<p>If anyone has read any of my previous posts in, oh say the last 6 months, I've been newly bitten my the musical theater bug and unsure of what to do about it.</p>
<p>What I've decided is to finish up my current degree, BA in journalism/public relations then, if by that time I'm still sold on MT, try to pursue that too. </p>
<p>I already know I have the masters degrees and certificate programs to keep in mind. And I could audition for those. But I feel like those might be hard to get into.</p>
<p>My question is, is it possible to get a second undergrad degree in musical theater? Has anybody done this? How?</p>
<p>A suggestion I've heard already (from non-MT folk) is to do so from the school where you got your first undergrad degree, so you can be 100% sure your credits will transfer and you won't have to spend 4 years re-taking gen eds (which I will NOT be willing to pay for). But problem is, I go to Penn State and I SERIOUSLY DOUBT I'd ever get into the program here. I could audition for the heck of it, but probably wouldn't work. </p>
<p>So I'd probably be mostly looking at non-audition schools. Are there any auditioned schools that are not especially selective I could look at, too - places at which my credits would be likely to transfer? Thank you, everyone! You are all always so candid and helpful!</p>
<p>I’m not sure if anyone has suggested this already but you might consider doing a 2-year Professional certificate program such as CAP21 after you complete your Bachelor’s degree. I think you would get much of the same training, and you really don’t need all those general ed classes again. Just a thought, anyway.</p>
<p>My suggestion, rather than pursue a second Bachelor’s degree, would be for to you investigate a back-up plan that would involve you simply moving to a city (NYC, likely) and take individual classes… dance classes, acting classes, musical theatre performance classes, voice lessons. In the end this seems that it would be more advantageous to building the skills for a professional career as as performer. </p>
<p>Remember that in addition to Cap21 and Circle in the Square there is AMDA to look at for conservatory programs.</p>
<p>I have friends with BFAs in acting and musical theatre who wanted to go to Medical School to become doctors. They did not pursue a 2nd Bachelor’s degree in Biology, they simply took Pre-Med courses to prepare for the MCAT. A second Bachelor’s degree is not a path I would advocate considering. Just my 2 cents. :)</p>
<p>Since you are already at a school that has a fabulous MT program, have you thought about just taking some of the classes that the MT majors take, rather than formally going for a MT degree??? While you may not have the paper degree when you finish, you would still have been exposed to many of the same instructors and skill sets as a MT major. A problem with doing what you are suggesting is that many programs, including PSU’s, require sequentialed classes, where each is a pre-req for the next. As a result, it may not be possible to finish a second degree in less than 3 or 4 years because certain classes that are pre-reqs for the next in the series are only offered once a year. </p>
<p>I know that non-majors may audition for shows at PSU In addition, there are some amazing a capella groups. Is it possible you could immerse yourself in some of these activities to get more experience? Even if you are not cast, have you considered working behind the scenes? In addition, there are opportunities for paid summer theater. </p>
<p>Another option might be looking at the straight theater degree at PSU. It might be easier to get into this program and you would have many of the same opportunities. You would have to incorporate some dance and voice into your schedule. You should make an appt. with the MT dept. to find out what options you might have. In the meantime, audition for whatever comes up so that they can become familiar with you. They have another round of auditions coming up for next semester, and you should definitely find out the schedule and start preparing now! Good luck!</p>
<p>It’s unlikely that a traditional 4-year program would take you for a 2nd undergrad degree. Those programs are built around the education of 18-23 year olds and schools in general are pretty wary of disrupting that - b/c those who already have an undergrad degree think from a different place than younger students. I have seen BoCo make exceptions to this, and I’m sure other schools have too. As a general rule, Carnegie Mellon doesn’t care a lot about how old you are, they care about your fit for their program. I’m told Brigham Young U. MT, a very strong program, is also open to older students, b/c of the 2-year missionary requirement for Mormons (who make up a large portion of their student body); I don’t know about those with undergrad degrees already. I agree with Kat that you’re better off looking at CAP or Circle - which are no harder to get into than competitive 4-year programs.</p>
<p>I agree with those who suggest taking individual classes or the full 2-year program at places like Circle in the Square, Neighborhood Playhouse, CAP 21, etc. See if you can pick up a copy of Backstage and look at the ads, you’ll see many, many programs available to “adults” but you’ll need to do your research to find which is best for you. They’re generally not too hard to get into, much easier than college programs. Perhaps you could start with a summer program of 2-6 weeks. Good luck!</p>
<p>Start getting experience now. Audition for plays and musicals, get some voice and dance lessons, etc. Don’t forget about community theatre - great way to get experience outside of college competition. And, I agree that summer programs can be a great, although pricey, experience. You’re going to need a part-time job to pay for training, but if this is your dream, it is worth it. I have plenty of friends who are professional actors who did not major in theatre in college. Hard work and talent can trump a college degree. The key is to always be working on your craft.</p>
<p>See, this is the reason I’m glad I found CC Musical Theater! I didn’t even think of the pre-req course sequence that takeitallin talked about! Had I thought of that I probably would have realized that the second bachelor’s degree wouldn’t be as good an idea as I first thought it might be. Also, glad you suggested talking to the MT department and looking into the straight theater BA. I’ll definitely talk to them and see if I can get into any MT classes. Working on voice lessons right now, and I have ballet twice a week. And yup, I’m looking at my second summer of working days and community theater show in the evenings. Will definitely keep the 2-year certificate programs at the top of my consideration - for some reason I assumed they’d be more difficult to get into than college programs, so thanks on the info on that!</p>