My daughter and I will be visiting a MT program this week, and several over the summer. I am wondering what type of questions we should ask the department heads? We have a list, but I am sure we are forgetting something since we are so new at this. Any suggestions would be great!!
I would ask is the relationship between the school/program and other theaters. Do the students have opportunities to earn equity points while in school? Also, if the school participates in senior showcase, are all seniors invited (or is it audition-based)? Does the school help with summer stock or regional theater placement?
These threads may be of some help:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1751255-interview-questions.html
Also keep in mind the department heads play very different roles in different programs. In some programs they are like rock stars who shape everything about the program, while in others they come and go but the program has a life and traditions of its own, almost completely independent of the current department head or any other single individual. I would try to understand that dynamic in a particular program and weigh what the department head says about the program, and their personality, accordingly.
In some programs the department head will impact your total experience, in others you may hardly know they are there.
In the same vein as @MomCares post- I would NOT advise choosing a program based on the program head- after all, you never know if their career path may change in the 4 years you are at school
@EmsDad thanks for those links… I went on many rabbit trails with those!! They were great!
@MomCares and @toowonderful thank you for the advice!!
One of the links above stated that some of these colleges has undgrad’s teach the vocal lessons?!?!? That is a bit crazy.
We always asked what most students do over their summers? Do the schools allow, encourage, facilitate auditions for summer stock, theme parks, etc. Some schools make sure kids have such opportunities, others don’t make it their concern.
@momma2a, I have never heard of undergrads teaching voice. However, there are several schools where graduate students teach voice. This was definitely a question we asked at schools my D applied to b/c it was important to us. Others on this forum don’t mind…it’s a personal decision, but certainly something worth asking.
Curious about which answer one would consider to be the right answer because I could so easily argue either side as being the right answer or the wrong one.