My S is looking for an MT program that puts acting first. I was really surprised that CCM does not allow MT majors to do straight theatre shows. I feel like I’m stabbing in the dark a bit when it comes to finding this information. I had to call every school that he is considering auditioning for and ask them if MT majors can audition for non MT shows because you can’t find it on their websites. I hope we are on the right track, if anyone can recommend a MT program with a heavy emphasis on acting, please chime in. Thanks!!
Wright state ?
Ithaca, Syracuse, Coastal, Wright State,
Off the top off my head, based on friends with kids there, I would say Ithaca and NYU for straight acting performance opportunities. At my daughter’s school, Montclair, there is some performance crossover, but not a ton. Still, what’s more important is that the MT programs have good acting instruction as they do “perform” in class. I would peruse curricula and faculty bios of the programs you are interested in to look for heavy acting instruction from well-qualified and accomplished instructors.
Coastal 
Definitely Wright State. Acting majors can be leads in musicals and MTs can be leads in plays. The MT “degree” is technically a BFA in Acting with an Emphasis in MT. With faculty permission, MTs can take Acting classes that are part of the Acting major curriculum (my S - a junior MT - takes great advantage of this). Acting majors get Vocal and Dance training, but not quite as much as MTs. There are also lots of opportunities for students to participate in student-initiated projects - many totally written/directed/produced by students - in the D-Lab (Director’s Lab).
CCPA Roosevelt has cross casting between MT and acting, and the MTs take acting with the acting majors for the first two years.
Acting is at the core of Western Michigan’s MT program. MT’s take a minimum of four semesters of studio-based acting classes plus Voice and Movement I (acting voice and movement), an MT workshop class where they do a staged reading of a full musical, Script Analysis, Directing I, and additional electives in acting. Electives include Acting for the Camera, Stage Combat, Movement and Voice II, Directing II, etc. Most MT’s take at least two semesters of additional advanced core acting classes beyond their electives in acting (Acting IV and V).
MT’s audition for and are routinely cast in Mainstage and “Footlights” (black box) plays, as well as directing class scenes every semester - the students taking Directing I and II direct scenes from plays and musicals every semester and all acting and MT students audition for roles. A variety of acting methods and approaches to preparing for performance are taught.
Also, all acting students can audition and are cast in mainstage and Footlights series musicals.
One thing my d really likes about theatre at WMU is the level of integration between the acting majors and MTP majors, they are definitely not “separate tribes.” They work together and collaborate all the time on shows, scene work, studio classes, etc. Right now d is doing a Footlights musical with several acting majors in lead roles and this fall several MT’s have roles in straight plays.
I think its a really good idea to check out each school you are interested in and ask if MT’s audition for and get cast in straight plays as well as do the MT’s take acting in the same studio classes as the acting majors.
This is definitely my daughter!! She found Otterbein, Wright State, Ithaca, Webster, Carnegie Mellon all have a lot of crossover between the two programs. We live in Columbus, so we see a lot of Otterbein shows. The students audition for ALL shows. So you often see MT majors in the straight shows and Acting majors in musicals!
All great info, thanks. @Calliene my S is auditioning for Montclair. We hear really great things about Montclair. NYU is financially out of our reach, but I hear Pace gives great merit/talent aid.
@theatremom16 did you see The Addams Family at Otterbein? My S did the workshop day and we saw the show. What did you think?
Ithaca places a very high priority on acting. Acting and MT majors are totally integrated. They take the same classes together (acting, voice and movement, dance, etc.) The MT majors take voice, the Acting majors do not. All Acting and MT BFAs have to audition for all plays and musicals. It is mandatory. Freshmen year, a lot of the directors don’t know if a particular student is an acting major or a MT major. The head of the department, Catherine Weidner, is an actor. Acting and MT majors also showcase together. I believe (but someone feel free to correct me if I am wrong) that CMU operates in a similar manner.
@monkey13 thanks for the info. We LOVE what we hear about Ithaca, but out of our reach financially.
@Barrie08, Ithaca is very generous with aid. Especially for boys.
OCU has a strong acting major that is getting even stronger with the new Dean of the Theatre School. Because the MT degree there is in the music school, there are some who prefer the acting degree so they do not have to take all the technical music classes like theory, aural skills and piano. You do get some voice with the acting degree, just with different teachers. All students can audition for all musicals, operas and straight plays and are routinely cast. There are also a large number of student directed productions in which they can take part. Recent acting majors have had a good degree of professional success in musicals as well as stage, TV and film, including Katie Posotonik who was the lead in the Ghost National Tour and Alex Enterline '14 who was the male lead in the Nice Work if You Can Get It National Tour. Kelsey Griswold was 2nd runner up to Miss America and recently appeared in American Crime Story - The People vs OJ Simpson as Dominique Brown.
Syracuse, Ithaca, NYU, Coastal, Wright State, Northwestern, James Madison,CMU, Roosevelt, Webster… UNCSA, and VCU are not musical theatre programs, but have training in MT, snd do musicals.
Webster is very high on his list. We 
Lara Teeter. They don’t accept many MT students though, so he has to have other options that won’t break the bank.
Is it me… or do “lots” (even the majority) of schools SAY they focus on acting training? But you need to look at curriculum and casting to get a better picture. I remember one school in D’s original list “saying” they focused on acting- but kids took one class a year.
To ME (and this is JMHO - and of course, my kid is an acting, not mt major) acting is a really valuable skill to work for a long term career. Vocal is to a certain extent inborn, and dance is a young person’s game… but ACTING will help get jobs in the future
@Barrie08 My daughter was at recruitment day and went to see Addams Family. She liked it. It wasn’t her favorite show that she has seen there though. Fiddler was GORGEOUS.
I wouldn’t say that Ithaca is very generous with financial aid. They DO give aid to a lot of students, but the package isn’t as significant a dent in their $55000+ tuition/room/board total as many other schools. Excellent program but not as huge an endowment as other private (or even some public, tbh) university programs.