I just received my acceptance email into Viterbo University’s MT BFA and to say that I am thrilled would be an understatement. I was wondering if anyone had more up-to-date info on the school’s program, as all of the posts on here are outdated.
I am particularly interested in understanding the class size (as well as acceptance/yield totals), the emphasis on dance, and hearing opinions on no senior showcase.
I am choosing to post in this category instead of the VU category in the hopes that more people will read this.
Hi! I was admitted to Viterbo early- in Dec and went to the on campus audition. I cannot say anything but amazing things about them. They warmed us up, and let us have practice rooms. You could tell they want us to succeed. The dance audition was HARD so you know they train well (the students who led it knew what they were doing). The students seemed to be so happy, and the only bad thing they had to say was that it’s a small campus. The faculty is some of the nicest I’ve met, and I’ve now had almost 12 auditions. They made it very clear that you will not be a number- you will be an individual person and be treated as an artist. They are doing two musicals this year plus a couple plays so they have many opportunities for roles. They don’t do a traditional senior showcase, you are correct- they do more of a senior recital to really celebrate what they’ve learned and how far they’ve come. They focus a lot in the senior year on getting jobs and such so I think they felt they could do without the showcase. I’m not sure how many people they take- I think when I had my interview they said something like 10-12. I’m sure they admit more though so they can have 10-12 students. I like certain things about the way they do senior showcases and I don’t like other things. I like that it’s a celebration and not a stressful scary thing. I know they’d prepare me to get the jobs later even if I don’t have a showcase for agents so it doesn’t seem so bad. Plus there are always kids who don’t sign agents at senior showcases with big schools too so of course it might be teeny weeny bit of a lost opportunity, but I personally don’t feel I’d miss out on too much. I also feel like it’d challenge me to push harder to get onto the scene which is important. Wow I said a lot, haha. I also have a friend who is a design tech junior there right now and he loves it. The teacher student relationship is really valued there which is so great especially for theatre kids!!!
Hi guys! I’m a current MUTH/Arts Admin double major sophomore at Viterbo, and I’d be happy to answer some of your questions! I’ll come back with a more detailed post this weekend (I’m just popping on CC quickly before I head off to bed–I have to get some sleep before we open Mrs. Packard tomorrow night!), but I can answer one question right off the top: This year, we’re aiming for a freshman class of 14. I can also tell you that we have historically used a waitlist, so acceptance numbers year-over-year can vary based on how many people who are given initial offers decide to attend.
As far as dance, it’s levelled at Viterbo: all freshmen begin with Fundamentals of Dance (i.e. basic jazz/tap/ballet skills–you can test out, if you are a strong dancer, but even strong dancers have been known to be required to take the class. We have a freshman student who has been in ballet since she was quite young, but she was required to take Fundies in order to strengthen her tap and jazz skills) in their fall semester. Beginning spring semester, depending on the year (course rotations switch things off every so often), freshmen then move into their first level of Ballet or Tap (or both! I did both my freshman spring). Ballet and Tap both have three levels at Viterbo (and ballet moves progressively towards pointe work). Jazz has two levels (typically taken in succession–I took Jazz I in the fall and am now taking Jazz II), and is offered in alternating years. On the years where Jazz is not offered, we have MUTH Dance (musical theatre jazz, essentially–stylistically different than Jazz, but technically very similar, so students aren’t “missing out” by taking a semester “off” Jazz), which also has two levels. Modern is generally offered every other year, as well. We also offer Dance Rep (hands down my FAVOURITE class that I am taking this semester), where students put together a self-choreographed dance concert every other year. There are a couple more great nuances about our dance curriculum that I could go into further detail about later–like the fact that private tutors are available for every class, and that Broadway-style dance calls are built into some of our core curriculum as MUTH majors.
As to why we don’t showcase in New York City–there are a variety of reasons, but that’s a longer explanation than I have time for tonight! I’ll be sure to get back to you with lots more information this weekend–in the meantime, if you’d like to look at previous posts of mine through my profile, I talk about Viterbo quite a bit! @TNMTDAD can also help you out. His D is an MT freshman (and quite possibly the sweetest girl in existence) at Viterbo.
Hola. If you will read the 2019 background final decision thread, you will see my post. I talked a little about the lack of a senior showcase in NY at Viterbo. In the end, it wasn’t enough to keep up from choosing Viterbo. It is extremely rare to hear of someone getting signed with an agent because of a senior showcase. It has happened, but it is highly unlikely. More often than not, the showcase/New York trip is a wonderful trip to New York. In the end, it matters how trained you are, how much talent you bring to the table, how much you have put into your training, and whether or not you are willing to put yourself out there and audition for the jobs. Please feel free to pm me if you have specific questions. I can also put you in touch with my D. Viterbo could search high and low and never find a better representative than @CanadianMTgirl. So, she has plenty of insight, too. Best of luck.
Ok. So, I just went back and read the post in the final decision/background thread from 2019 that I was talking about. Turns out the information that I was talking about regarding showcase was a private pm to another user. But, most of what I said is in the above post.
Let me just say the my d is a junior in high school and last year she competed in the Classical Singer National competition. The students from Viterbo and the staff were amazing. They took time to talk to my daughter about Viterbo, The staff member that was a judge when my daughter performed gave her the best comments and review. I was real impressed by the time the students at the Viterbo table took to talk to my daughter in length about their program. My daughter will definitely audition for Viterbo next year. Sounds like a great program.
We were introduced to Viterbo through Classical Singer National competition too. Daniel Johnson-Wilmot gave a masterclass that my D participated in and he was wonderful. Of course, he’s in the music department not the theatre department, but we figured if the quality of the faculty was consistent across the board, then Viterbo would be a great place to be. And, it definitely is. Totally, totally impressed with all things Viterbo. It’s a great program.
Yes that was his name Daniel Johnson-Wilmot my d and I were also in that Masterclass. He was great and so were the students that came with him. My d looks forward to auditioning next year with them. Right now we are waiting to see if she got in Wagner’s Summer Musical Theatre Intensive another school we love.
@TNMTDAD, you say, " It is extremely rare to hear of someone getting signed with an agent because of a senior showcase. It has happened, but it is highly unlikely." I beg to differ…the seniors at my D’s school (and several others I know of) do indeed get signed with agents from showcase. All the time.
However, that being said, I don’t think showcase is a be all end all…nor is having an agent. I know kids who didn’t have a showcase who were immediately successful, and those with a showcase who weren’t. I know kids who got signed and have not booked anything, and kids without agents who book frequently. I personally think showcase is a great thing, but the lack of a showcase would certainly not have stopped my D from going to a school she loved. I agree with you when you say what matters is what you do in that audition room…not whether you have an agent or did a showcase. Agents make it easier to get appointments and not have to wait in line…but it is very possible to succeed without one.
If a student gets an agent right away from a senior showcase do they run the risk of signing with someone that may not be the right fit for them? I am asking because I have heard of cases where these young artists are so eager to get representation that they sign without really knowing what these agents will do for them and then they are stuck. Any thoughts?
^ I worried about that as well. My son interviewed the agents who were interested in him… he asked students who graduated from his program who were represented by the various agents. He signed with the agency who he felt a connection with. The contract is for a year. He is very happy with his choice.
Depends on the contract you sign with the agent and what the terms for getting out of it are. But it’s definitely better to have no agent than an agent who’s not working for you. Most agency contracts are for a period of a year, so that’s the longest you’d get “stuck” (if that is the contract term).
Good questions @bisouu. I have another one. Would an agent sign a student without an equity card? If so, why? He or she would not be able to send the student for an audition that is all equity. I know there are auditions that are for equity and non equity at the same time. I just figure if you are going with an agent, you should be ready to play with the big dogs, i.e. have your equity card. This is still such a long road after you get in a program.
Agents sign non-equity clients all the time. It’s a rare kid that comes out of college with their union card. And yes, non union folks can and do audition for union shows.
Lots of kids graduate EMC…but as others have said, very few graduate with their card (unless they had it going into college), and agents hire non-eq and EMC all the time. And as far as signing with the “wrong” agent, most kids from D’s school usually had more than one offer, and they interviewed the agencies before they decided. Some opted not to sign, others signed. Finally, most legitimate agents have termination clauses in the contract, so it is possible for EITHER party to get out of the contract if it’s not working for them. Just like finding a school, there is no single “right” answer to the agent question…a very individual decision.