<p>Just curious..... but is there a list of the musical theatre schools that had both undergraduate and graduate programs. We were told at Syracuse that because they did not have a Master's program there were more opportunities for undergraduate performance roles in college. If a program has a Masters program the majority of roles would be likely to go to graduate level actors. Is this a consideration???</p>
<p>Hardly any BFA in MT programs have a graduate MFA in MT at them. See the FAQ link that will take you to the Big List of MT colleges. </p>
<p>Don't confuse this with MFA programs in Acting/Theater. If you are an undergraduate ACTING major, then you'd want to find out if the MFA in Acting/Theater program (if the university has one) is totally separate when it comes to production work. At some schools it is totally separate (for example, BFA in Acting at Tisch is separate from MFA in Acting....not same productions or any overlap). However, at some schools, an undergraduate acting major may have to vie for casting with graduate students. But I'm talking now of ACTING programs (both undergrad and grad) and NOT MT programs where there is rarely a graduate program in MT where there is a BFA in MT. But even with undergrad acting programs, it is not a given that a university that also has an MFA will overlap in terms of opportunities. You'd have to find out. At some this would be a problem and at others, they are comlpetely separate. </p>
<p>I imagine Syracuse was talking more of the drama/acting aspect because honestly, their point as it pertains to MT is NOT unusual AT ALL. Hardly any BFA in MT programs also have a graduate MFA in MT at them.</p>
<p>My S goes to OCU and they have a Masters in MT. I know they do not give the majority of roles to graduate students. They also have a strong VP program and all MT and VP students are required to audtion for all musicals and operas and there is a lot of "cross casting" It gives lots of opportunity to perform. My S has been cast 3 times in 3 semesters and is getting ready to start working on his 4th production. I can't say everybody gets cast all of the time, but there does seem to be enough going on so chances of being in a show are good. Of course there are always certain types that there are relatively few of that will get cast more frequently such as basses and certain types of character actors. At this school there is the regular season, spotlight shows (less sets, costumes, ect.), stripped shows, caberets, regular theater and the community heavily cast its shows from the student body. I am not familiar with the seasons of other schools, but they probably also provide lots of opportunity to perform. Also I don't think that the few MT Masters programs out there are stuffed with hundreds of students. I do know that some schools with Masters in VP use their graduate students as work horses in their operas.</p>
<p>While it is not universally true, one should consider the question when choosing a program. As Soozievt points out - there are not a lot of MT BFA programs that also have MT MFA programs in the same institution. However, if you are applying to a school that does you should ask/check out their casting over the past several seasons to see if the MFAs are competing with the BFAs for casting. Another, and far more difficult to answer question would be - is there any competition for resources between both programs - or are both well funded and serviced?</p>
<p>You may also want to look and see what the policy is at a school that has both a BA/ BM/ BFA musical theatre program and an MFA acting program. I think that a few more of those may exist than programs that have both a MFA and BFA Musical Theatre. Many people in MFA acting programs also sing... perhaps thesis roles could be in a musical, meaning that certain roles could be cast with the MFA students before general auditions occured for undergraduates. Also -- if you want to audition for plays... ask if those opportunities go to MFA students before undergraduate students. </p>
<p>I would suggest that you ask any department that has both graduate and undergraduate students studying performance if there is a policy on casting in regards to MFA or undergraduate standing.</p>
<p>One of the few schools that does is Boston Conservatory. They get a lot of production opportunities there so I don't think that the students overlap eachother, at least I've never heard anyone complain about it.</p>
<p>I think CCM might have both as well, but I might be confusing that with their voice MA, you'd have to check their website.</p>
<p>CCM does not have a masters program in MT. In the past, they have occasionally arranged an idividually tailored masters program, but there is no regular MFA program in MT. MT at CCM is strictly a BFA program. CCM does offer a BFA in acting. The two programs do share some of the same faculty, however, each program puts on its own productions. Students in the acting program are not cast in the musicals and students in the MT program are not cast in the straight plays.</p>
<p>Thanks dancersmom. I knew I had heard of a few names getting an MFA in MT, but I wasn't sure if they had phased it out or if it was just independant study like you said.</p>
<p>University of Central Florida has a BFA MT and MFA MT program.</p>