| University of Arizona Class of 2008 I have taught Acting and Musical Theatre at the University of Arizona for ten years. We have 12 Musical theatre seniors in the class of 2008 who will graduate in May. No one in their class was ever “cut” from the program. We selected 12 high school seniors in the spring of 2004 to attend our program and all 12 will graduate.
We have also not made any cuts in the present sophomore class. The discussion about cuts from our program on this website originated with the current Junior class. We did make several cuts in that class based on acting skills, grades and vocal improvement. This was a rare to dismiss more than one or two students from one class. If you are interested in auditioning for our program I hope you will look at our program beyond the remarks made on this website.
We have a Showcase each year where we invite agents and casting directors from New York and Los Angeles to come to our campus and give feedback to our graduating seniors. We had our Showcase on January 19, 2008 and the following is one casting directors remarks about our program:
“You have a group of really talented students and I'm excited to see where their careers lead them in entertainment. The U of A program is very impressive compared to a lot of other BFA programs I've seen. You seem to have a well-rounded program of study, and I was especially happy to see that your students have the opportunity to learn about "real world"
situations like auditioning, finding representation and how to handle
their money. It’s amazing to me that every program doesn't offer those
services to their students. Your graduates have an advantage over other
people entering the film/tv/theater world.”
The most prestigious casting company in New York sent a representative and she also said our program was equal to any other program. She invited our students to submit to any audition they cast and they would be given consideration because they attended the University of Arizona.
Many of our students were asked to sign with agents the day of the Showcase and others were offered auditions for agencies when they move to New York.
We are a professional training program and our students plan to make Musical Theatre their career. We ask them to come to the University of Arizona and begin their career's the first day of the freshman year. It is a difficult program. You are in a production every semester and have demanding schedule of classes. If you want to work hard and share your passion with a group of your peers and faculty that love Musical Theatre then you should look into our program. |