<p>We are in the EARLY/EARLY stage of college searches. My son is a soph in HS and very interested in a major in theater (probably musical); though he may also want to double major in Graphic Design.</p>
<p>Geographically, he has said for the longest time that he would like to attend college in FL and get away from the NE winters for a while (which I fully support, and envy!).</p>
<p>Can anyone speak to the Theater programs in Florida? His early gut feeling is that he would not want to attend the BIG schools like Florida State, U of FL but if the program was right then would re-think.</p>
<p>Any direction would be very much appreciated!</p>
<p>I live in florida, and from having friends currently in the process of applying to MT schools as well as friends who have attended many of florida MT programs, what ive seen is that FSU has the best in our state. That is an opinion i made based on seeing shows at various schools and hearing from friends. They have very successfull alumni and also have a very small selective program. Personally, I plan on only applying to FSU for MT out of all the florida schools at this point in my junior year, but that could all change!</p>
<p>Rollins College is a small school. BA Theatre, so double majoring could be more possible. Musical theatre opportunities are a part of the program.</p>
<p>OH yes I forgot about rollins, when i was in 9th grade i played Baby Louise in their production of Gypsy which was amazing! They also brought in a professional actor to play momma rose.</p>
<p>I am from FSU and would be happy to talk with you, but if you are looking for a smaller institution, I also recommend that you have a look at Rollins.</p>
<p>You may want to look into University of Central Florida and University of Tampa. FSU puts a LOT of emphasis on dance at their audition, so if you haven’t you should start taking dance class now!</p>
<p>Our dance audition is on the challanging side, but it absolutely doesn’t mean you won’t be admitted if you are not an accomplished dancer. We just want to make sure the students who ARE accomplished dancers have the opportunity to show us their best work. We have multiple students every year in the freshman class who don’t have very much dance experience (if any.)</p>
<p>Jacksonville University has a BFA in Music Theatre. The program has DRASTICALLY turned around in the last 4 years with a new department chair. I transferred in this past fall from a BA Theatre Performance program in SC and I am a sophomore in the BFA program. I have had SO many performance opportunities not only in MT but also in opera (which I think is important if you want to be a crossover singer). I am currently in Chess in the ensemble and as the Florence understudy. </p>
<p>I really love JU…it is a small, private school but there are very many scholarships available. </p>
<p>As mentioned before, University of Tampa is a good school too…they have a BA in Performing Arts with an emphasis on MT. I was accepted into their program (by videotape) but it was not the right fit for me. Tampa is a beautiful city with many performance opportunities…</p>
<p>I was just wondering about your thoughts on U of Tampa. What made it not the “right fit” for you, if you don’t mind my asking? That school is one of the few that we have actually been on campus (we flew home out of Tampa a few weeks ago after visiting family) and toured the campus in our free time before leaving. My son left thinking it was definitely one he wanted to find out more about.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, U of Tampa is a great school! It is very pretty and right in the downtown area (near the performing arts center where many Broadway tours perform). I was all set to go to U of Tampa, especially since I couldn’t afford my first choice and my second choice (where I attend now) deferred me and told me to re-audition for the BFA, but there was just something about U of Tampa that I didn’t like.
I sat down with a member of the MT faculty and they explained that, while it is a BA program, it is treated like a conservatory program. Which is good, but I did not feel that their curriculum reflected this. I also really wanted a BFA program which had a lot of emphasis on music (theory, aural training, etc) because I feel that it is very important to know this as a performer/ musician. </p>
<p>I would say to still look into U of Tampa, especially if you want a small, BA program. Sometimes we just have a feeling about a school that we can’t explain and that is how I was with U of Tampa. Since I was a transfer student, I wanted to make sure my second school, was my LAST school…and I had to listen to my gut feeling, something that I did not do the first time as an incoming college freshman. </p>
<p>I think I had Jacksonville U confused with none of the larger state schools. I went on the website last night and it does look interesting - I requested information and will look to include it on one of our road trips next year!</p>