@mtmcmt Lisa Brecia is a wonderful, warm (and oh so talented) person! My D had a chance to work with her once on a special concert performance in NY and she was BEYOND lovely to work with. What a boon for that program.
@gingersnap97 That’s wonderful news! She is, I hear, teaching acting AND voice so some kids will be lucky to have her along with Westenberg. They both have done Muny so I’m sure there may be connctions for students.
They also have terrific and mulitple MT facilities, many new. Woudn’t be surprised to see Kyle D Massey doing a guest teaching gig soon.
The cost is a bit under $7,000. per year. Yeah, you read that right. Mo State has about 13,000 students and from what I hear a very pretty campus. Have only seen pics.
Which Missouri school is that @mtmcmt ? Thanks!
Missouri State was very high on our list early in the process. We ended up dropping it because they only did on-campus auditions, and is just wasn’t cost effective to travel there to audition.
It’s Missouri State @Mel2421. @Terhuna They accepted D’s videos from prescreen!
@ Mel2421 Sorry that’s Missouri State University in Springfield.
Thanks! @mtmcmt I haven’t heard about them. I have heard of Southeast Missouri State. Thanks for the info we will check it out.
Long Island University Post is a hidden gem. I attended their Summer Honors MT program and loved every second of it. Very acting and movement heavy, but David Hugo is an excellent professor. So is Cara Gargano. The school could be a lot more generous with their scholarship offers and money and etc, but the school is excellent. Suzuki training, Stanislavski, Meisner, it’s more like a BFA Acting program with the added dance and vocal work. I love it!
I would highly recommend looking at Arizona State University. There hasn’t been much posted about them here in recent years although looks like that is changing with the addition of Brian Demaris as department head (he was formerly at Ithaca College). There have been recent posts by him on this site and I’m excited to see that the ASU presence is getting bigger here on CC. There is an excellent video on their Facebook page (the Facebook page name is Lyric Opera Theatre-Arizona State University) and it will tell you all they offer much better than I can. Don’t let the name of the Facebook page fool you—opera and musical theatre co-exist really well at ASU. The students can do musical theatre and opera if they are so inclined (still trying to convince my D to consider getting involved in opera as well!) and they can double major in Music/Musical Theatre and something else if they’d like, or as in the case of my D, she has decided to do a major and two minors instead of a double major after meeting with her advisor just last week. We live on the West Coast and are so glad that such an awesome program is relatively close to home. (My D went to Ithaca for two years and then transferred to ASU—so nice to have her closer to home!). Great scholarship money available too.
Can’t speak for the theatre dept but for those considering Arizona State University, our son is there and couldn’t be happier. Doesn’t feel big to him, Barrett Honors College and dorms are a blessing and the scholarships have been plentiful and helpful. GO Devils:)
Temple has had a theater program for 50 years and has a newer BFA MT plus BA degrees. Philly is a great town for theater, and many grads work in the city as performers or as music directors, casting, directors, etc. Temple also has great academic scholarships that can make attending very affordable compared to many similar programs.
DD is a sophomore at LIU Post and LOVES it. Perfect fit for her since she really needed strong acting training. But, it’s not for everyone. If the Suzuki method doesn’t appeal to you, probably should look elsewhere. And they do more experimental and original theater than other schools. Less musicals. But plenty of cabarets. Perfect description that they are an acting program with vocal and dance training. Artistic scholarships aren’t great but academic are. DD has close to full tuition with just a 28 and a 3.6 (high school)
I would also add UAB, Southern Miss, and Montclair State in this hidden gem category
I am wondering in anyone knows anything about Lipscomb University’s BFA in Theatre with musical theatre track? Also, University of West Florida’s BFA in Musical Theatre? We meet faculty from both at SETC and were impressed but have not heard any reviews of the programs.
My D auditioned and has been accepted at Lipscomb. We went to their production of Beauty and the Beast the night before her audition and were very impressed with the level of talent and the show itself. The campus is gorgeous and everyone is very welcoming and friendly. Nashville is wonderful and really has a lot to offer as tar as opportunities for theatre and musical students.
I have to put in a plug for the Manhattan School of Music. My D is in the inaugural class and she loves it. The opportunities afforded the students there because of the location and the extensive Broadway connections of the faculty and advisory board cannot be replicated at very many places. If you have a child who is interested in a performance centered conservatory education, this is a great choice. My D did a walk-in at NY Unifieds last year. I’m guessing they may be taking some walk -ins this year, though I can’t be sure. The school doesn’t seem to be mentioned here much, but D says the applications for next year’s class have been impressive.
@rocsocks I’m glad to hear this about MSM. My D is visiting there this weekend and auditioning at Chicago Unifieds. Can you tell us what the dance classes are like? Does she live on campus? Are the dorms attached to the studios/buildings? Do you have to walk outside in the elements to get from one place to another?
My D is also at MSM and loves everything about it! @Meanasmom - the dorm is attached and they don’t have to go outside to get to class. They require students to live in the dorms the first 2 years, with some exceptions if certain conditions are met. The first year dance is ballet and classes are leveled into 4 levels. D auditioned on campus last year and there was a dance call, but the auditions at Unifieds did not have the dance call. There are students in the program ranging from no prior dance training to several years in dance companies. D had several years of dance and says “dance kicks her butt” so whatever the prior experience level, the training is great and appropriate. The opportunities and connections are wonderful - D and several classmates got to sing two songs with Kristin Chenoweth at her show on Broadway, and BeBe Neuwirth and Shuler Hensley attended their Freshman Showcase at the end of first semester. Luis Perez is fantastic - all the kids love him, and D adores her private voice teacher, Claudia Catania.
For MSM, how is the financial aid? Are they well endowed as far as scholarships go, since they’re a new program? Are they generous? Since it’s a conservatory program, are there academic scholarships? Talent scholarships? Both? Thanks!
@Meanasmom So far there is just ballet. They take 4 semesters of ballet, 6 of jazz, and 4 of tap. The head of the program, Luis Perez, is a former principle dancer with the Joffrey Ballet and he teaches the ballet classes (so far, anyway.) The students travel in groups to their various classes and the groups seem to largely be determined by level of dance experience (though they did mix up the groups a little second semester) The dance studios are in the basement of the main academic building and they are brand new but they weren’t finished last semester so the kids walked a block to Riverside Church. The dorm is attached to the academic building. I believe all freshman and sophomores live in the dorm, but I think they may have to move off campus after that. There really isn’t a campus, per se. The neighborhood is the campus. There are several shops/restaurants a block and a half away near the 125th street subway station and there are many more closer to Columbia. There is a small park directly across the street and Riverside Park is very close by.
1 Like
Is there anyone else with additional information on WVU’s programs for MT and Acting? Went to their website and saw they offer in state tuition for Ohioians in those majors. D may put this into the mix if we can get some more info.