Interlochen

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>hey I just wanted to sing the praises of Interlochen Performing Arts Camp for a bit.</p>

<p>For those of you who aren't familiar, IAC is a 3-6 week arts summer camp located in northern michigan. I first started attending IAC in 2002. I was an intermediate musical theatre major (intermediate is the middle school/early high school age group at iac). There were about 20 (a very selective number considering most returning campers had been 'asked back' and didnt need to reaudition) of us. We performed a one act musical (this was back when the int. mt program was at 4 weeks) with moderate technical support. I loved my first experience at iac and this summer will be my 4th yr there. For the first time, I am moving up from the "intermediate division" to the "high school division". The high school musical theatre program is a 6 week program that consists of 50 hs students from across the country. This is an EXTREMELY competitive program. Many of the people that audition have had professional performing experiences. The lead in the hs musical last year came very close to getting the lead in the broadway production of Hairspray! Also, the musical director of the broadway show "Little Women" came to camp and did vocal workshops with the musical theatre majors. Anthony Rapp came to the camp my first year (he is an alumni, so is Jewel and Norah Jones and Josh Groban) and had a workshop with the intermediate musical theatre kids. I am very nervous about not getting in (last year, a huge number of campers were rejected from the program but they chose to go to the camp anyway as a voice/general voice major). The hs interlochen musical is a very elaborate production (atleast a $10,000 budget) with very heavy dancing. I did a one minute dance audition as part of my audition tape. </p>

<p>Interlochen is not for everyone. If you aren't really serious about your art form, you shouldnt bother. IAC sometimes is accused of being less glamorous than Stagedoor, Walnut etc. I don't mean to diss those programs. IAC's facilities are top notch. We live in a very rustic seeting though...open air wooden cabins in northern michigan (it gets cold to say the least). IAC is audition based and the training is very concentrated but also with an emphasis on exploring all forms of "art" (this means you better expect to go to alot of orchestra concerts, art showings, creative writing readings etc). </p>

<p>There has been some confusion on this board about iac and u of m's theatre program. U of m's program used to be held on iac's campus (under the allstate program) but is now held at u of m's campus. IAC's program and u of m's are very different. I've heard u of m's program is very good, but it is shorter than iac (which is better for some people). I recently met up with a friend who attends michigan as an mt and he remarked about how sooo many kids at u of m have attended iac. It really looks good to their admission people. The lead in Sweet Charity at iac now attends michigan. The lead in iac's production of Babes in Arms now attends Northwestern as an mt. These people are going places to say the least.</p>

<p>I'd be happy to answer any questions about iac.</p>

<p>PS: the musical theatre director at iac is part of musical theatre dept faculty at NYU!!!</p>

<p>PS2: Say a prayer that i get into IAC this year!!!!!</p>

2

<p>I applied to the musical theatre program, also very nervous about hearing. I have a friend who went there and found it amazing, he's now at CMU. A couple of questions: Do you know when they send the letters out? Will it actually not be before April 15? Heard any rumors about what the musical will be? Thanks for posting this.</p>

3

<p>Interlochen rocked my world last summer! I went summer 03 and summer 04...first summer in intermediate (choice year) and second high school.......</p>

<p>just keep in mind for anyone that goes that it is less "training-focused" than it used to be.....it's more rehearsal-focused. if you are a MT major there, all you do is rehearse and take one acting class now that they have changed it around</p>

4

<p>i have heard of ppl hearing before april 15...some as soon as the end of march. but i would really just expect to hear around the beginning of april. every year is different though. </p>

<p>as far as what musical iac is doing...there were TONS of rumors at the end of last summer. the most common rumor was that iac was gonna be doing a new version of the wizard of oz (not wicked, just the original show but with a darker tone and more ensemble numbers). titanic has also been a rumored production for sometime. certain shows float around every year and some aren't actually performed for several years. others shows that have been rumored are...
the music man
guys and dolls
kiss me kate
suessical
evita</p>

5

<p>cool thanks for the info. Broadwaywannabe, what was the training like before they made the changes this year? Do you think it would be worth attending versus a more training-based summer program (like CMU, for example), especially if most likely you are just going to be in the chorus? Just wondering what your thoughts are about that...thanks again for the info both of you!</p>

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<p>Last summer, as a musical theater major, a student would rehearse from 8:20-10:50 (and also during a lot of evenings which sucked for them because they missed a lot of the exciting concerts going on). They would be required to take acting technique. They could also take 2 electives of their choice in addition. A lot of musical theater majors chose to be in the operetta as one of their electives. It was a full-scale Gilbert and Sullivan operetta that was an annual thing put on after six weeks. The cast was filled with over 100 people...mostly voice majors, but lots of different kinds. Unfortunately, with the change of 8 weeks to 6 weeks, they have eliminated the operetta.</p>

<p>Now, a musical theater major will only rehearse and take the required acting technique. It is a shame because the electives made the program very unique. I am applying to CMU summer program instead because I want the training. Even though I love being in shows, I know it is very important to get straightforward training.</p>

<p>My first summer at Interlochen I was an Intermediate Musical Theater major. My classes were Rehearsal, Acting Technique, Introduction to Theater Design and Technology, and Acting Improv.</p>

<p>I applied my second summer for High School Musical theater since I was no longer eligable to be in Intermediates. Unfortunately, I did not get into musical theater. Many people take them up on their offer of automatic acceptance which is almost always given if you don't change your major or division.....So that did not give me much of a shot. They do the same thing for orchestra, band, creative writing, etc majors....but it's not as bad there because you can't say, "We can't have more violinists in an orchestra." Obviously you can only have SO many people in a musical.</p>

<p>I was instead offered a spot in General Studies. While I was very disapointed, it turned out to be a much better option. I took chorus, operetta, ballet, jazz piano, music theory, and private voice lessons. It was unbelievable. I still got a wonderful performance opportunity and I took really great classes. I also was not tied down during the evenings so I was able to still go to concerts, hang on with friends, etc. My schedule was comprable to that of a voice major's. The only advantage a voice major had over me was that a voice major could take solfegio if he/she wanted to. A lot of voice majors didn't.</p>

<p>They have eliminated the general studies major.</p>

<p>Even though they have cut down the musical theater major, they have also added a 3 week musical theater major for people who aren't quite qualified enough to be in the 6 week one. The 3 week one will be very similar in structure except I believe there will be a dance class offered as well.</p>

<p>It depends what kind of training you want......if growing as a performer means being in a show, interlochen is probably the best place for you. I had a wonderful time at Interlochen my last two summers and I regret not going back. The tradition and experience is wonderful. I made friends from all over the world. One of the girls in my cabin lives in Iceland and spent the summer teaching us Icelandic. We got a cabin t-shirt filled with cabin jokes and memories. It was fabulous. And I'm sure it would still be fabulous if someone were to return......it's just not quite what I want anymore.</p>

<p>I'd be happy to answer any other questions.</p>

7

<p>i would just like to point out that all theatre majors were required to send in audition tapes instead of ebing asked back this year. also, alot of mt ppl from babes in arms are planning on not returning this summer. all of this should lead to more openings in the program.</p>

<p>adding to the performance vs. training aspect...i'm def a product as opposed to process kinda guy. so iac is prolly more for me. i'd also like to add that all musical theatre majors will be taking private voice lessons this summer</p>

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<p>hey im roxanne (known as roxy at interlochen for some strange reason...) i am a clarinet major and this will be my 6th year back at camp. i am going to be in the high school division this year (it is my choice year for intermediate and high school). im sort of scared for this summer because its going to be all different and changed. im really excited for this summer...what are your names for those of you going back?</p>

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<p>my name is R.J.</p>

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<p>Well, I've been home for more than a week now and can kind of be at least a bit articulate about the amazing six weeks I had this summer at the Interlochen Arts Camp. I was accepted to the High School Musical Theatre Production in April, headed to the International Thespian Conference in June (which was great and if anyone has any questions, let me know) and went straight from there to IAC. It's hard to even know where to start, but if anyone has any questions I would love to answer them. </p>

<p>We were told that our directors viewed over 200 audition tapes for this program and made offers initially to 20 boys and 20 girls. We ended up with 35 people in the cast of "Rags," the show IAC did this year. (the version we did is VERY different from the recording version, and much better in my opinion). And each and every one of those 35 people had incredible talent. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses of course, but it was the most talented group of people I've worked with. The schedule for MT's was pretty rigorous, but like has been brought up by many people, a huge amount of our schedule was dedicated to rehearsing, not classes. We had two different 3 or 4 hour periods of rehearsal and one acting class. This is because the program was changed from 8 weeks to 6 weeks this year, so MT's were not allowed electives. I, however, still learned SO much in rehearsal. Plus, in the mornings we had a physical and vocal warmup (complete with sit ups and push ups...not so fun at 8 in the morning) that lasted at least an hour and our director did a ton of Viewpoints work with us in the afternoon, so it wasn't like the entire three hours was simply devoted to running musical numbers. </p>

<p>What really made the experience incredible for me was the faculty. They are not only amazing at what they do, but they pushed everyone to their limits every day. It's hard to give your all when you're on like six and a half hours of sleep and it's 8 in the morning, but if someone wasn't working their hardest, they would stop rehearsal to point it out to everyone. "Show me that you want to be here" were words that were said countless times this summer, even if it was just because someone wasn't standing up straight while singing. And when someone would have trouble with even a few notes in a song, they wouldn't hesitate to spend a ton of time working with them. It's because of all the attention to detail that the show turned out as well as it did. Oh, a cast member of the original Broadway production of Rags (that only lasted four nights lol) came to see the show, and couldn't have been prouder. It was amazing to get to meet and speak with her. </p>

<p>Like I said, I'm only a little bit articulate at this point about Interlochen lol. It's hard to know how to sum up 6 weeks of living and breathing art and spending time with friends I feel like I have known for a lifetime. That's one great thing about Interlochen is that there's all kinds of people there studying different art forms, so if you're someone who gets tired of MT personalities easily, there are tons of other people there to hang out with. Everyone is so friendly, too. Oh, although the theatre facilities are AMAZING and really new, some people might not enjoy living in a cabin for six weeks with at least 11 other people, haha. It gets annoying after a while, but it's definitely a huge part of the Interlochen experience. I learned and grew so much this summer, my range expanded, I feel infinitely more free in my body and with my voice thanks to my acting teacher and the other acting teachers I got to work on scenes from the show with, and I learned how to pace myself and be disciplined. And now I know for certain that musical theatre is what I want to do and what I want to study in college. Some people decided the exact opposite because of their time at IAC, which makes the experience invaluable. Though it may not give you a view of what a conservatory training would be like, like CMU precollege does, I think it gives you a good idea at what life in the musical theatre outside of college would be like. So, anyway, PLEASE ask questions, I would love to answer! Thanks for reading...RJ and John, post too!</p>

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<p>amen to that amy! Interlochen was amazing. I was a fellow MT this summer. The experience was incredible and I would be glad to answer any questions anyone has or if you need me to convince you to go. work it!</p>

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<p>Yeah, I'm not gonna preach like others did <em>ahem</em> AMY <em>ahem</em> and I won't write pages...but if you get the chance GO. It's the best thing that's ever happened to me...not just as a person but as a performer. You are going to learn so much. The thing that I loved about the MT Production program was that you got so much from the classroom and you ALSO had the opportunity to learn from the experience. I think both are so incredibly important to learn as a young performer and I was so thankful that Interlochen offered both.</p>

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<p>Interlochen truly is an amazing place! This was my 5th summer at Interlochen and this year I took part in the High School Production. As said in other postings, we did "Rags". When I first heard that we were doing "Rags" I was a little confused because I had never heard the show. BUt once we got there and started to work on the show (even though the show does have its problem) it didn't matter because everyone at Interlochen is so incredibly talented. It is honestly a little intimidating because everyone is so good, where as at our school we are used to getting good roles. It just makes you see what the real business is like and gets you so well prepared. I love IAC dearly and you can learn so much. The only thing that bothers me a little about it is the lack of dance classes for Musical theater majors. I dance a lot at home and not being able to dance a lot at camp is a negative, but there are very few negatives at Interlochen. It's a beautiful setting where everyone shares the same passion as you so you totally connect with people and make friendships that will last a lifetime.</p>

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<p>I’m interested in apply for the visual arts programs do you know anything about it?</p>

15

<p>Rutt, this is a musical theater thread.</p>

16

<p>Ritt. You may try posting this on the Visual Arts Film Thread.</p>