2010/11 vs 2015/16: 5 Differences in the Last 5 Years in the BFA Process (a biased observation)

College Majors Musical Theater Majors
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This is the second time through for our family in placing a son into a musical theatre BFA program:

Here are 5 differences in the past 5 years:

  1. PRESCREENS. Very few programs required video prescreens in 2010. Now the prescreen is (nearly) a common practice and I imagine it will become even more prevalent because of…
  2. MORE STUDENTS AUDITIONING. I thought the field was pretty crowded 5 years ago, but now, there seems to be an even higher demand from students and families. Programs added additional slots for on-campus auditions as well as whole additional weekends. Programs added days to Unifieds. All this (I believe) has led to…
  3. A PROLIFERATION OF BFA PROGRAMS. Supply and demand as it were. Either these programs have been here all along and they are just now advertising more, or more are being created. It seems like there is a specific Musical Theatre track being developed in every College/University that has a Theatre and Music Department. That leads to a pretty crowded Senior Showcase season in NYC, which leads to…
  4. EVEN MORE COMPETITION AT THE BRAND-NAME SCHOOLS. Some schools have climbed the ladder as far a “Branding” is concerned, but the “Big Three” are still the “Big Three” and there is some fierce competition especially between 2 of those 3. (NYU will always be NYU, they are their own thing. Carnegie will always be Carnegie. But U of M and CCM draw and accept the same people…as was pointed out by a school official at an audition day.) Don’t argue with me…argue with them…which leads families to use…
  5. EVEN MORE AUDITION COACHING SERVICES. I’ve never looked into the cost at these services, but I bet they are not free. We are a part of large High School theatre network in our region and we were one of the few families that did not use some kind of coaching service this year. In 2010, we didn’t know anyone who had used a coach…which makes me wonder about…

5a. THE DEVELOPING COTTAGE INDUSTRY NETWORK OF PRIVATE OR INVITE-ONLY COLLEGE AUDITIONS: “Moonifieds” have been around for a long time, but there now seems to be a developing series of organized, but not open to the public multi-college rep attended “workshops” or even straight-up auditions happening. Even here in KC there was a “High School Senior Showcase” organized by a large and well-respected Youth Theatre organization that was well attended by a large number of mid-level college reps. These counted as auditions for most of these schools. My son was even recruited after a performance of a show he did from a small college wanting to develop their theatre program. They actually sent a college rep like a recruiter for a University sports program to the show to look for talent.

Could this be the way of the future? And a solution to some of the “venting” we’ve done on CC?

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Great post @ManVan interesting to see someone’s impressions from those years to this year

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We also experienced emerging programs doing some recruiting type things last year. It was a private school 40 minutes from us that I never knew had a theater department. Another program called, emailed and offered to bring S to campus (through another program, but with intention of him spending a day with theater department). We visited school near us and declined other offer. We were at times overwhelmed by both schools. I had never heard of this in MT and was not prepared to deal with it.

Furthermore, a rep at Unifieds (for a school he was not auditioning) said that they have been slammed with auditions the last few years and they had the same amount of MT staff handling it. She was retired from program, but had been coming back to work Unifieds for last 2 years. Her room was near ours and we had several friendly chats in executive lounge. She said the numbers were overwhelming and nothing like it was even 3 years ago.

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Thanks for the post @ManVan. Love reading your take on this evolving rollercoaster (remember when the were made of wood and only went up and down hills?). So, if college reps are recruiting high schoolers, and people are sending their kids to private coaches and “select” camps. Does this mean multi-million-dollar seasonal contracts and lucrative sponsorship deals are soon to follow? I’m picking out my “Mom’s Penthouse Suite” now.

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Great post @ManVan. I’m even hesitant to advise friends these days about the process, and my boys only went through the process four years ago – enough has changed since then.

I do worry that there isn’t enough work for all these graduates from all the new BFA MT programs. And yet, I am constantly reminded that the definition of a successful career in acting varies – after all, many of those wielding decision-making power at these colleges were once actors on the stage and screen, too. And I’m sure they consider themselves successful.

As for the kids auditioning, I think the cream will always rise to the top and super-talented, super-motivated, young performers who have the right support system (whether that’s teachers, friends, parents or coaches) will be successful. And they’ll also work after college, whether they have a BA in English, a BFA from Up-And-Coming U, or a BFA from one of the Big 3.

I’ve also noticed the phenomenon of many kids who don’t really need coaching using coaches - kids who come from super-organized, well connected theatre camps or performing arts high schools and/or kids who already have TV or theatrical experience and agents. I think there is a certain segment of the highly-invested theatre parent crowd that spends money on coaching for the perceived advantage, but their kids would probably do fine without.

For my two cents, a coach is most valuable to a student who comes from a public (non perf. arts) or private school that hasn’t had a track record of many kids matriculating to BFA MT programs, so there is no one on staff experienced in the process. In my network, even here in Los Angeles, there are a lot of these people. I meet really talented kids who have done all sorts of wonderful youth theatre and want to go to NYU or Carnegie who have never heard about college audition coaches or College Confidential and are surprised to hear about such resources.

I’m also noticing among my older actor friends in LA that some are now hanging out a shingle to help prepare students for college auditions. It will be interesting to see if being a “college audition coach” becomes like being a “personal trainer” with lots of performers doing that as a side job.

It will also be interesting for future CCers to revisit this post in 5 more years to see if this new “cottage industry” of colleges creating BFAMT programs keeps growing or if it right-sizes to suit the available work for graduates. I don’t have the answers, but I will watch with fascination, hopefully from afar with two kids finding stable work in this rewarding industry, whatever that path entails… :slight_smile:

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@MTTwinsinCA It is common in NYC for actors offering audition coaching, and not only older individuals but also some who have graduated less than ten years ago. I think coaching has become a relatively easy source of income, from worried applicants (or more likely their parents!) who increasingly think that it is necessary. I hope that these families do their research and make sure that the coach knows as much about college auditions and admissions as they should.

I think that a lot of these colleges setting up new BFA programs are filling a perceived demand. Given the limited amount of work available, there certainly isn’t a need for them.

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@ManVan Your excellent post points out some changes and the responses to your post are all good.

I see these changes you mention too since my kid auditioned for a BFA in MT program. Back then there were no prescreens. My kid didn’t have a college audition coach per se, and certainly not a national one. She never attended any type of festivals or auditions or met with any college reps until she applied and auditioned at the colleges. There are far more BFA in MT programs now than when she applied. There may be more applicants, but there are also more programs. I also agree with @MTTwinsinCA about how some very talented and motivated MT teens will do well no matter where they come from or even what college they attend.

Agree with @alwaysamom that more programs are not necessarily needed as there really isn’t more work to be had in what is already a very competitive field.

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Very interesting. Since my D is in for straight acting not for MT, I’m not that familiar with the life/college prep for MT prospective students. Certainly MT competition seems to be so much fierce than that of acting. Anyway I wonder, with the increased amount of talented “supply”, where is the demand? Are there more shows being produced throughout the country? What about the audiences? With ever so increasing price tag to see shows - even regional touring Broadway shows - is going to a live theatre becoming an entertainment for more people? It doesn’t seem like so. (Of course, kids with theatre degree will pursue all kinds of career, just not being in / creating shows. ). Not sure where I am going with this, but as professionals in a practical field (both myself and spouse) we have to wonder what my D’s future is going to be like.

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This is so interesting to me. Could you shed light on how kids with BAs in English (for example) can stay competitive with kids coming out of the bfa programs. Thanks!

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BFA does not automatically equal more competitiveness in the business. It’s about talent, drive, shape, size, age and a TON of luck. There are many many successful actors/MT performers who never went to school or only went for a semester. Getting a BA in English or Theatre or History can make you just as successful. JMHO

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I think a naturally talented and motivated student who choses to major in English (think of all the Shakespeare!) could still be a successful actor, and any playbill shows a cross-section of performers who didn’t go to college, who went the BFA route, or who went the BA in some other subject route. Do BFAs have an edge? Maybe – certainly the specialized training, showcase, time spent on technique and packaging helps. But are they the only ones who succeed? No. Especially in the TV and film world, there are many successful actors who come from a wide range of backgrounds.

On another note – taking a side trip here – but someone here probably knows this – I think a college degree in musical theatre is a relatively new phenomenon when we take the whole history of musical theatre into consideration. Does anyone know which university has the oldest MT degree program? I’d love to know…I feel like all the famous golden age Broadway actors probably came up through traditional drama schools or were discovered at a young age. I’d love to know more about this, and when the trend toward actual specialized college musical theatre degree programs became a means to the career. @EmsDad? @soozievt? @lovetoact

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CCM graduated it’s first Musical Theater major in 1969 - and I believe that was the first. If I remember correctly, CMU says it has the oldest theater program - around 100 years??

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“THE MUSICAL THEATRE PROGRAM at CCM is the oldest in the country and was the first of its kind. It was used by the National Association of Schools of Theatre in formulating the guidelines for accreditation of Musical Theatre programs nationwide.”

I remembered seeing it on the website.

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@MTTwinsinCA My guess would be CCM.

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Fascinating – all these MT programs in 50 years. And many just in the past 15. So that gets into interesting territory regarding the question of the value of the MT BFA – does the mere presence and increasing numbers of all these programs create an emphasis on the type of training they offer? Perhaps specialized training will become the expectation and the standard for aspiring MTs? Time will tell.

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I’d be interested to know if the MT programs are a split-off from existing Acting programs, or if the two programs came about over the same time span of 1969 onwards. And isn’t that the tail-end of the Golden Age? Did more programs come into being around that time? Or are most of them post-1980s or post-Rent?

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to wit, this recent article and point #22 which discusses how well young actors are trained right now: http://www.vulture.com/2016/03/new-york-theater-new-golden-age.html?mid=twitter-share-vulture

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It is really fascinating. Truly an evolving area. Agree with all the observations. My concerns with the BFA MT College Programs, the competition to get into the programs and, the competition of the programs to prove their track record, is that the end result will be vanilla generic artists.:):wink: I do actually worry about this for my own child.:slight_smile: The trick is while we respect and honor the starving artist we really do not wish that on anyone, especially our child…so that horrible balance. MTTwinsCA the article was great. Thanks for the link.

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Sorry should be MTTwinsinCA.

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I agree with this @MTTwinsinCA . The training in BFA in MT programs certainly helps, how could it not? But BFA in MT graduates are not the only ones who succeed in the MT world professionally. For one thing, many BFA in Acting and BA in Theater graduates succeed in MT. I know many Acting majors from my D’s school (NYU/Tisch) who do well in MT. But I also know several BA Theater graduates doing well in MT too (such as from Brown, Northwestern, & Yale, including starring roles). And there are people who majored in something outside of theater who do well in the theater world. They may have done theater as an extracurricular. But as in some other fields, some people have a natural talent. Yes, training helps refine that natural talent. But still, people do get hired who haven’t had the formal training or degree. On a side note, as one example, my kid got a BFA in MT/Drama, and did not have training in writing/composing. But she has a natural talent in this area without any coursework. She is paid as a composer/lyricist/writer and songwriter in the professional theater and music world. Yes, it is related to being a MT performer, but it involves a different skill set and one she was not trained in at college.

Anyway, in terms of auditions in the professional world, it does help to have training because the competition is fierce and many young people who audition do have training in today’s MT world. It isn’t a “must” if there is natural talent, but it isn’t like the old days when few had a MT degree. Now, many do. Obviously, I support a BFA in MT degree as my kid did that, but it isn’t a “must.”