful! I think there may be more kids trying to get into MT but you certainly can’t get in for BFA Acting if you are not a very strong actor!
Agreed @remartin67
Although I was rather shocked at the numbers of acting applicants at some schools (also upwards of 1000 at several and over 2000 at a few). Of course juilliard, NYU, Cal Arts, CMU, Rutgers, SUNY Purhase, Guthrie, DePaul, etc, may have more applicants than other schools.
I was naive going into it and didn’t realize the sheer number of Uber talented kids out there. For acting, dance, voice, you name it.
Acting is also getting more competitive as more and more “MT” kids apply to both types of programs. Especially at schools like CMU, Pace, Texas state, etc, where you can either apply to both programs or be redirected after applying to one.
@stressedparents There is a Syracuse thread about this running simultaneously - seems to be historically there are waves that come from admissions each Friday over 3 or 4 weeks and theatre majors are part of the overall population. Although it is supposed to be over by the end of March, I think I read that one year it ran into the first week of April. Crossing fingers that we hear by next Friday…
@type1mom My daughter had dance classes but not that many. She always does really well in the dance calls because as she puts it … if it’s a ballet combo - she “acts like a ballerina” … same with jazz. She is a performer but didn’t always have great technique. Many times in the dance calls she would be called out to do it in front of the others in the audition. When this would happen in a ballet audition it seemed so funny since she only had a ballet class when she was 10. When she went through the leveling process at her school’s dance department, she ended up in the classes with the dance majors. I think it caught the teachers by surprise when they realized she only go across the floor in one direction … her other direction was completely awful. What she lacks in technique she makes up for in performance but now she is learning the technique too. So I would advise your daughter to “act like a dancer” in her auditions. (Getting help to pick up choreography would be good too.)
@type1mom
My son is definitely a dancer last. He has taken dance since middle school but he definitely is not an advanced dancer. He took ballet the year before his auditions and we hired a choreographer for his prescreens. They advised only submitting what the school asked for and not submitting ballet technique if not required. His teacher said show your best- don’t highlight your weaknesses. For him it’s all about performance too which I believed helped in his dance calls- selling that he has dance potential.
We got a letter today saying “Congratulations, you did it. You’ve been accepted into The Hartt School at the University of Hartford” and at the very bottom it says Major: Music Theatre. Did anyone else get this, and if so, is it legit? I sure hope so, because we have a happy D in our house!
Regarding Hartt - My D first got a text on her phone yesterday followed by an email with the same congratulatory but somewhat vague wording. She was not sure what it meant and refused to celebrate until I actually called admissions and confirmed she was accepted for BFA MT. They said a letter would be following in a few days. It seems their admissions process is a little all over the place this year due to the illness of a key staff member who is usually in charge of the process. Congrats on the great news @evitasmom. My D was so happy and excited!!
