Musical Theater Major or Acting Major?

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>I was recently talking to my voice teacher, and he's been in several broadway shows and he tells me that he personally would not recommend a musical theater major. He, along with some other people, have said that musical theater majors are diluted acting, singing, and dancing and instead that I should choose to major in acting and take private voice and dancing lessons on the sideline. I know of several great musical theater actors at my school that have gone off to college and majored in acting and taken private voice and dance.</p>

<p>In your opinion, is it a good idea to major in acting and take voice and dance on the side-lines, or would majoring in musical theater better prepare me?</p>

2

<p>I get in trouble over here all the time for suggesting that MT programs short acting in favor of voice. I'll probably get attacked again for saying this but, by all means, focus on acting. You'll have shots at more jobs and, at that stage in your career where you're tired of doing two-dimensional roles, you'll have the skills to move into some more difficult material. I know more than one MT actor who is burnt out and bitter over being unable to escape to meatier stuff.</p>

<p>Actually, I'd say to get a BA in theater instead of a BFA, and then go on to get an MFA.</p>

3

<p>When you realize that people like Kristen Chenoweth and Audra McDonald are making most of their money in television, you can't help but think that concentrating on acting might make more sense. My D is a HS sophmore who has been in many musicals and lives and breathes MT but has already realized that she wants to concentrate on acting in college and continue with private voice and/or dance. But I would be curious as to others opinions on this.</p>

4

<p>I've battled with this question a lot too...it's a hard decision to make, so I split up my schools - some fore acting, some for MT. Now all I can do is prepare and do my best and let fate take over from there.</p>

5

<p>I've been split on the same issue. That's why I'm auditioning for both MT and Acting. It's also why I've fallin in love with an acting program that has an MT minor.</p>

6

<p>There is merit to the above comments. However, I don't think it needs to be an "either/or" proposition. There are some MT programs where MT students take the same acting and acting related speech/voice courses as acting majors at the school, particularly during the first 2 years for speech/voice and all 4 years for acting studio classes. While the curricula are not identical, there is substantial overlap. To the extent that the 2 programs veer in some different directions, MT students can use summer studio classes and intensives during the month long winter breaks to fill in any "gaps".</p>

<p>A comment I have made on other threads bears reiteration. There is a great diversity in the focus and balance of MT programs between acting, voice and dance. It is important to take a close look at the specific curriculum of particular programs to understand where they fall on the spectrum. When my daughter was deciding on which MT program to attend, we made charts mapping out the 4 year curricula at the schools in contention, organizing the charts by subject matter categories and by semester. This enabled her to make detailed comparisons of the focus and scope of each program. There were very real differences. She ended up choosing a school where MT students and acting students take the same acting studio courses, together in "mixed" classes, for all 4 years. To the extent that the acting students get exposure to some specialized areas of study while MT students veer off and get some specialized training in singing and singing/acting, my daughter will be able to fill in any "gaps" through summer acting studio work or by taking the additional classes at her school during the summer.</p>

7

<p>Michael, at your D's school, do the MTs take <em>as many</em> acting classes as do the straight actors? How does that all break down?</p>

8

<p>I'm applying to schools for my BFA in acting and will take dance and private voice lessons. I've always thought majoring in MT was kind of weird...I don't want to offend anyone. :) I just think that acting is the most important aspect when it comes to theatre. You can have the most beautiful voice in the world, but if you can't break it down and get to the deeper layers of the song--if you can't ACT it--then you have no chance in the MT world.</p>

9

<p>MNR - Here's how it breaks down:</p>

<p>MT and Acting students all take Acting Studio 1 & 2, and Acting Technique 1, 2 & 3 together.</p>

<p>Acting students take Voice and Speech for Actors 1, 2, 3 & 4 while MT students take Voice for MT 1, 2, then Voice and Speech for Actors 3 & 4 (with the Acting Students), followed by Voice for MT 5 & 6 (Voice for MT is not singing lessons, it is vocal technique).</p>

<p>Acting and MT students take Script Analysis together.</p>

<p>Acting students take Movement for Actors 1 through 7. MT students take Movement for Actors 5 (with acting students) but also take 2 - 3 dance courses a semester, Partnering, Musical Theater Reperatory and Singing Acting. This is one area in which the curricula are differentiated. Acting students take more courses in movement that are acting based, MT students take more courses in movement that are dance/music based.</p>

<p>MT students take 2 semesters of Auditioning, Acting students take 1. Different courses, different focus.</p>

<p>Acting students take a semester each of Acting on Camera, Poetic Realism, Verse Drama and Stage Combat. MT students can pick these up as electives if they desire.</p>

<p>MT students take a load of music courses, voice lessons and MT performance classes.</p>

<p>I've left out of the comparison theater history courses and other non-performance classes that are pretty similar if not identical between the 2 programs.</p>

<p>My daughter's school puts a heavy emphasis on the acting component of the MT program. That was a major factor in choosing it. Voice is equally emphasized. Of the 3 "components" of MT, dance has the fewest class hours per semester. While the dance program for MT students is of high quality, the school's emphasis for MT students is to train actors/singers.</p>

10

<p>I have taken D to NYU for several tours & open houses & performances (we're only 10 miles away) and have been surprised to hear Tarhunt's & Little Mermaid's sentiments from every student we approached. NYU has such a variety of ways to give performers what they want in education & training. Yet every single student, all who have or are currently performing in musicals at the school, believed that acting was the priority. Several were of the opinion that NYU's best MT performers were not found in Cap21 at all, but in other studios or Steinhardt. Clay's voice teacher may be in the majority. Much food for thought....</p>

11

<p>Many of the schools consider the BFA MT degree to be a double major. Just to check my facts, I looked again at the CMU drama website which states clearly that MT majors take the same track as acting BFA but with more dance and music.</p>

12

<p>As I said, I've been attacked here before for suggesting that there is something lacking in most MT programs' acting instruction, so I'm a bit gunshy on the topic. Nevertheless, here goes.</p>

<p>I can speak only from experience. Part of that experience is doing roles and sitting in on auditions with a director-friend when I could find the time over a 30-year, full and part-time acting career. Part of that is sending two children off to theater careers (God help them). Another part is seeing a lot of theater and reading the bios in the programs.</p>

<p>My experience in auditions for straight plays is that the people who have resumes heavy in MT and MT training tend to be brassy, broad, and full of very bad habits. So many times, I have seen MT people whom my friend thought were perfect for a straight role be unable to tone down their approach well enough to land the work -- even with my friend spending an inordinate amount of time working with them in call backs. One training program in my state is so infamous for turning out cardboard actors that certain acting mannerisms have taken on the local name of "(name of school) disease."</p>

<p>My experience working with some MT actors is similar. There have been notable exceptions, but the general rule is that they don't listen, rarely have a true moment, and are so interested in "emoting" that it would be laughable if it weren't for the fact that one has to be on stage with them, trying to figure out how to salvage something from tne scene.</p>

<p>In no way am I saying that all MT programs are created equal, but I have no reason to believe that the majority of them are turning out skilled actors, since I have not seen it on stage, in auditions, or at performances I have attended.</p>

<p>At this point, I'm going to diverge from LittleMermaid. Having seen a great deal of MT, I don't believe that high-level acting skills are required. They're useful, but not required. I believe this to be the case because I see so much unskilled acting in MT. Where those skills are really required is in much of non-MT theater. If one is going to do ONLY MT, then one need not learn to act very well, though being able to do so is helpful.</p>

<p>A final note: This is not to say that all straight theater training programs teach great acting skills. So it's not an either/or. If I were an aspiring actor these days, knowing what I know now, I'd call up ADs at various, top regional theaters and ask them where the best-trained actors come from, and go from there.</p>

13

<p>My daughter is a Drama student at Tisch and she took the professional CAP 21 program this summer. She much prefers to be in an acting conservatory and take voice lessons and dance on the side. She feels for her the acting concentration will enable her to be better prepared to audition for all sorts of theatre and film. I think talent and drive will win out whatever your focus is.</p>

14

<p>I think that the choice of major (MT or Acting) all depends on the student, his/ her desires, and what the school offers in terms of emphasis in acting, singing, dancing, etc...</p>

<p>Interestingly enough both Audra McDonald and Kristen Chenoweth were vocal performance (I believe) in undergraduate school... McDonald at Julliard and Chenoweth at OCU (I think). </p>

<p>I do not think that performers should expect to be "all done" with their training when they graduate from college... even students who complete BFA of BM programs will continue to take acting, dance, voice lessons, etc... once they are out working in the profession. </p>

<p>Look for the undergraduate training that you feel most suits you. As many have said there is more than one path to a career in the performing arts.</p>

15

<p>As usual, MichaelNKat is pretty much right on the money, but I just want to adjust a few things he's saying. ;)</p>

<ul>
<li>Voice for Musical Theater classes are less about vocal technique than acting technique. Most of the teachers who teach that class consider that they are acting teachers. </li>
<li>MTs do not take Movement V (Viewpoints Technique) with the Acting Majors. We take it first semester of junior year, and they take it second semester, as they are busy taking the Laban Technique first semester that we are not required to take. </li>
<li>As seniors, we all take Business of Theater, but the Acting Majors and MT Majors again have separate courses, probably to focus on the different ways to market oneself if they are MT or straight theater or a crossover.</li>
<li>Poetic Realism is the second semester of Junior Acting Studio. While it is technically an elective for MTs, I have never known anybody not to take it.</li>
<li>Verse Drama is the Senior Acting Studio, which most people take unless they are doing a junior-senior schedule. The Senior Acting Studio program is beginning to change as of this year, and I'm not sure how it's going to work in the future. Right now, the seniors are taking one semester of Greek Drama with Irene Baird and one semester of Shakespearean Drama with David Howey. </li>
</ul>

<p>Basically here's the parallel for acting/MT:</p>

<p>FRESHMAN YEAR:
MT - Alexander Technique, Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Private Voice Lesson, Piano, Music Theory, Voice for Musical Theater (Acting the song)
ACTING - Linklater Technique, Stage Combat, Movement, Masque
CROSSOVER - Costume & Property Technology, Survey of Theater Arts, Script Analysis, Acting Studio (Preliminary studio to break habits, introduce you to objectives, opening up, etc.), Scene & Lighting Technology</p>

<p>SOPHOMORE YEAR:
MT - Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Music Theory, Piano, Musical Theater History, Foundations of Singing-Acting (SAVI Technique), Private Voice Lesson
ACTING - Voice Lab, Movement, Theater History, Advanced Combat (an elective most acting majors take)
CROSSOVER - Meisner Technique, Voice and Speech (Learning General American Dialect and the International Phonetic Alphabet)</p>

<p>JUNIOR YEAR:
MT - Jazz, Ballet, Partnering, Musical Theater Repertory (The scene study of songs/scenes), Musical Theater Dance Repertory (Dancing while singing), Junior Voice for Musical Theater (Song Styles), Private Voice Lesson
ACTING - Dialects (now just a semester), Voice and Speech (the class that has replaced the second semester of Dialects that will be new this coming semester), Laban Technique, Audition Techniques (this is currently in the position for senior year acting majors, but will move into this position next year for juniors, switching place with Acting on Camera, so juniors and seniors will take it simultaneously)
CROSSOVER - Junior Studio (Introduction to Actions and Scoring a script), Viewpoints Technique</p>

<p>SENIOR YEAR:
MT - Cabaret/Audition (Voice for Musical Theater), Movement Credit (take whichever dance classes you want, as long as they equal one credit), Private Voice Lesson
ACTING - Movement (not sure what the subtitle of this class is), Acting on Camera (currently in position of junior year, but will be in the senior year position next year)
CROSSOVER - Greek Drama, Shakespearean Drama, Business of Theater</p>

<p>Enjoy! I'll paste this on the UArts page as well.</p>

16

<p>sheerviolette, thanks for the clarification :) .</p>

17

<p>Anytime, MichaelNKat, for our school's largest promoter! ;) Always a pleasure to be a help to you or anybody!</p>

18

<p>MichaelNKat, what school does your daughter go to?</p>

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<p>claydavisbc - She attends UArts.</p>

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<p>Jacksdad already made the point that CMU considers its MT students to be double majors (acting plus MT) since they take all of the acting classes of the BFA actors and add the MT coursework to that core. S auditioned last year for a mix of acting BFA schools and MT schools. His first choice was CMU because of his desire to have a strong acting program but keep MT coursework. CMU is clear that this is their program's goal. Some friends now also with him at CMU accepted their admission to the acting BFA even though they wanted the double acting/mt major. Their thinking was much like some of the experienced posters on this thread: get the best acting training possible and continue to grow as a singer/dancer. That said, it may be that the best fit for a student comes from an MT program at any number of schools, since many have very strong acting coursework.</p>