Hi all! I’m interested to know if anyone has experience with theater programs where an audition is not required, but acceptance is based on academic acceptance. SUNY Binghamton is an example (and I believe some other SUNYs are similar, but not all). How competitive are these programs to get in, and how are they, as far as rigor? It seems that most (if not all) are BA, not BFA (that isn’t an issue for me, but dd is kind of set on a BFA). I’m just curious as to how these programs rate. Obviously, the student needs to meet the academic requirements of the school, but with no required audition, I wonder…
Drew University!! My daughter turned down a BFA to attend this BA theatre program. I can PM you will info if you’d like.
For a BA program in a liberal arts college that doesn’t require an audition, the programs aren’t competitive at all to get in. You just declare theater as your major. There are BA programs that require an audition, though, so please keep that in mind. BA programs without an audition can vary in rigor depending on the school. For example, Muhlenberg is a non-audition BA (they do have auditions for scholarship but not for admission into the program) and they have a pretty good reputation.
Some schools have a BFA and a BA program. But there’s no hard and fast rule about whether those programs would be better than schools that offer BA (alone). Each program has built its reputation. Do you have some you’d be interested in learning more about? There are so many people with so much knowledge here that I’m sure you could get a read on BA programs by name.
You might check out
Northwestern University - Theater BA - often a serious academic reach, but has a stellar theater program - https://www.communication.northwestern.edu/programs/major_theatre
or
Skidmore College, which has a non-auditioned Theater BS (and a pretty sad website, imo) https://theater.skidmore.edu/about
or
Connecticut College, which has a Theater BA and strong affilication with The National Theater Institute - https://www.conncoll.edu/academics/majors-departments-programs/majors-and-minors/theater/
or
Bard College - also has a Theater BA, http://www.bard.edu/academics/programs/details/?id=608174&pid=793
or
Muhlenberg College - Theater BA - a strong theater program that doesn’t require an audition, but you have to audition in order to qualify for a talent scholarship - http://www.muhlenberg.edu/main/academics/theatre-dance
There are other schools with Theater BA’s that also have BFA’s - for example, UUminn Twin Cities or Marymount Manhattan. Sometimes kids who audition for the BFA will happily attend the college to pursue the Theater BA major.
Check out USC. Difficult academic admit but it is a little easier to get into the School of Dramatic Arts as a BA drama major than some other university departments. BA’s have most of the same opportunities and classes, plus there are a number of separate BFA shows and BA shows.
Emerson has a nonperformance BFA that does not require an audition, and DePaul has a BFA Theatre Arts program that only requires an interview.
Thank you all. I’ll clarify a few things:
-I’m not really actively seeking a non-audition BA program (my dd definitely isn’t, I have just happened upon them, while a friend of mine is researching college for her non-theater dd; she’ll say "look, this school has theater, check it out!)). Just wondering if people felt they were worthy of pursuing. Is anyone here (or anyone’s kid) in a program like this, after having their heart set on an audition-based program, and are pleased?
-We are also looking at BAs (that are performance and auditioned based) such as Marymount.
-Must be performance.
-Not looking for a school where the academic rigor will make it harder to get in (if that makes sense), such as Northwestern. She won’t get in (just being realistic). She’s more talented than she is smart (and with talent being subjective and abundant among many HS kids, that’s no guarantee, I am WELL aware).
-most likely to remain in North East (or north). We live in NY
This is a tough needle to thread since most of the BA schools that get talked about here have very high academic standards. My S was a total academic kid, good scores, lots of APs, good grades, 5th in his class and got into ONE of the academic BA programs he applied to – which were Washington St. Louis, Davidson, Northwestern, Vassar and Pitt. (he got into Pitt.) If she’s more talent than grades, she should probably work the hell out of her audition material and hope for the best.
SUNY Purchase appears to have a non-audition performance program. I say appears to because my son applied to the theater tech BFA, which requires an interview and portfolio review, and he was accepted to the performance program pending the interview for theater tech. He ultimately opted not to proceed with the theater tech at Purchase and has zero interest in performing, so he won’t be attending but Purchase is a performing arts school. I am not sure how the non-audition BA compares to the auditioned BFA since I never looked into it as my son has no leanings in that direction.
Also, Stony Brook has a non-auditioned performing program. I did look into its theater program because it’s H’s alma mater and he was desperate for at least one of our kids to go there (none has or will). The program seemed to me to be a throwaway intended to attract STEM kids who enjoyed drama club as an EC in HS and wanted to continue more than a program for people who actually want to pursue a career in the theater, if that makes any sense. My current senior wants to be a professional theater tech person so SBU wasn’t for him but if you have an aspiring engineer or doctor who wants a fun minor, it might be a good program.
For U of Alabama, you can get admitted for the Theater major; but for musical theater you have to audition. However, you could start there as a freshman and then audition for the following year. Students audition to perform in shows on campus. Local community theater is limited.
Sent you a PM
At Hofstra, all theater students start out as BA (with no audition needed), and then after the first year, those who wish to pursue the BFA can audition for it (and if they don’t get in, they just stay BA.) http://www.hofstra.edu/academics/colleges/hclas/dd/dd-prog-drama.html
Texas State has a popular non-audition Performance and Production degree. Florida State also has a non-audition Ba degree. Students at both still get ample performance opportunity and overlap some courses with BFA students in MT and Acting.
@techmom99 we looked at Purchase, and yes, they do have a non-performance AND a BFA program. Since she will be applying to the BFA there, I would imagine she will just apply to the other one as well. Stony brook is out of the question (she’d never fit in there, let alone get in!). I agree too, that I don’t actually see it as a program that would suit her needs.
@Jkellynh17 This is exactly what I am thinking, hence the reason I am inquiring. We are basically focusing on schools where talent trumps academics (again, being realistic about her grades) she’s just ‘regular smart’ as we call it, which translates to ‘average’ in this insanely competitive world. No honors, no APs, but kick-ass grades in her theater courses from her performing arts-based HS.
University of Rhode Island offers a BFA in Theatre, and does not require an audition.
Hello! This is my first time posting. My S is like your daughter- excellent in the performing arts and definitely not so much in the academics. I’d definitely look at Webster, Pace, and Evansville. Their academic standards are less rigorous, but their theater programs are outstanding. My sons GPA is not good, his ACT is a bit above average, and he was academically admitted to Webster and Evansville in the fall. He was just admitted to Evansville artistically with a pretty good talent scholarship; we are thrilled! Also, the U.K. schools are only talent based- if you are open to her going over seas, I think that’s a great option for those who don’t like academics. My son was rejected from RCS and RWCMD, but has a callback at LAMDA on Friday. Texas schools also minimize GPA scores, I think. My son applied for Texas State BFA in Acting and the application did not even ask him for his GPA! He is now on priority hold with them. It’s more challenging when your kid has poor grades, but if you research the schools, there are still some great options. Good luck!
@DramaQueen219 my son attends SUNY Fredonia as a BFA Acting major. They also have non-audition BA Theater Arts, taught by many of the same professors in the department (the BFA does have a deeper approach to performance-based topics while the BA is more broad across a variety of subjects, but there is at least some performance component even for the BA) and department shows are open for audition to BFAs and BAs. It’s an ensemble-based BFA program. The kids in my son’s class work well as a team together and have built the trust that makes a risk-taking-theater-learning-program work well. The upperclassmen are also extremely supportive of the younger students and mentor them individually and as TAs in some classes.
My son was accepted to the BFA program, but one appeal for him during his audition season was that if he wasn’t accepted by audition, they have a policy that a student who is “in residence at Fredonia wishing to re-audition or re-submit a portfolio may view the results of their previous audition/interview and discuss those results with a member of the faculty so as to gain insight on where improvements need to be made.”
Obviously there’s no guarantee that the student will be accepted to the BFA after the second round of auditions, but getting that feedback and departmental support is a great start.
My D did not get into the BFA at SUNY Purchase but was admitted to the BA. The students who took us on our campus tour were Theater BA students and they were very happy. There is no crossover between the two programs though. My D also was accepted to University of Alabama (Birmingham and Tuscaloosa)…both are non-audition for acting.