JMU Musical Theatre

<p>Is it possible to receive two Madison scholarships, one from the university and one from your specific degree?
I am currently a junior.</p>

<p>I do not believe so. Nor do I believe it possible to receive BOTH a Dingledine and a Madison Achievement Scholarship. </p>

<p>As a junior it may be that we will have more departmental scholarships to offer that are renewable and cover a larger portion of tuition. This is something that we are working on, but I do not know the timeline for when it might be implemented. </p>

<p>Currently the largest scholarships offered by JMU are the Dingledine – [The</a> Bluestone Scholarship Program at James Madison University](<a href=“Freshman Scholarships & Financial Aid - JMU”>Freshman Scholarships & Financial Aid - JMU) and the Centennial – [OSAP</a> :: Centennial Scholars](<a href=“http://www.jmu.edu/centscholars/index.html]OSAP”>http://www.jmu.edu/centscholars/index.html)</p>

<p>Hi Kat!
My daughter was accepted to the VP program with MT concentration (pending academic acceptance). We are from out of state & she really loved JMU when she visited to audition. It was a positive experience & I think it may be her top choice now.</p>

<p>To make a long story short her voice teacher encouraged us to apply to voice programs instead of MT. We ended up splitting them 50/50 even though her real passion is for MT. We chose JMU VP because it had the MT concentration.</p>

<p>I guess my question is- would she have a real chance to get into the school musicals? & would dance & acting classes be open to her? She has been accepted to 2 MT BFA programs so far but really liked JMU.</p>

<p>Please advise.
Thank you!</p>

<p>Hi!</p>

<p>Congrats to your D!</p>

<p>If she is in the BM MT concentration acting, musical theatre performance, and dance classes are required. These are the same classes that the BA MT students take. Often it is possible for SOM students in other concentrations to get into these classes, particularly the lower level classes where there is more space available.</p>

<p>There are often SOM students in musicals in the School of Theatre & Dance. Almost all shows are open for all students to audition. The SOM also puts on an opera on the mainstage each fall, as well as opera scene programs in the concert hall in the spring. </p>

<p>We just did Sweeney Todd as the mainstage musical in the School of Theatre & Dance. Of the 30 member cast, 5 were SOM students, 1 was a Theatre/ Music minor, and 2 were Theatre concentrators. We also cast 7 ensemble covers… 4 were SOM students. Sweeney was a slightly larger cast mainstage musical than most we do, but the percentages are generally about the same. If I remember correctly Kiss Me Kate last spring had a cast of about 26 and 6 were SOM students. These are not quota numbers, just the way it has worked out recently. SOM students also may audition for and be cast in student directed musicals in the studio theatre. </p>

<p>Let me know if you have additional questions.</p>

<p>Kate</p>

<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>

<p>Ps. The mainstage musical is co-produced by music and theatre & dance. The orchestra is made up mostly of undergraduate music students. The scenery, costumes, lighting, sound are mostly built, hung, run, and sometimes designed by theatre undergraduate students. It is a great collaboration. </p>

<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>

<p>Thank you so much for your response. I didn’t get to go to the audition but my husband & daughter raved about JMU when they got back!
This whole process has been incredibly nerve-wracking on us all (& I’m sure many other families). Thank you again for taking the time to answer these questions.</p>

<p>Sure. Also, there is a school of theatre & dance faculty/ guest directed musical in the fall. This has been in the studio theatre in the past and will be on the concert hall this fall. SOM students have been cast in this as well, usually a couple each year.</p>

<p>All the best! Before you know it will be final decision time. The craziness of the process will be over soon enough!</p>

<p>KatMT. My D is a jr in HS. She is trying to decide between VP and MT. She would like to dual degree with Math understanding that it will probably take 5 years. Can you do this at JMU? Thanks!</p>

<p>The BM program (vp or mt) with the BS or BA in math would maybe be possible, although it would likely take 4.5 to 5 years. This is a better question for the folks in the school of music. </p>

<p>The BA mt program with the BA in math could likely be doable in 4 or 4.5 years depending on APs and language placement. The BA mt with the BS math would likely take 4.5 to 5 years. </p>

<p>Kate</p>

<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>

<p>Thanks for the info. I’m trying to come up with a list for summer visits.</p>

<p>A visit to JMU in the summer is great for seeing the campus, but generally most faculty and students are away pursuing professional summer work.</p>

<p>We live in Cincinnati, so summer is our only option for some visits. Thanks again.</p>

<p>The summer is better than not at all. particularly for getting a vibe for the campus and the town. :)</p>

<p>Hi Kate! I was wondering how many students auditioned/ were selected for the program this year for both the MT and T concentrations. Are you able to give that info out yet? Thanks!</p>

<p>We are still working on transfer students, so numbers are not set completely, but these are pretty close.</p>

<p>For Musical Theatre it looks like we will have a 12% - 13% admit rate. </p>

<p>The numbers are harder to estimate for Theatre because approximately 2/3 of the Musical Theatre auditionees elect to be considered for both Theatre and Musical Theatre. I would estimate about a 35% - 40% admit rate for Theatre. </p>

<p>Total audition/ interviews (including portfolio reviews for theatre studies, theatre education, and design and production) for JMU Theatre & Musical Theatre programs this year totaled around 270. We aim for a freshman class of 35 - 40 freshman Theatre and 8 - 12 Musical Theatre.</p>

<p>Kat -</p>

<p>Thanks for all of your open and thorough responses!</p>

<p>I came across a post of yours from 2008 which I hope you will update and elaborate on. It stated that you recommend no more than 16 students to Admissions and that those students must have a minimum of a 3.0 in their core subjects.</p>

<p>If you do not recommend a student to admissions, does that mean you are not considering them for the MT program? We are at a top-ranked high school (very challenging). In Naviance, ALL our students with a GPA and ACT score at that of my D’s were admitted to JMU. My D started improving in academics this year (Junior year) and I do not know how if her core GPA will turn out to be above a 3.0. Do you include mid-year Senior grades in your calculation? Do you include Foreign Languages or just the 4 main subjects?</p>

<p>If her core GPA is not above a 3.0, should she just not apply to the MT program? JMU is one of the schools at the top of her list, but we wouldn’t want to waste time (yours or ours), or money, traveling to audition if admittance is not feasible.</p>

<p>Thanks for your insight!</p>

<p>Things have changed a bit over the past few years at JMU. The average admitted student GPA has risen to a 3.8 (recalculated from core classes, I believe) with a rigorous HS course load.</p>

<p>From Admissions Website – [Freshman</a> Application Process](<a href=“Freshman Admission - JMU”>Freshman Admission - JMU)

  1. Quality of High School Academics</p>

<p>The Admissions Committee is most interested in the quality of the applicant’s high school program of study. Applicants are evaluated in the context of their high school.</p>

<p>Competitive applicants should minimally have the following:</p>

<p>o 4 years of math with at least one full year beyond Algebra II in a course for which Algebra II is a prerequisite (i.e. pre-calculus, trigonometry, discrete, statistics, analysis, etc.). Computer and consumer math do not count and will not be evaluated as a full year beyond Algebra II.
o 3 years of laboratory science (preferably including biology, chemistry and physics; general science or earth science usually does not count as a lab science)
o 3 to 4 years of one foreign language or two years of two different foreign languages
o 4 years of English
o 4 years of social studies</p>

<p>Students with solid achievement in four or more academic courses each year of high school will have a distinct advantage in the admission process. Competitive candidates for admission will have taken upper level coursework (i.e. Honors, AP, IB, Dual Enrollment) in the core academic areas when available in their high school.</p>

<ol>
<li>Academic Achievement</li>
</ol>

<p>Competitive candidates will have mostly As and Bs in the core academic areas: English, math, lab science, social science and foreign language. While we focus on the individual grades in each core academic class the admissions committee notes the high school grade point average and class rank if reported by the high school. JMU is more interested in how a prospective student performs over the four year high school program than the results of a standardized test.</p>

<p>Back to KatMT –</p>

<p>We admit students to the program based on a combination of their audition, essay, interview, and academic performance in HS. We generally will admit 16 - 22 into the MT program. We send a list to admissions of those student who applied to JMU regular decision (or who were deferred from EA) who we would like in the program. Are you in state or OOS? If In state from what part of VA are you?</p>

<p>We have recommended some students with lower than 3.0 GPAs, but generally admissions comes back to us with a “no” … meaning we cannot admit them to the program, because they were not admitted academically to JMU.</p>

<p>We are not MORE selective academically in Theatre, Dance, and Musical Theatre than they are in academic admissions. We just look at the transcripts to see the rigor of the course load… if they meet the HS course requirements, and that they have earned mostly As and Bs in core classes. If a student meets that criteria and we want them in the program we will recommend them and hope that our recommendation helps them to be admitted.</p>

<p>If you go on the JMU website you can contact your regional admissions counselor to ask specific questions.</p>

<p>There are actually far more students who are admitted academically to JMU than we accepted into the program. This past year for Musical Theatre we saw about 170 prospective students audition and made about 22 offers for the Musical Theatre program. We aim for a freshman Musical Theatre class of 8 - 12. We admitted about another 30 for the Theatre program from the Musical Theatre program auditions (as well as a number of students who auditioned only for Theatre… I am not sure of the total numbers). We aim for a freshman Theatre class of 35-ish.</p>

<p>If a student is competitive academically it does not matter whether we recommended them or not for the program. They may still be admitted academically to JMU. Some students choose to come to JMU in another major if admitted academically and not artistically.</p>

<p>I hope this helps!</p>

<p>:-) KatMT</p>

<p>kateMT-I’m curious about the 3-4 years of a foreign language. My kids took two years of French in middle school before we moved to a different state. They took French II and French III in 9th/10th but elected not to take AP French because, well, the teacher isn’t so great (has taught it now for 7 years with no AP test result over a 2. Huh). Anyway, would those middle school years count toward the foreign language requirement? Just curious… Planning a trip to see JMU this summer.</p>

<p>Likely the fact that they went through french II in HS would be taken into account, particularly if the middle school french was on their HS transcript. Much like kids who take Algebra I in 8th grade. Admissions would be able to give you a better definitive answer. </p>

<p>Have a great visit this summer! Not exactly the same as during the year because far fewer students are here and not the same production calendar, BUT the campus is beautiful, regardless. :-)</p>

<p>PS… Can’t tell if either of your children is interested in arts majors? I am more knowledgeable about arts major admissions that other colleges.</p>

<p>I have one that is looking to do theatre and/or MT. We are still trying to figure out what the best road is for her :). Makes me a nervous wreck…</p>