Anniesmom

My family and I saw Aida at Wright State University near Dayton, OH this past weekend. We had heard that their drama and MT departments were excellent; we were VERY impressed! The three leads were absolutely top notch as were the sets, costumes and choreography. WSU is mentioned from time to time on this board and I just wanted people to know they are out there.

musicalmom

Anniesmom

Glad you liked 'Aida'. My d goes to Wright State. Just finishing her freshman year and loves it!!!!!! She is getting great training there in all areas (acting, dance, and voice). She loves her classes and teachers. As a freshman, she has also had the opportunity to perform. Next weekend we pick her up at school and she is off for most of the summer to do summer stock (she will be Peggy Sawyer in '42nd Street' for one.

If anyone has more specific questions, feel free to ask, and I will try to help.

Anniesmom - I sent you a pm.

NotMamaRose

Ah, Peggy Sawyer from Allentown, PA!

keepingcalm

We saw Aida this past weekend and had some what mixed feelings about it. D's school had done it earlier in the year so there was some comparing going on. This is the first university production we have seen so I guess I don't have real reference points. One thing that really surprised me was the lack of Orchestra. 3 keyboards and 8 instruments were just not enough. Is it typical for UNiversity productions to not have more full orchestration?
We did like the choreography, particularly the strength of the males dancers, D was very interested in this since she is now thinking she may go the dnace route not MT, so she was glad to see that there were many dancers cast.
We felt the tempo of the show did not show the actors in the best light. Frequently it was too fast which made ballads somewhere in between. We need to get to more college productions since this really just sevres now as a refernence point.

alwaysamom

keepingcalm, I have to agree with you that it is difficult to avoid comparisons, probably impossible. I try not to compare shows, either with professional productions I've seen, or even with my D's arts h/s productions which were excellent. AIDA is a fun show, with some beautiful music, but I saw the Broadway production and national tour too many times and it affected the way I viewed the one non-professional production I saw. As to the orchestra issue, I would not say that that is 'typical'. I think you'll find that those kinds of things vary school by school, and even within the same school, may vary production to production.

srw

OCU uses a full orchestra for all mainstage productions. Being a complete music school, it gives more people opportunites to perform.

musicalmom

WSU does use orchestras for some shows. My d was not in 'Aida' so we did not make the trip out to see it, so I cannot comment on that show. Last year, we saw 'Annie Get Your Gun' there and they had what I would consider a 'full' orchestra (I checked the program and it lists reeds, trumpets, trombones, violins, cello, bass, keyboard, guitar, banjo, and percussion - I checked because I could not remember - early alzheimers?!?). Anyways, I'm not sure why they use an orchestra for some shows and not others, but I will ask my d to see if she has any insight. She was in 'Urinetown' earlier this year and I saw that. But it was in the 'black box' style theatre so it did not use a full orchestra. But based on our experience so far, the students do get opportunities to perform with orchestras.

And since dance was mentioned, that reminds me to mention that if an MT student is a strong dancer, there are opportunities to take dance classes with the dance majors (same class) which is not possible in all MT programs. This might be a plus for a potential MT student who is strong in dance.

Dduellman

Sorry, I have to disagree with the reference to lack of orchestra in "Aida." I too saw the production. There was an orchestra, just not a very big one. If you looked at the monitor in the back of the audience, one could see the conductor conducting. Because our daughter is a Freshman there we have seen numerous productions this year at WSU. For the most part I thought they were very good. Their Shakespeare productions are especially good, which makes me think the acting program is absolutely one of the best. I know that Wright is trying really hard to give all its students the opportunity to perform. I think they have the idea that they have a responsibility to all their students, not just the most talented ones. This is a program going through some growing pains. But I have met the teachers, observed classes and attended productions. The program is as demanding as CCM, Otterbein and other's considered in the top tier of schools. I highly recommend it.

keepingcalm

Dduellman
As I said since D's school had just done Aida with a full orchestra and 2 guitarist, it is hard not to draw comparisons. I did know that they had live instrumentation but it was not what I expected. Currently Wright State is D's first choice of school and nothing about Aida chaged our minds. D has worked summers with some Wright State students and we would never think that it is not rigorous or demanding. We are really looking forward to seeing West Side Story next year. D is thrilled to see that they do shows that require lots of dance.

musicalmom

keepingcalm

Glad to hear your d is interested in attending Wright State. I am assuming that she is still in high school. Will she be a senior next year? Good luck to your d, and if you have any questions about Wright State, feel free to ask on the board or pm me. Also the department is very nice and helpful, so feel free to call them with specific questions or to set up additional visits. Start with Vicki Oleen - she is very nice and helpful.

keepingcalm

Musicalmom thanks for the contact. D is "officially" a sophmore in the fall but we are negotiating with her school to jump her to a junior as she has the accumulated credits for junior standing and could easily graduate in 3 years. Unfortunately the school is very resistant.
I did have a very general question that Aida raised. Is WSU on a quarter system? I was surprised that Aida ran SO late into the spring.

musicalmom

Sounds like your d is doing very well in high school. This will help her be competitive for academic scholarships. WSU, as well as other schools, have academic and talent scholarships available as you probably know.

Yes, WSU is on the quarter system. Most students only attend 3 of the quarters per year (fall, winter, and spring). The 4th quarter is the summer quarter. There are pros and cons to the quarter system. I was unsure if we would like it at first, but, actually, it worked out very well. D started 1st quarter right after labor day and finished the week before Thanksgiving. We loved having her home from before Thanksgiving until after xmas. We have alot of family holiday gatherings going on in December so it was great that she could be home then (many students aren't getting home until a few days before xmas - from other schools). The winter quarter starts right after New Years and goes to mid to late March. One week off for break and then the Spring quarter starts and goes to early June.

My biggest concern was getting summer performing work when the school's spring session ran so late, but this isn't usually a problem, because the students that get summer work can finish up their courses and finals early and leave school early. There are some restrictions such as how early you can leave, the students have to finish their requirements (I would think their academic standing might come into play - not sure), but the theatre department supports them. My d left school early this year for her summer stock job and it worked out great. I know other students did as well. They have understudies for the college shows that can be used if someone leaves for a summer job.

Another advantage of the quarter system is that there are 3 sets of shows instead of 2 that the students audition for. They usually audition at the end of the quarter for the next quarter's shows.

Good luck to your d!!! Have a great summer!

SingerNLmusic

Ahhh i'm auditioning here this year!!!! Soo super excited!!