Musical Theatre Minor?

College Majors Musical Theater Major
21

Like yours, my daughter started to express doubts about a career in theater as she approached the college application season. She decided to go through the college audition process…but also applied to another set of top schools for an academic major that she was really interested in. She didn’t want to have regrets, and she wanted to see if she was actually “good enough” to get into some top MT programs.

She was very successful and ultimately got accepted into 5 great programs for MT. But she HATED the audition process and it really solidified her feelings that theater is not the life for her. She is happily pursuing another major and has absolutely no regrets. She is glad she went through the audition process and got accepted, because this was HER choice and she could have easily attended one of those five programs. It’s not like she wasn’t good enough. She just followed another path.

Honestly, it was harder on my husband and me when she changed her focus. As parents, we get so invested in the idea of our kids being on stage and, like you said, we want to support the dream they have from a young age. But now that she’s grown up, she has another dream! And it’s going to be just as fabulous.

Does your daughter have any other major/career in mind? Maybe she could start by asking, “Why do I love theater?” and then figuring out what other path might bring that same sense of satisfaction.

I wish you the best! And I know everything will work out for your daughter.

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22

Try ASU - Music Theatre, Minor | School of Music, Dance and Theatre. This was a close second choice for my D, who would have [probably, lol - as you have learned, 18-yr-olds still change their minds!] majored in vocal performance with a minor in MT and/or add acting BA (super hard to find too!). Barrett Honors College could be great - it has great academic results re: grad school, fellowships, etc. (also check out the facilities - hello Harry Potter cafeteria and swanky private pool and gym in honors college apartment building :grinning:), automatic full tuition scholarship for national merit finalists, decent talent $$, etc. All the professors we dealt with were fantastic, and we know someone who did a dual opera/MT masters there and thought the programs for undergrads (including MT minor) were really good.

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23

I was helping a friend whose kid has also changed direction and found the theater program at UMASS Amherst. Plus, students there can attend classes at any of the five colleges in the area. The same would hold true of the other five colleges that are higher selectivity and different vibes than UMASS.

24

Montclair State offers a MT minor. My daughter is a dance BFA and doing the minor. Or at least trying to fit it in, it’s hard around a BFA! But I think it would be easily doable with a BA major.

25

Many kids drop out of MT half way through or behind the scenes fields. It’s good she knows this upfront. Many schools like Illinois Weslyan, Knox College have good MT type programs with good academics also. Many with great merit to boot. We know many MT kids and the pandemic was not great for them. Keep in mind though. They can be marketable beyond MT. Businesses love these kids since they work hard, always on time, can memorize just about anything (to be off script), and usually have the ability to go after something they want.

Also schools that have student productions can be great… Doesn’t have to be a minor…