Hi all, My D was not really looking at State schools mainly because they are all north of where we live and quite cold. But someone recommended Geneseo for their Theater Dept and their Theater/English degree. They also have Musical Theater which is what my D really wants. Any information on these majors would be most appreciated:)
The Geneseo Theater Department is very small but also extremely dedicated. There are a select group of talented individuals, who have all worked together for a very long time and collaborate constantly to put on several MainStage performances a year.
The Musical Theater Department, the musical productions, are almost entirely separate from the drama pieces and most of the other theatrical productions. They merely share the space, but the musical productions are essentially their own entity from the serious theater shows.
The Musical Theater Department can also be very competitive in terms of obtaining roles, similar to High School, in terms of casting, the parts usually go to the same select talented few. The school does have an extensive Musical Theatre Club which is also somewhat competitive but is also very friendly and puts on two revues a year.
The majority of the theater productions are performed in Brodie Hall, one of the oldest and sadly most ignored academic buildings on campus. Seeing as many of Geneseo’s arts programs have been shut down in recent years, the building is severely underused, having many empty classrooms.
All in all, the Musical Theater Department is about what you would expect, they do two MainStage productions a year, one per semester, while smaller various student-run productions may pop up every now and again. Finding opportunities should not be very difficult, auditions are well advertised, but as to be expected, it takes some work to get into said shows.