Hello prospective students and their families,
My name is Professor RJ Magee and I am a Visiting Assistant Professor of Acting at Longwood University. I joined Longwood’s Department of Theatre, Art, and Graphic Animation & Design this semester after completing my MFA in Theatre Arts (Musical Theatre Concentration) at Minnesota State University, Mankato in May. I was a member of the first musical theatre class at Temple University and I spent my junior and senior years of high school studying at Interlochen Arts Academy as a theatre major (my classmates included Betty Who, Kimiko Glenn, and Charlie Martens). Aside from my teaching responsibilities, I still work professionally as an actor, casting director, and talent manager. This past summer I appeared in Anything Goes at the Black Rock Theater. Our cast was made up of many current and former CCM MT students.
I wanted to introduce this community to the theatre program at Longwood.
In addition to having a selective BFA in Theatre Performance and a minor in Musical Theatre (the latter degree program being one of the few in the country), we have a prestigious and rigorous Theatre Education program for aspiring K-12 educators. We are a small program (less than thirty theatre students total) within a smallish university (under 5000 undergrad) with A LOT of individual attention. The campus is absolutely drop dead gorgeous. Out of all the universities that I have been at, this is by far the most connected and tight-knit campus community. In a way that is not dissimilar to my experience at Interlochen, everyone knows everyone. However, the academic and classroom environment is a little more formal and my students have to call me Professor Magee. Academics are also treated very seriously here.
We are in an adorable town with tons of great restaurants, shops, and outdoor activities. We are about 90 minutes from Richmond which has an incredibly vibrant cultural and arts scene. We are about an hour from Charlottesville and Lynchburg, respectively, both of which also have many fun things for students to do on their ‘off days.’ We are also only three hours from the beach. The Richmond airport, bus station, and train station make the rest of the east coast very accessible as well: DC, NYC, Baltimore, Philadelphia etc. The campus-life is extremely vibrant…many clubs and activities (choral/acapella groups, dance teams etc). It really is a special place, especially for a theatre student who wants to be a “big fish in a small pond.” We produce a full season of shows (Little Shop is a our musical this season that I am directing).
Every fall, our students also attend Virginia Theatre Association which features several days of workshops and networking opportunities. I regularly bring in professional guest artists into my classes (both virtually and in-person). For example, our department has been allotted a $15,000 budget for guest artist visits this year. Next week, I am hosting a colleague who has appeared in Frozen, Mean Girls, Newsies, and Wicked (with more to come throughout the semester).
Again, we are a small, intimate program so this is a great fit for talented students that really want a lot of personal instruction, in an extremely tight-knit campus community, where our undergraduate students are 100% the priority. The theatre curriculum has recently been rewritten and we are accredited through the National Association of Schools of Theatre. Thus, students will be studying under a curriculum that is very much up-to-date with national standards for theatre education. We also have a very robust academic curriculum with opportunities to minor in other subjects. We truly are a “boutique” college experience and most students live on-campus all four years. Additionally, the MT minor is NOT audition-based and can be added on to ANY major. Thus, a student could literally major in Accounting and minor in musical theatre.
Feel free to check out our website for more info.
In order to schedule an audition for our BFA Theatre Performance, a prospective student must apply for and be admitted into Longwood University. We are offering the College Confidential community a promo code that waives the application fee: LU24
The university also offers robust merit scholarships, based on high school GPA, that are GUARANTEED if the student applies by December 1st.
Feel free to email me at mageerj@longwood.edu with any questions.
Best,
Professor RJ Magee, MFA
Visiting Assistant Professor of Acting
Department of Theatre, Art, and Graphic Animation & Design
Longwood University
mageerj@longwood.edu