D was fortunate to be in a regional production of Cabaret last year which included some of the national tour cast. It was very eye opening to her about the value of being able to play an instrument. There are some fabulous multi-talented actors out there who are as good or better musicians as they are actor/singer/dancers. Knowing an instrument, and being able to read music, transpose music, and harmonize are all skills that are of great use out in the professional world. So even if music theory isnāt your thing - take as much of it as you can while in school. Youāll be glad you did later.
My understanding is that the MT inaugural class now stands at 25-26, but they are expecting some attrition. They seem to be happy with a larger-than-expected class.
@MTthreats based on what you know, do you get the impression the class is set? That is a WL for my D that she is still very interested in but wanting to manage expectations appropriately if it seems to be larger than expected already.
My D is committing to Ohio. I feel like itās a leap of faith (for them and for her) since it is a ānewā program. So excited. I canāt believe this is over, and canāt wait for what the next 4 years will present!
@CaliMTdreams Congratulations! Canāt wait to read your journey!
@MTBackstagemom , sorry for the delay. Iāve been checked out of CC recently! When I spoke to the assistant dean on 4/23, they seemed to think there would still be some movement from the wait list. Wishing your daughter luck!
One of the moms started a FB parent group so we could connect. If anyone has a committed student and is interested in joining please send me a message.
BW put on a gorgeous production of āOnceā this year - they have a stable of qualified musicians in the MT program. Having additional skills can never hurt!
@artskids TOTALLY agree re: BW production of Once. It was awesome!
I am signed up for this yearās Experience the Arts day to do her audition - does anyone know do they make offers early or do you have to wait until the spring? It will be my first audition so I am excited!
Last year, I believe there were a couple of early offers, but I think that most of them went out at the end of audition season. But they may do something totally different this year.
Can anyone give any info on what to expect from this audition ? Also, anyone there in the program that can provide any insight?
@dramalove2020 Hi! My D is a freshman, part of the inaugural MT class. She auditioned last year at NY Unifieds as a walk in. It was one of her favorite auditions. She felt very comfortable with the faculty and it was low stress. Overall however, she was very calm during auditions in general, so there wasnāt much stress with any. After weighing a couple options, she chose OU over a few other schools. Sheās very happy there. She loves the campus (itās gorgeous!) and has really clicked with others in the program. She had specific questions for Alan Patrick Kenny, the program head, prior to making her decision and his answers helped solidify her decision. One of them had to do with vocal training and Iāll say that sheās VERY happy with the vocal teacher. The students have class as a group, but then each student gets 30 min per week private lesson. Included in the tuition (not extra like some programs). She said the instructor has really helped and sheās been able to build confidence in her belting. (sheās traditionally been more of a mixed voice singer). The first semester has been all major classes, so they are really jumping in with both feet. Sheās taking piano AND guitar, takes dance classes with the dance majors and even takes dance classes at the Rec Center on campus when they have them. Performance opportunities are limited for freshman, at least first semester, but they still audition for everything so they get the experience. She just spent the last few weeks doing laundry and steaming costumes for the play they just finished, so sheās also getting the ābackstageā experience thatās necessary to see that it takes a village to put on a show, not just the performers. Sheās also joined a sorority on campus so she has friends outside the program as well and her roommate is non MT. OU has been a great choice for her. Weāve honestly had no complaints. Hope this is helpful! Good luck to you!
@CaliMTdreams Thatās great to hear!! Do you know if there are any upcoming MT performances that would be good to see on a visit? My S auditioned and wants to visit the campus.
I just saw this article (although itās from May) and itās really exciting that OU is doing this new musicianship track as an offering!
https://www.americantheatre.org/2019/05/22/honing-your-acting-instrument-and-maybe-an-actual-instrument-too/
I received an acceptance today in the mail to this BFA for fall 2020. I would love to know more about anyoneās experiences here! I visited in the fall and loved it!
I have looked at the website for Ohio U and cannot seem to find any musicals that they are doing this year? Can anyone here tell me if there are any and where I could find a schedule? I would like to see a show?
@DramaLove2020 I emailed a while back and they arenāt doing a mainstage musical this year because itās the first year for the MT program.
@BrennaK who did you contact? I have tried to email but havenāt gotten a response . I wonder how they sold that to the incoming MT students?
Also, did you get any info regarding how many musicals they expect to do? I canāt seem to get an answer.
@DramaLove2020 @BrennaK Raine at auditions@ohio.edu has been very responsive with our OU questions.