Theqtre at Vassar (and other LAC)

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
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<p>My daughter is both a very devoted actress (strong summer programs, many good roles in plays) and a good student ( 3.9+ unweighted with 10 AP courses, 1430 SAT, in spite of heavy rehearsal schedule) All other things being equal (which they are not) she would love a full time conservatory and imagines an MFA someday but (as many others here) wants a theatre(acting) BA from a top notch liberal arts college with small exciting classes. She wants theoretical but also a certain amount of practical acting classes. Being involved in productions (in whatever capacity, even props wrangler) would be desired as a means to learning) I'm fishing for comments, about various colleges but especially regarding Vassar (at the end.) I should mention that financial aid would need to be generous... </p>

<p>With her stats Brown seems possible but still a reach (she applied) . </p>

<p>Fordham has a location and program which can't be beat (also very selective so who knows). The dorms and classrooms seemed harsh to her, food options limited, core a bit heavy. But the pluses are strong,she applied, and will audition.</p>

<p>She'd prefer the Northeast but was ecstatic reading about Oberlin regarding food, politics, academics and theatre.</p>

<p>Skidmore and Muhlenberg have huge and well regarded acting programs (is huge a minus?) and more than respectable academics although not as top notch as others mentioned. It seems likely to have one or both as safety possibilities perhaps along with Drew and/or Connecticut College.</p>

<p>Vassar and Wesleyan seem more like each other than any of the rest...</p>

<p>This brings me to my main question: Vassar. It gets high praise on this forum but I have not seen specifics about theatre for the aspiring actor. She did a summer program housed there (Powerhouse) and thrived. She picked that program because , 1) it seemed great, 2) she wanted to throw herself into the mix with college drama majors and non-stop theatre and see how she felt and 3) Vassar has been her dream school since she was 12. Having now lived on the campus for 6 weeks and had classes with several of the people who teach acting there during the year (but not anybody similar from any of the other colleges) the campus and instruction seem somewhat less exciting than the unknown other (yes we need to do visits, but she was doing theatre all summer and still is). </p>

<p>Please answer, if you wish, any questions hinted at above along with anything else (you care to mention). Here are some very specific ones about Vassar:</p>

<p>1) There is a whole black box set aside for student initiated productions. Are these mostly senior projects (with students at various levels cast?) Are any faculty looking in and giving notes/guidance? </p>

<p>2) There is mention of possible independent studies (perhaps as a Jr/Sr ) for subjects such as voice for the actor which are not covered in regular courses. Does this actually happen much?</p>

<p>3) There are (like most places) required introductory courses. And that is fine, you circle back to the same material and appreciate/integrate it in a new way, continue to grow. And people need a common frame of reference. But is it so? I know that classes are small, are they flexible enough to stretch someone who has had a certain amount of experience already?</p>

<p>4) Is there a community of students (maybe with faculty) that strongly identifies with theatre? That has a feeling of a company /gets each others obsessions?</p>

<p>Of course one can't have it all, and it is in large part what you make of it. Just trying to scope it all out.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>dramadad… I have a S who sounds eerily similar to your D. He originally was all over the BFA/conservatory, but recently changed his mind and wants a small LAC, with an also smaller type theater program, where he would have a chance to get his hands on all parts of the theater world… esp directing. He threw out all of his BFA schools, kept USC’s BA, but the rest are all small LAC’s. He spent the summer at Northwestern at their intensive theater program, and this also helped him come to his decision. He recently visited Kenyon and loved everything about it. He spent the day and night, going to classes, and talking to everyone in the theater that he could. He also has Vassar, Conn. College, Oberlin, Occidental, and a few others on his list. He originally had an audition scheduled at Fordham, but took it off because he didn’t think he would like the LC campus, and he thinks he will wait on the big city lights till graduate school.</p>

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<p>My D is loving Northwestern. If your D is applying to Brown, she should consider Northwestern as well. THeir financial aid is mostly in the form of grants. I can’t answer about Vassar. Actually, my D was rejected outright from Vassar. College admissions are very unpredictable!</p>

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<p>Dont know much about Vasaar’s acting other than Anne Hathaway went there, she certainly had her pick of colleges, and whether she grew profressionally at Vasaar or not, who knows, but she certainly is a great actress who is well trained. the other issue I see with your daughter is maybe Vassaar is not right for her. If she spent 6 weeks there and liked it less going out than coming in, that says something even if was the best acting program in the world.</p>

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<p>I should add I’m not sure Muhlenberg would challenge your daughter enough academically. Good school, no doubt about it, but I would make it more of safety than a top pick. She would be challenged more, I am assuming, at Vasaar, Brown, or northwestern academically.</p>

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<p>Another parent here on CC has a theory about Vassar that I sort of buy in to. I wish I could find the post, but I’ll try to paraphrase:</p>

<p>If you don’t apply ED to Vassar, it could be a very difficult April admit. Academically inclined actresses who were deferred in the early rounds at other schools, will swamp Vassar (and Yale) with applications in the RD round. </p>

<p>This parent suggested looking off the beaten path and leveraging your theater talent to gain admittance to other top schools that are not necessarily known for theater, but perhaps developing theatre programs and seeking theatre students; for example Stanford or Princeton, both of which have made recent substantial investments in their arts programs. </p>

<p>[Student</a> Voice - Lewis Center for the Arts](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/arts/arts_at_princeton/theater/students/voice/angels/]Student”>Princeton University Arts Events - Lewis Center for the Arts)</p>

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<p>ctl987, I just want to point out that Anne Hathaway did not study acting at Vassar - she majored in English with a minor in women’s studies. </p>

<p>She transferred to NYU Gallatin shortly afterward.</p>

<p>Meryl Streep, however, did complete a BA acting degree at Vassar.</p>

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<p>Also Dramaramadad, I found out recently that Columbia university does have an acting major (taken at Barnard College). I spoke to an alumnus of the program at a college fair and it did sound interesting - despite it being in the early stages of development.</p>

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<p>I think Barnard’s theatre department has been around a long time.</p>

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<p>arwarw, sorry I phrased that wrong before. I meant development not as in how many years the program has been around for (which you are correct about) but that it has recently become more recognised and has improved dramatically (at least that is my impression.) Despite this, it is obviously not as well regarded as NYU Tisch, for example (that is what I meant by ‘early stages of development’).</p>

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<p>No worries dBPMw99u. </p>

<p>I just visited both Barnard and NYU with my daughter last month, and I don’t think Barnard’s program will ever be comparable to NYU; nor will NYU ever be comparable to Barnard. Just two completely different colleges and programs in so many ways.</p>

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<p>Ok that was a bad example!</p>

<p>I seem to compare everything to NYU as it’s my first choice and I admit I’m a little obsessed ;)</p>

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<p>aah, thanks db. I assumed Hathaway studied theatre at Vasaar…</p>

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<p>Hathaway not only didn’t study acting at Vassar, she was well established before she went to any college. She was already in roles at the Paper Mill Playhouse while still in high school and was on Fox TV at 16 and at 18 was cast in a Disney movie. For actresses like her, I feel it’s not really beneficial to figure out where they went to college and use it as a model for most of us. But for studying acting, she learned at The Barrow Group in NYC, so if we take away anything for her, it would be conservatory style learning. But were not on ‘college’ confidential for nothing!</p>

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<p>thanks. I did know she had an impressive resume from a training perspective.</p>

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<p>Carefully read the course offerings on the websites of the schools you’re considering. As I recall, Vassar is less geared toward practical acting classes, and more toward the theoretical. But if she were to end up there, she would be one of many students with previous experience in theatre. In addition to those (like Anne Hathaway) who’ve already worked professionally, Vassar attracts the offspring of some of the biggest names in showbiz.</p>

<p>Also, it is true that for a theater girl, Vassar is a real reach in the RD round. (They only need/want so many girls whose primary thing is theater, and they are applying in high numbers, from all over the country and beyond!) Her stats are nice, but pretty commonplace at Vassar. If it is her first choice, and unless she has some amazing hook that you haven’t yet revealed, she needs to go ED. Their financial aid is excellent.</p>

<p>Muhlenberg is a great safety with theater classes meeting her needs, and she would get merit aid there. SKidmore is good course-wise as well, but can also be a tricky admit for theater girls, although I think fairly safe with her stats. Both have large departments, and I wonder if opportunities to act would be limited with so many theater majors on board. I would check that out carefully.</p>

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<p>From looking at the Vassar theatre curriculum, it seems to be one of the more performance-oriented of the BAs. Theatre performance at Vassar has a long and distinguished history.</p>