<p>I am a highschool junior and I want to major in musical theater and study abroad for a year or so. Is this realistic? Are there any colleges with especially strong musical theater programs abroad?</p>
<p>I'm not an expert on study abroad by any means, but I do know that London is the place to go for theatre. Studying abroad can be a touchy subject with musical theatre though. It's often very important to stay closely to your curriculum with music and dance classes especially, and lots of schools won't send you away because it'll interfere with that.
It's not impossible though. I know there are schools that do it. You could always look into studying abroad over a summer session, taking some general education courses in Italy (or wherever, lol) for example. That's sort of a nice idea for a compromise.</p>
<p>At PSU you are not able to study abroad during the year because there is a set curriculum for the MT's for each of your years in training, but there are summer programs for acting. Also, when the juniors and seniors went to England for a weeklong MT tour last spring break, they connected with several universities that have MT programs. I am sure that the head of the program or the head of the university can connect you with these schools if you wanted to study abroad and take courses during the summer.</p>
<p>At UM, you can DEFINITELY study abroad for a semester, whether you are studying theatre or not. The curriculum is designed so that you have to do your sequential MT/music/dance/acting courses in your fresh/soph years and then you have much more flexibility (as long as YOU monitor fulfilling your credit requirements). Many juniors go abroad, some studying theatre in London or Russia, and others doing academics (often, but not always, in conjunction with a minor or second major) in places from Spain to Austrailia. I also know of three UM students who have done Semester at Sea and LOVED it - all of them welcoming the opportunity to have experiences that were COMPLETELY different from their theatre experiences. UM is incredibly supportive of students having these experiences that will enhance them as human beings (and by extension, as performers).</p>
<p>This is slightly OT, but I have to mention SEA (run out of Woods Hole) for anyone wanting a semester of marine bio/shipboard experience!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sea.edu/home/index_flash.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.sea.edu/home/index_flash.asp</a></p>
<p>My friend, who is an MT at UMich, studied abroad this past fall semester in London. He said it was the best experience he's ever had. Another friend of mine who graduated a few years ago did Semester At Sea his junior year, and had a great time. Neither did anything involving theatre the semester they were away, though. I'm not exactly sure HOW much is offered when you study abroad and if my friend who went to London opted not to take any theatre/voice classes.</p>
<p>I know that dancersmom d wants to study fall semester in London - She is a MT major at Florida State and they do offer the option. You just have to schedule your course selection.</p>
<p>We just got back from Unified LA auditions today, and both Ithaca and Emerson have at least a semester abroad. I believe Ithaca is in London, and Emerson is in a castle in I think the Netherlands. Both indicated that it works within the BFA MT program, but that you go in your sophomore year, after that it is hard or impossible to fit it.</p>
<p>Ithaca has a study abroad option at the London Center, which is actually Ithaca College property with IC professors, except in London. They have a curriculum that you can follow as a theater major, and many people do it and come back saying they would go back in a second. It used to be (for the BFA performance majors) that acting majors went in the fall and MTs in thr spring of junior year. They recently changed it so that next year's junior class (and all subsequent junior classes) will all go in the spring. I'm definitely looking forward to London in two years!</p>
<p>Syracuse University MT or Acting semester abroad in London and/or NYC..check out their site</p>
<p>This is a question that one should ask each school. Some of them are very willing and supportive of the opportunity, as discussed above. Others of them will not allow you to go during a regular semester if you want to graduate on time. This may be true at more of the conservatory type settings. If study abroad is important to you, definitely get details from the school.</p>
<p>You could always do a summer session abroad.</p>
<p>We just had a tour this weekend at NYU, led by a current Tisch student who informed us that Tisch has its own division of NYU's popular study abroad program, giving you artistic experiences in other countries. He's a film directing major and is going to Prague next year to direct 35mm films or something of that nature... very cool!</p>
<p>-Mikksmom's D</p>
<p>Mikksmom's D is right. NYU encourages all of its students to study abroad, including Tischies. There are Tisch specific programs in addition to the many opportunities for NYU kids, in general. London, Dublin, Amsterdam and Prague are favorites for the drama kids.</p>
<p>Emerson owns a castle in Well, Holland. My son spent the first semester of his sophomore year there. They take their college classes for 4 days a week (taught by top European teachers), then are handed their Eurail passes and expected to travel for the long weekends. There are 3 class trips: Paris, Amsterdam and Florence (Munich for the Spring semester), with extra time to explore those areas because they fall around the holidays. In all, my son visited 9 countries. It was an amazing experience.</p>
<p>I'm almost afraid to post this because my information may not be completely accurate. Please take it with the intention of hearing something positive that should be checked out thoroughly for the truth if you are truly interested....My D is attending a local community college this semester and they had a speaker from LAMDA in one of her classes (I believe it was Music Appreciation). This gentleman mentioned that they will be having a partnership with University of the Arts so that students can study abroad at LAMDA.</p>