<p>Jacksdad posted this on a separate thread that has a lot of UK vs US going on, but I am equally interested in hearing opinions about which MT programs are considered to have a strong acting component (CMU, NYU?) and so I thought it may be helpful to dedicate a thread to it for easy navigating. </p>
<p>Opinions anyone?</p>
<p>simply my impressions from my research/talking to friends...</p>
<p>northwestern's MT certificate program, maybe? everyone starts out as a straight theatre major and then auditions into MT after a year or two.</p>
<p>cap21 at nyu seems to be all about training actors who sing. i know many of the other studios definitely also have some dance and music training thrown in, so that might be true there to a lesser extent.</p>
<p>CMU, i believe, is an acting program before it's a musical theatre program. Correct me if I'm wrong, though, but I always thought of their students as actors, with Musical Theatre interests.</p>
<p>UArts has a very strong acting component for MT students. MT students take the same acting studio and technique courses as acting majors, often with the acting majors. There is a detailed thread on this on the UArts section at the top of the MT main page</p>
<p>Thanks MTgirlsmom for redirecting the question. You're right about my thoughts getting lost in the "are English accents sexy" forum. Unfortunately, those posters are the ones who need to chime in on this question as they are critical of musical theater acting skills.</p>
<p>Not from personal experience, but from what I've read here and heard from a friend who has a child there, Ithaca is a very strong acting school.</p>
<p>Webster Conservatory</p>
<p>Syracuse -- there was a recent detailed discussion of their very strong acting program on another thread. I forget which one -- but you'll find it if you do a search.</p>
<p>First, I think it is very important when picking a BFA or BM program, to truly examine the curriculum as it varies widely between programs. Some don't have acting every semester. Some don't have private voice every semester. Some have no voice/speech. Some have only one dance class per semester. Some have no music theory. And so on and so forth. You have to decide what you are looking for and then which school's program matches it. For instance, my child wanted a balanced program of Singing, Dancing, and Acting. I have read of some who pick programs that are strong in their own strength. For instance, if their strength is singing, they want a program heavy on voice, such as a BM might be. That's one way to go about it. Another is to want to find a program strong in areas in which you have less experience/skill, so that you can develop in new ways. For instance, if you are already a very strong singer but less trained in acting, you may wish to find a program strong in acting. Also, for my own kid, she was a lifelong dancer and would want a program that either had dance placement/levels or a strong dance requirement to be admitted, so that the classes would be the appropriate challenge. </p>
<p>Lately, I haven't posted much on the MT vs. Acting type threads and I don't agree with a lot of the posts either. In certain MT programs, a student can get very good acting training. Further, an aspiring MT student is usually aiming for work on the MT stage. Their goals may differ from a straight acting student and for instance, they aren't looking to join a Shakespeare company. They want very strong acting skills but are hoping to perform in musicals, though many would also be happy to perform in straight plays AS WELL. In order to be a skilled MT performer, it is crucial to be able to act, sing, and dance. Concentrating only on acting, with no training in voice or dance would give you less preparation in the other skill areas. However, many who are in acting programs can sing and dance and hopefully find ways to keep those skills up. I also don't agree with the constant comparison of "can MT performers REALLY act?" In my opinion, if a MT performer can't act, they are not going to do well in this field. I'd rather hear an OK singer who can act that a fab singer who can't act the song or script. It is ESSENTIAL for a MT performer to be able to act. I have read posts that say that MT shows require very little acting skills. I very much differ on that opinion as well. Any scripted show involves acting skills. Singing a song itself in a MT show requires much acting skills. If you can't act the song, it hardly matters how well you sing it. The MT performers who I feel are the best are ones who CAN act, let alone sing. There's a big difference between performers who simply sing very well and those who sing well and can also act. I see this a lot. By the way, this is very important in a MT audition too.</p>
<p>Back to MT college programs. I am not going to list all the ones with lots of acting training and people can talk of programs they know. Examples include Syracuse, CMU, Ithaca, NYU/Tisch, UArts, Webster, and quite a many others. There are some programs that emphasize music more than acting. Also, some programs are not equally balanced in the three disciplines. </p>
<p>I'll share what I know about NYU/Tisch as my daughter is a junior there in CAP21 studio. First, Tisch is a DRAMA school. They definitely value acting. On top of studio training, you also have to take 7 Theater Studies classes and so you are studying theater a lot and it surely isn't all MT. First, I will share the acting curriculum in the CAP21 studio. EACH semester of freshman and sophomore years, you take Acting/Scene Study and Voice/Speech (to be clear....this is not voice of the type that is singing....you have all the singing classes as well .....this is the kind of voice classes for acting training). In junior year, you continue every semester with Acting/Scene Study but also have Musical Scene Study. All these classes involve being assigned partners to put up scenes you must prepare, etc. I think in the second semester of junior year, they also have Monologues, Audition Prep, and Dialects. Pretty sure on that. </p>
<p>CAP21 is a 3 1/2 year studio. For those who stay in CAP during the fourth year, one semester is spent on auditioning and the business, etc. and working with casting directors and agents who come in for the semester to run classes and workshops with students in audition prep and then also the semester is spent on preparing for the Senior CAP21 showcase. This semester can be done either in the fall or spring of senior year. Each semester has a Showcase. (By the way, besides the CAP21 showcase that those in their fourth year at CAP may do, Tisch also has Industry Nights that you can audition to get into.....there is one showcase for MT and one for Drama through Tisch, and so you can conceivably be in the CAP21 showcase with no audition to get in if you are a fourth year Cappie, and a Tisch showcase by audition). </p>
<p>However, one BIG thing that is different at Tisch than at many other BFA programs is the way the studio system works. The first two years you are in a studio is called your Primary Studio. After two years of Primary Studio, you have the OPTION of choosing an Advanced Studio. You can stay in y our OWN studio (such as if you are in CAP21) for the Advanced training in that studio. But you have the option of doing another studio to learn other techniques. For instance, there are two stand alone Advanced Studios only open to juniors and seniors. One is Stonestreet Studios Film and Television Acting Workshop. I recall someone on the other thread asking if any BFA programs in MT have acting for Film/TV and so at Tisch, if you are in CAP21, you could opt to train in MT for two years and then do Stonestreet to study acting for film/TV and thus get some of each type of training. Another stand alone Advanced Studio option is to do Classical Studio which is studying Shakespeare (though you do Shakespeare for a semester at CAP21 in junior year by the way) and performing Shakespeare plays. My D has friends from CAP21 who have chosen either Stonestreeet or Classical Studios to complete their training years at Tisch. </p>
<p>ALSO, for Advanced Studio, you can audition to get into another one of the acting studios for advanced training tracks...such as Strasberg, Playwrights, Atlantic, Stella Adler or Experimental Theater Wing. By having these OPTIONS, it allows students to assess their own progress after primary training and set personal goals for their remaining years at Tisch. You can opt for a deeper understanding within your own studio, or do an advanced "transfer track" in an acting studio, or move to one of the stand alone advanced studios mentioned earlier. If you switch studios, you may enhance your training by being introduced to new skills and techniques since every studio has different approaches. You can set personal goals and pick and choose how you want to spend your Advanced training. </p>
<p>My D has friends who have done CAP21 two years and switched, for instance, to Playwrights Horizons. Also, Playwrights Horizons has a MT track/workshop that is one or two semesters. She has friends from Adler who have switched into CAP21 for their final two years. By the way, MANY students in the acting studios at Tisch are very good at MT and are cast in the musicals. Some of the acting studios also have singing and dancing and you can also take private voice if in an acting studio. </p>
<p>My daughter has always wanted to do Experimental Theater Wing (ETW). She'd like to have done the Amsterdam summer program which is apparently amazing, but we can't afford that (though she is paying her own way to visit Amsterdam in a month). She always grappled with how to do ETW without giving up CAP21 as she adores CAP21. At CAP21, there is one semester senior year when you are not in a studio and she could have done ETW advanced studio transfer track for one semester if admitted. However, she recently chose to audition for ETW which is a very popular advanced studio. She told me a huge number auditioned for the ETW transfer track and they took nine girls and nine boys. She got in and will do ETW for two semesters, spring of junior year and one semester of senior year and then do the CAP21 showcase semester as her other senior year semester. Thus, she is only missing one semester of CAP21 (spring of junior year) to gain two semesters of ETW. The first semester of ETW is called Transfer Track and is an advanced studio. After that, in ETW, you get to individually pick your advanced training classes, creating your own curricular structure, which is what she will do for a semester in her senior year in ETW. </p>
<p>I'll explain some rationale for my D seeking to do ETW for two semesters but it is a very INDIVIDUAL rationale and the whole point is to assess your own learning and desires for advanced training and her choices reflect her own needs and interests and would not be reasons for the next student and are not a reflection on CAP21 as she loves CAP21 training, in fact. In her case, not only does she want to experience ETW which she continually hears is really an amazing experience, but in assessing her own skill and training, she'd like a chance to focus on acting since acting is the skill area she entered college with the least amount of training, as she had trained in singing and dancing a lot before college and of course has trained in all three equally at CAP21 which puts equal emphasis on all three skill sets. She feels she needs to use her body more in her acting and ETW's acting approach really involves body work. Another reason has to do with an interest in getting to go beyond traditional theater works and do experimental theater. A third reason is that she wants to write and perform her own musical. My D is a writer and a composer and musical director, as well as performer. In her second semester at ETW, part of that program is to create ,perform and produce your own work and so she will write a musical and perform it, which she may have been able to do at CAP but it would be harder as it is not part of the program and at ETW, such a project IS part of the senior year. At ETW, they also have singing classes, and while you can opt to just sing MT repertoire, you can veer into other genres and my D is an avid pop/rock/jazz singer and can work on that in those classes (though CAP21 has a semester she has done that involved pop/rock). Also, ETW has dance and choreography classes. She will continue with private voice with her CAP21 private voice teacher. My D feels she will benefit by learning new things and new experiences rather than one more semester of MT singing and dancing and acting. She has danced and sung her whole life and wants to strengthen areas that she feels she'd benefit from now. This also allows her to do studio for 8 semesters rather than the 7 if only doing CAP. ETW allows for a student to explore her own creative vision and to also elect courses from a wide range of training. ETW involves acting, singing and dancing, but is not a MT studio itself. She can choose to work on singing MT songs or to write and perform in a musical there, but also can sing other genres, learn other forms of dance, and new acting techniques, and explore non traditional theater, as well. So, she is delighted to tailor her four years at Tisch in such a way where she'll have 6 semesters of CAP21, including the showcase semester, and two semesters of ETW including one semester of ETW transfer track and one semester to pick her training classes and also to create/produce/perform her own musical. For HER, this was her ideal. </p>
<p>My point in sharing just one person's experience is to explain how at Tisch, you have options and so you can study MT for 2, 3 or 4 years, or do a combo of MT studio training and another acting approach/studio or TV/Film Acting, etc. A Tisch student can do one studio for four years or assess their training and set goals for exploring more approaches/studios during their time at Tisch.</p>
<p>One small observation....I have seen several performances at Tisch so far. One thing that has struck me about most of the kids in CAP is not simply that they sing well but that they can ACT. It is a big difference from some MT kids I saw in HS, etc. Time and again, I really notice that their acting skills are strong, compared to some MT singers I have seen. And that makes a difference, in my view, in a performance.</p>
<p>PSU has a very strong acting base...the upper level classes are taught by the MFA Acting professors. There is a thread on the Penn State board that discusses it in more detail.</p>
<p>Hey PSUcat....so great to see you and I hope you are doing great! PSU is another well balanced program and that was one of its attractions to my daughter. She liked it a lot.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply.</p>
<p>SoozieVT - thanks for your indepth reply. My D has done tons of "homework" researching the different programs either online or by talking to her friends in the different programs :). </p>
<p>In some case the information is readily available online, but in others it is really difficult to actually obtain information whether the program offers private voice, if there are multi level dance classes, and what type of drama training is being offered and how many hours are dedicated to each. </p>
<p>We find it really interesting to get existing students (or their parents) perspectives and realize that these ultimately amount to personal opinions/experiences.</p>
<p>MTGIRLSMOM...you are right that you can't get it all online. You can usually get the curriculum online. It is really important to talk to current students and faculty. Try to do that on your visits. Try to network on CC and who knows who that attends, etc. It all helps. </p>
<p>There ARE differences in the programs. Then again, at this juncture as a senior, you gotta keep an open mind and audition at several schools as long as they have enough things that appeal to you even if each school does not match up in every single one of your personal criteria because you have to see where you can get in first. You may have a choice and you may not. It is good to gather information but also good to keep an open mind. A student can be happy at more then one school. Try to find things you like about each school. When and if you have several acceptances in hand, you can always get down to some nitty gritty differences and pick which school most closely aligns with your individual preferences. </p>
<p>FYI, CAP21 has private voice for 7 semesters, starting second semester freshman year. The program also has four levels of ballet, tap and jazz each semester just for your own grade alone (then four more levels offered by placement for the next year, etc.). In junior year, there is also musical theater dance and modern and hip hop. While there is a range of dance skills in the student body, there are levels so that you are appropriately challenged. </p>
<p>Your D is doing a positive thing in talking to kids online or friends in different programs. My D was fortunate that she knew kids in almost all the programs she applied to and was able to talk to them and also visit with them when on campus (or even do overnights with them in some instances). It helped. CC is also helpful in this regard. My D was not on CC. But parents who read here can learn a lot of information that is not on any website as people share experiences, etc. It is a treasure trove of information, as well as opinions ! :)</p>
<p>Here's what I posted on the other thread that will probably get lost in the British discussion. This was after people had posted about other programs, such as Syracuse, NYU, CMU, and U Arts.</p>
<p>Elon has good acting training for MT majors, and the acting classes are mixed - BFA Acting and BFA MT students, similar to many of the other schools.</p>
<p>In addition to other schools already discussed above, I also believe that Ithaca and Webster have good acting training for MT students.</p>
<p>Ericsmom - my D was lucky enough to shadow one of Elon's acting classes and she came away very impressed with the class she watched (Richard Gang - sp?).</p>
<p>Finding curriculum online -- Many times the curriculum for a program is not listed on the individual program website. If you cannot find it there, go into the registrar website and look for the current course catalog. If you cannot find it there type "course catalog" into the search function on the website.</p>
<p>After looking at the curriculum as well as the university and department policies you will have a better idea of specific questions to ask faculty and current students in the department.</p>
<p>"Lately, I haven't posted much on the MT vs. Acting type threads and I don't agree with a lot of the posts either. In certain MT programs, a student can get very good acting training. Further, an aspiring MT student is usually aiming for work on the MT stage. Their goals may differ from a straight acting student and for instance, they aren't looking to join a Shakespeare company. They want very strong acting skills but are hoping to perform in musicals, though many would also be happy to perform in straight plays AS WELL. In order to be a skilled MT performer, it is crucial to be able to act, sing, and dance. Concentrating only on acting, with no training in voice or dance would give you less preparation in the other skill areas. However, many who are in acting programs can sing and dance and hopefully find ways to keep those skills up. I also don't agree with the constant comparison of "can MT performers REALLY act?" In my opinion, if a MT performer can't act, they are not going to do well in this field. I'd rather hear an OK singer who can act that a fab singer who can't act the song or script. It is ESSENTIAL for a MT performer to be able to act. I have read posts that say that MT shows require very little acting skills. I very much differ on that opinion as well. Any scripted show involves acting skills. Singing a song itself in a MT show requires much acting skills. If you can't act the song, it hardly matters how well you sing it. The MT performers who I feel are the best are ones who CAN act, let alone sing. There's a big difference between performers who simply sing very well and those who sing well and can also act. I see this a lot. By the way, this is very important in a MT audition too."</p>
<p>I absolutely and totally agree with this.</p>
<p>As a parent of an "MT girl" (who also happens to love acting) I too much rather stay out of the MT vs Straight Acting threads, as it is not my intention to come to a consensus which one of the two is "more legit". </p>
<p>However, in the past we have had threads re. which MT programs were known to have a strong voice program (Oklahoma etc.), which ones a strong dance curriculum (Point Park etc.), and so I think this thread is more to get feedback from preferably parents and/or their S's and D's on which MT programs they feel have a strong (perhaps) multi-faceted acting approach. </p>
<p>As SoozieVT explained in an earlier post, from looking at a website one does not necessarily get an "insider's take" on a curriculum. Also, I have stressed that I do realize as I am sure most do who read this Board regularly to not take this information as "gospel" as they are what they are individual opinions, and what is good/strong for one person, may not be for another. </p>
<p>Having read this Board now for nearly 4 years, I do greatly value everyone's opinion however. I know I have learned a lot and would have not known even where to start supporting my D looking for a BFA program had it not been for CC.</p>
<p>MTgrlsmom....this thread you started is a good one and is different than the other. The other tries to get into MT vs. Acting. This thread is about which MT program (for those seeking a MT program) has a strong acting component....or could get into which program has a balance in the three skill areas, etc. Like you say, some programs are heavier in voice as the biggest focus....perhaps OCU, Steinhardt, or B-W, which after all are BM degree programs and so this makes sense. Some programs offer more dance disciplines every semester than others or more levels than others that offer just some. There ARE differences between programs. Some don't offer voice and speech (the kind for acting). Some have very little music theory. I know of a top program where my D says her friend in it says there are no acting classes the first year. And so on and so forth. </p>
<p>Picking a program involves matching up what you want with what they offer. Some pick programs that play to their strengths. Others want programs that will enhance their weaker areas. Still others want a well balanced program in all three skill sets. Some want an academic component. Some want to learn about theater. Some want some liberal arts which they feel will make them a more knowledgeable actor in the long run. The programs all differ in not only these ways but in so many other ways such as size, location, setting, stand alone conservatory or university, types of performance opportunities, showcases or not, etc. Some students do not explore schools adequately and just hear of "names" of schools.</p>
<p>I can't tell you how many students have great difficulty articulating SPECIFIC reasons why they want to attend X college. They cannot demonstrate that they have explored it took deeply. This comes up in essay questions that address this and surely in interviews. Getting into college is more than just your stats and audition. All these other factors about "Fit" and about expressing specific interest come into play as well when they can take such a small percentage of students. REALLY explore your schools. Figure out your own personal college criteria and find schools that match up with it. By the same token, keep an open mind and apply to schools that match SOME of your criteria but don't perfectly or ideally match up in every which way as you can't afford to be overly picky at that point as you have to see where you get in and then hopefully will have the luxury of then picking which college among your options most closely aligns with your personal preferences. FIT is real important. There are LOTS of great programs out there....figure out what you are looking for and which programs offer what and see which line up with your preferences. </p>
<p>This site or this thread where those who know the schools through visits or having attended or having a child attend who then share, is a good source of information that you can't find on a college's website or in a catalogue. Visits and talking with current students and faculty also help.</p>