Just curios if top MT programs indicate a strong BFA program at the same school. I see different lists online of top ranked undergraduate BFA programs such as the top 25 list. Was wondering how you determine where the top or strongest BFA programs are separate from MT programs. New to CC And I’ve tried to find a good solid list but I can’t seem to locate one on CC forum. Would like a list that includes hidden gems and up and comers too if anyone has suggestions.
Do you mean acting BFA programs? It varies. CMU, NYU, Otterbein are great at both. Michigan, CCM, Montclair better at MT. the best acting programs are mostly acting primary-- UNSCA, U Minn Guthrie, Rutgers, Juilliard.
Yes acting BFAS
Was wondering how acting BFAS and MT at the same school matched up and if some are equally as good.
I think it depends on the school. We visited some schools that had amazing MT programs and the Acting programs were equally amazing, and others that seemed like the Acting programs were an after-thought.
I have a college grad and a college student, both Acting majors, and I completely understand that the MT students very often have a heavier courseload than the Actors (they do voice lessons, song interpretation, dance classes, etc… that the Actors aren’t necessarily required to do in many schools, but in many programs the Acting majors do make up for that in time by doing deeper work in Shakespeare, acting styles, stage combat, etc… that the MTs sometimes don’t do). However, when we were at auditions at one well-respected school, current students did a panel/roundtable for the parents and students who were waiting their turn to audition. Every MT student did a great job of explaining how much work it was to major in MT, but a couple of them were quite negative when discussing their work in relation to the Actors’ work (‘actors have it easy, MT is hard and if your kid isn’t cut out to do real work, have them major in Acting, the actors don’t have the stamina to do what we do, etc…’). Although we understood the content of what they were saying, we were very turned off by the way they were saying it and wondered if it was the culture of the program and faculty to elevate the MTs and push the relevance of the actors’ work aside.
At my son’s school, actors get additional acting training – three terms of acting for screen instead of one intro, two terms of stage combat instead of one, in-depth dives into IPA, advanced shakespeare, period styles, early modern (Chekov, Ibsen, O’Neill), comedy/improv, stage management. MTV kids get lots of singing, MTD kids more dancing. I really don’t think there’s a different in overall workload, and if there is, there are plenty of ways to use that time productively, i.e. auditioning for outside productions, working part time for $. Those MT kids sound like assholes. Has anyone told them that all the movie stars are actors?
I have noticed the perception (on CC and in the real world) that MT is the bigger challenge, both in admission to BFAs and in work at BFAs. It makes me smile, because it seems like such a silly hair-splitting kind of statement to me. There are many different types of physical and mental work involved in both majors - and what comes easily to one person, may be a huge struggle for another. But I do agree with @Jkellynh17 above… when MT’s want to make some real $$ - they often head over to straight actor-ville and do TV and/or movies…
In some schools Acting and MT are remarkably intertwined, in others they are not - and depending on what school @lovetoact heard that comment - it might give me pause about the school/program overall to hear students being dismissive of their classmates in that way…
I guess CC doesn’t allow you say the word that rhymes with bass shoals? 
That thought of actors having it easy is so silly to me because most BFA acting programs are also extremely time consuming and rigorous. My daughter starts at 8:00am and goes through dinner daily for classes. Later than that a few days a week for classes. And even later if involved in any sort of rehearsal. And weekends are in rehearsals too if in a show.
The kids were told it is a sleep optional program. Lol. That is how I assumed all BFA programs were. And my daughter is a straight actor.
I guess different schools may be different. But I agree with all above -that would turn me off from a school if I heard that.
During auditions at one top school last year we did get the feeling the actors were second to MT (even though they claimed to hold acting as the top skill for all). Attitudes said different during auditions. Top school or not, it gave us pause and created negative feelings about that school.
I have one MT college student and one Acting student. They are at different schools so I cannot say how they would “match up” in the same school. I can say they the college audition process was slightly less comprehensive for my Acting major. She did not have to put together the same audition (song) package or struggle through intense dance calls. However, it does NOT mean her program is any less intense or comprehensive than my MT student; the programs are just as rigorous. They both start at 7 or 8 am and often work well into the night. My S school has a new BFA Acting program. It will be interesting to watch how the two programs work together.
One thing that I remember from my kid (who applied and was accepted to both BFA MT and Acting programs) was that while there were “fewer” requirements at the audition - meaning she only needed monologues, the expectation that she would have in depth knowledge of the source material was stronger. I’d have to ask her, but I don’t remember anyone at MT auditions asking her about the background/motivation of characters (In songs or monologues) at one of her MT schools. But it came up a LOT at the acting schools. The expectation was that she had fully read and understood the plays her monologues came from. In fact, I know for sure that at one school (I think it was Boston) they asked about similarities to that character in other works by the same playwright (Neil LaBute if memory serves). So while there were potentially fewer elements being evaluated - it was still a super intense evaluation