Summer 2014 BFA/MT schools city programs -- questions

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>Hi all, </p>

<p>Happy to be finally posting after weeks of lurking. I am Laura, mom to a sophmore in Ca at an arts school. I have started this process and intimidated is an understatement! I am making many lists and for now trying to focus on finding daughter a good summer program with a BFA MT school so she can get a real feel for a campus and life in this type of program. She thinks she wants to live in New York, Chicago, or San Fran -- big city girl and i think an intensive program would be great for her to really see if this is what she wants. My only exception is obviously Michigan which is not big city but one of the best. Cap 21 was my ideal but I need supervised housing and I can't move to NYC for a month (I wish). Michigan seems to only really want exiting Juniors, is this true? Any suggestions, ideas for where to start would be greatly apreciated.
Laura</p>

2

<p>There are some great summer programs out there, but many are not in the city. Our D attended both mPulse at Michigan (between her sophomore and junior year of high school) and OCU’s musical theater intensive (after her freshman year in high school). I will say most of the time Michigan takes rising seniors. our D just got lucky I guess. Both were fantastic experiences, gave her an idea of what a typical school day would be like, and exposed her to incredible faculty and amazing friends. She spent the summer between junior and senior year preparing for auditions. Both of the above programs are by audition. I would highly recommend them to you.
Two programs that are not audition based but are great programs in cities are the Cherubs program at Northwestern, just outside Chicago and Carnegie Mellon’s summer program in Pittsburgh. I’ve heard great things about both. An up and coming program that has a summer camp is Texas State but it s not in a city. CCM also has a summer camp but I don’t know much about it. There is a great program called the Performing Arts Project which s on the campus of Wake Forest University which you might like. I believe CCM and TPAP also require an audition. And Boston Conservatory had a dance intensive with an MT focus including some voice and dance. So lots to investigate. If you have any questions, feel free to message me or ask right here. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>CCM is auditioned, my S attended this 2 week program last summer and loved it. CCM is very close to downtown Cincinatti.</p>

4

<p>OK, if I were a parent of a kid between soph and jr year in HS, and I was sending them across the country for a summer program, I’d have Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh on the short list. Pittsburgh is a nice sized city, although it isn’t NYC or Chicago. CMU is within the city limits, but it is not downtown. The campus is nice and I am sure the kids are well supervised. CMU has, from what I understand, a really great summer program that gives kids a good look at what it’s like in a college MT program. Although I’m sure there are folks here who had kids go to the summer program, so they’d be better equipped to answer on specifics.</p>

5

<p>DD just did UArts summer program and there were rising juniors there. Although it’s not a “traditional” campus, it is smack dab in a big city. Not an auditioned program, but so many talented kids. Supervised single-sex dorms…my D cried like a baby when she had to leave.</p>

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<p>My son attended CMU’s MT pre-college this past summer. Most of his teachers were faculty of the drama or MT programs. My son had only recently set his sights on MT, so I felt it was important for him to get a real feel for a BFA program. The program was intensive and designed to mimic a BFA semester. The students have a class schedule, must be responsible and I know my son grew in leaps and bounds artistically and came back a more mature young man. One thing to note is a student must be 16 in order to live in the dorms. The program is 6 weeks long.</p>

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<p>Thank you all so much! This really helps me significantly and I will start digging deeper today.</p>

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<p>You already got great suggestions. I just want to mention that if you don’t want to do the CAP21 program due to the independent housing issue, NYU/Tisch has a summer pre-college program in MT that provides supervised dorm housing. It is competitive to get into it, but no audition is required.</p>

9

<p>I second Oklahoma City University and Uarts in Philly. Both reasonably priced as summer programs go, with an option of length of program, at least in the past. My daughter flew to both on her own and was picked up and carefully watched over all summer. There is a bit more freedom at Uarts and it is in the city with arranged field trips (beach, etc) added on. Both use regular staff people and many kids attend more than one year. My daughter loved and learned from both!</p>

10

<p>BTP (Broadway Theatre Project) is another auditioned option. My D attended this past summer and loved the faculty and the guest artists! It’s in Tampa, FL.</p>

11

<p>Here is a list of Summer MT residential programs offered at colleges with MT programs. There are other very fine programs such as Perry-Mansfield, TPAP, Texas Arts Project, and BTP but I didn’t list them since the OP was interested in programs at colleges with MT programs (note that not all of them are directly affiliated with the MT departments at the hosting school). A few of these are in somewhat smaller cities:</p>

<p>Texas Musical Theatre Workshop – Austin, TX
The Texas Musical Theatre Workshop is a collaboration between the musical theatre faculties of The University of Texas at Austin and Texas State University. The TMTW offers an opportunity for high school students to gain pre-professional training in acting, singing, dancing, auditioning and performing taught by Broadway professionals and university theatre faculty (note that UT-Austin now has an MT program).
[Texas</a> Musical Theatre Workshop](<a href=“http://www.texasmusicaltheatreworkshop.com/]Texas”>http://www.texasmusicaltheatreworkshop.com/)</p>

<p>TCU Musical Theatre Performing Arts Camp (US Performing Arts) – Fort Worth, TX
At TCU Musical Theater Camp, campers take part daily in intensive voice, acting, and dance workshops taught by Broadway artists and college faculty. Our Musical Theater Camp curriculum consists of workshops that will focus on acting, improvisation, scene study and interpretation, song study and interpretation, vocal instruction, dance for musical theater, audition techniques, performance analysis, and a brief history of musical theater. Students will have a “work in progess” showing on the last day of camp.
[Texas</a> Christian University Musical Theater Camp](<a href=“http://www.usperformingarts.com/tcu-musicalcamp.php]Texas”>http://www.usperformingarts.com/tcu-musicalcamp.php)</p>

<p>MPulse at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, MI
The MPulse Summer Performing Arts Institute on the Ann Arbor campus offers programs in music performance, music technology, musical theatre, theatre, and dance.
[UM</a> School of Music, Theatre & Dance - Youth Programs - MPulse Summer Performing Arts Institutes](<a href=“http://www.music.umich.edu/special_programs/youth/mpulse/]UM”>http://www.music.umich.edu/special_programs/youth/mpulse/)</p>

<p>The National High School Institute at Northwestern University (Cherubs) – Evanston, IL
Northwestern’s Cherubs programs is a 5-7 week, university-based summer program for outstanding high school rising Seniors that offers programs in Acting, Design/Tech, and Musical Theatre.
<a href=“http://nhsi.northwestern.edu/theatrearts/[/url]”>http://nhsi.northwestern.edu/theatrearts/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Pre-College Drama Program at Carnegie-Mellon – Pittsburgh, PA
The Pre-College Drama Program at Carnegie Mellon University gives students the chance to participate in a professional training program in acting, music theatre or design/technical production. The program focuses on the exploration of a conservatory training program with emphasis on creativity, craft and discipline.
<a href=“http://admission.enrollment.cmu.edu/pages/pre-college-drama[/url]”>http://admission.enrollment.cmu.edu/pages/pre-college-drama&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Boston Conservatory Summer Intensives – Boston, MA
The Boston Conservatory offers summer intensives for high school and college students on a performing arts degree track. Boco offers a Musical Theatre Summer Dance Intensive and a Vocal/Choral Summer Intensive.
[High</a> School and Collegiate Intensive Programs | The Boston Conservatory](<a href=“http://www.bostonconservatory.edu/high-school-and-collegiate-intensive-programs]High”>Extension Programs)</p>

<p>Tisch School of the Arts Summer Drama Program for High School Students – New York, NY
The Tisch School of the Arts Summer Drama Program for High School Students is a condensed version of the professional training that characterizes the degree program offered by NYU. It carries 6 college credits, and enrollment is limited. Each week includes 28 hours of conservatory training at the Stonestreet Screen Acting Workshop, the Experimental Theatre Wing, the New Studio Summer Music Theatre Program, the New Studio Summer Acting Program, or in the Meisner Technique. The summer program also includes a weekly seminar (New York Theatre) on the breadth of the profession with Tisch faculty.
<a href=“Special Programs”>Special Programs;

<p>High School Musical Theatre Program at Oklahoma City University – Oklahoma City, OK
The High School Musical Theater Program is an extension of the OCU musical theater degree program. Students from across the country attend the program which offers both demanding classroom training and on-stage experience, taught by the OCU faculty.
[Oklahoma</a> City University : Music : Performing Arts Academy](<a href=“http://www2.okcu.edu/music/academy/hsmtp.aspx]Oklahoma”>http://www2.okcu.edu/music/academy/hsmtp.aspx)</p>

<p>Indiana University Midsummer Theatre Program – Bloomington, IN
The Midsummer Theatre Program is a two-week, comprehensive study of theatre as an art form. Students study acting, movement, voice, dramatic literature, musical theatre, and television. In addition to daily classes, students will attend several special event workshops in areas such as auditioning and television production. Students will showcase their learning experiences from these intensive two weeks in a Final Presentation.
[Midsummer</a> Theatre Program | Department of Theatre & Drama](<a href=“Indiana University Bloomington”>Indiana University Bloomington)</p>

<p>Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Prepartory Department High School Musical Theatre Workshop – Cincinnati, OH
This workshop gives high school students the opportunity to explore musical theatre at one of the country’s most prestigious musical theatre programs. The CCM Prep program has a rigorous academic musical theatre program that is condensed into a two week summer intensive for students. Each day students will work with CCM Prep faculty, CCM guest faculty, area theatre professionals and other guests in various areas of musical theatre. The program culminates in a showcase on the final day in the studio theater.
<a href=“http://ccm.uc.edu/prep/summer-programs-2014.html[/url]”>http://ccm.uc.edu/prep/summer-programs-2014.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>USC Summer Theatre Conservatories – Los Angeles, CA
The USC School of Theatre offers Summer Theatre Conservatories in Musical Theatre, Contemporary Theatre: Acting Intensive, and New Works: Writing, Directing, and Acting for the Stage. These are conservatory-style training courses designed for students with a serious interest in theatre. Each of the classes culminates in a public performance held at the end of the program.
[Summer@USC</a> ? USC Summer Programs for high school students](<a href=“http://summer.usc.edu/general/summer_seminars_musictheatre.shtml]Summer@USC”>http://summer.usc.edu/general/summer_seminars_musictheatre.shtml)</p>

<p>The University of the Arts Summer Institute – Philadelphia, PA
The Acting + Musical Theater programs at the University of the Arts are a pre-college program for the serious student performer, and give a preview of the professional training program at the University of the Arts.
[Summer</a> Institute : Theater | The University of the Arts](<a href=“http://uarts.edu/academics/pre-college-programs/summer-institute-theater]Summer”>Summer Institute Theater | University of the Arts)</p>

<p>Syracuse University Summer College for High School Students, Acting and Musical Theatre – Syracuse, NY
This four-week program at the University of Syracuse develops performance skills and provides a behind-the-scenes view of theater that combines music, drama, and dance. Students participate in full-time, college-level theater training under the direction of acclaimed professional performers and teachers and complete the program with improved audition skills.
[Acting</a> & Musical Theater Syracuse University Summer College | Syracuse University Summer College - For High School Students](<a href=“Home - Pre-College Programs for High School Students – Syracuse University”>Home - Pre-College Programs for High School Students – Syracuse University)</p>

<p>Emerson College Pre-College Acting, Musical Theatre, and Stage Design Studios – Boston, MA
The Acting Studio and the Musical Theatre Studio offer high school juniors and seniors an opportunity to train in an intensive pre-college acting program. Attendees polish their performance skills by participating in master classes and evening rehearsals. During the five-week program, Acting and Musical Theatre Studio students refine audition pieces and perform selections and scenes in a final showcase performance for peers and parents.<br>
[Arts</a> & Communication Pre-College Studio Programs | Emerson College](<a href=“http://www.emerson.edu/academics/professional-studies/programs-high-school-students/pre-college-studio-programs]Arts”>Pre-College Programs | Emerson College)</p>

<p>Summer High School Music Theater Workshop at Westminster College of the Arts/Rider University – Lawrenceville, NJ
The summer High School Music Theater Workshop at Westminster College of the Arts/Rider University is a two week program classes in acting, choreography and private voice instruction, a Musical Theater Showcase Revue, a concert version of a Broadway musical, and field trips to shows on Broadway and in Philadelphia.
[High</a> School Music Theatre Workshop | Rider University](<a href=“http://www.rider.edu/academics/colleges-schools/wca/woce/summer-camps/music-theater-workshop]High”>http://www.rider.edu/academics/colleges-schools/wca/woce/summer-camps/music-theater-workshop)</p>

<p>There are more, including UCLA and others, that are not specifically MT-focused programs.</p>

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<p>Ok, so, as a Texan by marriage and residence, and having grown up as a jaded North-Easterner, I feel compelled to address comment from a post above (smile)…</p>

<p>The Texas Musical Theatre Workshop, a joint camp sponsored by Texas State and UT, is located on the UT Austin campus. The greater Austin metro area has a population of 1.8 million people and usually appears on lists of the most educated cities in America and most desirable places to live.</p>

<p>San Marcos, where Texas State is located, has a population of 45,000 and is one of the fastest-growing cities in America. Situated between San Antonio and Austin, it has an urban feel that is much larger than its size. Because of it’s rapid growth, San Marcos is quickly merging into the Austin Metro Area.</p>

<p>Both cities are very pretty, located on the edge of the Texas Hill Country with rivers running through town.</p>

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<p>Being an Austinite, I second EmsDad praise of my city! One drawback to a summer camp however would be the heat–it is a shock to those who aren’t used to it.</p>

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<p>OH YES! Texas is HOT! I just broke into a sweat remembering the summer spent long ago at my aunt’s house in Houston. I have to say that when I visited Austin long ago I could see myself living there and I’m nothing but a city gal!! I can’t wait to be there next month and for The D to see San Marcos and view TX in a different light!</p>

15

<p>My D did Syracuse’s summer program at age 16 and had a total blast. Acceptance through video audition. Very intense training in all three areas. She lived in the dorms. It’s a big school in a smaller city. Nice little college-town-like shopping area within walking distance. The students were very independent but had to check into the dorm by 11pm I believe.</p>