I’m an incoming student who has been accepted to both the University of Virginia and Georgetown University. I have always been interested in pursuing theatre and I like that both of these schools offer a BA program (I’m not looking for a BFA, but am interested in theatre performance so would love as much performance training/opportunities/experience as possible!)
Since neither school is especially known for its theatre, I was hoping to gain some insight from anyone on here that can help, from the theatre programs at these schools, to the opportunities in surrounding areas, to anything else I can learn. I’m hoping to find out as much as possible!
I went to UVA and live in DC now during the week so I can weigh in on the communities as a whole. Charlottesville is a much smaller town, of course, and a little bit harder community to navigate without a car (there are buses) so outside opportunities may be limited. DC is much more accessible and larger so that expands your options a bit. That being said, on campus you will have plenty of opportunities at both schools and both have notable alumni (Tina Fey as a UVA drama grad, as an example). I don’t know specifically about the theatre departments at either school. Both schools are amazing but considerably different in terms of location and campus life so I would give more consideration to which environment feels like the best fit for you and examine the curriculum in both departments. Those two factors will hopefully help you decide. Good luck. I loved my time at UVA and I love living part-time in DC so you can’t go wrong.
If you study the drama department curricula on the two colleges’ websites, it appears that Georgetown has more substantial offerings. Both schools seem to focus a bit more on the study of theatre than on performance, as is common with many BAs. In order to find out about performance opportunities, I would strongly suggest contacting both departments and asking about this.
DC is a city with a lot of good theatre to attend. If you look at the "partnerships’ section of the Georgetown website, you will see that the Department of Performing Arts has a relationship with Arena Stage.
I actually ended up with choosing W&M, but thank you for the info!
Good luck, to you, sett81. I hope W&M works out well for you. It does have a performance-oriented curriculum, as I understand it.