<p>@JME1992</p>
<p>PM me if you will be in NY Oct 20-22 and would like free tickets to my S’s show. While I am sure he will be surrounded by friends and family following the performances, if you wait a few minutes I am also sure he’d be happy to talk to you about the school and the programs that you are interested in.</p>
<p>@glassharmonica</p>
<p>Yes, it is very rare for someone to double in performance and playwriting and we were told this as well. My S is the only one from his class and I believe that there is one upperclassmen as well. And in the end, the opportunities in this program are one of the main reasons why he chose Fordham.</p>
<p>The playwriting major begins 2nd semester of freshman year and coursework can be completed in 6 semesters. I think that auditioning AND interviewing was a tremendous benefit to my S bc he got to meet with Matthew Maguire, head of the Theatre department. FYI, he was slightly disappointed when he was later told that he was being admitted as a performance major bc of the difficulties in choosing these two tracks with scheduling and that they would discuss his interest in pursuing both during the course of his 1st semester at Fordham. I think that there ARE difficulties with the schedule, and the playwriting is a real mentoring program with only a handful of majors to begin with, so I also think that they want to weed out candidates that are not driven enough to succeed in both. The performance major begins 1st semester and my S had Matthew for either his Acting or Collaboration class and by October he had been asked to submit additional writing and was told almost immediately that he was accepted for playwriting as well. Then, Matthew and the playwriting majors took him out to a “welcome” dinner!</p>
<p>To answer your questions, yes, there is only one section for playwriting classes each semester and it is the same days/times…something like Mon & Wed 12:30-2. So, you need to build a schedule around playwriting. Then there are only two sections of performance classes and the various labs that go with them. Almost all of the Theatre majors have an academic advisor in the Theatre department and Matthew Maguire is my S’s. His guidance has been fantastic and really makes it possible to do both bc he has put my S in different lab sections to make it all work. He has also recommended core courses that count for two requirements cutting down the actual number of classes my S will need to take. And then the First year Dean preregistered him for classes to make sure he got what he needed.</p>
<p>As for seeing the same faces, semester after semester…yes, all the playwriting majors are together in this class but there are only around 5 of them! The rest of the class is made up of other students who are taking it as an elective or to possibly satisfy an English major requirement. And none of the classes at Fordham LC are large. My S took a core Philosophy course this summer that had about 25 students and he said that was the largest class he had at Fordham. </p>
<p>What my S likes most about Fordham’s playwriting program is that the work is actually staged which he tells me is very rare for an undergraduate program. The first semester, the playwriting major writes a One Act and at the end of the semester, there is a reading. Then, my S’s was selected for production which is actually a semester ahead of schedule! Very exciting, except, again scheduling difficulties bc he is low man on the totem pole and producing his show in the assigned weekend meant he could not audition to be in one this semester! Also, he wrote the lead for himself (of course!) but was not allowed to cast himself bc they want him to see the process through as a playwright and not a performer. At first, he was disappointed but now after living through casting and rewrite after rewrite, he understands that focusing on his performance as well would take away from that process. By the way, they hired a professional director for this but the design and production team and the performers are Fordham students. I also want to mention that faculty and guests are outstanding in both the playwriting and performance sections. </p>
<p>So, like I said, it’s complicated and he puts more time into the playwriting work than he does in any other class in spite of the fact that it only meets twice a week! Then throw the performance requirements and the core curriculum requirements on top of that and you have a very busy kid. He does still have some free time for fun but it is somewhat scheduled bc he is very disciplined about his work in all his courses.</p>
<p>If you want to talk to him when you come for the Fall open house, feel free to PM me and I can put you in touch. I’m sure that you have already reviewed the training and curriculum at Fordham but here it is again. </p>
<p>[Playwriting</a> Major](<a href=“http://www.fordham.edu/academics/programs_at_fordham_/theatre_department/prospective_students/training__curriculum/playwriting_major_69140.asp]Playwriting”>http://www.fordham.edu/academics/programs_at_fordham_/theatre_department/prospective_students/training__curriculum/playwriting_major_69140.asp)</p>
<p>[Performance</a> Major](<a href=“http://www.fordham.edu/academics/programs_at_fordham_/theatre_department/prospective_students/training__curriculum/performance_major_69138.asp]Performance”>http://www.fordham.edu/academics/programs_at_fordham_/theatre_department/prospective_students/training__curriculum/performance_major_69138.asp)</p>
<p>It’s hard to know what that really means though until you live through it and I can only give you a secondhand account! But I wish you and your D the best of luck! :)</p>
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