<p>Hello! So now that my question on Acting with Academics has been anwsered, I need more help. Currently, I'm searching for a good BA program, or a BFA where it isn't too difficult to get a minor or double major. I'm really looking at BAs right now, though. The school must have a good rep for its acting/theatre program, be near a major metro area (I'm a city kind of girl), and not be under around 5,000 students. I'm trying to find a mix of nonauditon, and auditon programs, so yeah. If it helps anyone right now, my top pick (at the moment) is Northwestern. Thoughts?</p>
<p>Good fit for your stated criteria: Syracuse U, Boston U, Brandeis U, Brown U. </p>
<p>In the State University system of New York: Purchase (40 min from NYC at Times Square), New Paltz (maybe 90 min from Times Square).</p>
<p>Variations on your size criteria, but with good theater departments: Emerson (small but in the middle of downtown Boston); Amherst (small at 1,800 students but nestled within the 5-college consortium so that's 25,000 students from 5 colleges/unis). Oberlin (2,600 students and rural, but they generate their own mini-city of cultural opportunities since nobody leaves campus on weekends; PLENTY to do). </p>
<p>For Brown, Amherst, Oberlin -- must also have great academic stats, otherwise don't waste time applying just for their theater major. </p>
<p>Another places I've heard mentioned here on CC: Muhlenberg.</p>
<p>It's not near any city, but: Ithaca College.</p>
<p>EDIT: Sometimes the city people discover that the intensity of a good college or uni, coupled with a time-consuming, intense theater major, becomes their own "city" for those 4 years.</p>
<p>EDIT: Add Columbia U, again must have great stats. And I'm sure you've thought of NYU/Tisch already.</p>
<p>EDIT: How'd I forget it -- Carnegie Mellon U in Pittsburgh</p>
<p>EDIT: Vassar College, but it's not a big city. Meryl Streep went there.
Yale, in New Haven, but it's not a good city for town/gown relationships.</p>
<p>Syracuse would not be the place to get a BA in theatre... I don't think they have one. They do have a BS in acting... those students go throught the same curricumlum as the BFA actors for the first two years, and then have a lot more flexibility in their schedules to minor (or double major... I think).
Carnegie Mellon is another school that I do not believe offers a BA. The BFA majors there may not double major.</p>
<p>NYU students may double major.</p>
<p>Good Luck!!</p>
<p>Let me reiterate- a BA, not BFA. I've looked into BU and all those other places, but I'm right now looking at BAs, not BFAs (as most of those schools have).</p>
<p>I have no idea your academic qualifications but since you are applying to Northwestern, I'll take that as a general idea...very general of course.</p>
<p>I suggest looking at:
Brown
Yale
Vassar
Brandeis
USC (has both BA and BFA)
Fordham (has audition)
Swarthmore
Middlebury (not city though)
Cornell
UCLA
Emory
Tufts
UNC-Chapel Hill
Boston College
American (has audition)
Chapman
Skidmore (may be too small for you but surely worth a look)
Sarah Lawrence
Conn College (optional audition, small, not city, but good)
Muhlenberg (optional audition)</p>
<p>Two other schools you might look at: Southern Methodist, and Boston University. Both offer flexible BFA degrees. At SMU, it's called "Theatre Studies":</p>
<p>The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Studies at SMU emphasizes all areas of theatre within SMU's exceptional liberal arts course of study. In the first two years, all students complete the same acting, voice, and movement coursework as for the B.F.A. in Acting. In the junior and senior years, you'll focus on directing, playwriting, stage management, design, and/or critical studies, with the option to continue courses in acting. You'll also have multiple opportunities to participate in our season either as actors, directors, assistant directors, playwrights, dramaturgs, designers, or stage managers. The curriculum is as flexible as it is rigorous designed to fully support the thespian's exploration and development.</p>
<p>At BU, it's called "Theatre Arts":</p>
<p>*The Theatre Arts major offers unique training for students with vital theatrical sensibilities and wide-ranging interests and abilities. It offers two approaches that serve two kinds of students: those who demonstrate the maturity to create an interdisciplinary program combining theatre with another field of study and those who demonstrate the sustained motivation and imagination to create original works.</p>
<p>The interdisciplinary approach allows a student to develop a unique curriculum in close and continuing consultation with faculty mentors. Some students have used this major to create individualized curricula, through the Boston University Collaborative Degree Program, between the School of Theatre and other Schools and Colleges at Boston University.</p>
<p>Students who participate in the creation of original works follow a course of study that exposes them to increasingly demanding exercises in performance, adaptation, writing, directing, and producing. This approach provides exceptional preparation for apprenticeship or graduate work in any of these areas.*</p>
<p>The "Boston University Collaborative Degree Program (BUCOP)" referred to above allows students to double major in Theatre and another subject. Easier to do with a BFA in Theatre Arts than in Acting, of course, but not impossible. Here's the link to the webpage with a detailed description of that program: <a href="http://www.bu.edu/cfa/theatre/programs/bucop.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.bu.edu/cfa/theatre/programs/bucop.htm</a></p>
<p>Good hunting.</p>
<p>godihopeigetit, are you me? i was laughing when i read your post because i'm looking for almost exactly the same thing.
i'm at nyu's summer program and we've gotten info sessions up the wazoo...it sounds like a double major would be doable in most other subjects.
bu's theatre arts bfa has some room for more academics, i hear. (you audition just into their bfa program, and after freshman year choose either theatre arts or acting.)
personally, when i visited vassar i was a little turned off by how much of a "bubble" it seemed like to me, but their theatre dep't looked pretty good.
i was really impressed by brown, less so by yale- i got the impression that their program was heavy on the theoretical, not so much on the practical...i guess a lot of that comes from extracurric. stuff.</p>
<p>feel free to PM me to talk further about this! i'm on the same trail.</p>
<p>wow i completely agree!! I am also looking into colleges for theatre, but not a BFA program. I really want to be able to pursue my other passions, especially music (and possibly english). I'm looking at Brown (my sttttrrettcchh school), Boston College, American, Fordham (maybe), Oberlin, and Muhlenberg. I like Muhlenberg, however, it's so close to where I live. </p>
<p>Another thought: get a BA or two from a good liberal arts college, go on to a really awesome grad school for acting/musical theatre/music? thoughts?</p>
<p>DD wanted the same focus-BA not BFA w/double major.. Her list: Brown, Yale, Columbia, Northwestern, UCLA-however it is audition based, NYU-also audition. She passed on CMU, USC.</p>
<p>APOL, NYU is a BFA not a BA program, and unless something has changed, Yale does not have an undergrad performance major. Their well-reputed drama program is a graduate program.</p>
<p>yale DOES have an undergrad theatre major...the impression i get is that it's kind of academic/theoretical, and the real performance stuff comes from the extracurric scene (which is apparently VERY active). so it's kind of what you make of it.</p>
<p>deenie, </p>
<p>The Yale School of Drama is a graduate school program offering studies in every aspect of theatre. It offers an MFA in drama as well as a DFA, and this is the drama program for which Yale is world famous. The related Yale Repertory Theatre is also for the grad student programs.</p>
<p>The undergrad program is a theatre studies major which incorporates mainly theoretical classes in drama, and also includes required liberal arts classes in subjects like history, philosophy, poli-sci, lit, foreign language, etc. It, as I said, is not a performance major. From the kids we've known who have attended, it is a true liberal arts education, much like the program at Brown, but apparently the performance opportunities at Brown are more readily available. Both have very selective admission so if this is the type of program which interests you, it's advisable to be in touch with the respective departments to get more definitive information and a detailed description of the curriculum.</p>
<p>While AlwaysAMom is correct that Yale does not have an undergraduate PERFORMANCE major in its BA program and it is a Theater Studies Major, it happens to be an excellent option for a theater student. I know quite a number of students who got into conservatories and others who could have, but who chose Yale for undergrad for theater. My daughter studies in a BFA theater school elsewhere and has several friends who have either graduated from Yale, are currently attending, or quite a handful who are about to enter as well, all for theater, and ALL of whom are top talent in either Acting or Musical Theater. It is truly a fine option for someone who wants a BA path. It may not be a Performance major itself, but someone who attends Yale is going to have numerous fine opportunities to be involved in performance. </p>
<p>Yale's BA in Theater Studies Major is equally divided between theory and practice. The Dept. offers a course in writing musicals, and classes in acting and dance theater. Through permission, undergrads may take classes in the Yale School of Drama (grad school). The Music Department has a course in composing for Musical Theater, and a course in performance of Musical Theater (by audition), as well as private voice lessons. They have recently added both musical theater and dance to their curricular offerings. Extracurricular opportunities in theater abound with over 60 productions per year on campus, including Dramat which puts on major productions including musicals, and other student run production groups on campus, as well as many fine a capella groups. </p>
<p>One of my daughter's friends (of many who attend Yale for theater) who is quite accomplished in musical theater and is Equity, chose Yale and is a rising sophomore. My daughter just was in a musical with him in NYC two weeks ago. I am friendly with his parents (the kids went to the same theater camp) and recently saw his mom and talked with her about her son's experiences at Yale last year. I am paraphrasing parts of what she relayed to me about his theater experiences at Yale:</p>
<p>She said that Yale has initiated a musical theatre curriculum through the music school. It is being supported by a Yale alum who is quite invested in the future of musical theatre. In fact, her son was in a cabaret in NYC in April called "Trying it Out in New Haven." Eight undergrads and 12 alums who have been working on Broadway performing the work of Yale alums who have written for Broadway. It was quite an amazing performance, many many Tony award winners work was performed and who also performed. Bobby Lopez who wrote Avenue Q was there, Maury Yeston, Ted Sperling. Last semester, Victoria Clark(Tony for Light in the Piazza) taught the Musical Theater class (she also performed at the Cabaret) - it was audition only, 250 kids tried out - she picked 10....and my daughter's friend was lucky enough to be one of them. There is quite a lot of depth of talent at Yale as the theater and music departments draw many kids who might otherwise choose conservatory. Vicky is now my D's friend's voice teacher - which is pretty incredible! This student also just did a Musical Theater production workshop with one of his other MT professors who invited him to join the cast. They have also begun to build a dance curriculum at Yale. There is training to be had there (though not like a BFA in sum), a plethora of production opportunities, and a lot of fab networking, let alone a wonderful liberal arts education. It truly is a good option for an excellent student who is talented in theater or musical theater who prefers a BA program. It isn't like a BFA, and the curriculum is not chockful of performance classes, but it is definitely an excellent BA option which includes both theory and practice.</p>
<p>However, it is true, as AlwaysAMom states, that it is Yale's graduate school, Yale School of Drama, which is the well known program. Yale undergrad, however, between the major (which is not in the Yale School of Drama) AND the extracurricular theater scene, is definitely a happenin' place for college theater.</p>
<p>Williams is not on Soozie's list, but it is another option. Williams theater students can intern with the Williamstown Theater Festival. John Sayles and David Strathairn are alums.</p>
<p>I agree about Williams. My list above was not inclusive of schools I would recommend for theater but was geared to the OP's criteria. She wanted near a city, which Williams is not. However, it is certainly a school to look at for this field and of course there is the Williamstown Theater Festival (though college students from other colleges can apply to intern there during the summer as well).</p>
<p>I must admit that I put Conn College and Middlebury on the list even though those are rural....I guess I could not resist as both have good theater. On that vein, I would have mentioned Kenyon. But these schools also do not meet her other criteria of not being under 5,000 students. Macalester is another option but she likely will say this school, too, is too small.</p>
<p>Dear Soozie: You're right. I did not mean to imply your thoroughness was lacking in any way. </p>
<p>I guess I was a little carried away from seeing two plays at Williamstown last weekend and being quite impressed with the '62 Center.</p>
<p>Now if Stephen Sondheim, another alum, would get intersted in a MT component they'd really be in business.</p>
<p>A lovely young woman who was once our neighbor came of of Yale's Music Dept. and recently appeared on B'way in COMPANY. I was so happy for her.</p>
<p>Mythmom, no worries....You did not imply that at all. I was just commenting that the OP seemed to want to be near a city and that cut out some fine schools with good theater, and same with her size restrictions which cuts out most LACs. </p>
<p>Williamstown Theater Festival is renown, though really separate from Williams College. It has a fine intern program in summer which students from any college can apply to. However, they have to PAY to attend, unlike some other summer theater internships where they would not pay and even be paid a stipend. But some really talented theater students have done the intern program at Williamstown, and I know it is extremely good. My D has had friends who have done it in the past. She even did a show in NYC this summer and the guy who directed it had done the Williamstown program last summer.</p>
<p>BTW, my sister-in-law who is 38 years old, attended Williams and I have been there (for her wedding).</p>