<p>Ok so I applied to Northwestern in the hopes of attending their theatre program but i was rejected…Fortunately amherst accepted me but im worried about theatre at Amherst because i couldnt find any student run organizations on their website…so
Is it exsistent?
Is it any good?
Are there really no student run groups?
Can you do theatre at one of the other colleges?
please help! Theatre is a big part of my life and this would really help me decide.</p>
<p>When we toured Amherst our guide was a theater major.</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/deanstudents/handbook/fivecolleges[/url]”>https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/deanstudents/handbook/fivecolleges</a></p>
<p>This post is long because I don’t have time to edit; am moderating. Hope you can plow through:</p>
<p>A theater major at Amherst has ample opportunity to participate in the annual department productions, staged and nurtured by theater faculty, or go out for any of the student-initiated productions on campus throughout the year. Look up the Theater/Dance Department’s own website for past productions in recent years. See lists of “Department/Faculty Productions” but also dig deeper to find old lists of student-initiated shows from past years. </p>
<p>Theater majors also get acting experience doing staged readings for other students in playwriting courses. There’s plenty of time “on the boards” with coursework, workshops and evening productions --in fact, as much as you can schedule in! The theater faculty will tell you to take part in all aspects of the college, however, and try out all kinds of experiences in a liberal arts context. </p>
<p>Beyond the Amherst campus, hop on a Five College bus and go out for any production on the campus of the other 4 colleges in the Five College Consortium.</p>
<p>If you decide to major in theater, the theater faculty will encourage you to integrate theater studies with a wide range of liberal arts courses and encourage you to go outside your artistic and intellectual comfort zone sometimes. You might also decide that, for example, the Shakespeare teacher over at Smith would be interesting as a change of pace from the Amherst course offering. Course cross-enrollment is very normal, so be sure to look up not only Amherst theater course offerings, but everything at: Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire and U of Massachusetts. You can take anything and everything you can schedule in. A free bus connects all campuses, running (hope I’m right here) around every l5 minutes, day and evening.</p>
<p>As a senior, if you major, you’d work on a senior capstone project. Before that, you’ll also be encouraged to study and perform in all aspects of theater, including writing, acting, directing and stagecraft so you know it from all angles. Majors have intensive meetings with the assembled faculty at the end of each semester, to articulate goals and help you meet them in all their courses. Everyone knows everyone else’s work very well.</p>
<p>You can double major.</p>
<p>My S graduated as a double major from Amherst in Theater/Dance and Music 5 years ago. I don’t recall him in “student organizations” re: theater, because he was always, always in one show or another. As one came down, he was rehearsing for the next one. Lots of stage time helped him develop, along with his faculty. He also branched out into some serious dramatic writing, a cappella singing, classical chorus, and songwriting at various times. His main work is in acting, but at Amherst he discoverd a real enjoyment in writing plays as well, which continues today.</p>
<p>Amherst has a resident playwright, fulltime, on their theater faculty. Check that out, as it is unusual. When my S was there, she was simply wonderful, a real mentor (Connie Congden). </p>
<p>There’s a good resonance between the theater and dance offerings, as they are one department. If you declare the major (non-audition), you’d graduate with a B.A. from Amherst college, with a major in Theater and Dance. Remember you can double-major; many do. My S said Theater major had a very rigorous senior performance requirement, so he dropped his idea of double major in History (which also has a huge senior writing requirement) and went to Music for his double major. </p>
<p>Immediately after graduation, my S moved directly to NYC where he is a working actor. Perhaps the term is “journeyman actor.” He worked his way up in quality of productions, year by year and now is in a troupe that he particularly enjoys, plus other roles in stage and film. He has a B.A. from Amherst College and is enriched by all aspects of his rigorous undergraduate education. His work ethic is amazing and he’s at it non-stop. </p>
<p>What they don’t like at Amherst, according to one prof I heard talking informally, are students who come onto campus with this thought foremost in their mind: I AM an AC-TOR!! Now teach me! Instead, be open and ready to learn about Theater, in ways you never dreamed of. </p>
<p>The department is small but focussed, and I think AMherst normally has around a dozen theater majors annually, but please check out that data. </p>
<p>Good Luck. Break a leg :p</p>
<p>Great post, Paying3 and congrats on your awesome son.</p>