HannahKailey

Today I got my acceptance letter from Muhlenberg. I was obviously really excited, but I still have some unanswered questions about the program. I was also admitted to NYU Tisch with a $25,000 a year scholarship (MLK Scholar) and William and Mary with a full scholarship (James Madison Scholar). I sat in on a class a few months ago, but I was wondering how Muhlenberg compared with these two other options. What are the advantages and disadvantages? Are there many opportunities for performance and more in depth study? Any advice would be extremely appreciated.

CalMTMom

Wow HannahKailey you have some amazing options for next year. I believe one of the advantages of Muhlenberg is that it is a BA and you can study outside of theater department if you have strong academic interests outside of your major. Of you can double major.
I know that Muhlenberg is famous for its summer musical theater opportunities as well as being a strong academic school with good theater, music and dance opportunities.

HannahKailey

Thanks for the advice. I think I want to go back and look at the college more.

HSN

My D got her acceptance letter yesterday. There were many things my D and I were impressed by at Muhlenberg, but she's not sure about the program. She has received some rejections from BFA programs but still has to hear from many others, as well as two other BA non-audition schools. She has a two week break coming up and I was wondering which would be more productive---to attend accepted student day on April 10 or to try and see "American Tragedy" on March 28. She can't do both. I/she are leaning towards seeing the production as a way of judging the program, but I also think she would get a better feel for the school at accepted student day. When we visited last spring it was during an all day torrential rain so not sure we got a good feel for the place. Any suggestions would be appreciated and/or if anyone knows anything about this upcoming production. Thanks!

stagemom23

HSN...my D was accepted as well and we planned on going the 28th to see the show and attend a visit. There is a campus tour that morning at 10 am (you need to contact them by phone to sign up) so you could easily do the tour and then see the show. I really think it's important to see a show and get a feel for the type of productions they put out. My D loved the dance department at Muhlenberg and the students and profs seem nice but was not sold on the voice training. She was bothered by the lack of diversity and demographics of the area as well...she's more an urban kinda girl! Also the large number of students in the theater department made her wonder how much individual attention you get.
D will be attending a by audition only BA theater program that has it's own MT concentration with a very small (max 18) freshman class. She did have BFA options but in the end decided the BA was what she wanted. Muhlenberg was on the top of her list for a long time!
Congrats to your daughter.... getting in to Muhlenberg is quite the academic accomplishment!
good luck!

bwaybank123

Congrats everyone! I too got my acceptance letter yesterday. And I basically have the similar concerns. Being that this is a non-audition BA Theatre program, how qualified is the training? I saw a dance show, Master Choreographers, at Muhlenberg recently and it was VERY enjoyable. Some very talented dancers, along with some so-so dancers. But how is the theatre training, acting and singing? I'm just a little concerned that Muhlenberg wont properly set me up for a career in performing since it is non-audition and the abundance of students in the program. Any insight??

vksmom

My D got her acceptance letter today. We have similar concerns. The audition was great. Mr. Richter spent a lot of time with us and got to know our D (very different from most of the other auditions). The campus and facilities are beautiful. From what I hear the MT training is excellent as well as the academics. I understand the shows are outstanding. But what we are concerned with is the number of theater majors. If students can simply declare theater as their major, how many are there? It seems that there must be a lot more than a school that admits 20 MT and 20 acting students per year. Or do they “cap” the number of performance majors? Assuming there are a lot of majors, do students have any trouble getting into dance/acting/voice classes? Are there enough shows to keep all of those majors busy in a given season? I know that there are blackbox and student directed productions in addition to main stage. But in total they seem to have the same number of shows per season as schools that admit 40 theater students per year. Also, does anyone know what their casting process/policies are like?

HSN

Does anyone have any idea how many students are in the theatre department as performers?

anothermom-w-q

I would contact Mr. Richter to ask how many theatre majors there are, I don't know. My D has had no trouble getting the classes she wanted. The only problem she has had getting into classes have been when there was a time conflict for classes she wanted.

There are numerous opportunities to perform, both in mainstage productions, and blackboxes and what are called third tier shows. There is also a newish film studies department and there are opportunities to appear in student films.
Before my D started I had similar concerns, as many times there are as many as 200 students auditioning for a show- as any student on campus can audition, and do- but since freshman year she has been called back for roles, and has appeared in both mainstage shows as well as blackbox student run shows, and directed a third tier production in her sophomore year.

I don't know specifics about the casting process- except that any student can audition. The only limit I know about casting is that when you are taking directing you cannot be in certain shows, as the directing class is considered a huge time commitment.

There are also opportunities to do shows at Allentown Civic Theatre (which is currently doing Rent) and some other smaller venues. One of my D's friends has been doing shows at Cedar Crest College too, as it is an all woman's college and needs lots of males to help out.

If you get a chance, come to campus this week to see An American Tragedy. It is a dark show, but should answer some of your questions about the quality of the program.

I just wanted to add that my D will graduate from Muhlenberg in a few months, and she plans to move back to California and look for work here. It will take some work on her part to make connections again here, as now her roots are on the east coast. But I have no doubt the training she has gotten will help her tremendously. I feel as though Muhlenberg was a great fit for her personally. She has been challenged, and given wonderful opportunities.

karenmommy

I read these posts and not sure if I should post something right here - but if my son is also interested in studying liberal arts, namely astrophysics and international relations or politics would he better off at a school like Cornell (it has theater but not musical theater) with many fields of study and allowances to double major - or Muhlenberg, as I know from reading this blog... what other schools?
he is interested in musical theater performance more than just acting however; he is also a rising senior with a high SAT score of 2150 and about 3.25 GPA right now.