LynneIA

Hi Everyone,
My Niece was rejected from NYU Cap 21 Musical Theatre department and I know she will be heartbroken. She attended their summer program and applied early decision. Her training mostly was in dance and the last couple of years she fell in love with musical theatre and has been taking voice and acting lessons. She is an accomplished dancer and the family and others had suggested she go to NY
(she is audition ready for dance) and study with one of the studios while she auditions but she insisted she wanted to go to college. Does anyone know if CAP21 has programs for non-NYU students other than master classes? We are trying to get some information to give her when she gets home and reads the letter. Any advice? Thanks

MTgrlsmom

LynneIA - did she only apply to NYU? If so, and if she has her heart set on being in NYC, but also going to college, she could check out Pace University as it is the only other college in New York right now that also offers a BFA in musical theatre. Pace may not have the strongest dance program in a BFA setting, but they do encourage their students to take as many dance classes outside of school as possible, and they were very supportive. It seems that your niece is quite an accomplished dancer, who is looking to combine training in general with liberal arts classes. My D was very impressed by the overall philosophy of the program and the head of the MT department seems really knowledgeable. It could be worthwile at least setting up an appointment with. Best of luck and I am so sorry that she did not get the news she was hoping for.

PS - My D seems to remember that CAP21 was working on getting their own independent conservatory program in place, but I just checked their website and it only refers to workshops.

KatMT

LynneIA -- If she is looking to go to school in or near NYC she may also want to look at Montclair State in NJ and Marymount Manhattan. Both these schools have threads at the top of the MT board.

Mackie45

how many ppl got in from the summer program? because i have a friend who was in it as well and he was rejected.

NotMamaRose

I think that students oftentimes believe that having participated in a summer, precollege program gives them an admissions advantage, and that doesn't always work out to be the case, unfortunately! That's why students should choose their summer programs based on what is offered/where they want to be for the summer/what program is best for helping them build skills, rather than with an admissions advantage in mind. In any case, Mackie45, I am sorry for your friend. A rejection is disappointing, no matter what, and maybe even more so if a kid falls in love with a program during the summer.

gem

Mackie45~my S went to the CAP21 pre-college program and was accepted ED. Being from CA, we felt that it was a great opportunitiy to see if studying in NY was really what he wanted....granted it was in summer but we have visited when it has been super cold there as well. He knows of at least 3 other people (girls) who attended the program with him and were admitted ED.

Mackie45

I know that a summer program doesn't guarantee admission to the school. Definitely not. I was just curious how many people actually do get in from the summer program. And how much is it an advantage/disadvantage.
My friend is feeling a little better.
Good luck to everyone else. See you guys in the fall.

MTgrlsmom

I am not sure about the actual numbers (in fact we were curious and asked Tisch admissions directly, but have not heard yet), but here is some information. It appears that quite a few very talented kids from the summer program did not make it in (this according to my D who keeps in touch through Facebook); about 14 (out of I think 36) of her summer program friends were accepted into Tisch. It will be interesting to see what studio everyone was placed into as well. I don't know how many of those accepted are actually on Facebook, but the NYU Tisch 2012 drama group now has about 40 members, and I would say about 50% has not attended the summer program. I don't know there truly is an advantage or disadvantage to attending a school's summer program, other than that you have a chance to find out if you like a school or not, and to learn more about what the talent is out there. At the same time, you still may or may not be what the school is looking for come audition time.

At any rate, the above numbers seem fairly consistent with what Tisch says during the info session that only about 1 out of 3 qualified applicants ultimately will get admitted, which may seem like a lot, but remember that you have to take into consideration that this only alludes to the "qualified applicants" and what that means is really up to NYU's discretion as there are probably many, many more applicants with questionable GPA's, average test scores, etc.

I am glad your friend is feeling better, like NMR says, a rejection is always tough. I do believe though that when one door closes, another opens. Please wish him good luck !

Mackie45

Thank you!!

lita444153

I did the summer program also and I agree, a lot of the summer kids were rejected. However a lot of kids did not apply ED. So its still 50/50. Haven't talked to some about studio assignments, but i got into Atlantic

ager08

Hey, I am SO glad that I found this thread...
I just got placed in Playwrights' Horizons, and I am a little worried. My interviewer and I talked about ETW and Atlantic primarily, and we did talk about PHTS, but I told her that it really wasn't something that I'm interested in.
I trust the judgement of the Tisch people, and I will be absolutely happy to go to PHTS, but I am not really a dancer, a director, stage manager, designer, writer.....I am an ACTOR. It sounds like PHTS is where MT kids who don't get into CAP end up, so I'm worried that it won't be the right place for me, and I'm also worried that is not acting focused as much as general theatre focused. I would love to hear what anyone who has experience with or knowledge of this program has to say about this.
Thanks!

PS I did not do the summer program. I didn't even DO theatre this summer....I did NYU's precollege program and took regular CAS classes for credit. However, I did do the New York Film Academy acting for film program the summer before that.

soozievt

Tisch does a good job matching students up with appropriately fitting studios. Playwrights is an excellent studio that many love. You certainly will study acting there. I think the other courses will enhance your work as an actor. The students there are not all students who wanted CAP but didn't get it. There are some students in most studios who were interested initially in CAP. But this is not the case of the entire studio group.

In any case, it is very common at Tisch for students to stay in their studio for two years and then do a different studio or advanced studio their second two years. That is one of the beauties of Tisch....an opportunity to explore different training programs. So, while I know kids who have gone, for example, from CAP21 to Playwrights for their last two years, I also know kids from Playwrights who have gone to ETW for their last two years. So, if you are interested in ETW, you can audition for it at the end of sophomore year and get the best of both studio approaches. I think you have an exciting time ahead.

ager08

Thanks! I guess what I'm really wondering, though, is how much time I'm going to spend really studying acting, and how much I'm going to spend dancing, singing, etc....I read the curriculum and it looks like maybe 1 or 2 acting classes a semester. But still concerned about what I wrote before!

NotMamaRose

ager, did you audition for CAP21 and were then, instead, placed in PH? Or did you audition as an actor (not an MT) for NYU/Tisch and say you prefered ETW and Atlantic, only to find yourself in PH?
Out of curiosity (after reading your post), I read about PH on NYU's Web site and was intrigued that it caters to people who want to be actors, directors and designers. I wonder (and perhaps Susan or someone else more familiar with NYU will know this!) if all students get education in all of those things (acting, directing and designing), or whether the curriculum is tailored so that those who auditioned as actors get primarily actor training, those who want to be directors get more work in directing, and so on. ????

soozievt

Did you just read the list of courses for Playwrights Horizons on Tisch's Drama site?

There is much more extensive information at Playwrights Horizons Theater School's site. At this link, there is the curriculum and then there are links for First, Second, Third and Fourth Years. Let's just discuss the first two years since your commitment for now is just two years and then you can decide to continue in this studio or do another studio or advanced studio:
Curriculum

Look at the First Year:
First Year Curriculum - PHTS

A lot of the course work is what actors take....acting, voice and speech, movement, etc. You are introduced to directing, design, and stage management, but this is a good thing to be exposed to even if becoming an actor.

Look at the Second Year:
Second Year Curriculum - PHTS
They clearly state:
So, your training classes would be geared to your acting specialization. You may notice that for each course, it describes who it is required for, depending on their "track". Some are elective. Yes, you, as an acting track student, would have to take the a course in Music Performance and a course in Dance, but I personally feel any actor should get some skill in those areas as it opens them up to the range of shows they may perform in. There are quite a number of acting courses.

In the third year, if you stay in this studio and want to concentrate on Acting, you'd be in what's called the Acting Practicum or you might be in the Rehearsal and Repertory Practicum. See:
Third Year Curriculum - PHTS


NMR....the answer to your question is that freshmen have a core list of training classes in this studio and after that, concentrate in their own track.....such as an acting track is one option. Their curriculum would differ depending on the track (ie, directing, theater design, acting).