MrsDrz

I would love to hear updates on how all the students are feeling about their BFA/BA programs after all that time and effort we all spent on helping them make the perfect college selection!

My D is at Ball State, BFA Musical Theatre and Honors College, and says she is having the time of her life and is 100% sure she made the right decision to attend. She loves the professors and curriculum and mostly, "the passion every performer has for his/her craft." She said she has never experienced anything like this and ironically, she attended a performing arts high school!

Hope your students' comments are equally as favorable.

MrsDrz

any parent updates yet?

glassharmonica

I guess these acting and MT students are too busy to update their parents!

halflokum

I've heard a lot actually but it feels like I could give a more meaningful answer and provide some specifics to the theatre/MT experience if I wait longer to reply. Also some students, especially those in schools on the quarter system just got to school in the last week or so.

I'd suggest bumping this thread maybe in January after the students have been home over winter break?

Gwen Fairfax

I will report--D is an AT at Hartt and just loves it. Has a lot of friends who are MTs, and the ATs and MTs have acting and some singing class together the first year. It's very intense--freshmen don't perform but have crew assignments and D was assigned to stage manage a mainstage show--rehearsals began the first day of school and take 25 hours/week. They do 10 fully staged shows a year, and 8 sophomore workshop shows. Each class goes through as an ensemble.

The freshman AT class is 12 (8 boys), MT is 24. It's said they are planning for a smaller MT class next year. But even so this makes for a family atmosphere. There's been real challenge, in class, in readings, in just fitting everything into the day--but there's been such friendliness and welcome and a sense of working hard together that it's less stressful than it might be. She feels the teachers, and the directors of the shows (some are professors, some are guests) are wonderful and that she's learning so much.

It's a very suburban setting--West Hartford makes a perfect college town, but the center is 3 miles away and the bus only runs Fri-Sun. And it would be nicer if the (gorgeous, brand-new) Performing Arts building was on the main campus, instead of a five minute shuttle ride away. The academics, few as they are, are limp. But for a kid who wanted to dive deep into theater, it's heaven.

MTTwinsinCA

I can't speak too much about the classes or training, since I think it's too early for me to evaluate that without a long chat with my boys -- but I'll share some initial observations:

Both my boys are happy. The freshman classes are both filled with friendly, talented kids and they've all bonded. It's very cute to hear about all this via calls, texts, facebook posts.

S1 at Pace is loving the program. He says the talent level is very high. He likens it to "playing in the majors" i.e., all the kids were the leads in their high school shows and they all have great community theatre credits (and some even have professional credits.) He loves all his new friends and the upperclassmen have gone out of their way to welcome the new students. He enjoys working with Ryan Scott Oliver and is excited that Adam Guettel is the new artist-in-residence at Pace. Of course, being in Manhattan is the icing on the cupcake!

S2 at Rider also loves his program. Each week they have a master class with an expert. Already they've had Laura Osnes; the dance captain and another cast member from 'Newsies,' as well as a few top casting directors. He loves that. Also loves all his new friends and again, the upperclassmen have been very welcoming. In various groups, the freshmen have gone into NYC via the train to see shows and to visit the Broadway flea market in Shubert Alley. S2 especially enjoys working with his private voice teacher who also works with established performers in NYC, and with the dance professor Robin Lewis.

I don't check in here as much as I used to, but skimming the boards the past couple days puts me right back at this time last year, so to all the parents out there starting the process, try to enjoy it! Stay organized and keep your sense of humor. The right school is out there for your kids.

DramaMamaZ

My S is at Wagner College, Staten Island, NY as a Theater Performance (BA MT) major and is in their Honors program. He's a ferry ride from Manhattan, and has already been navigating his way into and around the city. He loves his classes and has found the faculty to be engaging and very helpful. The school produces 4 Mainstage musicals, 4 Stage One plays, and two different student run Theater groups also exist on campus, providing another 8 production opportunities. Freshman don't perform in Theater Dept Mainstage shows in their first semester since those shows were cast the previous spring. My S has been cast in a student run production of [title of show], so he's thrilled to be back in "show mode". He'll also be working front of house for the next Mainstage musical. All Theater Performance majors must work 4 productions (tech, crew, design, house mgmt) before graduation, so many try to knock those assignments out in their first two years. Freshman must audition for the Spring shows, so he's excited for that opportunity. The best part for us is he's less than an hour from home, so we can see the shows on campus, or can meet him in Manhattan. We just saw the first Mainstage show of the school year, Sondheim's PUTTING IT TOGETHER, and the director was able to get approval from Stephen Sondheim for changes he wished to make for this production. The Maestro would be proud...the talent was tremendous! We're excited to see him in [title of show] in 2 weeks, and looking forward to the next 4 years of Wagner College Theater. After the first few weeks of settling in at school, he feels confident he's made the right choice and is where he belongs. We do, too...it's a huge relief after the stress of the college admission/audition process.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using CC

Nccpdad

Florida State:

S1 (BM MT) and S2 (BFA MT) are thrilled with their first 8 weeks and are fully immersed. Their class of 9 MTs is already a family and the upperclassman, are also very welcoming and supportive. Freshman are permitted to audition for FSU productions and both S1 and S2 have been cast in mainstage and student directed shows. Lots of long days with classes at 9 am and rehearsals ending late into the evening, but they would not have it any other way. We will be excited to see them perform in a a few weeks. They have an excellent balance of dance, voice and acting training. The faculty is very gifted, available, and supportive . Although they are a long way from NY, FSU brings in alum and Broadway performing veterans to work with the students and one is choreographing one of the shows. After a very taxing audition and application process last year, it is of great comfort to me as a parent that they are in the perfect place for them.

lovemyfamily

Thank you to everyone who has posted updates! As a mom to a senior who will be auditioning soon, it is nice to know there is light at the end of the tunnel

monkey13

Nccpdad, I would love to hear about differences your Ss have found between the BM and BFA programs at FSU. My D is applying for the BM....her audition is in February. She is very excited!

alwaysamom

I agree with halflokum. One of you might want to bookmark this thread and revisit it in January. Initial impressions of a program or campus, while interesting, aren't as reflective, or useful, as they will be after a semester there. It will also have the possibility of providing contacts for this year's applicants when they're at the point of looking for more information on the schools on their list. A current student who has been through at least one semester can be very helpful.

Gwen Fairfax

Of course more will be known in January, but I hope people will keep posting along the way-- maybe some upperclassmen or parents of, who can post here, and I've learned a lot from these posts already. Wish we'd had a resource like this last year. (Though the freshman year experience thread helped a lot...hmmmm, I'm going to see if I can bump it.)

glassharmonica

I agree with Gwen Fairfax. Initial impressions (and this is 2 months into the semester for many) are useful in a different way than reflections made halfway through or at the end of the year. The narrative arc provides a record. I'm interested in reading these impressions and I hope that poster will not be discouraged by well-meaning admonishments to hold back.

alwaysamom

With all due respect, where did I admonish anyone to hold back? It's perfectly fine to share experiences and first impressions, but I can assure you that the information to be shared in January or June will be more useful and informative. I wasn't admonishing anyone to wait until January to post anything but rather to be sure to share what they know by that time. Most students have only been at school for less than a month and a half. We often see initial reports here and then no continued reports in any degree of detail that would actually be helpful to this year's applicants. My comment was in the hopes that that would not be the case this year.

halflokum

^^^I think they may have meant me.

My daughter is on the other side of the country in a +3 time zone and I won’t actually lay eyes on her until December. Although I’ve heard from her and she has shared initial observations I don’t feel close to being able to tie up my impressions of NYU’s MT program with a bow yet. For example if she says: “The classes are incredible”, what exactly does that mean? I’d like the luxury of time to ask her in what way she finds classes different from the kind of training that she had before college and for more details about the experience of working with her talented classmates. I feel like if I could share something more concrete, it would be more helpful to anyone considering NYU. Otherwise I’d just be saying she likes it. But my daughter liking it doesn’t mean someone else considering the program would like it.

Over a chat, Skype or phone call, we never get to this sort of detail because there is always something else that needs to be covered like “it’s getting cold and I don’t think my coat is warm enough” followed shortly by: “I’ve got to get back to my homework now”. Over break I’ll have the luxury of extended conversations specific to the program. Then I promise to write the most helpful post I can come up with because I do think NYU is fantastic and it is the sort of experience where one should truly understand what they are getting into. The MT program is big and NYU is NYC. The boundaries of where the campus ends and the city takes over don’t exist and it is a lot to take in.