Hello! I haven’t been on the boards in about 2 years. As a mom, its. been rough. My daughter is an incredible singer and went to both performing arts middle school and high school. The last year of high school she suffered from severe anxiety and depression and also was suffering with a chronic illness. Although her voice remained, her spirit was not there during auditions. She got a lot of positive feedback but the programs she had her heart set on, she did not get into. Im convinced it was her exhaustion, depression and illness. She just didn’t have the fire in her eyes as I know auditioners look for. I knew even as we were flying to auditions that it wasn’t the right time for her.
Two years later, she is ready. She has been attending a University of California school, majoring in Psychology and doing great. Her voice is still top notch and she finally has that spark in her eye again. She grew up being recognized for her voice so when she didn’t go into that right out of college, she suffered with identity problems. She didn’t know anything but music.
She really wants to study music and theatre again, misses being on stage and looking to transfer.
I wonder if folks can recommend programs (MT) that accept transfer students by audition/application and also those strong programs that allow non MT majors to audition for the shows on campus (if she decides to complete her Psychology degree). She is considering a career in Music Therapy for children if she doesn’t end up a MT performer professionally.
Sorry so long. In short…
Which schools offer transfer opportunities
Which schools offer audition opportunities for non MT majors?
Has she looked at UC Irvine? That is a popular transfer program in California and it may help in terms of accepting units now that she is already in the UC system.
Now, after experiencing college, is she interested in BA, BFA, or BM? Large or Small school? Urban or college town? Geographic location? Academic or more conservatory? Lots of schools open up performance opportunities across Department and campus-wide.
Transferring into a BFA usually means starting as a sophomore.
She really doesn’t want to start all over so I think she’d probably have to look at BA or BM programs so she can transfer her 2 years of general eds. Also, if she could just find a great school with audition opportunities for non BFA majors, that may work as well. She just misses performing, doesn’t necessarily need to go for her BFA at this point. She is 21 so starting over with 17 year old freshman may be tough for her. She loves little ones so if she earns her degree in Psychology/Music, she may like to look into working as a music therapist for children and perform locally. She isn’t sure which path to take, just wants to know what options she has. Fullerton would be great for me, but she really wants to go further from home.
Has she thought about just doing a BA non audition double major in a mid-size or larger city and then just doing community theatre outside of a school?
ASU has a large music program, an auditioned BM MT and any student can audition for their shows, no matter the major. But, it’s a huge school and large music program, so the odds are not the best. Still, there is lots of regional theatre there. This is just an example. I think it would be worth contacting the department and see what opportunities are there. San Diego State has a BA in MT that is a video audition and there is a ton of regional theatre and resources in that city. Both of these schools would probably take transfer credit better than or equal to any other.
If music therapy is her ultimate goal, maybe she should look for that major and then work back and look at performance opportunities at those schools and regional theatre in those locations.
I still think UC Irvine is worth a look if she hasn’t already. I know of several students who transferred into their Drama/MT program there as Juniors. The MT classes for Junior year require some type of audition. I don’t know about their “music” program, but I’m sure there is more on their website and if you are local, it would be worth a visit.
I personally think your daughter is on a better path. She could look at performance studies also as a major. My daughter went to a very competitive private performing arts high school. She went for musical theater but fell in love with theater design and did her first 2 years of her bfa. They worked her like a dog and she was the lead designer shortly after. But she wanted more academics and tried switching to a BA so she can get more regular classes but they never looked at her as a BA student. So her responsibilities for the bfa never changed. She ended up taking spring off of her junior year and back packed through SE Asia. She was already there for her study abroad. Transfered to another school and now has her new major with a focus on how it relates to theater.
She is again taking voice lesson. She is coming home for break and has a job designing an upcoming show (she has a lot of connections in Chicago) during her 5 week school break.
Alot of her very excellent and talented friends are now in different fields. Alot of them just got burnt out after going to the great but intense high school. Also as you know your daughter is a dime a dozen no matter how talented she is. She can always audition for parts, take lessons etc And get a degree and a profession so she will have a career.
There are always student runs plays and community plays to audition for while at school. Talent is talent.
Trust me we wish our daughter was still performing but she said she will use her artistic abilities in different ways. She actually applied for a student photography show at a local gallery and was accepted for a 5 week show of her work.
Just giving you a different perspective on this. Too many kids think they will make it and end up at low pay jobs the rest of their life. Theater is tough. Musical theater is tougher. Good Luck.
Thank you! I too hope she finishes her degree regardless of what she does musically. Its such a hard life of rejection and she loves working with kids so drama or music therapy would be so great for her!
If she likes her current school, she may wish to consider doing some intensive training in musical theater in the summer. Programs like Circle in the Square, The Performing Arts Project, Broadway Theater Project, Broadway Dance Center’s professional semester, and others could be a good way to get that intensive training who;e still allowing her to complete her psychology degree in 4 years.
