<p>So, I'd never heard anything about it. And then I looked, and realized they had more musical theater societies than any other ivy. So I applied, never thinking I'd get in. But I did. So now I need to know... How's theatre at Princeton?</p>
<p>Thanks for the help!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>princeton has the best theatre in all of the ivy league, both acting and musical theatre. on campus, princeton has the famed mccarter theatre, a tony-award winning theatre, that hosts many notable shows. princeton is known for its superb plays and musicals and the societies are more numerous at princeton than anywhere else. all the residential colleges also take NYC trips to see musicals and plays on broadway, including hairspray, phantom, dirty rotten scoundrels, wicked, brooklyn, avenue q, the upcoming julius caeser and little women. i saw a campus production of into the woods which was close to broadway-quality. i also saw arsenic and old lace that same year and it was amazing. i think next to princeton, yale comes in second for theatre</p>
<p>franklinbrown do you go to J? or CG? Where?</p>
<p>Fitzgerald did some theater there...</p>
<p>Ahh I wanna see Avenue Q</p>
<p>zant....u LIVE in nyc! how have u never seen avenue q! ahhh! i wanna see it so badly but its coming to las vegas permanently so i might just see it there =P</p>
<p>oh i saw a few of ur other threads and i see that u have been accepted to Tisch. Are you going into musical theatre? because going into musical theatre it REALLY matters where you go to school and if u are sure u want to do musical theatre for a living, going to Tisch or other music schools such as Emerson, CCM, UMICH, BC, or CMU will really help u more than going to princeton and getting a well-rounded education because the arts are different where undergraduate is where everything matters</p>
<p>Max, I'm not sure what you mean... but if by "J" you mean Jesuit, then the answer is yes.</p>
<p>Shrek, I love musical theater with all my heart, but I'm not sure that's the only thing I want to do for a career. I also love straight theater (Particularly Shakespeare,) where a solid education is more important, and MFAs actually can make a difference. I'm really not sure... Which is hard. I know I want to double major in theatre and English - and any of the schools on my list will let me do that. But the ratio is still up in the air. So Princeton for theater, huh? But they don't even have a major! And the class offerings seemed kind of limited. Is McCarter better than Yale Rep? Or Trinity Rep, for that matter? This is all so confusing! I never expected to get in to Yale, NYU, Northwestern, Columbia, Brown, AND Princeton!</p>
<p>princeton doesnt focus on the arts, whether its acting or classical performance. i didnt know at first if u were planning on majoring or just wanting to pursue it as an interest. at princeton im pretty sure musical theatre and most other performing arts are more pursued as an interest rather than a major, or perhaps a certificate. the performances produced by various organizations on campus are superb and incomparable to that at other universities, however, yes the lack of an actualy musical/classical department also turned my friend away. </p>
<p>if u are looking for a major in musical theatre, i dun think princeton would be rite for u because pricneton is more about pursuing it as an interest or hobby rather than producing musical geeks =P </p>
<p>i would say if u have a strong urge to do musical theatre, tisch would definitely be the best school since ivy musical theatre cant compare. NYU also has a strong overall curriculum and would satisfy ur needs for a solid education. but ultimately its up to u. i would suggest you visit ur top schools and check out the musical theatre and see what you like urself =P my friend currently attends tisch and loves it.</p>
<p>Well, franklinbrown, you certainly have a nice "problem." Congratulations!</p>
<p>At Princeton you can major in English with a theater focus: <a href="http://web.princeton.edu/sites/english/new_web/documents/sophguide.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://web.princeton.edu/sites/english/new_web/documents/sophguide.pdf</a> So it's not a double major. </p>
<p>There is more theater than you will be able to participate in at Princeton. You need to count in the course offerings, the varied EC offerings, the plays students decide to direct and put on in their residential colleges. You can also do a creative thesis, which could be a one-person show or your own play or something else along those lines. Students have used grants from the university to research theater in Europe and come back to perform: <a href="http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2004/04/08/arts/10184.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2004/04/08/arts/10184.shtml</a></p>
<p>Quite a few of the McCarter's plays have moved to Broadway. Not sure that's true of plays at Trinity Rep. But what's probably more important is what kind of involvement an undergrad could have at either place. I would do some research on that. Brown has excellent undergrad theater. I don't think you'd decide between Brown and Princeton on the basis of theater, but on the basis of overall campus atmosphere. That said, Princeton has a lot more financial resources for a creative undergrad looking for funding for interesting stuff. </p>
<p>I would contact admissions at each of the schools you're really interested in and ask them to put you in touch with theater students.</p>
<p>quite a few people put on theater productions as their senior thesis in the English department. So although you can't actually major theater, you can get a lot of experience in theater. </p>
<p>Theres always a student run show going on, so if youre into acting or any part of the production, its always an option. There is also a student shakespeare company, although i dont know more than that</p>
<p>Theater Intime on campus. V. small, all student run. And for musical theater, it's mostly Triangle Club. Famous for Jimmy Stewart, great networking venue, great way to make friends, and I know one person who went on to Broadway following a great Triangle career. But it's definitely not a musical theater major.</p>
<p>Oh, this is definitely my topic since I hope to be heavily involved in the theater community at Princeton :)</p>
<p>Okay, first off, let it be known that, just as others have said, trying to "study" theater at Princeton isn't like studying it at other schools. You can't concentrate/major in it, you can only minor/get a certificate. There aren't many classes, but the faculty is supposed to be solid. The lecturers have experience in whatever field there in and have produced/written/directed/acted in plays. Honestly, though, if you want to major in theater, then I'd say Princeton isn't the place for you. While some of the classes may be good, the department is simply too small and not enough emphasis has been placed on it. Having said that, I will be taking some courses in the department, and those few classes could turn out to be awesome. So we'll see.</p>
<p>HOWEVER...</p>
<p>Princeton is phenomenal in terms of extracurricular theatrical opportunities. I can't wait to (hopefully) become a part of Theater Intime next year, which puts on an incredibly wide variety of shows (both student-produced and otherwise). In addition to Intime, there's the Princeton Triangle Club, which is one of the musical theater groups to be a part of in the nation. It's out of this world, and goes on tour during different parts of the year. You have to be phenomenal to get on stage, though, but there are other opportunities with it as well. It puts on a student-produced musical each year, which is an opportunity you won't find at a lot of other places. On top of those great organizations, you also have the Black Arts Company (which often has participation from others who aren't African-American; great, quality shows about cultural experiences too), Quipfire! (an improv group), PUP (the Princeton University Players, another great musical theater group), the Princeton Shakespeare Company, L'Atelier (a French theater workshop; I'd really like to do this one as well), and the Mime Company (small, but if that's your thing, I hear it's pretty cool).</p>
<p>So as you can see, the Princeton theater world is so diverse. While the academic theater program itself may be small, the EC one is stellar. One of the great things about Princeton theater is that so much of it is student-run, so you'll be gaining first-hand experience (and from your amazing peers, no less). I'm honestly so excited about joining the theater ranks at Princeton next year. A friend of mine was accepted into Yale and NYU-Tisch (she's going to Yale for theater studies), and while she'll be gaining an excellent theater education in the classroom and out, I know too that I'll be gaining an invaluable one through the multitude of shows and programs the various Princeton groups put on.</p>
<p>Sorry for going on and on, but this is one thing I really looked into when I applied to Princeton. You have some amazing options to choose from, and I wish you the best of luck in your decision.</p>
<p>But come to Princeton. You'll have four years of pure, absolute fun :)</p>
<p>No, thank you so much for going on and on! I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>I do want to study theatre in college, and I'm leaning more towards a place with a major, but I know how wonderful EC theatre can be... thanks for your imput!</p>
<p>Thank you, all! </p>
<p>And to any future posters - the more, the merrier!</p>
<p>I just found this thread! I am hoping my extreme passion for theatre will set me apart in the Princeton admissions cycle. I’ll find out in a couple of days if it did, but still I would plan to dedicate my life to Princeton EC theatre if I got in!</p>
<p>I was an English major who got a certificate in Creative Writing, but it was a toss-up for me to choose between Creative Writing and The Program in Theater and Dance (now Theater and Dance are separate certificates but back then they were combined). I wrote a novel for my senior thesis while also acting in six different plays and musicals between my junior and senior year. Two of those plays I also took to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland two summers in a row. In one of those plays I had a leading role which garnered a Festival award. I performed in Theatre Intime, Triangle, Princeton Summer Theater, and Princeton Abroad. All the productions I performed in were completely student run. Opportunities to participate in theater at Princeton abound, and the acting venues there are state of the art. If you get a certificate in Theater, for your senior thesis you could write, perform, and direct in a production of your creation. I don’t see how you could go wrong majoring in English with a certificate in Theater at Princeton.</p>
<p>You might have just sold me on Princeton. I just hope I’ll get in.</p>
<p>Best wishes for you, perry772. Not much longer now and you will know!</p>
<p>Perry, I’ve got a fully invested theater junkie who is waiting on the same decision you are. Fingers crossed that Princeton will have a couple new actors on deck by tomorrow night!</p>
<p>Everything crossed! I’m hoping my essays and personality can make up for any academic weaknesses I may have!</p>