<p>Any thoughts on the Theatre departments at these schools would be <em>much</em> appreciated!
Brandeis
Williams
Middlebury
Dartmouth
Pomona
Colgate
Connecticut College
Concordia
Pepperdine</p>
<p>Thank you so much!</p>
<p>~Happy Holidays~</p>
<p>Might want to add Bowdoin, Holy Cross, and Amherst. Know Holy Cross has a solid theatre department.</p>
<p>Pomona: </p>
<p>Emphasis on Asian theatre. Kabuki! (of course, they do western stuff too.)</p>
<p>They do a musical once every 3 years. </p>
<p>Great facility...</p>
<p>Profs are not stuck up.</p>
<p>Quite a few talented people involved in the dept., but not too many actually major in theatre. </p>
<p>Hope that helps..</p>
<p>Irene
Pomona '03</p>
<p>Pepperdine's theater facilities are gorgeous--445-seat theater with excellent sight lines, not a bad seat in the house--with excellent backstage and shop facilities. The Pepperdine campus is also gorgeous.</p>
<p>The only problem is...you have to attend Pepperdine.</p>
<p>Williams just spent $30 million on a new performing arts center. Theater is not their biggest (or best known) department but they are serious about funding it. There are many opportunities for performance as an extra-curricular whether you are a major or not. They have an affiliation with the National Theater Institute whereby students can spend a semester at the Eugene O'Neill theater in Connecticut studying with kids from 12 other colleges. Williamstown also has a well respected summer-stock theater program, but this is not directly related to the college.</p>
<p>Brandeis has one of the top graduate MFA Acting programs in the country and their undergraduate program is listed as one of the "Other Noteworthy Undergraduate Programs" in the now out of date ARCO Performing Arts Majors College Guide. Middlebury, Dartmouth and Connecticut are also listed as "Other Noteworth Undergraduate Programs." That is about all I know. The best way to tell is to go see a play at the college. If it is as good or better than professional shows you have seen it might be worth it. Another way is to find the professional performance credentials of the professors and instructors.</p>
<p>Add Davidson to your list; amazing theater facilities there.</p>
<p>collegeboundjen, it might be helpful if you told us exactly what you're looking for here. Extra-curricular opportunities? Major? Minor? You've received lots of good information so far from the previous posters but it will largely depend on what type of experience you're hoping for at college. You might also want to have a look at the Theatre thread in this forum as well. :)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone - I'm planning to double major in Int'l Relations & Theatre.</p>
<p>I can't imagine two more opposite schools than Pepperdine and Brandeis. :)</p>
<p>I don't think Davidson has an actual major in I'ntl Relations, but it has an Interdisciplinary option, and I think something akin to I'ntl Relations is a common Interdisciplinary major. There is a large study abroad program.
The Royal Shakespeare Company will be in residence at Davidson for 2 weeks/year for the next ?4-5 years - a great opportunity if you are interested in theatre and liberal arts, and a testimony to how good their new facilities are.</p>
<p>Drew University has a good political science department and the theater department is affiliated with the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival. It's in Madison, NJ about 45 min. by train from NYC. The train station is a 10 minute walk from campus.</p>
<p>TheDad-what's not so great about Pepperdine?. I enjoy your comments. A vocalist we know visited and her mom is very excited about Pepperdine. Not sure what the girl thinks-she is a Jr. who is considering a vocal major but wants the opportunity to act.</p>
<p>I ran into a parent who had toured many northeastern liberal arts schools and she thought Middlebury had the top theatre program.</p>
<p>Don't overlook Bard in the Northeast -- It's new Frank Gehry designed facility is really remarkable and inspiring --</p>
<p>Lamom, Pepperdine's administration is extremely paternalistic--no drinking, no social dancing--and the school will never win any diversity awards. It's very culturally conservative with a definite religious bent and lots of parents send their kids to be safe from Them, whoever They are, and all the horrible influences the kids might be exposed to in the city.</p>
<p>Have to echo TheDad's comments about Pepperdine here. A close friend's daughter went there a few years ago and transferred out after one year because of the things TheDad mentioned. She did not like the closed-mindedness of the staff or students and felt like it was something out of the movie Footloose. They really didn't do their homework when researching schools, and realized that very quickly. </p>
<p>Also wanted to add that facilities are only ONE thing to look at when considering theatre programs, and arguably, one of the least important.</p>
<p>If you like both International Relations and Theatre...I also suggest you look at Tufts as it is good in both these areas and in the ballpark academically with other schools on your list.</p>
<p>Also,
Sarah Lawrence
Skidmore
Vassar</p>
<p>Could someone comment on the Theater Dept at Occidental College.</p>
<p>For those that know, could you also comment on theater programs at the UC's.</p>