<p>Hi, designerjunkie, </p>
<p>I'm a senior MT at UArts and will just elaborate on what BroadwayWannabe said.</p>
<p>1) If you're looking for an unbiased answer to this question, you came to the wrong place! I love my program, I think it offers incredibly unique things. Other programs may have things more stable and set, whereas most of our teachers are working professionals and may come and go. I like our system because we take risks with teachers and with courses, adding and changing things. This keeps it fresh and this helps us as students find out what we work best with and what we need to change for ourselves to work best with other people. The musical theater program, in my opinion, is training that I am always excited to get and I love going to class. Maybe that's just me being a geek, though.</p>
<p>2) Just to elaborate on what BroadwayWannabe said, we audition for each semester of shows the semester beforehand. So, basically, the shows for the fall are cast before summer break and the spring shows are cast right before winter break. At the beginning of the year, there are replacement auditions for roles in shows in which students who have decided not to return to school were cast. There is also a new practice where the student-written shows are directed in the fall and auditions for student-directed scenes are held. These replacement auditions serve for all of these things. Freshmen are welcome but not required to audition for replacement auditions. </p>
<p>3) The dance thing really depends on who you are and the dance program is as strong as you make it. Is it the most important thing at our school? No. Is it important? Yes. Has everybody who has come into this school grown as a dancer? Yes. I am not a dancer in the slightest, and I don't intend on going to many dance calls because I don't think that that's how I'm going to get cast best to market myself. However, I have grown immensely and could definitely hold my own at an audition or dance callback if I had to. </p>
<p>4) The voice teachers are phenomenal. We currently have four in the MT Voice department: Dr. Patricia (Patty) Raine, Dr. Neal Tracy, Mary Ellen Grant-Kennedy and Therese (Terry) Greenland. Each is amazing and individual and has a lot to offer. Some are more classically based and some are a lot more focused on belting, but every one of them can do every one of those things with you. In junior year, you start a class called Song Styles where you do separate units on those different styles of jazz, pop, rock, etc. Senior year, you have a cabaret and are also required to have songs in each of those styles for an audition book.</p>
<p>5) We are technically a Meisner-based school. Sophomore year is when you do your intense Meisner training for your acting studio. Each teacher before and after sophomore year has his or her own approach. You'll probably get some Uta Hagen and Stanislavski thrown in there, perhaps some Boleslavsky and maybe maybe MAYBE some Adler or Strasberg. Essentially, everything is supposed to stem from Meisner.</p>
<p>6) No matter what, you'll definitely be well-connected throughout Philadelphia, since most of the people who work at our school are the people who are music directing or accompanying or whatever at our school. I would say I probably know about 9 or 10 accompanists in the Philly area, which pretty much covers every accompanist or music director I'm going to find if I go to an audition. When you get into NYC, it's a little bit different. Some of your teachers are going to know more people than others, but every one of them knows someone and every one of your teachers is someone you can benefit from knowing. Senior year you focus a lot on making connections with people.</p>
<p>7) UArts has done senior showcases before. As of right now, it is not the typical practice to do that. Though we may break typical practice and try to do one this year. We do put on a senior cabaret every year in the first semester that anybody is welcome to come see, we just don't invite casting directors or agents to come see it.</p>
<p>8) We don't usually have workshops with people from Broadway. We will occasionally have a master class with somebody who has come into town for a Philly Pops concert. Sutton Foster came five years ago, Debbie Gravitte came two years ago and Lisa Howard came last year (through the vocal department). There is a series called "Broad Topic" in which the headliners of the tours come and talk to the whole School of Theater Arts about their experiences. It's sort of like "Inside the Actors' Studio" though clearly not as intense. We've had Tom Bosley, George Wendt, Michael Learned, Valerie Harper, Harold Gould and several other people whose names are currently escaping me... Senior year you have several mock auditions as well as real auditions for Philly area casting directors and agencies. Several UArts seniors have gotten signed in the Philly area from these, which can only look better on your resume in New York.</p>
<p>9) Clearly, UArts wants you to focus on your education. You're not allowed to audition outside of the school until second semester of your junior year and you must ask permission. If you don't comply with the rules, you can be asked to leave the school. Obviously, this doesn't mean not to do Summer Stock or anything you want with your summer. My opinion is this: I say audition all that you want for anything that you want, but do it as an experience and not necessarily as a plan to get it. The experience is great and will certainly prepare you for anything in the future. I would, however, not do auditions in the Philly area without permission, because you're likely to see a million people you know there.</p>
<p>10) Some MT Majors know a lot of music theory and some come in with none. You are required to take two years of it at UArts. If you know a lot, some teachers might let you only come one day a week or advance a year. If you don't know a lot, we have several tutors in the Peer Tutoring Department who would be delighted to help. And, as I plug one of my jobs, that is a free service for any class in which you feel you are struggling.</p>
<p>11) This is a question I'm not sure I know how to answer. First of all, the department is rather new. Second of all, there are plenty of people performing and working steadily in the Philadelphia area, in regional theaters around the country, on cruise ships, etc. You can't get pulled into the trap that having one job means you're safe. You need to always be looking for the next job. Some alumni have failed to realize that, or life has gotten in the way. Many have not. Many alumni are doing great and wonderful things, and if you would like their names and what they're up to, I'd be happy to share that with you in a Private Message.</p>
<p>I am going to supplement all of this by agreeing with soozie and BWayWannabe: keep trying. It's hard adjusting to college and you may be right about everything, but you may want to stick it out for a little bit. I know it took me over three months to realize that I wasn't at summer camp really, so at least give it a semester to see how it works for you. As actors, we so want to act on impulse, but some decisions are large and need to be thought through.</p>
<p>Hope this helps with your thought process! Like I said, you're not getting an unbiased viewpoint here! ;)</p>