Colleges for Musical Theater - PART 39 !

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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<p>Brantley Article</p>

<p>Let me just start by saying I think good belters are incredible and I find myself sometimes wishing I could be one of them.</p>

<p>That said. I am a legitimate soprano trained classically and I am constantly asked to belt. I auditioned for Syracuse twice for their MT program and both times they asked me to find a belt song out of my repetoire, after singing two full songs, and belt it (I was accepted into their BFA Acting program). I went for an audition for West Side Story (equity/paid) and after singing they rummaged through my music in disgust and said "all you have in here is soprano songs" duh.....I am a soprano. I have also been told my voice "was too pretty". Those are just a few of many stories. What is funny though when I am in a cast I sustain all the chorus songs and harmonies with my high soprano voice. I (sopranos) are/am basically the foundation.</p>

<p>I agree that versatility is important, if you can achieve it naturally but my voice teacher, trained from New England Conservatory voice program, and a vocal therapist (works with people who damage their voice) believes that a teenager is too young to "belt" but worked with me on a forward, through the teeth, singing once I had perfect technique. Def not a belt sound. She also would/will not let me put volume on it because it is all about technique, pitch and sustaining.</p>

<p>I also believe that some people just cannot belt at all while others can only belt and then there is those that can do both WITHOUT a break which is the key.</p>

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<p>WCT: "Great singers are a dime a dozen. I see them everyday. Great performers are what really excite me."</p>

<p>I gave my D all these posts and the Brantley article to read. She said she agrees with the article. And she loves the above quote from Wct. That made her happy. She said she can see that happening with both excellent singers and dancers--people who are excellent at one or the other, but when they "perform," they leave the audience cold.</p>

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<p>Speaking of belting, you guys should try searching the MT repertoire from any decade for good uptempo songs for young, non-belting altos. Few … and … far … be … tween … I was going to try “Usher from the Mezzanine," but was probably wisely told not to mess with Carol Burnett. Just didn’t work without the belt. That woman was a powerhouse. I almost ended up just preparing two easy songs from Godspell. Did anybody even hear any true contraltos auditioning for MT? Do young ones even exist in the MT world?</p>

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<p>OMG how about an up-tune for a soprano.....DOESN'T EVEN EXIST 99% are ballads. .....actually if anyone has any suggestions let me know.</p>

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<p>Don't laugh here, I'm just a mom asking a (probably dumb) question. My D is at play practice or I would ask her.</p>

<p>Do you mean an up-tempo song like "Show Me" from My Fair Lady? My D used that for several auditions and said that ppl commented that they hadn't heard it much and it showed her "perfect diction and pitch". She is not a belter either and was always asked to belt.</p>

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<p>HARTT SCHOOL</p>

<p>We visited the Hartt School today, coincidental to the many posts about the school this last week. So here are some of the impressions my daughter (a HS junior), husband (background in music) and I had:</p>

<p>Clearly this is a school with a solid MT program that is looking to enhance itself further. They know that many of the people they select go elsewhere, so for a class of say 20 they accept about 80! (Two years ago they had a higher than expected yield and had to open up additional sections of classes.) They had about 250 applicants this year; of course it's the usual more girls than boys applying. </p>

<p>The school does not "type" the kids when deciding whether to accept a person -- meaning they don't say we have too many short sopranos, etc; rather, they said they go for the kids they think have the most potential. </p>

<p>The Hartt School itself is on the main campus of the University of Hartford, but the theater facility is a few miles away. As someone noted on this site before, a new performing arts building at a different location is in the works, but no one is ready to predict with certainty when it will be ready.</p>

<p>We met with someone in admissions for Hartt and then with the theater program coordinator. When we asked her what distinguished Hartt from its rivals, she said its proximity to NYC means they draw upon many NYC professionals for master classes, etc. Later, when we connected with a Junior we know at the school, she made this same point --- said the faculty is wonderful, with outstanding NYC credentials. </p>

<p>The weakest point of the school she said was the facility itself. The buildings are run down. (Of course that's why they're building a new performing arts center.)</p>

<p>As with many of the other MT schools, a student here in the MT program is immersed in the subject, but is required to take a liberal arts class here and there.</p>

<p>The girl we know here is very happy at the school. She says many of the theater people stick together, but she has made a point of living with non theater people so that she is not with the same people all of the time.</p>

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<p>I'm enjoying reading about the vocal auditions and learning a lot. My D is a junior, so we're still in the research phase. One question: when they request "age appropriate" monologue, what would be your criteria? She is 17, as most juniors are. Is "young 20s" age-appropriate, with attention to content? Thanks for all your insight!</p>

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<p>Illinisue,
Look [url=<a href="http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?4/82159%5Dhere%5B/url"&gt;www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?4/82159]here[/url&lt;/a&gt;] for Notarebel and Doctorjohns posts from August 31 and September 1. Yay! Notarebel said I was "uber hot." xoxoxo (Ignore my silly rantings about my school at the beginning of the thread. Seems fairly trivial now. LOL)</p>

<p>Shortnsweet,
It seems like I remember "The Boyfriend" having a couple of up songs for a legit soprano. Don't know if they're overdone or not. You might just look for musicals with Julie Andrews if doing her stuff isn't a big MT no-no. I'm sure she got out of the ballad arena every once in awhile.</p>

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<p>This question does not relate to the current topic at hand, but I didn't know where else to post it. Would you consider it an encouraging (hopeful) sign when an auditionee gets a lot of positive feedback and is asked to do her monologue in a different way? Of course, I realize that positive feedback is always good (as opposed to no feedback). For those of you who have gotten accepances already, did you get positive feedback and/or were you asked to improvise during your auditions at the schools where you were accepted? Did you have a "feeling" that you did a good job? BTW, I think this forum is terrific. I've learned so much from all of you. Congratulations to all who have gotten acceptances!</p>

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<p>Hi! My d did an uptempo SOPRANO song: "Should I Be Sweet"; I'd ask her what it's from, but she's sleeping! I believe it goes to a high C or D. It got her into CAP21; not a very well known song, which probably helped. You're right, though; not many uptempo soprano songs! Also, it's hard to find a song with high soprano notes AND belty notes. For those who can do both, and only can pick one song, it's tough! We found a perfect song, but can't find the music for it! It's from the revival of Grease; Sandy sings it - "Since I Don't Have You" - NOT the original version, I think the Skyliners sang it, but that's the wrong key!</p>

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<p>Seashells,
As much as I would like to say it is a positive sign, based on my d's own experiences and past posts, I would not read too much into anything that occurs at auditions, good or bad. As others have posted previously, sometimes the auditioners hear what they need to hear quickly and some have even cut the performance short, yet the student gets accepted, while others are asked to improvise, got positive feedback,etc, and yet were not accepted (don't get me wrong...I am sure some have gotten good feedback or have been asked to redo and have been accepted). In my d's own experiences, she got very positive feedback at one school and was rejected (harsh word) and was asked to perform a song again with a current student at another school where she was also not accepted MT but was accepted into the BA Theater. At the schools she was accepted to, she got either limited feedback or nothing more than smiles and nods. IMO, anytime you get feedback, it is positive in that it prepares you for future auditions, and I am in no way trying to implicate that your situation means a rejection. Some schools just tend to give more in the way of feedback than others. You may well receive that acceptance letter soon (and I sincerely hope you do!) We have found that in the weird, wonderful world of college MT auditions, though, you should just come away knowing you did the best you could do and don't second guess or overanalyze anything! Good luck in your MT pursuits.</p>

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<p>hey everyone! i finally got my acceptance to CMU for musical theatre!!! have any other guys on this site been accepted?</p>

<p>-hrh</p>

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<p>WOW WOW WOW!! Congrats on CMU!! Our favorite, Sutton FOster, went there, albeit briefly. You must be AMAZING!! So happy for you!</p>

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<p>SeaShells29 I'll tell you some experiences that I had this year...</p>

<p>At my first audition (Syracuse) I probably spent about 10-15 minutes with the auditioner. It was very helpful, he had me sing both my songs twice with different acting choices and had me do my monologue twice as well. I was so glad he did cause It helped me realize how unprepaired I was going into the start of my auditions. So i worked overtime on my stuff to get ready, with the suggestions he gave me, for my next audition. I've yet to hear from them, although I doubt I got in.</p>

<p>When I auditioned for Hartt, the auditioners cut me off on both of my songs and my monologue. Plus after I was done there was a little mini interview and they corected me on two tiny little words that I had messed up on. I guess it didn't matter cause I got in and I got a good talent award as well!</p>

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<p>Dunno if they are overdone or not, but She Loves Me has some great soprano uptempo songs, which might even be consider "character" songs..."A Trip to the Library" is a hilarious one that I have seen done very effectively, receiving positive feedback and reactions. Good luck!</p>

<p>ps- yay I'm now a junior member! hehe hooray</p>

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<p>still no uptempo alto songs for thesbo? haha we should give her a gray wig and let her play a mean old lady in the musical theatermom wants to commission. :)</p>

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<p>"A Trip to the Library" is great fun, but it's actually written for an alto (I think it only tops at a C#?), although I've heard Barbara Cook do it and she transposed it up to fit her range. Anyway, it doesn't have to be belted, so there you go!</p>

<p>There are quite a few up-tempo songs that the soprano lead, Amalia, has, though--"Vanilla Ice Cream" might be overdone, but "Where's My Shoe?" is another good one</p>

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<p>Thanks guys....I have written all these soprano up-tempos suggestions down and can't wait to look them into them.</p>

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<p>I posted on the Decisions for fall 2005 thread. At the risk of sounding redundant, my d got into PPU. The only thing we were wondering about was the BFA vs BA decision that is made at the end of the freshman year. Any thoughts on the matter?</p>

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<p>What show is "Should I Be Sweet?" from? I have never heard of it</p>