BFA Theatrical Directng....Advice? colleges?

glassharmonica
Mon, 17 Sep 2012 01:21:58 +0000

CaDirectorMom, Fordham wasn’t on our radar until I read about it here on CC, and at first I was hesitant because it is a Catholic university. My background in Catholicism is more complicated than I initially let on, having been raised Catholic and having spent 13 years in Catholic schools before college. I really did not expect my politically liberal, feminist daughter to choose a Catholic school; however, she has an open mind. She wanted to look at Fordham because older friends of hers (not Catholic) had applied there, and because we’d read about it here on CC. She was very much won over by the playwriting department in her audition interview (she is a double major), and more so after spending time visiting acting and playwriting classes last spring, so that Fordham became her first choice. She turned down NYU and Mason Gross, for example, to go to Fordham.

She was home this weekend to appear in a Fringe production so I got to speak to her at length for the first time since we dropped her off in August. She said (in response to me telling her about your comment) that there has been no religious content in her classes. There are some posters in the hallways, but that’s it. The theater and dance departments have a diverse student body. It may be that the Rose Hill campus has more of a Catholic orientation and less diverity. She told me that she had observed (and others also) that the freshman theater class all work well together, with a similar style of communication. She feels it’s a great fit for her. My daughter would not hesitate to tell me if she felt coerced or compelled to adopt any belief system-- she would be the first to resist. As for church rules, I don’t think they have any impact on her life. She lives in a co-ed dorm, on a co-ed floor.

Anyway, Fordham may not be his cup of tea, but I wanted to let you know that, like you, I was ready at first to dismiss the school based on my own baggage about Catholic education, but I’m glad my daughter wanted to explore the school more closely.