<p>A colleague of my wife's has offspring going for a Theatre MFA at PSU. This person says the PSU just lost a big slug of funding for the musical theatre program, and so is cutting back on the program and in particular on the number of shows it is producing.</p>
<p>I couldn't find anything reported on this online, on the PSU website or elsewhere. Was wondering if anybody could confirm or refute this info.</p>
<p>I have a daughter who is a senior in the MT program and she has no information supporting this supposed development. The program is actually very well supported through an endowment as well as typical university funding.</p>
<p>The musical theatre program has not had a cut in funding. The MFA Acting program is a separate program with its own funding. There isn't a freshman class in the MFA program, but there will be next year.</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarifications. We'll be looking at PSU for my D (currently a jr. in HS).</p>
<p>What exactly is the relationship between the MFA and undergraduate programs? Do they cast the same shows from both programs, or does each "do their own thing"? What about grad students being TA's, or whatever the equivalent is, in undergraduate classes?</p>
<p>Also, psucat, are you saying that there are no first-year MFA students this year? Was that a conscious decision on the part of the program, or did it just happen that way?</p>
<p>I was a graduate student at PSU, and completed the program a few years ago. The BFA MT students generally are not in competition with MFA actors for roles in the musicals mainly because many of the MFA actors are not singers... sometimes they would play certain roles, but usually this happened when there was not an appropriate BFA student for the role. Some of the MFA shows are specifically for the MFA actors in a specific class, but there are other shows that are open to all students at Penn State.</p>
<p>The MFA acting program has gone back and forth as to whether they accept a first year class every year. For a while they were in a rotation of only 2 classes attending at a time... ex. 1st year and a 3rd year, 1st year and a 2nd year, 2nd year and a 3rd year. All MFA atudents are on assistantship, so this is most likely a financial decision and a way to make sure that they can offer enough attention to all MFA students. The MFA program is very competitive, so I am sure it was a conscious decision. </p>
<p>Penn State does have an MFA directing program that focuses specifically on Musical Theatre Directing. As a result the BFA students are directed in projects and shows by MFA directors. However, they only accept one - two directors every year, and most of the directors they accept have professional directing and/ or performing experience. Sometimes MFA students may as a TA in a class, but generally all classes are taught by faculty with the graduate TA acting as an assistant.</p>
<p>When you visit Penn State... it is a great idea to ask the question that you posed "what exactly is the relationship between the BFA and the MFA programs"</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks, KatMT. Very helpful post!</p>