Speaking of encouragement; don’t forget the story of Kyle Dean Massey, who has been on Broadway in Wicked, Next to Normal, and originated the role of Pippin in the Broadway revival. Massey was declined from every auditioned musical theatre program he applied to before enrolling (at the then non-auditioned) Missouri State. So what terrible song choice did Kyle Dean Massey, the man who would go onto starring as Pippin on Broadway, make that got him declined from all those programs?? Why “Corner of the Sky” of course! Don’t give up people!
Samira is a very talented actor. However, if those monologues are the two she used for her Tisch audition, she clearly did not follow the artistic review instructions. Make sure you don’t make the same mistake!
Hi all - recently Columbia College of Chicago came across my daughters radar. I’ve searched here and haven found any recent info. Does anyone have any input good or bad? She is considering it because it is a non audition school and in an area that she likes. Thanks in advance
A friend of my D’s attends Columbia College in Chicago and loves it. She did audition into the BFA Theater Performance at the end of her freshman year; I do not know the trajectory of the BA vs. the BFA. Either way (whether she was accepted as a BFA student or not), she intended to stay at the school - she really enjoyed her freshman year. I do not know any specifics - just the general!
Yeah @emdcollege the BA is non-audition, and the BFA is audition first or second semester. Last year when I emailed Amy Uhl asking about the program, she sent me a lengthy email. For brevity’s sake, I will pm it to you (if anyone else wants it just shout). It’s from December so a rather recent message.
@CentralOHmomof4, could you please pm the email to me? Thanks!
Can you please send me info as well
@CentralOHmomof4
Thanks
I would appreciate this info also. Thanks! @CentralOHmomof4
@CentralOHmomof4 If its not a hassle …I too would love the info. My D and I have heard only very good things plus they teach ASL and deaf culture which is another area of interest for her. She follows Deaf West Theatre closely. It is our non-audition safety. We won’t be able to visit until Chicago Unified’s because $$. Thank You. If it’s becoming too much, no worries. Very intrigued with this school.
Hi! I’m a rising senior and am eager, excited, and nervous to be embarking on this exhilarating journey this upcoming year! I currently have a pretty concrete list of about 16 schools I plan on applying to, but most are very competitive schools. So, I was wondering what “safety” schools people have on their lists and what schools people would consider “safety” schools? Thanks!!
@4llth4tj4zz as I’m sure you probably know by now a safety is a non-audition program that you’re likely to be admitted to academically. These will most likely be BA Theater programs. My D was going for straight acting and hers were U Alabama and UAB, Rutgers (BA), SUNY Purchase BA, and U Tampa.
@4llth4tj4zz - to add on to what @marg928 was saying, another element of a “safety” is financial… you have to know you can pay for the school. Many LACs have great theater opportunities - my D had Kenyon, Denison and Muhlenberg as her safeties
Got a question via PM - and thought I would clarify my post above… I kind of included 2 thoughts there:
- A financial safety is really important.... in fact, keep finances in mind through the search is a big deal - having kid get into dream school and not being able to send them is not a fun scenario.
- LACs can be good safeties, as many have strong theater programs, and being (generally) small schools, offer a more intimate experience, lots of opportunities etc. My kid chose Muhlenberg, Kenyon, and Denison as her safeties. all were schools where she was in/above the zone academically (high stats kid), and all were schools we were willing to pay for (she ended up with merit at all 3)
For those hunting for “Safety Schools,” a possible taxonomy of non-audition theatre programs for those interested in MT might be based on the following:
(a) Does the program offer a degree in MT?
(b) Does the program offer coursework specifically in MT performance?
(c) Can you take voice and dance?
(d) Does the program do musicals?
A possible classification based on assessment of these criteria might look like this:
1. Non-audition programs that offer a degree in MT
There are lists of these for non-audition BA’s and BFA’s in the Big List of MT Colleges by Program type pinned to the top of this forum: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1335445-big-list-of-mt-colleges-by-program-type.html#latest. Examples of solid programs in this domain would be the University of Tulsa and Christopher Newport.
2. Non-audition theatre programs that do not offer a degree in MT but do offer classes in MT and do musicals
Programs like this include the University of Kentucky, Muhlenberg and William and Mary (Kentucky does have a audition-based MT Certificate program).
3. Non-audition theatre programs that do musicals, * do not offer classes in MT, but where it is possible to take voice and dance in addition to acting classes*
There are many programs like this around the country ranging from very large state flagship schools to LAC’s.
4. Non-audition theatre programs that do not do musicals but where you can take voice and dance in addition to acting
Similar to classification #3, there are many programs around the country that have non-audition theatre programs that do not do musicals but where you can take acting, voice, and (possibly) dance.
There are, of course, non-audition theatre programs that offer acting and do straight plays but are very limited otherwise with respect to MT.
Hi everyone! I stumbled across this discussion today! I’m so glad to have found it! We are starting down the crazy MT audition Road. My daughter is a senior in the UNCSA 12th grade drama program. It is all crazy stressful although I’ve had to learn to give up a lot of the control. All applications, prep and prescreen are done through UNCSA. I can’t wait to see what great things our kids accomplish!
@4llth4tj4zz So while having a non-audition safety or two is SUPER important, it can also be a good idea to have some less insanely competitive audition schools on your list. These are schools that draw from a more regional pool of applicants, but are still amazing programs (keep in mind that there is no direct correlation between selectivity and how good the program is - there are some amazing schools that admit higher numbers, or don’t require auditions at all). A few that I know of off the top of my head are Marymount Manhattan, Long Island University at CW Post, Molloy College, Illinois Wesleyan, Western Carolina, University of Tampa, and University of Southern Maine. There are many other schools that, like these programs, are slightly less selective/have a slightly smaller applicant pool, but still offer great training. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend that you add a couple of schools in this category onto your list. BAL with auditions!
I have another question about safety schools. Would you prefer a safety school that has a well-regarded audition BFA program and a BA program? Or would you prefer a BA program in a school that does not offer the audition based BFA?
My thinking is no audition-based program so that the non-audition students have more opportunity. Any thoughts on that?
Non-audition BA programs at schools that offer audition-based BFA’s in MT might be a good fit, but here are some things to consider:
- Does the BA curriculum offer enough MT performance coursework and training in acting, voice, and dance? Unfortunately, some BA programs in Theatre may not offer much in the way of performance-based Musical Theatre training if there is also a BFA MT program at the school. Look at the BA curriculum carefully to determine if it really fits your interests - the majority of the courses may be in General Theatre studies, i.e., History of Theatre, Stagecraft, Playwrighting, etc., vs. acting, singing, and dancing. It may be difficult for BA's to get into BFA MT and Acting studio courses.
- How many BA's typically get cast in shows? At some programs that also have BFA students, casting may greatly favor the BFA's. This can be difficult to assess, however, since the typical answer from a theatre department will be, "casting is open to all theatre students," which doesn't help characterize the situation, or, "BA's are routinely cast" which may be technically true, however, the reality may be, "one or two BA's per show in the ensemble is typical."
D2 and I toured Ithaca a week or so ago with a potential BA Theatre Studies student. He asked the question about BA students being cast in mainstage productions. The answer was “it happens, but it is not common, and far less common in the musicals.” She mentioned, however, there are a number of opportunities in other faculty-produced or student-run productions where BA students have a better shot of being cast. The BFA professors are looking to get their performance majors experience on the stage as part of the curriculum.
If you take a look at this thread, you can get a flavor for when some MT students were notified.
@artskids, my D just graduated from Ithaca MT in May. I do not recall any BA kids being cast in any of the mainstage plays or musicals…although I could be wrong. If it does happen, I think it is a fairly rare occurrence. However, they do cast non BFAs in the dance shows, which are held on the main stage. In addition, an Ithaca BA student was just cast in Broadway’s Miss Saigon. She and an Ithaca MT student were both up for the role…the BA student booked it. So, anything can happen.