<p>Is there anybody that can talk a little about their experience with the MT concentration at UCLA? I am very interested in knowing what some of the recent graduates have been up to. I would also like to know more about where the program is now, as opposed to most of the info on CC, which may be a little bit dated. Anybody with ANY info and ANYTHING to say about UCLA would be a BIG help! Thanks so much!!</p>
<p>-EJ :-)</p>
<p>My D is in the UCLA Theater department, concentrating in musical theater. She will be a sophomore this year and loves it. As you probably know, UCLA’s program is a BA in theater and far more academic than most programs in its approach. Indeed, I believe they have at least double the gen ed requirements of most programs which is part of the appeal to my high academics daughter. The theater department is in the acclaimed UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. During the freshman year, all the students (e.g., directing, playwriting, acting, etc.) have a common curriculum called the “Freshman Experience.” In addition, musical theater students take dance throughout the year. I’m a bit fuzzy on all the particulars of the program, but it is unique to UCLA and, by the end of the year, my daughter absolutely loved it and said “it all came together” for her as an artist. </p>
<p>Freshmen are not allowed to audition for the main stage musical or any of the fall theater productions. Freshmen may audition for winter and spring term productions otherwise. Sophomore year is when the program becomes more like a BFA program layered on top of a BA program. Indeed, when my D auditioned for UCLA in Chicago, the professor there said that the MT major was probably the hardest major next to engineering to complete at the school. It’s intense!</p>
<p>The program is obviously acting focused which is what my D wanted. Having said that, the voice and dance instruction is top notch. (Indeed, as others have said, the dance audition for UCLA was one of the hardest of all the schools the year my D auditioned.) Musical Theater students can audition for all the plays, and there are over a dozen. (They are doing Angels in America, Parts I and II in the winter term, for example.) The main stage musical this year is A Chorus Line in the spring term, but there are numerous student-produced musicals throughout the year. For example, one freshman produced and directed William Finn’s Elegies: A Song Cycle at the end of the year. Actiii, a student group, produced Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party a year ago, and Andrew Lippa attended.</p>
<p>As for other celebrities, you are in LA, after all! Last year, my daughter attended master classes in the theater department with Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine, and Alfred Molina, to name a few. (There’s a video on the UCLA site of the James Lapine class. There are at most 50 students there sitting about 10 feet away from him! These aren’t large, auditorium events.)</p>
<p>All of this is off the top of my head. Please let me know if you have any specific questions. I’ll be happy to ask my D. Good luck!</p>
<p>Can you describe your daughter’s audition process please?</p>
<p>I hope this post is timely. I rarely check this site anymore. </p>
<p>My D auditioned in Chicago at Unifieds for UCLA. My husband actually accompanied her, so all my info is third hand. I do know that the dance audition was one of the most rigorous she had and that the audition for UCLA took pretty much all day. Two monologues were required, including a “classical” one. She also sang two 32 bar cuts from contrasting songs. I’m not sure that there is any magic to the process. I do know my husband was glad he grabbed her a sandwich late morning since she barely had time to eat between the dance audition and the monologue/singing auditions. The head of the theater department, the assistant dean, and the head of the musical theater voice department were auditors at the Chicago audition. It’s a fabulous program and my daughter is incredibly happy. Good luck!</p>