<p>I posted this on the general 'arts majors' thread but i will post it here as well:</p>
<p>I am applying as an undergrad for the fall of 2008. I am very interested in theater and musical theater (but i would be getting a BA not a BFA) and I am also very academically driven as well. I am looking to double major in theater and psychology. I was wondering if anyone had opinions on the theater and/or musical theater opportunities (classes and performance opportunities) at any of these schools:</p>
<p>Barnard
Brown
Columbia
Drew
Harvard
Kenyon
Middlebury
Northwestern
Oberlin
Pomona
Scripps
Vassar
Washington University in St Louis
Wellesley
Wesleyan
Whitman
Yale</p>
<p>thanks a lot in advance for your advice. This message board is such a great resource!</p>
<p>I can only comment on Brown, where my son is a sophmore also majoring in theater and psychology. He is very happy with his theater experience there and also did not want a conservatory. He is strong academically and wanted the freedom to take courses in other interests as well. He is currently in an acapella group (there are 16 different ones on campus) and actually had a performance last night with another group. There is a strong theater community as well where every weekend there is some production going on-either through the music department or theater dept. There is a group of student produced musicals (last semester they did Rocky Horror, this semester they are doing Godspell), there is also a group of student created musicals, which my son is musically directing this semester. There are also department shows-this semester the main stage production was City of Angels. PM me for more details or if you have specific questions. From your list I can tell you he was also interested in Yale and Wesleyan, both of which have strong theater depts too. Harvard has extracurricular theater opportunities but no major. Northwestern is a very strong school too, although I can't comment as he chose not to apply there. Good luck!</p>
<p>Particularly strong in theater with some MT on your list are: Northwestern, Brown, Yale. I also think ones strong in theater on your list include: Middlebury, Wesleyan, Vassar and Drew. I don't know Whitman, Scripps or Pomona well enough to comment. Harvard has no department but is very strong in theater/MT extracurricularly. Given the very selective nature of some of your schools, I'll assume you are a tip top student. If that is the case, and if Drew is one of your safeties (a fine option actually), you may wish to consider a more selective safety that may be a safety for you but I don't know your qualifications....Muhlenberg. You also should look into Conn College and Skidmore. </p>
<p>Many top academic and top talented MT students whom I know tend to apply to Brown, Yale and Northwestern, if pursuing a BA degree. I know kids at all these schools and they are tops and could have gone to BFA programs but wanted a BA path. </p>
<p>I can vouch for what Audi is saying about Brown (and her son is one of the ones I mean too!). I have a child at Brown but she is not studying theater. I recently saw City of Angels and I thought the talent in the production rivaled some in a BFA production. I also saw her son's a capella group recently, as well as many others and a lot of great singers are in Brown's groups. There are numerous productions at Brown, both faculty and student directed, and these include musicals. A capella is also huge there. </p>
<p>Audi....was the concert your son in last night the same one that had the Jabberwocks? My D said she went to that show last night (and told me another group from another school that was there but my mind is blanking). My D who is in a capella at NYU had her concert last night too, and she said HBO filmed her group's concert and interviewed them, and I don't know the name of the show that is for. Sorry, back to our regularly scheduled thread. :D</p>
<p>To find out more about theatre at Wash U, go to the Performing Art Department's site at Performing</a> Arts Department</p>
<p>When I went to school there, the season was generally 1 musical, 4 straight plays and 2 dance shows directed by the department faculty. There are also several active student theatre groups, including All Student Theatre which puts on a show in the quad each spring. It's usually a musical, but they've done Shakespeare in the past as well on occasion. You can also be cast in directing students' scenes, and sometimes students will direct plays for their senior thesis.</p>
<p>Class-wise, there are 2 musical theatre classes in the department to the best of my knowledge , which are electives. Lots of folks want to take them and they're by audition, and the 2nd one was very competitive so most people don't take it until they are a junior/senior.</p>
<p>Double majoring is quite easy at Wash U, especially if it's within the same school. It may also help you to know that there is no audition to be a theatre major. The Acting III and IV classes you had to audition to get into, but most acting majors had no problems getting in. There is also a General theatre major, as well as Tech theatre.</p>
<p>I'd definitely recommend visiting the campus, seeing a show, talking to students, attending a class...whatever you can do if you can make the trip to St. Louis. Just be prepared that it is <strong>COLD</strong> in the winter, so you may want to wait a short bit before visiting. :)</p>
<p>My daughter, who is a freshman BFA MT major, has a friend who is a sophomore at Kenyon and who has a strong interest in MT performance (she attended a MT summer intensive with my daughter in 2005). Her friend is very pleased with her opportunities for MT at Kenyon as she pursues a major in psych.</p>
<p>Muhlenberg is also a very good school with a highly regarded performance program that offers a lot of MT opportunities. I believe Skidmore is more straight theater oriented. The last time I looked at its website about a year ago, it cautioned that it does not stage a musical each year.</p>
<p>Skidmore doesn't stage musicals in the department. I don't know the exact interests of the OP but Skidmore has an outstanding BA Theater program and then there are student directed musicals each semester put on by a group called "Cabaret." My inlaws go to every show and just saw Fame there. Skidmore also has active/strong a capella groups. And very strong dance. Kenyon is definitely strong in theater. I wasn't aware of MT so much there but thanks for pointing out that there are MT opportunities there.</p>
<p>Soozie, my son performed with the Higher Keys last night for an AIDS awareness activity. He said it was alot of fun and they had over 300 people in attendance. Please give us more details about the HBO thing if you find out-that is so great-congrats.</p>
<p>I have visited Brown and concur with what Soozievt has to say. I absolutely loved the school (gorgeous campus and architecture) and all the students I spoke with were incredibly intelligent but very laid-back about their education (not meaning that they didn't do work, rather that their wasn't a competitive, cut-throat type atmosphere as at other top schools). I visited a couple of theater classes and was very impressed - the actors were unique individuals and had a strong sense of self. I ultimately decided not to apply there because the department puts more emphasis on theoretical classroom education (relative to the acting training) than I would like - that's a personal choice and by no means is intended to "demean" the program at the school. I think it's a great option and would definitely encourage looking into it further.</p>
<p>Have you looked into William and Mary - my alma mater. I was not a theater student but one of my best friends was and she loved it there. I was there many moons ago - Glenn Close (then Glennie Wade) was there when I was there. They usually did at least one MT production a year.</p>
<p>My nephew was at Kenyon for the past two years, and I saw some of their productions. They did not have the professional feel that my D's do at Muhlenberg.
He has taken a gap year this year and is auditioning for BM programs in vocal performance/opera, and he found he wasn't getting what he felt he needed there. Many students do find it a perfect fit, he just finally figured out what he wants to do and wanted to go to a more specialized school.
The school is beautiful, but extremely isolated. The students seem friendly and extremely engaged...they look happy.</p>
<p>Northwestern is excellent for what you want (I might be a little biased though considering that I go there....) But almost EVERYONE in the theatre department is a double major or minor of some sort. The amount of student theatre and chances to perform even as a freshman are mind blowing. If you want more specifics about the program definitely feel free to ask.</p>
<p>questions for soozie and audi (and anyone else who knows) - I'm applying both to Brown(ED) and W+M, and since you know about theater there...how does it work with the theater program? do you have to declare a theater major before arriving? can any student take theater classes? I am not planning on majoring in theater but I love it (so of course things could change) - do these schools make it easy to take classes, maybe minoring?</p>
<p>At both Brown and W and M, Theater is a BA degree and as in most BA degrees, you do not declare your major before arriving and there is no commitment to a major even as a freshman. At Brown, for example, you don't commit to a major (which at Brown are called concentrations) until the end of your soph year. Brown has NO minors in any subject area. You can double major. You can take theater classes and be in productions even if not a theater major. At William and Mary, you don't declare your major before you apply. You certainly can express an interest in a major when you apply but you are not commited to it. Also they have an optional DVD submission if you'd like the theater department to look at it, but that is not required to get in. William and Mary has both a major and a minor in theater. I'm pretty sure that any student can take theater classes (that is what a liberal arts degree implies) and can be in productions. I hope you looked at Brown closely as you are commited to attend if accepted. Brown has an open curriculum and you can take anything you want!</p>
<p>Good luck.....both are fine schools. If you get into Brown, remember to withdraw all your other apps.</p>
<p>Soozie said it all. There are no minors at Brown and yes, you can take classes in theater without declaring it your concentration (which you do at the end of soph year). There are a few upper level classes that I believe only
permit those who concentrate, but there are certainly many classes that you can take just because you want to. Also, anyone can audition for any of the shows-even as a freshman. This past semester a freshman had a major role in City of Angels with a great bass voice (and I believe he is not intending to major in theater at all-just loves doing it).</p>
<p>Thanks guys:-). Yes, I am sure about brown/know it's a final commitment. Even if they didn't have good theater I'd want to be there but I knew they did, I just figured this was a good chance to find out more about it. So thanks for both your help!</p>