<p>I'm a rising senior and I've begun to look at colleges and majoring in theater is a definite possibility. However, I also value academics highly, I'm an A- student with a 1900 on SATs and a lot of academic thirst. When viewing conservatory-like BFA programs I feel like they don't value academics that much, and I could lose a chance at a great liberal arts education. Essentially, I'd love to major in theater (possibly performance), but I don't want to abandon my successful academic life. I'm currently looking at some BA programs like UMASS Amherst and Bard college but I don't know if those programs could really lead me to a life in professional theater. What suggestions does anyone have or any schools that could support both sides of me?</p>
<p>I have a few friends who will be attending UMass in the fall for theatre. I myself toured the facilities and spoke to professors and while I determined UMass was not for me (I wanted a BFA conservatory-like program) I was very impressed with it. They have a very good academic reputation along with many great oppertunities such as being able to take advantage of classes/resources at schools such as Amherst and Mount Holyoke. Also the price tag of UMass is rather good compared to other colleges especially if you are a Massachusetts resident. </p>
<p>I do not know much about Bard except that is it a strong school academically and for theatre. A friend of mine weighed Bard against a selective BFA school very closely and although they chose the BFA school Bard was high on their list.</p>
<p>Another school you should look at is Northwestern, their theatre program is wonderful and they have a strong academic reputation. </p>
<p>“I don’t know if those programs could really lead me to a life in professional theater.”</p>
<p>No school makes someone a professional actor. They simply give you the tools to make yourself a professional actor. Actors become actors in different ways. Some people become actors by attending a conservatory and some become actors by a liberal arts approach. It depends on you. You seem to be a very intellectually curious person and your path to a career in professional theatre may be best achieved at a BA theatre program where you have the oppertunity to take classes in many other diciplines.</p>
<p>Thanks so much, it’s really helpful to get some positive feedback about BA programs that some feel are useless. </p>
<p>Sent from my DROIDX using CC App</p>
<p>Some schools will allow you double major with a BFA (very few, actually. I can only think of one. Northwestern? can’t remember.), but it’s difficult. Go for a school with a strong BA in theater that allows you to double major–and most of those programs do allow for that. </p>
<p>Tisch has an excellent BA that focuses on an academic, liberal arts education 2 days of the week and then acting for the other 3 days. Double majoring there, however, is tough (though doable), and you can only pick a major within the College of Arts and Science.</p>
<p>Just in case you decide to make acting less of a priority–for example, you want to minor in it or don’t major/minor in it at all–then make sure you choose schools with great extracurricular theater and lots of performance opportunities.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat as you. Take a look at my thread “selective schools that will allow me to double major?” because a lot of great people posted advice that I think might apply you. what I did was that I decided since I wanted both a good liberal arts education and a theater education, I’d go for a BA school (preferably a school that only has the BA) and double major.</p>
<p>butterflies,
Your post above has a mix up. </p>
<p>Northwestern is a BA.</p>
<p>NYU/Tisch is a BFA.</p>
<p>You wrote the opposite. Just pointing it out to those reading in case they are unaware.</p>
<p>whoops! thanks for the correction. 
still trying to wrap my head around all this info myself.</p>
<p>rpraderio: You’re asking really important questions, and it’s great that you have a strong idea of what you want. It is a perfectly good plan to balance the theatre work with strong liberal arts, and there are tons of great schools where you can do that.</p>
<p>I do think this discussion is a lot like the one butterflies is suggesting you join. I’ll see you over on that thread!</p>
<p>Also, please be careful of saying things like “programs that seem useless.” You are right that some schools have weak theatre departments, but thinking of this particular degree as more or less “useful” implies that there is some kind of benchmark that promises anything from it in the long run. Weaker programs just mean that they don’t have what you want - enough classes in certain areas, faculty with certain kinds of experience - and that is different for everyone. But people’s futures in theatre really aren’t reliably dependent on their undergrad program, per se. It’s about the individual, about luck, and about a million other factors. So if I were you I’d pick another word that implies a bit more of the wonderful serendipity of this area of study.</p>
<p>EmmyBet, I never meant to demean any of these programs, there just seems to be a strong belief that BFA is the only path to success, which i now know is not true. Thanks for the feedback :)</p>
<p>That’s very nice of you, rpraderio, and well put! I wasn’t trying to accuse of demeaning anyone or anything. I was just worried, as you say, that you thought you had to find some “right” answer to this question. I’m glad that you’re learning - as most of us do here - that there are many great ways to an exciting and rewarding experience. Finding what is right for you is challenging, but there are so many options that I’m sure you’ll do just fine. Welcome!</p>
<p>I’d also like to raise a question about being in a BA program at a school that offers BFA as well. Some have said this is a bad idea because the BA students get put as second priority. Is this true?</p>
<p>There’s no one answer to that question - but it’s a very, very important one to ask at schools where this is the case. Also if there is an MFA Acting program. They all do things differently. The only one we’re really familiar with is UMinn. They have a BA and a BFA. It’s a huge school, and the BFA is run through a very different program. So there literally are two departments, and the BA students have a very rich and independent experience. There also is collaboration - the BFA play we saw had 2 BA students in it, for example. </p>
<p>But there can be friction, of course. Look for policies that prevent problems like a “second-class” feeling in casting, etc. There is a persistent sense that with an MFA present, undergrads would be slighted; we explored this at Brandeis, and they are trying to prevent this, systemically, with productions solely for undergrads, etc. </p>
<p>When there’s only one degree, there naturally isn’t this problem. But that doesn’t mean that if there are two or more degree programs it’s “definitely” an issue. You do have to ask - and ask students as well as staff people - about what specifically happens there.</p>
<p>USC has a BA, BFA, and MFA. The MFAs are completely, entirely separate from the undergrads–no overlap at all as far as I know.</p>
<p>The BFAs have special BFA-only shows, and BFAs are required to be cast in at least one show sophomore through senior years, I believe. There are also BA-only shows, and shows that are open to both BAs and BFAs, and then the spring musical is open to everyone at USC. I guess there was some friction last year because they made one of the BFA-only shows open to both programs and the BFAs didn’t like that, but I don’t really know what the whole story was with that.</p>
<p>In terms of students’ attitudes, there is an “us vs. them” mentality among some members of both groups. I’ve definitely gotten the impression of being looked down upon because I’m a BA, as if they’re better than me because they got into the BFA (for the record, I didn’t audition, I knew it wasn’t the right program for what I wanted to do). However, most the BFAs I know are not at ALL like that and are totally normal, awesome people (or at least, as normal as theatre people can be!). Some of the BAs also seem to have a chip on their shoulder about not being BFAs, but again, most BAs are totally normal and awesome too. Since the BFA program is much smaller than the BA program (fewer than 30 compared to around 120 I think?), the BFAs are obviously a tight-knit group, but that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily exclusive. I have some friends in the BFA program who are quite lovely people. :D</p>
<p>My impression is that the undergrad program is a higher priority for the School of Theatre as a whole than the grad program is. </p>
<p>I will say there does seem to be some nepotism in casting for some of the student-run theatre, and that does tend to skew towards BFAs over BAs. It’s not even that so much–my impression is that casting at USC is like casting in Hollywood and the rest of the acting world–if the director/casting director has seen you and liked you in something else, it’s more likely you’ll be cast for that part over a complete unknown. So the same people tend to get more parts, while people who haven’t been in anything yet are still trying to get their “break.” Maybe it’s that or that the people who get cast over and over are legitimately more talented than those that don’t, but there are so many talented people at USC that I don’t think the latter option is the case. </p>
<p>Sorry if this was overly analytical of USC’s program. I’m not trying to insult anyone at USC or entice people to come here or drive them away from choosing USC, I’m just trying to present the facts as objectively as I can.</p>
<p>Thanks very helpful starting in Fall as a Sophmore tranfer in BA Theater, getting a little anxious</p>
<p>My D chose a BA (at American) over other BFA programs (to which she was also accepted), in part, because she wanted to double major. She also likes that the BA program is a little more “customizable” - meaning that it has a smaller number of required courses allowing for more electives. She has found plenty of performing opportunities and internships. She’s interning at a summer stock theatre this summer with plenty of actors with BFA and BA degrees.</p>
<p>Our daughter just finished her second year in the Northwestern Theater program. Northwestern is an excellent choice for students who desire a complete liberal arts college experience. Their program is a BA that allows for a double major. Being a Cherub is of no importance in being admitted to Northwestern. Our daughter choose Northwestern over Stanford and other schools because of the strong combination of theater and academics in the BA program.</p>
<p>sacdad1-may I respectfully disagree with you about the Cherubs program? For the past several years, 20+ students from the summer Cherubs program have matriculated as freshmen at NU. Is it a necessity to be admitted to NU? Absolutely not. But to say that it is of “no importance,” implying that it is not taken into consideration, is not accurate.</p>
<p>Have you looked into Chapman University in Calif.? They have both BA and BFA in theatre.
[Chapman</a> University - CoPA - Department of Theatre](<a href=“Department of Theatre | COPA | Chapman University”>Department of Theatre | COPA | Chapman University)
[Chapman</a> University - CoPA - Theatre - Academic Programs](<a href=“Department of Theatre | COPA | Chapman University”>Department of Theatre | COPA | Chapman University)</p>
<p>OP, in some ways you and my d are similar, in others different. Similar in that you both have a passion for theatre and a strong drive to also feed your academic soul. Different in that she felt the much stronger pull toward theatre, rather than the difficult “which path do I choose” for you. However…her list of schools (and she’s an MT kid, so I really cannot comment on drama programs!) included ones that will allow her to be a part of the academic honor colleges (in fact, one of her important questions were whether theatre and honors “play together nicely.”) She had a few interviews along the way where an auditioner asked her, “With an ACT score of XX, why on earth do you want to do musical theatre? Do something easy – like med school!” But what resonated with her (and this is the school she chose) was when she met with a department head who told her that a smart actor is a better-prepared actor. </p>
<p>I don’t envy your decision process as you work to decide which path is right for you (and keep in mind that nothing is set in stone forever – I studied classical music at a conservatory…and now teach special education). A couple nice advantages, with strong academic stats, should you choose theatre, you don’t have to sweat the academic admissions process as much (although college in general seems to be getting more competitive for admissions), and it can unlock some academic merit scholarship dollars. For my kid, the ability to graduate into an astoundingly insecure field as a performer, the thought of not having crushing student loan debt makes the idea much more palatable…and the strong academics through the honors college will keep her brain fed as well.</p>
<p>We found there was a spectrum she had to understand as she formed her list:</p>
<p>BFA in a conservatory setting, with little or no liberal arts
BFA in a college/university setting, with minimal all the way to extensive liberal arts
BA with a significant liberal arts component</p>
<p>D (also similar to mommafrog’s D, although not pursuing MT) quickly eliminated the first option, and she was drawn to BFAs that had at least solid, and preferably the most liberal arts possible (short of a double major). Her list ended up with about 50-50 BFAs and BAs, and it was during the decisions period that she finally knew just how important the balance was to her. The key was having those options available, which meant making sure she had applied to schools of all kinds. The BFA was important enough to her that she made sure she had some schools that offered a better chance of acceptance, including a BFA that was non-auditioned.</p>
<p>I liked that expression, about the theatre and honors programs “playing well together.” D was particularly impressed with how the Honors College at Adelphi is structured - as a specific program, with specific courses that appealed to goal of being an “educated actor.” Having just returned from Orientation and registration, she is pleased that the two programs do seem to mesh quite well, and both departments are thrilled to see students combine them.</p>