<p>This is my first post here, but I've read this forum for quite some time already. </p>
<p>I'm a rising high school junior hoping to write musical theatre...
What are some good programs for prospective musical theatre composers? I've found a few threads in the Music section and most of them were geared towards composers writing classical stuff, which I'm also interested in but not what I want to focus in. I've written a few short shows and single songs here and there and I also do some production stuff for my friends' bands which I guess is related but not the same. </p>
<p>Any ideas? You guys usually seem pretty knowledgeable about this stuff.</p>
<p>A starting point is to look at a school with strong offerings in several arts. I'm thinkng of Ithaca College, which is strong in theater and music. Check their course catalogue and see what they offer.</p>
<p>Also be sure to look at NYU/Tisch for possibilities. </p>
<p>My S took a double major in Theater and Music, and when he had to do a senior project for the Theater major, he managed to get agreement that he write an original musical drama. Before that he'd had some helpful, relevant courses in the Music Dept, such as "Songwriting" as well as a course in arranging music on the computer. The two departmetns weren't accustomed to cooperating financially on productions, so he had to get new agreements from both camps. I can't say they have a musical theater writing program, but with great persistence he was able to write and stage a reading of an original musical theater piece for his senior project. I'd rather see you find a program where it's already put together better than that.</p>
<p>What if you start with all the MT programs and see if they also offer courses in playwriting. Then see how their music departments look, adn whether the coursework sounds at all relevant. </p>
<p>Maybe you can double-major in Theater and Music, or Dramatic Writng and Music, and put it together yourself, if you can't find an MT program with enough writing courses. A big place, such as Rutgers with a fine drama department, would also have music, naturally. See if any of their music courses sound like songwriting or composition courses that relate to your interest.</p>
<p>Also, write to SoozieVt because she knows everything about MT departments! She moderates the thread on MT.</p>
<p>Hmm...an interesting question. I'm personally more familiar with the classical composition programs and I don't seem to recall many undergraduate musical theatre writing programs off the top of my mind. In fact, I don't think many of the composers working today really did such a program; it's what I tell wannabe film composers too: get yourself a solid music composition background and you can write anything later. Don't worry about getting a film scoring degree now! (There aren't many places that offer that anyway.) </p>
<p>Consider all the big shots out there now: Jason Robert Brown went to Eastman and studied with the classical guys in composition, Adam Guettel went to Yale, Robert Lopez got a B.A. in English from Yale (the irony there...), Michael John LaChiusa never went to college period and he now teaches the graduate program in musical theatre writing at NYU, and then there is the now-hot and hip Duncan Sheik who went to Brown and studied semiotics for God's sake. </p>
<p>Basically, the point is, unlike performance, you can get away with not having a strict course of study in composing and songwriting. Of course, some solid classical training wouldn't hurt either. I would recommend looking at a school with a strong student-run theatre community so you can get involved and write stuff for people. If you can manage, also music-direct songs in high school and when you get to college, you'll be one of few people everyone always looks for to run a show. That sort of training is better than any structured program--in fact, some structured programs can stifle creativity faster than anything else in the world.</p>
<p>As WCU points out, many of the finest contemporary composers took various paths to their current success. I've not heard of an undergrad musical theatre writing degree per se. One of the finest, of the few, graduate programs is the one at Tisch for musical theatre writing, and, in addition to LaChiusa, another prof there is the wonderful Bill Finn, whose undergrad was spent at Williams in the study of music. Also there with John and Bill is the fabulously talented Rachel Sheinkin, who did her B.A. at Brown, and who has two M.F.A.s, one from Yale and one from NYU. They are just a few of what is probably the most talented faculty group in the business, and if that's not enough, here's a link to a list of their guest teachers. Pretty incredible stuff!</p>
<p><a href="http://gmtw.tisch.nyu.edu/object/gmtw_guests.html%5B/url%5D">http://gmtw.tisch.nyu.edu/object/gmtw_guests.html</a></p>
<p>I know a girl who will be one of their students come September, and her background is a BFA in Dramatic Writing from Tisch. Have a look around their site and if you have any questions, send the office an email at <a href="mailto:musical.theatre@nyu.edu">musical.theatre@nyu.edu</a>. I'm sure someone there will be happy to assist you.</p>
<p>Having said all that, many students who are primarily studying acting or musical theatre are also writers and/or composers. My D has written several plays, some of which are published, and has had some of them produced, starting with one when she was in high school. One summer while at Tisch, she toured the U.K. with one of her plays, put on with several actor friends. She doesn't write musicals but a couple of her friends have, and I believe, Susan's (soozievt) D has also.</p>
<p>Hey guys thanks for the responses. So the key is just to do it on one's own? Are there really no structure undergraduate programs? Anymore advice? </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Just to see what would happen, I went to the list of Musical Theater Schools right on this area of CC.</p>
<p>I clicked on Ithaca College, clicked on "Academics" and found (with a bit of effort) that their music department offers many degrees, including one called "Bachelor of Music with An Outside Department" so that's the B.M. degree but you could combine it with Drama as your "outside department."</p>
<p>Then I looked at Otterbein, but couldn't find much opportunity. </p>
<p>So I suggest you click on every one of those musical theater schools and look for anything that indicates a Combined major, and Interdisciplinary major,
or see if you can double major in Music and Theater, or possibly Music and Dramatic Writing. </p>
<p>Unless someone else knows of an actual program, that is.</p>
<p>Also, check over Tisch very carefully. I can't believe they don't hav some way to address this in a unified program.</p>
<p>My son will be starting the program at Ithaca this fall, majoring in piano with theatre as an outside field. The faculty is supportive of this collaboration and many music students have interest in musical theatre. There are also many schools where you can double major or do dual degree programs. These can be 5-year programs and sometimes require two auditions. Look at Indiana and Michigan and also look at the Music boards where dual degree has been a topic of much discussion. Feel free to PM me if you'd like more specifics about Ithaca's program.</p>