An Introduction- Starting All Over Again!

College Majors Musical Theater Majors
1

<p>Our daughter always loved musical theater, getting her start at around age 10 in local shows. She also performed with our city’s opera company during her high school years and enjoyed other projects with them as well. She especially appreciated their excellent vocal training. </p>

<p>Ultimately, for her college path, she chose classical vocal performance over MT. People were surprised, because she had been quite successful in high school MT and was known for her energy and comedy, but she would say “I have a better chance of being struck by lightening, than of being successful on Broadway,” believing herself to be too weak in dance.</p>

<p>Her senior year of HS, she opted for a university that had close ties to our city’s opera company. She had attended master classes with some of the faculty who sang in our opera, as well as worked with some of the music students on opera projects. It seemed like a great fit…</p>

<p><strong>Commence ominous minor key music</strong></p>

<p>After her freshman year, she began to have doubts. She wasn’t inspired by the classical music, theory was very difficult for her, and she missed MT. She realized she would probably need a master’s degree to be successful, and she felt worried watching her talented grad school friends toiling away working at Starbucks and teaching piano lessons to get by. Her voice professor, chosen for her in part because of their shared interest in MT and R&B, temporarily left the university to take a role.</p>

<p>One day she came home and said, “I don’t know what I want to do, but I am pretty sure it isn’t classical vocal performance.”</p>

<p><strong>Curtain crashes down</strong></p>

<p>Act 2, Scene 1: 2 years later, our heroine is supporting herself, working full time by day and happily hoofing it in local theater by night. We, her parents, are willing to fund her education, but she doesn’t want to waste our money while she “finds herself.” One day at work, her phone rings with the news that an old friend has just landed a major role on Broadway. She hangs up and says, “What am I doing?!?”</p>

<p>Scene 2: Great consternation ensues when our daughter realizes that her high school friends are now about to graduate from college. Though undecided about a career, she starts to attend a community college after work, with plans to transfer to a 4-year college. But what college? What degree? She is emphatic that she wants to be able to support herself after college. (She does not want to teach.) Mom and Dad are reluctant to see her give up performing which she enjoys so much.</p>

<p>Scene 3: Deja vu all over again! The living room is littered with index cards containing information about college programs in MT, recording arts, and commercial music. Only now, it’s a sadder but wiser mother and daughter (who at age 22 has seen several talented friends go off to LA and NY and fail to make it.)</p>

<p>Act 3 is still unwritten. Stay tuned, because I think we might need your help.</p>

2

<p>Great story so far! I use my grandmother who got her degree at the age of 62 as my example of the statement “it’s never too late”! She’s older and wiser and now knows what she wants. It’s not too late!</p>

3

<p>saddrbutwiser, thanks for sharing this story. I loved how you told it! I totally agree with GSOMTMom, that it is never too late, and your D is very young anyway.</p>

<p>My oldest son is almost 25 and he too is about to apply for a transfer to a four year. He was at Tisch for one year, about 5 years ago, but it didn’t work out for many reasons, and he has been rethinking his own life and goals as well. He has been taking community college classes and auditing classes at a four year, and he will be applying soon. In his case, however, he has figured out what he wants (at least for now!): He wants to major in psych and possibly double major in psych and history.As his mom, I feel so joyful that he has a goal and knows what he wants, and is moving toward it at last. He is much more mature than he was the first time around, and I’ve reassured him that he is relatively young, that the 5 years are nothing in the scheme of things now that he’s setting his mind to achieve his goals.</p>

<p>Your D is to be commended for not drifting by in classical vocal performance when she knew it wasn’t for her, and for taking some time to figure out her goals. I think that’s terrific. There are many positives to being a more mature student–you are much more disciplined, have more practical skills, and, if you’ve been working, you often feel lucky to ‘just’ have to take classes (my son is very excited to go to college and ‘just learn.’).</p>

<p>Keep us all posted, but I wanted to let you know you are not alone!</p>

4

<p>One of the top senior students in MT at Ithaca is an older student who started in another area. Pre-med, I think!</p>

5

<p>A few years of life experience (and onstage experience) might be the very best preparation for a BFA. So many older applicants do well in the process, partly because they are more grounded and more ready. The world is your D’s oyster. I’m betting she will find a great place to study theater, and do very well.</p>

6

<p>I’ll echo everyone else’s encouragement and add that this was a really fun post to read–love the way you told the story, and I hope you’ll keep her narrative going here!</p>

7

<p>Thanks so much for sharing!!</p>

<p>My D’s story has some similarities. She’s a 21-year-old MT freshman with enough credits to qualify for junior status (but she’s in a conservatory program, so…) She feels challenged both intellectually and artistically, and absolutely <em>loves</em> her program. </p>

<p>If this is still true by this time next year, I might actually breathe a sigh of relief :-)</p>

8

<p>Look into NYU Steinhardt–vocal performance major with a concentration in musical theatre. Bet they will allow a lot of her credits to transfer in, since it is a BM degree.</p>

9

<p>Our son also shifted gears and changed majors and schools. He’s 20 now, and in his 2nd semester of his freshman year in a BFA conservatory program. In the 4 audition programs in which he was accepted, all required him to start over, despite his college units , but he’s young, so no big deal. He is so much more mature than 2 years ago, and now loving what he’s doing in college. He was just cast as a lead in a spring student production, which is rare at his school.</p>

10

<p>Thanks for all of your comments and encouragement. My daughter found a great vocal coach (a friend of a friend) who is dusting off her repertoire and adding some exciting new music. </p>

<p>Our heads are spinning because after a few lessons, the new coach said, you are going to make money with this voice. You need to apply to top schools: Boston Conservatory, Carnegie Mellon, etc. She really wants my daughter to resume her classical training, but will also help her with MT. She helped to start the MT program at a university in our area, and wants to help us with her connections in MT. Some of her students are on Broadway, so we think she knows what she is talking about. </p>

<p>I don’t doubt that she is correct about my daughter’s vocal talent <strong>mom simpers</strong> but I am concerned about academic talent! She was just an average student in H.S. with an average SAT. She will finish her Associate of Arts at the end of summer and her current GPA is 3.4 out of 4.0. She hated and feared music theory in her freshman year. She will not thrive in a highly challenging academic setting.</p>

<p>Her assets are her voice (duh,) her hardworking attitude, maturity, good ear, cooperative attitude, comedic timing. She is definitely a team player and will have no trouble getting good references from her musical directors. Weak area: dancing, but she can still learn complicated routines if necessary.</p>

<p>It seems that most BFAs would require her to basically start all over again and finish in 4 years, when she will be 26 or 27. Because she is 22, she was thinking she would try to transfer her A.A. to a into a BA program with a concentration in MT and be through more quickly. But will she be selling herself short if she does that?</p>

<p>I need your help, Forum! Can you suggest schools for students with outstanding voices who are not going to be brain surgeons? We want the best vocal training for our daughter, but don’t want to waste time applying to schools that won’t accept her academically. </p>

11

<p>Otterbein loves great singers. </p>

<p>Wonder though if a larger program in a city would provide wider peer set than a small program in a rural environment. </p>

<p>She needs acting too. You don’t mention much about that. </p>

12

<p>Just want to emphasize that Otterbein isn’t rural. It’s basically in Columbus, which is around the 16th largest city in the US–and mainstage shows in their 1045-seat theater routinely sell out. All seniors intern during their last semester in NY or LA casting offices. It’s not isolated. Actor training is very strong for both MT and acting majors. Halflokum is right to suggest it, as your daughter’s academic stats don’t sound like they’d be a problem for admissions there. It is a small program, but not subdivided, so all 4 years, MT and acting students alike, are a close group, and there’s also a strong music program. Worth a look.</p>

13

<p>My bad. I thought is was rural ish but clearly I’m wrong. Glad you clarified. I do know it is an amazing program which is why I thought about it. Very tough to get in. </p>

<p>Also rural schools (not talking about Otterbein) could be socially fine too I was just throwing out something to ponder for the OP.</p>

<p>A 1045 seat theatre… sigh. Nice! Pretty sure at Tisch you would need to move that seat count one decimal point to the left. 104.5. I think I got the 0.5 seat tonight.</p>

14

<p>I will check into Otterbein. I have heard of it. </p>

<p>She definately wants and needs acting instruction. </p>

15

<p>Your daughter will be considered a transfer student which is even tougher odds to get into a BFA program. And, as you say, she’ll have to start over most likely and complete four more years of college. When you add in that she will not be a traditional age college student, as well as is not that fond of academics, I would suggest she apply to Circle in the Square Theater Program and to CAP21’s program. On all counts, they would fit the bill. Or if she really wants to try for a four year program, consider Boston Conservatory or UArts which are primarily conservatories with very little academics. </p>

16

<p>Thanks for the suggestions. She wants a college degree. I have been wondering who will want to take a chance on her since she has already backed out of one college program. </p>

17

<p>As the parent of a transfer student from one MT program to another the schools will not see her as risky for having left her previous program but rather as smart for stepping back and making sure of what type of program she does want to be in. They will question her on her choices, why she left previous school etc. during the interview portion of her audition, but it really comes down to her audition. D was accepted at every school she auditioned for despite having put 2 years in at another university. Some required that she start over and others were willing to transfer credits. She chose to attend the top school on her list and they did transfer many of her credits. Actually there are more transfer students in MT programs than you think as well as “older” students. It also isn’t unusual for students to take semesters off to take performance opportunities outside the college and then come back to finish the degree so there are a mix of ages among the student body in the program. My D actually said it was easier being “older” than the average student in MT, you are not interested in the “college experience” but rather really getting down to work on your career. I think the faculty really appreciates that attitude and respond to it. Good luck to your daughter she will find the right fit for her. </p>

18

<p>Further clarification on Otterbein’s location - it is definitely not rural. It is in Westerville, a suburb of Columbus. But it is also not a city campus in the same sense as NY & Chicago schools. It has a beautiful campus that feels very much like a university (trees, brick roads, etc.).</p>

<p>If you are thinking of, or looking for, a rural MT college in Ohio, check out Ohio Northern. Very rural setting in a small town. Also a very nice campus and good MT program. </p>

19

<p>@changingmt Your post was very comforting to me! How nice that your daughter was able to transfer some credits. </p>

20

<p>There are several transfers in the BFA program at Coastal Carolina. Some do come in as sophomores. CCU does have a core curriculum, but they are good about accepting credits for academics. And the voice faculty is wonderful at CCU! They are housed in the music department, but the MT students are assigned to a studio with one of them. My D has been in Dr. Benson’s studio for 2 years now (she is a senior) and feels so blessed to be training with her, although she also loved the time she spent in Dr. Jones’ studio her first 2 years there.
<a href=“http://www.coastal.edu/humanities/faculty/details.html?x=415”>http://www.coastal.edu/humanities/faculty/details.html?x=415&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;