<p>my son and i are planning a visit to ccm in april, and thinking about seeing oberlin as well. don't know much about the drama program, know lots about the conservatory. we're looking for input from grads or parents who've seen the program.</p>
<p>Hahaha…I thought this was going to be about some big scandel, ie “drama” at Oberlin. Guess my life can be so full of it, I simply didn’t see the true the meaning. </p>
<p>You may want to post this question on the Fine Arts board. They are full of wisdom there.</p>
<p>Yes, certainly go over to CC’s subforum on specialty majors. To find it, go to top left of this page, click “Discussion Home”, scroll down menu below all the named colleges/unis to the section “College Majors” then look for Theater/Acting.</p>
<p>And as an alum and parent from Oberlin, I’ll agree that the drama is never limited to the Theater Department alone. This is true at Oberlin and many other colleges offering theater studies.:)</p>
<p>Regarding Oberlin’s Theater Major, you’ll see how it is integrated into a liberal arts education via Distribution Requirements in all subject areas. You can assume Theater Majors are also taking top-shelf courses in Dramatic Literature, etc. through the Humanities departments, along with Math, Science, and Social Sciences. Dance and movement were influential parts of the Theater Major in recent years, but that’s not unique to OBerlin by any means. They perform classic works along with newly written. </p>
<p>In terms of performance quality, you might inquire about recent participation in juried College Theater nationwide (I’m misstating this but there’s something where various colleges gather or perhaps the juries travel to see them in situ). Anyway, Oberlin does very well at that level.</p>
<p>Graduates? Ed Helms (Daily Show and more recently in films) is a recent one; Julie Tabor (creative genius behind stage performance of The Lion King) although I believe her Oberlin major was Religion and Art; then she explored shadow-puppetry as ritual theater in Asia, morphed that into the theatrical puppets of Lion King on Broadway, and on from there.</p>
<p>My D majored in Religion and Art, but on the side worked in the nascent “OCircus”-- a storytelling theatrical circus then. OCircus is still very active as an EC, now performing during the graduation and including outreach to the Town of Oberlin. As a recent grad, my D works in a circus theater company today on the East Coast but not in NYC. A lot of this is being independent and creative, which Oberlin nurtures in all ways. Post-Oberlin depends mostly on the individual to carve a path, as the Career Office is more focused on getting kids to Law, Medical or Graduate School (large #'s of Ph.D’s and college professors among graduates). I’m saying it is in no ways a pre-professional school for theater entry, although the chances of going on from Oberlin College to any graduate school, including an MFA in any of the arts, would be very strong. </p>
<p>Finally, look at their opportunities for learning or peer-teaching at EXCO (Experimental College) during the year and especially during January Term, where students can use that time for taking student-led skills courses or work on independent projects of choice for a month, on or off-campus, with faculty oversight. </p>
<p>The element of the Conservatory is intriguing for Theater majors, because it adds Opera to the campus experience. See if the GIlbert and SUllivan Company is still active. Those roles go to Voice Majors from the Conservatory, not college…but the Conservatory and College are a seamless unit socially on campus, and students go to each others’ shows all the time.</p>
<p>Physically Oberlin is far from either NYC or Los Angeles, so the hurdle must be jumped after college to find pathways into theater performance opportunities. However, the education is excellent, the peers lively at the creative and intellectual level. It is not a substitute for a BFA in terms of training, but there is coursework in theater, dance, music, and literature, plus Department-sponsored performances and other smaller works initiated by students, that puts together a great background in theater.</p>
<p>Close colleague’s D was very active in drama in HS and wanted major in college. Chose Oberlin over Vassar and never looked back.</p>
<p>Is currently getting work in NYC and feels very well served by Oberlin’s department. This young woman is a major talent but did not want to go the drama school route. She wanted a full liberal arts education with the drama major.</p>
<p>Oberlin was her first choice.</p>
<p>I grew up near Oberlin, studoed music as a child there for a while and have a family member at the College(though not in drama) I just want to mention that you have to look not just at the Drama program but the university itself. It has a VERY distinct personality and most of its students fit into that personality. Not sure what your son is like but it will matter as to his “fit” and happiness level there. What about Northwestern? It has a great drama program and the students are more well-rounded from what I experienced (had friends in Drama out of NU) also NYU.</p>
<p>The “fit” point is as true for Northwestern as for Oberlin - or any other college. Indeed, the one student I know who was active in theater in high school and went to Northwestern was very disappointed…so visiting and getting a feel for a college is very important. (And I don’t know what “well-rounded” means, but the students I know at Oberlin are quite well-rounded.) One issue at Northwestern is that if you do not major in theater, it’s hard to participate. At Oberlin there are many opportunities for nonmajors and majors alike. Winter Term is also a time when students do theater - sometimes their own plays. The synergy between creative writing and theater at Oberlin is also a positive feature. I saw a performance at Oberlin of Death of a Salesman, with a mix of alums and current students, and I was blown away by the quality of it.</p>
<p>An excellent overview of Oberlin was provided in the earlier posts on this thread. I agree that when looking at a BA school, look beyond just the theater department but also at the theater activities on campus. </p>
<p>That said, I don’t know the level of exploration that the OP has done in looking into colleges. However, CCM is a BFA conservatory and nothing like a BA in liberal arts at Oberlin. Very different types of degree programs. The first decision should be if the student wishes to pursue a BFA or a BA.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure I’ve posted this before, suggest more info will come up via search.
But anyway, D1s freshman roommate was doing theater there, said there were numerous performance opportunities, she was very happy with it.</p>
<p>thx for all info -spoke to a friend recently who did some fishing at tisch , and said that oberlin has superb music program, but that the drama program was “up and coming” ,another words, no connections… such a toughie , since my son wants to do a classical voice minor, but also wants a trye conservatory- and from what we’ve heard, music/drama programs in conservatory settings don’t like to mingle…</p>
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Me, too! Or at least something like the way Oberlin led applicants on two years ago and then ended up rejecting them. This happened to a friend’s D (pretty certain the school was Oberlin).</p>
<p>Deja, that’s rather vague. That’s how drama begins.</p>
<p>I’d like to know exactly why the friend’s daughter felt led on before being rejected, even it does involve Oberlin not another place.</p>
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<p>If memory serves, the D of a poster here received personal notes from an Oberlin admissions officer congratulating her on her essay and application and so forth–and then she was rejected. I don’t recall all of the details, but when described at the time it was, well, somewhat stunning to me, personally.</p>
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<p>The Oberlin College and Conservatory is a blend of two institutions. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible to take a Music Major (or Minor) through the College, and double major in Theater in the College. OR, do a 5-year double degree with a Bachelors of Music from the Conservatory and a B.A. with theater major or any other major from Oberlin College. For the Con he must audition; not so the College. At the Con he gets the professional music teaching faculty as his teachers; as a college student he can take courses and get a teacher in the form of a Con student. There is a separate Oberlin College Choir just for the college singers so they can be in a choir and not ranked out by the magnificent Conservatory voices. It takes careful research for a musician to decide between the Conservatory or College route. Blending interests is very common at this school. People are eclectic in their academic interests, but concerning music, function at a high level either as performers or appreciators. </p>
<p>I know what you mean, though, there is no Department of Musical Theater at Oberlin. </p>
<p>The comment from Tisch has merit because Tisch graduates have showcase performances where agents come to see them; no such experience at Oberlin. Instead, Oberlin students chase out to auditions, such as Straw Hat Theater or other venues, to be seen. </p>
<p>I see your dilemma. You might be struggling between finding a well-connected school that has grease right into the performing industry, versus getting the precise training for your son’s talents at present. It takes a leap of faith to just go for the training with no assurance of work to follow, but I’m not sure the well-connected schools can assure anyone work following, either. </p>
<p>I don’t have an easy answer for you. Personally I’ve gone for what each of my kids wants/needs in terms of current development – artistically, academically – and count on them to take the needed steps after graduation to make their way. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but they are very good at what they do onstage. They graduated very well educated and well-trained, then pressed on to become fulltime working performing artists today on the East Coast-- but not famous or well-placed in a Broadway kind of way.</p>
<p>Consolation: unless you actually saw the letter from the admissions office and knew the reason why the student was ultimately not selected, it is merely double hearsay and unreliable - for all you know, it was a simply nice note that promised nothing, the family over-reacted to it, and the student didn’t make the final cut, and was disappointed. It’s not helpful to disparage Oberlin or its admissions office without more information - and certainly not to suggest that this is a policy or general rule, or that it has happened this year or will happen in the future.</p>