<p>My daughter loves to sing and perform, and will be auditioning at 5 MT schools beginning in January (Point Park, JMU, Elon, Shenandoah and Penn State), but also enjoys just acting/drama productions that don't necessarily include musical numbers. Do any of the BFA MT programs allow for, or include, opportunities for MT students to take acting/drama classes and/or perform in non-musical productions?<br>
Also, is anyone aware if colleges frown upon prospective students auditioning for both Musical Theater and Theater programs at the same school (to increase chances of being accepted to one of the programs)?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Do you mean on your current list of schools or additional programs that are not currently on your list?</p>
<p>JMU is an auditioned BA MT program. The students in the MT program take acting with the non-MT students, and may audition and be cast in all productions. MT concentrators are often cast in non-musicals.</p>
<p>Penn State has a BFA in MT and a BA in Theatre... no BFA in Acting. All of the undergraduate majors take acting classes together, and MT students may audition for, and are cast in non-musicals</p>
<p>I do not know about Elon, Shenandoah, or Point Park.</p>
<p>If you are looking for additional prgrams to add to your list...</p>
<p>I know at Syracuse MT students take acting classes with the BFA acting majors, and audition for and are cast in non-musicals... I think you are in Northern VA, however, and Syracuse may be too far away... too cold! </p>
<p>As far as auditioning for both MT and acting programs, each school seems to have a different policy. At some schools it is the same audition and you simply check on your audition form that you would like to also be considered for the acting program. At NYU, for example, they will consider you for admission to all studios unless you indicate that you are only interested in Cap21. </p>
<p>I would check with the schools on your list to see what their policies are.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>thanks!<br>
as a follow up, does anyone have opinions as to which is a better route to take? musical theater versus theater/acting, especially with regards to finding work/auditions/performances post graduation? is it easier for a MT student to transition to a non-musical production than it is for a theater/acting only student to try to audition for a musical production? are MT graduates taken seriously if they pursue roles in non-musicals? who are some famous MT graduates working on stage/film in traditional acting roles?
Questions from parents hoping to provide our daughter with some guidance/advice. Hopefully she'll also get some from colleges she is considering.</p>
<p>cbwheatley, I would strongly recommend that you search this forum for a discussion on just that topic! People have various opinions about this (whether it is more advantageous for students to pursue degrees in musical theater or acting, and why) and you would benefit from reading those threads. The bottom line is that I doubt anyone here (or anywhere!) can tell you for sure which is the appropriate/best route for your D (or mine!) to pursue.
One thing you will want to do is have your D ask the colleges/conservatories at which she is auditioning whether they allow non-MT students to audition for their musicals, and vice versa. I know that many schools do do this. Of course, common sense will tell us that those pursuing a straight acting degree will probably spend more time in the studio studying acting than will MTers, who usually split their time between acting, singing and dancing. If I were you, I would have my D ask herself whether she could be happy studying/doing straight acting most of the time, or whether she feels she <em>needs</em> to be singing and dancing, too, to be satisfied. They are both wonderful avenues to take, albeit different.</p>
<p>You will find as many different opinions on this topic as there are people :) There is no one path or "right" answer. </p>
<p>When I graduated from Syracuse those of us in my class who could sing and dance had an easier time booking paid performance work than those who did not sing and dance. There was a lot more paid MT work that someone just starting out could audition for, and those of us who also had strong acting training had even more for which to audition. I was a MT major, but my first 2 paid jobs out of college were doing Shakespeare plays. </p>
<p>NotMamaRose mentioned that each school is different in terms of the opportunities for Acting students to audition for musicals, take dance, voice ,etc.... and the opportunities for MT students to take upper level acting classes and audition for non-musicals.... I agree that the more information you can get from the individual schools on this topic the more able you and your D will be to make an informed decision.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>I don't know the answers to many of your questions, and people above are correct when they say that the topic of MT vs. acting for a major has been discussed before, at length. I also do not know whether the schools allow you to audition for both programs at the same time.</p>
<p>I can tell you that at Elon, the BFA students in Acting and MT take Acting classes together. These classes are different from the ones taken by other majors, such as theatre studies. Also, I believe that MT students are required to audition for all musicals and all plays. I do not think this works in reverse for Acting majors (being required to audition for musicals). I know for sure that MT majors often perform in the plays that are not musicals.</p>