<p>wct:</p>
<p>Yes, that happens at Otterbein. When students audition on campus, we go over this in detail during the information session. I realize now that I haven't always talked about the alternatives at the unifieds. I'll make sure to correct that in the future. </p>
<p>When you audition for the BFA in Musical Theatre with us, you are also auditioning for:</p>
<p>BFA Acting
BA Theatre
BA or BME Music
BM Vocal Performance
Dance Minor</p>
<p>Representatives from all of these areas view all the auditions, either in person or from videotapes. Then we meet as a committee to discuss the candidates, and I share what I've learned in the interview as well. If we don't have a place for a particular student in MT, but we think that he or she has talents in other areas, and that we would be a good fit for that student, we will make an offer to come in a different degree program.</p>
<p>BFA Acting students take virtually the same curriculum as the BFA Musical Theatre majors. The 8 MTs and 8 ACTs make up the same (single) acting class which progresses through the four years together. Acting majors take the same dance classes (although not as many are required), and may elect to take private voice lessons. (As on many campuses, fees are charged to all students for private music lessons, no matter the instrument.) Almost all of our Acting majors choose to take voice lessons. Acting majors are considered equally for roles in musicals, just as Musical Theatre majors are considered for roles in plays. Examples: the title role in VIOLET last fall was played by an Acting major; four of the six actors in THE DINNER PARTY were MT majors. We tend to offer the BFA in Acting to students whose voices may not be quite as strong as the MTs, but whose acting skills are superior. Those students still get to take as much dance and music as they wish.</p>
<p>Students with strong musical backgrounds may be offered a place in the BA or BME degree in the Music Department. Those with exceptional classical voices may be asked to come back and audition for the BM in Vocal Performance. It's the only program where we ask the student to reaudition, and that's because the audition requirements are, as one would expect, substantially different.</p>
<p>Students with strong dance backgrounds may be offered a place in the Dance Minor program. We do not have a Dance Major here. But the Minor is quite strong. We are able to offer the basic techniques at four different levels, and we do them in rotation: two days/week of ballet, one day of modern, one day of jazz, and one day of tap or MT styles. The dance minor is appropriate for students who are want to major in another field--Environmental Science, English, Elementary Education, for example--but who want to keep dancing while in college. Some students do go into the profession from this program.</p>
<p>Casting is open here, and our musicals almost invariably have music majors and dance minors in the casts.</p>
<p>Students who have been accepted to Otterbein, but not into MT, may still come in one of these other programs, or even as Undecided majors, take dance and voice, and prepare to reaudition for us and for other schools. I do know that two of our current freshmen, who reauditioned for us, have been accepted at other schools, including Wright State and Baldwin-Wallace. </p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>