<p>My daughter auditioned for some big-name BFA programs, but also applied to some very strong liberal arts schools. She's still waiting to hear from USC (got the mysterious invitation to the open house) and NYU (did their pre-college program last summer in the Meisner studio). She's been rejected from the other BFA programs she auditioned for. But she's been accepted at Middlebury, Kenyon, and Colorado College. She can pursue a BA in theater at any of these schools. Can anyone speak to the theater program (in particular, the acting training) at these schools? Any information you can give would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>I went to Middlebury and have kept up with the school to some extent; my daughter graduated from Kenyon with a BA in theater in 2007 (and has also kept up). Middlebury has a much more dense and intricate theater curriculum although, as far as I know, less of a tradition of producing working actors. (Amanda Plummer was in my graduating class…it happens!). They’re affiliated with Potomac Theater Project and have good connections. Kenyon is a smaller program with fewer course offerings but lots of opportunity for self-devised and individualized study once you’ve gone past the available classes. They are among the most nurturing (but challenging) faculty I’ve ever seen. Of my daughter’s theater classmates, I’d say about half are working in theater or in grad school, but in all kinds of areas, not strictly acting. Quite a few theater majors spent time abroad to get that pure training experience (or went to National Theater Institute or similar programs). Faculty are connected and not just with the scene in NY but also Chicago and points west. And of course they have a long tradition of graduating theater professionals.</p>
<p>Have you visited? They are wonderful schools, but fairly different in most ways (and Middlebury is bigger but to me has always felt more isolated). I’ve had a few acquaintances who loved Colorado College for their kids but all I really know is that they have that one-course-at-a-time curriculum. </p>
<p>My nephew graduated from Midd last year as an art history/Am Studies major so I have a recent sense of school culture. We visit Kenyon regularly–I was prowling around the theater buildings with my Otterbein son and my Kenyon alumna daughter literally two weeks ago! Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions about either school–I can do my best to answer. Congratulations to your daughter on having such wonderful options!</p>
<p>Times 3, thanks for all of the information. You’re in a unique position to compare Middlebury and Kenyon! We have visited all 3 schools, and actually saw a play when at Kenyon. It was a Senior Project production and although it was good, my daughter thought it was not great. My guess is that the quality of senior projects varies a bit and she shouldn’t judge the whole program by that one show. We saw the movie “Liberal Arts” right after our visit and it was fun seeing the places we had visited. </p>
<p>We weren’t able to time our visits to see shows at the other 2 schools. </p>
<p>Interesting that it sounds like Middlebury has the more dense, advanced curriculum, but Kenyon may produce more working actors. I wonder why that is? </p>
<p>We visited Middlebury in the summer – the campus was beautiful and the town was adorable. I do wonder what it’s like there after 3 or 4 months of snow, however. Does everyone go a little stir-crazy?</p>
<p>Thanks again for the input.</p>
<p>Isn’t 5boys’ S starting there in the fall for theatre? There may have been a theatre thread about Kenyon, have you looked? If you PM’d her she might give you her perspective.</p>
<p>Well, to answer your last question first: I was quite possibly the only student to attend Middlebury EVER who didn’t ski. So yep, I went a little stir-crazy (I found the long stretches of extreme cold to be somewhat depressing, although they’ve turned out to be great preparation for the winter we just had!). You get used to it. But most everyone skis. And that may just be the reason that Kenyon has what seemed to me (35 years later) a more vibrant theater scene…people weren’t on the slopes, they were in the theaters! (and practice rooms, and studios, and the huge wood-paneled study lounge on the top floor of Ascension). I don’t know about Middlebury these days, but at Kenyon the students went to each other’s plays, concerts, etc., like crazy–I’ve never seen anything like it–and there were numerous student-run theater groups in addition to the department mainstage shows and senior thesis plays.</p>
<p>Your daughter’s observation about the play you sawwas quite valid, I’m sure; I saw a lot of shows, both faculty-directed and student-produced, during my daughter’s 4 years at Kenyon, and they were all over the map in terms of quality. Well, nothing really awful, just some that weren’t great. One of the very best I saw was a senior thesis production of Antigone. Kenyon remains adamantly opposed to becoming an auditioned program; we dropped by the theater during fall break weekend a couple of years ago and ran into the department chair, running a rehearsal, and he came up, hugged my daughter (who’d graduated 5 years earlier) and got caught up in a long conversation about theater programs and how theirs was evolving. Film had been added into the program, but they were determined not to become a BFA auditioned program, and that kind of training is NOT its emphasis. My guess is that you’d find a similar philosophy at Middlebury and that it’s not a useful basis for choosing between the two schools; specific classes, maybe, and overall school culture (academic, social, etc.) would be something to assess as much as you can. The weather will be equally crummy both places, but the winter in that part of Ohio doesn’t last quite as long or get nearly as much snow. </p>
<p>It’s a tough choice, really! Seriously…does your daughter ski? </p>
<p>I can’t touch onMidd, as my older S applied but we never visited. But, my S’14 applied ED to Kenyon and will me matriculating after a gap year, so will be in the class of 2019. Kenyon just blew every other college out of the water in his eyes. My S attended Cherubs theater summer program at Northwestern this past summer, and he met a guy who from Kenyon who was doing an internship as a faculty assistant at the program. Before the summer program my S was pretty much dead set on a BFA, but after the program decided he might want to look at some BA programs, because he realized he likes writing and directing too. He still kept some of his auditioned programs on his list, and was going to go ahead and audition at some just to keep his options open. My S has a pretty heavy hitting resume… lots of theater programs admits with full scholarships, national awards, top medals from LAMDA, a few professional acting roles, etc. </p>
<p>Anyway, he started constructing his BA school list, and he had Kenyon, Vassar, Skidmore, USC, Oxy,Muhlenberg, Fordham, Conn C, Whitman, Brandeis, and a few more. After chatting with the guy from K at Cherubs, he really wanted to visit K. We went out in Oct.( we are from SoCal), and he sat in some theater classes, met faculty, went to some of the shows( which blew him away in talent), and I basically had to pull him out of there the next day. K puts on 25 shows a year which is A LOT for a school it’s size. They also have a ton of theater improve and comedy troupes. The final kicker was that my S absolutely LOVED the students there. So that was it, he applied ED and was admitted, the rest is history.</p>
<p>Hope this helps, but probably would be more helpful if my S was already there. </p>
<p>A word on Colorado College. My S and I just returned from a fantastic " New American Playwright" festival. There was a playwright that spoke that just blew everyone away. Funny, articulate, crazy talented, and basically had a huge crowd of college students lining up at the end to just say hi to him. At the end of the workshop, he announced that he was a theater and playwriting professor at Colorado College…WOW!! I just have a bad taste in mouth in regards to CC, they treated my older S horribly in the admissions process, and I lost all respect for them. But, I know it is a very good school, just not one you think about when you think about schools with good theater programs.</p>
<p>Thanks, 5boys, for your insights. It sounds like sitting in on classes and meeting students and professors in the Theater department really helped your son make up his mind. I wish my daughter could have done that, but we visited last spring on a Saturday admissions open house when classes weren’t in session. I know Kenyon is a special place and my daughter will enjoy it if she goes there. </p>
<p>I’m curious, what’s your son doing during his gap year? Does Kenyon offer the options of a gap year to all incoming students, or is it something he negotiated with them?</p>
<p>@mamarose… almost all colleges will let you defer a year. My older S also did a gap year and is now happy as a lark in his freshman year at St Lawrence. He would say it was the best decision he ever made. He hiked the entire Pacific Crest Trail, took a Wilderness EMT class( he is pre-med) and got a job at a national park as an EMT. My Kenyon DS has already wrote a letter to the admissions director and has so far had it temporarily approved, just has to send is an itinerary of his plans. I think you can do anything, just not enroll full time at another college or sit on the couch binging on HBO shows…LOL! He is going to do so me volunteering abroad, and is looking at a theater semester at LAMDA. He also wants to do some backpacking in Europe. He is young for his grade, so an extra year to mature is always a good thing. The evidence on the success of gap year kids in college is very powerful. That is why colleges really encourage and support it. I think there are a few colleges…Princeton and a few others that will actually pay you to take a gap year. </p>
<p>You will need to pay your enrollment deposit and then they will hold your place till the following year. You will have to reapply for FA, if so needed, but you have to every year anyway. My older S had merit scholarships awarded at acceptance and they also held that. </p>