<p>Sure wish that CC would have a separate search for BFA vs. BA programs. I'm overwhelmed by the amount of schools to study and look at.</p>
<p>I'm a Junior and trying to narrow down my school search. If anyone can help with suggestions, I would be so grateful!</p>
<p>Seeking:</p>
<p>BFA Stage Management program (NOT all encompassing tech theater program)
LARGE metropolitan theatrical city
More based on practicum and not theory
One that will encourage internships and 'real world' experience during college years
Smaller school
Student Housing available
Non religious school
Abroad study available</p>
<p>icing on the cake would be SAT/ACT score optional as I'm a horrible test taker. </p>
<p>I'm from the west coast and attend a conservatory style performing arts high school. I'm extremely passionate about theater but not so much about regular academics. Would love to end up in NYC so have been focusing my attention mainly on East Coast.</p>
<p>What I've looked at so far:</p>
<p>Fordham - too academic
Pace
Marymount Manhattan
Rutgers - too big
Montclair State - too big
Muhlenberg - not urban enough
Point Park - loved but theater across town?
UArts - possibility
CMU - too big
DePaul - too big
USC - too big
Cal State Fullerton - too big
Cal State Long Beach - too big</p>
<p>Any thoughts or other schools that come to mind?</p>
<p>Take a look at CalArts. It is 30 minutes away from LA, the school is really small and housing is avaliable, you have many production hours and you can work outside projects as well. From what I know it is possible to study abroad, but I’m not sure if they have affiliated schools or if you have to choose a school yourself.</p>
<p>Webster University. It’s in a quaint, vintage-like town right outside of St. Louis. Like seriously, a couple minutes outside St. Louis. It’s small, has on campus housing, private, non-religious…
They have many specific BFA majors in the theatre like wig and makeup design, scene painting, etc… and yes, stage management. So they are very specific with their education, it’s not all just grouped into technical theatre.
The performers get many opportunities with the St. Louis MUNY, but I’m not sure about stage managers, you’d have to look into that.
The study abroad program is amazing. Seriously, one of the best out there. They have several other Webster Universities across the globe, (including one in London where alot of the conservatory kids go), the tuition is the same, scholarships transfer, and THEY PAY YOUR WAY TO AND FROM! Amazing, right?
I visited there in August and loved it. It’s my #1 school right now for BFA acting. It came to mind right away because it meets all your requirements. It’s definitely worth it to look into it!</p>
<p>RE: UArts DPP. This is a unique program that focuses on creating and participating in small theaters and new works. I think maybe the ideal student would have more than one interest. But it’s worth a look if creating from the ground up appeals to you.</p>
<p>RE: CalArts. 30 minutes on the LA freeways is not always 30 minutes. The nearest city is Valencia, which is very, very small. However, this too is a great school. Particularly for those interested in experimental theater. </p>
<p>Most schools offering BFA in stage management degrees are larger than you seem to want. But it’s really a matter of the scale needed to fund a theater department. The smaller schools are working with more limited facilities which may limit your experiences.</p>
<p>Check out Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. Seattle is a very hot theatre city and Cornish is small, and right downtown. It may check all of your boxes.</p>
<p>theater mom: I go to CalArts and its usually 30 minutes or less on the freeway to LA, unless you’re crazy enough to try to leave during rush hour. And yes, Valencia is boring as hell, but there’s ALWAYS something happening on campus, such as gallery openings every Thursday night, plays and dance shows pretty much every week, etc. You won’t be bored, especially if you have a car.</p>
<p>techtheatre, no way am I commercial for Cornish… I don’t really know that much about it other than what I’ve said. Except for the fact that it isn’t near NYC, I think it does check all of your boxes. But now that I’ve re-read your post and realize that would love to end up in NYC and are focusing mainly on the east coast in your search, I wanted to clarify my suggestion. </p>
<p>I missed the east coast thing before I recommended looking at Cornish. But for what it is worth (and do you own research) some theatre heavy cities send shows to NYC. Which means that some people go with them, and other don’t but you might know people who do go and come back and go again and thus, contacts are made. Point being… where you start has bearing on where you finish… but you don’t have to start where you want to finish you just need to know there is a path.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your replies! Sorry it took a bit to get back to you. I’m working a show and finals, so…</p>
<p>I appreciate all the info and will investigate. </p>
<p>One other point though I neglected to mention. I don’t drive. And I don’t really plan on driving in the future. So, being “in” a city where there is public transportation of some sort is important to me as well not only for while at college but afterwards as well!</p>
<p>@techtheater. You are a HS junior. Which is the perfect time to be asking these great questions and doing your own research. CC replies from random contributors are not a search engine where filters can just be applied and the perfect answer gets spit out. We all answer with what we know and with our own biases. </p>
<p>I’ll double down on the school I’ve suggested you to investigate including your latest criterion and then tell you to look for others just like it. I bet they exist. I personally don’t know which ones I just know something about that one - which checks all of your boxes… including test optional and no need for a car etc. But no… not on the East Coast. </p>
<p>You can fly directly from some major west coast cities to NYC faster than you can drive or fly from some remote east coast/midwest schools that are not serviced by a major airport or competitive and frequent forms of transportation which means you may be surprised to learn that west coast to NYC is often cheaper and easier from a major metro on the west than it is from closer but less traveled locations. So if that matters, investigate the “how would one get from point A to point B” too including the time and expense math. </p>
<p>Every time Glee character X suddenly flies in to surprise Glee character Y for a weekend at Rachel and Curt’s (huge by NYC standards’) apartment in… I find myself thinking: Exactly where did that high school kid get the $600-$700 for that ticket? The same ticket btw spontaneously might have been $300-400 from LA, San Fran, Seattle - or less. It would also probably not have included a 2 hour stop over in Philadelphia, DC, Minneapolis. So Mercedes and the other kid (Puck?) might actually beat the Ohio kids to the weekend surprise. Just saying…</p>
<p>Exactly and I appreciate ALL the responses! I’m not asking for a definitive answer but was hoping there would be some that I just hadn’t found on my own. Cornish and Webster weren’t on my radar at all! So I’m very thankful so I can look at those which I never would’ve looked at on my own. </p>
<p>Coming from West Coast, I’m just not familiar with many schools. (never ever heard of Wagner or Montclair until I really started digging). And there’s not a population here to bounce ideas off of because no one I know is really planning on pursuing Stage Mgmt after high school. Some for tech theater, lots for acting/dance/opera, but my specialty? Not so much. </p>
<p>So I came to the experts and maybe those that have been down my path before to see if I could come up with a few more to investigate! :)</p>
<p>One thing our DD has found in her search - certain things on her list that she thought were “non-negotiable” (BA or BFA, size of school/city, urban vs. rural, east coast vs. west coast or midwest) became less important to her than other factors as she began to look deeper into schools and what their specific programs offered (or didn’t offer!).</p>
<p>There are definitely many trade-offs that have to be made - I think she has found that there is not one single school that meets every single one of her criteria. As she has visited schools, talked with current students, pored over websites and class lists and any other information she can get her hands on, her list has shifted dramatically from the one she started with a year ago, to now (she is a senior).</p>
<p>Sometimes you don’t even know what you like (or don’t like!) until you see it/experience it. Is it possible for you to visit some schools during your spring break this year? We started out last March by visiting nearby schools just so she could get on a college campus and start gathering info and impressions. It helped enormously, and then last summer she did a few more “focused” visits, to schools she though she could see herself attending.</p>
<p>Most important - keep an open mind, and be sure to write down your thoughts and impressions as you go along.</p>
<p>I 100% agree with Mountainhiker…my D started out with only one auditioned BFA on the west coast believing that there was only one school for her…now she has 7 auditioned BFA’s (all on the east coast) and 5 (hopefully) safeties. Keeping an open mind is key. good luck on your search. :)</p>