<p>Does anyone know anything about UA's MT program? It is not listed on the master list above the threads, but I do believe I heard it is audition only. Any information or commentaries welcome!
Thanks!</p>
<p>First, as I see you are fairly new to the forum (welcome!), I want to point out that the list of MT schools that you see at the top of this forum page is NOT a "master list" of MT schools. Rather, it is just a list of existing sub forums that were set up to sort out and organize existing threads on programs that are discussed on this forum. It is not a list of all the MT programs. We do have a link stickied at the top of the threads on this forum that links you to the FAQ and within that link, there is a list of ALL MT PROGRAMS that is called "The Big List". Here is that list:
<a href="http://www.geocities.com/musicaltheatercolleges/biglist.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.geocities.com/musicaltheatercolleges/biglist.html</a></p>
<p>I am not that familiar with U of Alabama's program but I did research it a bit for a client who was looking for more programs in the South and here are some things from my notes....</p>
<p>University of Alabama offers a BA in MT Track and a BA in Theater and it is BY AUDITION. </p>
<p>Some general facts about the university and its admissions: located in Birmingham, AL, 11,500 undergrads, urban, 88% accepted, pretty architecture, lots of school pride, athletics are huge on campus (particularly football), big Greek Life, Avg. GPA for admitted students is 3.3, 23% from top 10% of HS class, 49% from top 25%, 77% from top 50%, mid ACT 20-26, no SAT range available. </p>
<p>Theater Department has a BA with a MT Track which is by audition (voice, acting, dance)... has an Honors Program in Theater (which would make the academics more challenging).... MT Track involves a theater Core and vocal coaching, dance and musicianship, and requires 6 semesters of private voice and 7 semesters of dance... puts on 2 musicals per year (recent ones have been Side Show, Assassins, Chorus Line)..... in summers students can get professional experience in summer theater in Gulf Shores.... has semi-annual juries.... has NY Showcase. </p>
<p>The BA in Theater has a pre-professional track in Performance. </p>
<p>If you want a MT by audition program, but a BA rather than a BFA and in the South, explore this one. Generally speaking, BA by audition schools (which are still chancy by virtue of the audition) are not as hard to get into as BFA by audition schools and can balance out a list of schools for someone who is considering BFA programs...OR if someone is not really wanting a BFA and prefers a BA option, this is a good BA option and then the audition at least gives the program some selectivity in terms of artistic talent.</p>
<p>The U of A is in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, not in Birmingham, and it has over 25,000 students. University of Alabama in Bham is where the med school program is. Their greek system is big, and they are a major SEC school, so yes, athletics are big too. Big they have great academics, law school, etc. Their academic/scholarship requirements are tougher than other programs D applied to- they require AP testing, even with 30+ on ACT, their scholarship standards were stricter, etc., so don't discount their academics. </p>
<p>Bama does have a Musical Theatre track (I believe this is its 5th year?), and we were quite impressed with it. We have seen two performances this year- and they will be doing I believe 7 performances next year, including TMM. They have just recently adjusted their MFA program which has been connected to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. I understand they will be doing more of the MFA on the main campus. They do have a senior showcase, and have had some very successful graduates. The MT program includes voice and dance, and Alabama has amazing programs in both. Their music performance/vocal perf program is incredible and Bama is home to the Alabama Dance Repertory Theatre and Dance! Alabama. Cornelious Carter, who is head of the dance program, is known nationally and internationally. Bama also offers something called New College, where you can design your own program of study. This is similar to the program at Indiana.</p>
<p>I want to apologize for two errors I stated in my post. </p>
<p>When I researched U of Alabama early last fall, I began by getting the basic facts through my online subscription to US News and World Report's America's Best Colleges. I just went back to that source and I see that they had three links for U of Alabama and at that time, I had accidentally chosen the link for U of Alabama's Birmingham campus to gather the basic facts. Therefore, I came up with Birmingham and approx. 11,500 undergraduates on that campus. However, I did research the theater programs directly with U of Alabama's site. I apologize for the wrong city and undergraduate population!</p>
<p>However, I do want to mention that I was citing UNDERGRADUATE population which is the figure that many who are exploring colleges tend to look at and not the TOTAL population with all the graduate and professional schools at a college. So, in that vein, had I been looking at the right campus, I would have stated the following: 19,474 undergraduates. The total enrollment for all students is 23,878. This is from U of Alabama's Factbook. I know for my own college and for my kids' college search, we looked at the size of the undergraduate student body. </p>
<p>Thank you so much mesmom for pointing out the errors and also for sharing additional information you have on this school and theater program!</p>
<p>
[quote]
a list of ALL MT PROGRAMS that is called "The Big List". Here is that list:Colleges</a> For Musical Theater Major Discussion FAQ
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I thought Indiana was very selective for musical theater but it doesn't show up like that on "The Big List"?</p>
<p>MidwestMon2Kids -- The Big List is kept up on a volunteer basis. Indiana most likely does not show up as "highly selective" because it is such a new BFA program that there is not a track record yet.</p>
<p>Most BFA musical theatre programs would be considered highly selective -- 2% - 10% admit rates. :)</p>
<p>If anyone has any questions feel free to PM or preferably email me! I'll be a sophomore in the MT track in the fall, and have had an amazing experience in the program.</p>
<p>It's a very small program. In my class there are 4 boys and 5 girls I'm pretty sure. I think there are only about 32 in the whole MT track, but that's just an estimation. It's great to have such a small group because we get to have lots of bonding time to get to know everyone and get a ton of personal attention. It's a great community with a great education. We take all the dance and voice classes with all the dance and voice majors, so it's all really well-rounded. </p>
<p>Next season includes:</p>
<p>Moon Over Buffalo- Sept. 23-28
Dance Alabama Fall Concert- Sept. 30-Oct 3
Lippa's Wild Party- Oct 21-26
The Heiress- Nov 4-9
ARDT Fall Concert- Nov 11-14
Reckless- Nov 18-23
Medea- Feb 10-15
ARDT Spring Concert- Feb 17-20
Henry V- Feb 24-Mar 1
Dance Alabama Spring Concert- Mar 31-April 3
Transit of Venus- April 14-19
Thoroughly Modern Millie- April 21-26</p>
<p>We also have monthly cabaret-like performances called Guerrilla Theatre, run by the Theatre Honors Society Alpha Psi Omega (Gamma Gamma Cast), where students can sign up to performa anything they want. Usually poetry, monologues, scenes, songs etc. people are working on in class. The majority of students in the dept are in APO and it's an awesome way to meet people and have an awesome time. </p>
<p>That's all I can think of now, but feel free to contact me if you have any questions! You can search YouTube to see some performances of our students. If you search "Alabama Musical Theatre," the account MTGuy8989 has a bunch of videos saved under favorites of UA students performing.</p>
<p>In case anyone is interested in the fall auditions for the musical theatre track, the dates should be posted soon. It's usually early November.
Here's the rest of the audition information. </p>
<p>The</a> University of Alabama Department of Theatre & Dance</p>
<p>Auditions for the Musical Theatre track have been announced for November 22nd. Check out the website for more details.</p>
<p>Also, Lippa's Wild Party is October 21st-26th and is going to be awesome!</p>
<p>Auditions for the Musical Theatre track will also be held January 24th if anyone is interested! See The</a> University of Alabama Department of Theatre & Dance for more details. Roll Tide!</p>
<p>Audition dates for the Musical Theatre Track will be Saturday November 14, 2009 and an additional date in the spring to be announced. </p>
<p>Our 2009-2010 season includes:</p>
<p>Tales of the Lost Formicans (Sept 21-27)
The Time of Your Life (Spet 29-Oct 4)
Dance Alabam! Fall Concert (Oct 13-16)
Hair (October 26- November 1)
Picasso at the Lapin Agile (November 10-15)
ARDT Fall Dance Concert (November 17-20)</p>
<p>The Winter’s Tale (February 9-14)
Dance Alabama! Spring Concert (February 16-19)
Saint Joan (February 23-28)
ARDT Spring Dance Concert (March 29- April 2)
The Violet Hour (April 13-18)
Candide (April 20-25)</p>
<p>The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for our professional summer company show in Gulf Shores Alabama for the summer of 2010. </p>
<p>Check the webpage for more details. We have a really awesome season this year!! Our program is rapidly growing and involves a ton of amazing opportunities with great training. </p>
<p>Over the summer a lot of our students got professional work all over that they got from SETC including two interns at Flatrock Playhouse in NC and Horn in the West in Boone NC among others. We also had 6 students participate in Circle in the Square’s summer musical theatre workshop in NYC. </p>
<p>Definitely consider our program if you are looking for somewhere in the South!</p>
<p>Duaghter attended a summer program sponsored by American Ballet Theatre a few years ago at University of Alabama. Just wanted to note that the studios and classrooms were beautiful, dorms and student center were impressive. Can’t comment on the theatre program, but she was impressed by the campus (and in July, I discovered that my car’s external temperature thermometer was able to read 112 degrees!)</p>
<p>Just a note. The relationship with the Alabama Shakespeare festival has been canceled. This has little to no effect on the MT program. The man who runs this program is a very decent, talented, and hardworking man who does his best everyday for his students.</p>
<p>This is true. It has zero affect on the musical theatre program. The ties with Alabama Shakespeare Festival was almost completely with our grad programs, mainly the management grads, and has been severed. There are rumors of it picking back up sometime in the future, but I think they’re just rumors at this point. It doesn’t really affect us undergrads.</p>
<p>Bruce, any information on the talent scholarship amounts given? Just curious…D auditioned in Jan. and was crunching some numbers from other schools…trying to do “what if” scenarios. Do you know Ashley W.? She and I did Little Shop of Horrors together at Theatre Memphis a few years back.</p>
<p>Yes, I know Ashley! Incredibly talented. </p>
<p>They have a hand full of talent-based scholarships and usually have quite a few for freshmen, but they are usually limited to $500 a semester. Might cover books. </p>
<p>If you are in Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, or Mississippi (I think that’s all of them), and you have a certain GPA and SAT score, you can qualify for Academic Common Market which would provide in state tuition. I qualified for that and it’s a great deal.</p>
<p>Alabama’s program does look interesting. How does the Summertide Theatre program work? Are auditions open to all students, only older students? Where do the students stay?</p>
<p>This looked like a really good opportunity.</p>
<p>Daughter just got a call from Mr. Crystal…she has been accepted into the program…she was not home when I took the call…so I called her on her cell…she was between rehearsals for Guys and Dolls (playing Adelaide) and enroute to a local theatre where she is playing Abigail Williams in The Crucible.</p>
<p>She was sooo excited, and Mr. Crystal did say she would qualify for the Academic Common Market…so, we will now wait to get an official letter, and begin that process.</p>
<p>Hi Luv2croon! I was just received the same phone call from Mr. Crystal as well! Congratulations to your daughter. I am beyond excited! Was she at the November or January auditions? I was at the November date.</p>
<p>Congratulations on the acceptances! </p>
<p>Summertide is open to all students, and freshmen are often cast. It is usually a cast of 8 and they live in a condo in Gulf Shores. They perform for a month (this year it’s "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) while also teaching a summer theatre camp which they are paid for. It’s a great opportunity!</p>