Does anyone know about MT programs in Canada?
Also, could someone tell me if there’s a way to subscribe to the MT Major forum? I’ve figured out how to bookmark individual threads, but not how to get notifications when new topics are started in the MT forum.
Thanks!
Heather
Sheridan in Ontario. 
As far as degrees go…Sheridan’s the big one, and the only place that you can get a formalized degree in Musical Theatre (although it’s a Bachelor of Musical Theatre, not a BA or a BFA, if that matters to you–it did to me). Dalhousie in Halifax, NS has a BA Hons. double major in Music and Theatre: you have to apply to their music program first, be admitted, and then apply to their acting program (which begins second-year) after you’ve done a full year as a music student. I heard from admissions when I was applying that they take about 5 students into their incoming sophomore class. I have a friend at Acadia in Wolfville, NS who is pursuing a double major, a BM in Music (vocal performance) and a BA in Drama to kind of create her own MT degree, which was something I considered when I was a high school senior. Acadia is one of the only music schools in the country who will allow you to tailor you VP education more towards musical theatre. The classical music/musical theatre divide is felt very strongly here in many of the fine arts departments across the country.
And then there are the certificate/diploma (not degree) programs at the colleges. I have friends currently at both St. Lawrence in Brockville, ON and St. Clair in Windsor, ON for their MT programs who are both enjoying their time there. Another big program in Ontario is Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts, although Randolph is a performing arts school by trade and you won’t find much in terms of general education there, if that’s important to you.
Then there are the other certificate/diploma programs that are a little less well-known and pull a little more regionally: MacEwan University in Edmonton AB has a Theatre Arts certificate which is a musical theatre-based program (Ryan Silverman, recently seen in Side Show on Broadway, is an alum), Capilano University in North Vancouver, BC has a musical theatre diploma, and there are certainly others across the country that are a little less well-known.
I ended up leaving the country to study musical theatre (although I will be up front and say that my reasons for doing so were fairly specific: I wanted conservatory-style training but also a degree with opportunity for academic enrichment outside my major, and it’s my ultimate goal to expatriate and build a career in a midsize US regional market as a performer and as an administrator), but there’s a lot to consider if you’d like to study at home. I applied to programs both right out of high school and after a year of university–not just musical theatre programs, but acting programs and classical voice programs. Some of the schools I considered or applied to that I haven’t already mentioned were Windsor’s BFA in Acting (until 2003, Windsor DID have a BFA in Musical Theatre), Ryerson’s BFA in Theatre Performance, Sheridan/University of Toronto-Mississauga’s BA in Theatre and Drama Studies, Laurier’s BM in Music, University of Alberta’s BFA in Acting and Concordia’s BFA in Theatre Performance. I grew up in the Toronto theatre scene doing mostly musicals, and I have friends who are very happy pursuing fields related to performance at Queen’s University, King’s College, and Brock University, to mention some schools that don’t always occur to potential performance majors as options.
I also have about an equal amount of friends who have left the country to study Musical Theatre. I attend Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI. Just to name a few, I have a friend at Elon, a friend at The Boston Conservatory, and a few friends at NYU–although when we were all making our final decisions, their lists were certainly diverse and spread out across the country and continent.
It’s certainly a process to apply to so many different schools across two countries, and I’d like to consider myself somewhat of an expert–I did it twice! Feel free to get in touch if you’d like some help or if I can put you in touch with anyone at the various schools that I’ve mentioned.
Sheridan is the usual ‘go to’ for MT in Canada and the program is a good one. However, if you’re familiar with the Canadian MT community, you’ll find that actors have a true diversity of experience in their training. I’m involved with a theatre company in Toronto that does MT productions exclusively and I know dozens and dozens of actors, of all ages, in the country who are successful and booking work regularly. Many of them attended schools already listed by CanadianMTgirl. One of the most successful actors I know, who has worked in Toronto, and in Stratford productions, continuously since she graduated about 7 or 8 years ago, attended U of T. So, as with actors in the U.S., it’s a real mix.
Thank you both so much for this information – it is extremely helpful!
I am a student from Canada currently going through the audition process and can say that Sheridan is a very popular and well-recognized school. All of the other options have been mentioned, but there is also a MT certificate program at Capilano University in Vancouver. I’m not very knowledgeable about the program but the girl who won “How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria” for the Toronto production of The Sound of Music studied there.
CanadianMTgirl basically has it covered. Sheridan is usually the most well recognized school to do MT at. Although, a lot of the actors I know who stay in Canada do straight acting and then take voice and dance on the side. And of course, a lot of the kids I know who are serious about MT go to the states. I for one chose to audition for american schools because I wanted a good education alongside my degree, and most of the schools in Canada that offer MT are colleges. (In Canada, that’s a step down from university.) As well, I wanted a career in the states. But anyway, if you’re married to doing MT in Canada, check out Capilano, Sheridan, Randolph, and MacEwan for sure.
Another consideration to those of you Canadian kids hoping for a U.S. career, you have to keep in mind that the immigration issues are certainly there and will be an obstacle in many instances. Unless you have dual citizenship, you will find the visa issue very challenging as well as very expensive. In this type of business, where almost no one is continuously employed, maintaining a legal status can be difficult, and no theatre employer is going to be in a position to handle that for you, unlike a more traditional employer. It is extremely difficult to do this and is best known going into the process.
If anyone is interested, there is an “international theatre students” Facebook group, wherein we discuss visa/employment/legal issues pertinent to being alien performers studying in the United States, the viability of building a career, what resources are available to us, etc. PM me with your contact information and I would be able to add you to that group.