Hoping college confidential members can help me out as everyone seems to be so knowledgeable. My daughter is in the process of applying to colleges. She is interested in a BFA in acting with ample opportunities for musical theater opportunities, or at the very least being able to audition for musicals …participate in acappella groups and take voice lessons . She considers herself an actor who sings. She doesn’t want to lose her singing skills while in college (she has taken weekly voice lessons for years and had taken weekly dance for 10 years but had to quit last year as drama was too demanding to squeeze in dance anymore)…She is also in an audition only chamber music group at school where she sings every day. So, we have tried to find colleges where even though she would be an acting major, she could still home her vocal/mt skills. Sadly, we took Hartt off the list today because when I spoke to someone in the department, they mentioned that actors in the BFA program cannot audition for any musicals on campus… Yet the musical theater kids can audition for the straight acting plays . I was a little taken aback by that comment as it seems unfair. If anyone knows more about this, please chime in. It doesn’t seem like a good fit for my daughter anymore, so we are taking it off the list. She wants to stay in new England or the Northeast preferably close to a city… She especially loves New York… So far her list of schools is: NYU, Marymount Manhattan, Pace, Fordham, Long Island University, Syracuse, Ithaca, UConn, Boston University, Emerson, Montclair, Wagner/ Drew is a safety. Any thoughts? TIA!
I think you have some excellent choices on your list. As you say- you want to look for schools with crossover - not acting majors do plays and MT majors do musicals. IDK if Rutgers does musicals- but they would be another to add to list of high quality acting programs. And have you looked into Muhlenberg? Could be another option for a safety depending on stats
She turned down a respected BFA to attend there…she is in love with the program. They only do a musical every other year but they have several acapella groups and you can take private voice lessons if you want.
Sounds wonderful. Are voice lessons included in tuition? If you don’t mind, what does she love about Drew? We did a quick tour of the campus last summer- was beautiful.
She loves the small department…the one on one attention, the vast opportunities from full staged productions, to student written plays, to plays in process. She knows she will need some skills besides acting to get her working (she does not want to waitress or nanny etc) to make ends meet while she is auditioning. She wants to work in the theatre realm. Drew is providing her with an amazing background and expertise in all aspects of tech. Sound, lighting, stage managing, directing, props etc. Due to scholarships she will basically come out of school debt free so that was a huge plus. They offer wonderful opportunities in the city to work with professionals in the business. She will be taking a stage combat and weapons course over the summer in NYC with a showcase at the end for credit. I could go on and on…message me if you need more specific. From what I can tell, the voice lessons are included in the tuition.
Your list looks good to me. RUTGERS might be one to add - they incorporate music into a lot of their shows and they are very focused on movement and some dance as well. I don’t think the intense BFA Acting curriculum allows for additional voice or dance instruction within their schedule. (My son takes 19-22 credits a semester so far!) Mason Gross is an Arts school though so there are endless opportunities to sing, dance and perform including cabaret, late night open mic forums, singing groups, etc. Lots of people are in bands, groups, making their own films, music and projects all the time. Syracuse - already on your list - is exactly what you are looking for too - great acting training and actors can definitely audition for and be cast in musicals. What about URI as a non audition safety? They seem to have an interesting BFA program with musical cross over (I think?)
If she would consider Chicago (a great theatre city!), at CCPA-Roosevelt acting/MT/MT dance students are all required to audition for all shows and the shows are generally a mix of all 3 majors. It is a conservatory within a university and the theatre students tend to stick together. I’m not sure voice lessons are part of the curriculum (ie included in tuition) for acting majors (@jkellynh?) but are available.
Acting majors get voice lessons during one half of junior year included in tuition and can buy them separately (I’m thinking $75 each) during other semesters. There are also a couple of group singing classes for acting majors. (If you really want to sing, though,you probably want vocal emphasis MT.)
UNCSA trains dance and singing as part of its program and does at least one musical a year. many alumni end up working in mt. Can’t imagine a better place for the “actor who sings”
