Liberal Arts Colleges offering significant musical theater opportunities

Thanks for the responses so far. I hadn’t heard much about the five college consortium before. How does the five college consortium work when it comes to musical theater or theater generally? Can anyone from any of the five colleges enroll in any theater ir music class at the other four? Are all auditions at all five colleges open to students from all five? Does this create an oversupply of females, or a shortage of males, competing for parts, since Smith and Mt. Holyoke are all female? Is it even realistic to participate in a production at another campus if you don’t have a car? Among Amherst, UMass, Mt. Holyoke, Smith and Hampshire, are there notable differences in theater programs and offerings?

How do the five colleges compare to the Claremont Colleges or Quaker Colleges in terms of musical theater and theater generally?

Technically, auditions in the Pioneer Valley are open to everybody. But, practically speaking? UMass has the most students by a factor of 4:1.

Do UMass students get 80 percent of the roles in the consortium productions? Where are the rehearsals and performances? In some ways, going to a small liberal arts college but getting to take advantage of a big state university’s theater department sounds like it might be fun. I can imagine, though, that the competition could be pretty tough.

Anybody know anything about theater and musical theater at Oberlin, Macalaster, Whitman or Wesleyan?

@AmazingBlue my D is a First Year Vocal Performance BM candidate in the Conservatory at Oberlin. I don’t know much about Theater there, but I get the sense that there is a lot going on and shows are very accessible to all students (though most are audition based). As a VP major, my D won’t have time for standard Theater (for the most part) but she did just spend her Winter Term (the month of January) working with theater students on a Musical Theater Showcase which will be performed later this month. Also, I know she was invited to audition for the Spring musical (but again, her schedule won’t allow for that as a Con student). Also, since Oberlin is known for their Creative Writing department, I think you’ll find that a lot of student writing and directing projects are going on all the time! Maybe a current Oberlin student, or recent graduate, can elaborate? Certainly, Oberlin is a magnet for creative, musically and theatrically talented young adults, even though many of them are pursuing degrees in other disciplines.

Also of note, a new theater complex will be complete in August, 2018 at Oberlin, so they are definitely investing in their program:

Through the generosity of Irene and Alan Wurtzel ’55, this highly adaptable space will accommodate between 250 and 300 seats. The Nord Performing Arts Annex will also boast a lobby, scene shop, laundry facility, restrooms, and other necessary spaces.

“The Eric Baker Nord Performing Arts Annex will give us, and subsequently the rest of the campus and greater Northeast Ohio, a flexible, medium-sized performance venue,” says Steggall.

This kind of adaptable space—one that allows for seating to be rearranged around a stage—is especially relevant to today’s student and theater practitioner, says Steggall. “It will introduce a whole new paradigm of curriculum and opportunities for the campus and the college.”

The new theater space will also allow the department to experiment with different types of productions. “It allows for modern curriculum,” says Steggall. “There’s a difference between sitting in an audience, looking at actors on stage as you would on a television screen, and looking at actors in the round as they can in this new, flexible space. It changes the energy dynamic, the approach, and the sightlines.”

According to Steggall, a performance in the round leaves little room for error and requires a greater attention to detail. “All the elements of the show have to be finished to a different degree. The audience sees the back of furniture and scenery, the costumes are 10 feet rather than 40 away, and the actors have an audience on all sides. We’ll have a completely different kind of approach to our productions.”

Concurrently, a much-needed renovation to Hall Annex will also take place, thanks to a generous donation from musical composer John Kander ’51. Originally used as a television studio, Little Theatre is considered by many in the theater department as a “found-space” adapted to function as a theater—but the very nature of it presents functional challenges. Following its renovation, the performance space will be renamed the John Kander Little Theatre in his honor.

Upon the spaces’ completion in August 2018, the Eric Baker Nord Performing Arts Annex and the renovated Hall Annex will adjoin directly with Hall Auditorium, creating an interconnected performing arts complex.

According to Stegall, the project is transformational for anyone who is interested in theater performance, and he sees the renovation as a “major hook” for the students who are visiting or intending to become a theater major. He also sees an opportunity to bolster the college’s profile in Northeast Ohio.

Amazingblue, my son went to Whitman, graduated 2014. We visited all four years and attended plays, the theater department is top notch, but I never saw a musical, nor remember noticing that there were many musicals staged. Son loved Whitman for the overall quality of life and excellent academics, but I don’t think musical theater is one of its specialties. I took a quick look at the schedule for the 20!7-2018 school year at the Harper Joy Theater and there’s one musical out of 7 shows.

Re getting around the Five Colleges (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith, UMass), there are (no charge) buses continuously circulating among them. Attending classes and events at each institution is easy.

This is the webpage for links to programs and auditions among the five schools:

https://www.fivecolleges.edu/theater

https://www.fivecolleges.edu/theater/auditions

Oberlin has a strong vocal performance major and a separate theatre program; my recollection is Oberlin does not put on musicals… rather, it puts on concerts, plays, etc.

LACs that I know of that put on musicals are Wagner College (does up to four mainstage shows) and Muhlenberg College (at least one mainstage show during the year and three during the summer).

http://wagner.edu/theatre/wagner-college-theatre-announces-season/

https://www.muhlenberg.edu/main/academics/theatre-dance/thetheatreprogram/curriculum/musicaltheatre.html

I spoke with a dance/theater prof at one of the 5 colleges recently. She said that some profs stay on their campus and 5C students come to them, but others actually teach at 2 or more of the campuses - they travel to the students.

Something to look into.