kjcbpsmith

I posted this on the main forum , but I also thought I would post it here. We have a situation I have not seen addressed before, so I thought I would ask for some collective wisdom.

D auditioned at Oklahoma City University in February, desiring to study Music Theater, which I am sure you know they classify as a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. A few weeks ago, we got a letter inviting her to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Music with voice as her instrument. After some initial euphoria because the letter began with the word "Congratulations," we realized that she had not been admitted to the program she was aiming for. She made her peace with that decision and shifted her focus to other programs. There is one in particular that seems to be a good fit for her that does not do rolling admissions, so we will not hear anything definitive until sometime in April although we do know she is on the short list.

So far, this is nothing unusual. Yesterday, however, we unexpectedly received another letter from OCU inviting her to pursue a BFA Acting degree in the School of Theatre, even offering her a small scholarship. We were surprised because we assumed that the previous decision was an indication that they liked her singing but not her acting. Now, it appears that the opportunity in the School of Music would exclude acting and that the opportunity in the School of Theatre would exclude singing. She obviously would like to combine the two. Any thoughts would be welcome on whether it would be worth our time to approach the college about how to make that happen and what the best way to approach them might be.

MTDad71

kjcbpsmith - I could have written your post myself. We recieved the same "surprise" letter today after coming to terms with the initial decision letter.

I don't know how you can get voice and drama back together, but (as we all have found out the hard way) you must read the letters from OCU VERY carefully. In the letter that my D received today, it says specifically that in order to keep her scholarship she must audition for EVERY production availlable to her in the drama department and she is NOT permitted to audition for any production outside of the drama program without specific permission of the Drama department.

My wife looked over the curriculum for the BFA in Drama and it does not appear that there is any voice training whatsoever - not sure my D could handle that.

My guess is that you will need to contact Dr. Herendeen @ OCU to fully understand the offer and its possibilities.

jordansmom

Dear kjcpbsmith and mtdad71,

I don't have a lot of firsthand information regarding students in the BA Music/BFA Drama program at OCU but will give you what little info I have. Regarding the requirement to audition for every production and needing permission to audition for any production outside of school; the BM in MT has the same requirements. I believe the school does this to make students more comfortable with the audition process as well as keep them focused on working on their craft. Permission is definitely granted to audition outside of the school; students just have follow their protocol.

My student started at OCU in MT in 2006; at that time you could combine a Music and Theater degree but that was before the BFA in Drama was revamped. I agree with MTdad71's suggestion that you should contact Dr. Herendeen regarding the feasibility of this.

Just so you know the BA in Music uses adjunct voice faculty, not the same voice faculty used in the BM in MT or VP degree.

Also, my daughter's best friend at OCU her freshman year auditioned for the MT program but was admitted to the BAMusic/BFA Drama program (this same student was admitted to NYU and FSU for MT but still chose OCU). While she wasn't in the MT program, she was called back and cast for more parts (including musicals) in her freshman year than any of the MT/VP students. She chose to leave OCU after freshman year but not because she wasn't happy with the program. I know there are other BFA Drama students on here who will be able to give you better information than me. Good luck in your decision-making process.

srw

I will say this, the MT and VP programs are very similar and track very closely with each other. My S who was accepted into MT (also in 2006 - Hi Jordans Mom!) switched to VP during his freshman year. All MT students audition for VP shows and visa versa, there is alot of cross casting. The programs are almost the same for the first two years, they differ more later, MT take more acting and dance, VP take more music. So if your D decided to take the VP track she would still be involved with MT. Example my S is in the spring musical. The BFA acting degree is new and they are really building it up they have separated the drama department from the music school into it's own school. So the MT and VP acting teachers are a different staff, etc. Hope this helps and I would not hesitate to call down there. If you can't get a hold of Dr. H. see it you can talk to Mary Mowry.

WMonMTDad

I believe getting permission to audition for shows outside of department is done at a number of schools. As much as anything it allows the department to keep track of what the kids are doing, ensure it doesn't conflict with things within the program, etc.

If you go into the acting program you can always re-audition for MT or VP the next year. I think some have done that. And as noted, you can, and many do, audition for the musicals and operas. and some end up getting cast. By the same token, MT/VP students end up in the theatrical productions as well. I think that's a good thing personally: if you can do straight theater as well as MT your options for work have doubled!

Most of the schools don't have drop-dead decision dates until the national acceptance date. OCU is part of that so you shouldn't feel that you must make up your mind immediately.

There is a lot of benefit to being required to audition for every show, even if you might have conflicts that would keep you from being in it. You get more and more comfortable with the process (and rejection when it occurs) and that is helpful when the auditions are "for real."

Best wishes as your D pursues her decision and dream. Ask lots of questions. It's expected! make sure you understand what the options are and what they mean.

TXKatsmom

I don't know how to do the quote thing...but this is a quote from the OP:

"D auditioned at Oklahoma City University in February, desiring to study Music Theater, which I am sure you know they classify as a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance."

I just wanted to clarify that if one wants to study Musical Theatre at OCU the degree is a Bachelor of Music in Performance--Musical Theatre. There is also a separate degree called a Bachelor of Music in Performance--Vocal Performance, but this is NOT MT...They are two different degrees.

be_a_star

I'm sure this is way too late to help any of you, but for future readers:

The BFA program (which is what I'm in) does require at least 3 semesters of voice (as well as 3 semesters of dance). More can be taken, and most people do take voice every semester. With the BFA, you are required to audition for all mainstage theatre shows - you do not have to have permission to audition for MT mainstage, Opera, Stripped, or Stage 2 shows - in fact, I would say that you are basically encouraged to audition for anything you can. They do want you to notify them if you are auditioning for places off campus, though most people only notify them once they have a role.

I highly recommend the BFA program. You have tons of required acting classes, plus some tech theatre classes, and various "book" classes on types of theatre. You are encouraged to take as much voice and dance as you can (though the dance school can really be a pain). In addition, you can take classes in the music school. A lot of theatre students take MT Workshop (it's excellent - I took it in the fall), and I know of a few that also take MT lit, and many of the theory courses.

Also, it is possible to get both the BA music and the BFA Acting degrees. You won't graduate for at least 5 years, but there are people doing both - the more common route, however, is taking the BA music with the BA theatre. Give the theatre dept. a call and I'm sure they would be fine with you switching to the BA degree rather than the BFA degree if this is something that interests you.

If you have any questions, please email me at rmaiten.stu@okcu.edu as I come on here only about twice/yr.