College Discussion - View Single Post - Matt's Guide to Musical Theatre Schools: CMU Edition

MattSingsAlot · 03-14-2006, 12:13 PM

CMU’s musical theatre training is received through the acting department. The acting department at CMU is the finest undergraduate training available, so CMU is known as the “acting” school of the Musical Theatre Programs. Equally as selective as CCM, CMU is also a very intensive program, as the MT students share the same curriculum as the acting majors, and on top of that receive training in dance and voice. At the end of senior year, CMU students perform showcases in both New York and Los Angeles, receiving exposure to both the Theatre industry, as well as Television and Film. Considered a double-major, there is no time for non-department electives. Graduates of the program include Patrick Wilson, Emily Skinner, Billy Porter, Megan Hilty, Telly Leung, in addition to those that left the school to work and never graduated (Sutton Foster, Tyler Hanes, etc).

Like CCM, CMU is not for everyone. It is a very rigorous and sometimes heart-breaking program, but going through that heart-break and dealing with the stress you will encounter will keep you from avoiding surprises in the business. A disadvantage is that the voice teachers are through the musical theatre department, and are “musical theatre” singers, therefore sometimes students of the program are not satisfied with the vocal training they receive.

03-14-2006, 12:13 PM	#1
MattSingsAlot Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 58	Matt's Guide to Musical Theatre Schools: CMU Edition CMU’s musical theatre training is received through the acting department. The acting department at CMU is the finest undergraduate training available, so CMU is known as the “acting” school of the Musical Theatre Programs. Equally as selective as CCM, CMU is also a very intensive program, as the MT students share the same curriculum as the acting majors, and on top of that receive training in dance and voice. At the end of senior year, CMU students perform showcases in both New York and Los Angeles, receiving exposure to both the Theatre industry, as well as Television and Film. Considered a double-major, there is no time for non-department electives. Graduates of the program include Patrick Wilson, Emily Skinner, Billy Porter, Megan Hilty, Telly Leung, in addition to those that left the school to work and never graduated (Sutton Foster, Tyler Hanes, etc). Like CCM, CMU is not for everyone. It is a very rigorous and sometimes heart-breaking program, but going through that heart-break and dealing with the stress you will encounter will keep you from avoiding surprises in the business. A disadvantage is that the voice teachers are through the musical theatre department, and are “musical theatre” singers, therefore sometimes students of the program are not satisfied with the vocal training they receive.