Hi there,
I was hoping that a current student/parent or recent graduate would be willing to share info about performance opportunities at Rider.
Specifically, the number of musicals and plays… along with any other student-run opportunities.
Also, if anyone would like to share details on past productions… trying to get a feel for the types of shows they gravitate towards? Classic, Contemporary, anything edgy, etc?
Thanks in advance CC’ers!
@El-Cee My daughter is a freshman so I am not an expert but I can tell you that freshmen audition for all mainstage plays/ cabarets and musicals for the spring season. This spring they did Assassins, Will Rogers Follies, A Woodstock Cabaret and 2 plays I think? There have been a couple student productions and one is coming up this semester- A Princess Party. I went up to see Heathers there last spring and I saw Oklahoma this past fall. Next season they have already announced Bright Star, Hair, Steel Pier, Hamlet and Really Really and The Wolves. My daughter has not been cast in anything yet…but many freshmen have! I went up to see the Woodstack Cabaret and I believe there were about 6 freshmen in it! I believe all BFA MT’s are guaranteed a performance credit (requirement to graduate) so basially you are guaranteed a mainstage casting some time in your 4 years. That being said- I am sure many Rider MT kids are in more! I would also say that the focus is really on the training and not necessarily on the casting. They have been talking about that at school. That isn’t always easy to remember- especially when you want something so much! It’s still disappointing even when you know going in that casting won’t be easy and it is not a given. Most of these kids (including mine) are used to getting cast in every HS show or in community theater at home- so this has been an adjustment- realizing the whole program is FULL of amazingly talented kids! Hope that is helpful.
@savedrama4momma - thank you so much for the reply! we were able to visit last week and saw Assassins! The cast was very talented. We took a departmental tour with one of the MT kids and I asked how many freshman MT’s there are and he was not sure. Do you happen to know?
There are about 40 BFA - MTs. While that number may seem high, they aren’t in class all together. They have very small class sizes. I believe that they have a limit of 17 for dance classes. I can’t remember what the limit is for acting classes - but it is a small number. The students are all very supportive of each other, and, with the higher numbers of students, they have a lot of friend groups and no one seems to feel left out of any crowd.