Biggest surprises about your MT program?

College Majors Musical Theater Majors
1

<p>For all of our planning and preparation, when folks arrive at a new MT program (summer or full time) there are invariably some things that catch you off guard.</p>

<p>It might be helpful to share some of those surprises, in case they’re instructional to others.</p>

<p>For example, D was surprised to realize how significantly one or two strong personalities can dominate a class of only 20 students. It made her think that there could be benefits to having a larger class.</p>

<p>She was also surprised how important a roommate can be in shaping your school experience, for better or for worse.</p>

<p>She was surprised by how many sets of dance clothes you need to make it through a week.</p>

<p>As another example, 100 years ago when I was in a small cut program, I was surprised to learn that the school’s artistic director was hitting on all the guys as a condition of remaining in the program. Eeech!</p>

<p>Any surprises that you or your child have experienced with their MT program of choice?</p>

2

<p>A large surprise I definitely experience is that my MT program is really more like a BFA acting program in the sense that the school puts on WAY more plays than musicals during the year. That was a big adjustment for me, but one that has benefitted me IMMENSELY!</p>

3

<p>Interesting! I know the shows we’ve seen at many MT programs were straight plays, so maybe that’s common? I wonder what the typical ratio of musicals to plays is?</p>

<p>Your comment reminded me that of one of D’s friends in a top MT program was surprised that he felt the acting training they were getting was sub par relative to what he felt his friends in other schools were getting. I think he planned to use a semester abroad to help fill that hole.</p>

4

<p>D is in a BA MT program. She has been surprised that she loves other aspects of theatre as well as MT (theatre history, physical theatre, dramaturgy, etc.) It has really broadened her horizons on careers in theatre, besides performing. And, it has also led to 2 great offers for summer internships in non-performing roles.</p>

5

<p>Well luckily our acting program isn’t sub par but I can understand. In a mainstage season we do 3 plays and 1 musical at CMU.</p>

6

<p>@megpmom - Your D’s story reminded me that I was surprised when I realized a strength of one top ranked MT program is that they seem to do a great job (not sure to what extent it’s intentional) of redirecting many of thier students into non-performing aspects of theatre, like becoming casting agents, or business managers, or composers, or into non-MT performance areas like opera. No matter what kids think coming out of HS - even kids who get into the most selective programs - not all will end up as MT performers.</p>

<p>@CarnegieMT2012 - I wonder how typical 3 mainstage plays and 1 musical is?</p>

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<p>MomCares- can you share which program is good at redirecting students?</p>

8

<p>I’m thinking of UMich, though I’m guessing there are others. As I say, I’m not sure to what extent it’s intentional - maybe someone in the program will speak to that?</p>

9

<p>@ CarnegieMT2012 - As another data point, it looks like Northwestern does 2 main stage musicals and 5 main stage plays each year, plus I gather that theatre students are encouraged to participate in the 40+ student-produced musicals and plays, including the Dolphin show which is a major musical. NU also hosts the American Musical Theatre Project which produces new musicals including both professionals and students. So it might come as a surprise that a BA theatre program produces so many musicals, although the program does have an auditioned MT component.</p>

<p>What is the ratio of plays to musicals in other MT programs?</p>

10

<p>I really think you can’t compare programs by looking at how many plays and musicals are in their mainstage season. There are too many variables and context plays a part. </p>

<p>For example, at Carnegie Mellon, which is not that big of a MT program (about 10-12 MT students per year/grade), the students cannot be in the productions for their first two years. The junior and senior MT students should likely be cast in the mainstage musical that is produced (not to mention some plays). There are those who are studying directing there who also stage student directed pieces. There is also something there called Playground each year, another performance opportunity, not to mention the cabarets and such. </p>

<p>The size of a program has something to do with the number of shows too. </p>

<p>Then, for many schools, it would be too inaccurate to ONLY look at the mainstage season, as the school has a slew of other performance opportunities and productions. At some schools, the mainstage shows are the only productions. </p>

<p>Northwestern is a great example of a school that has a ton of musicals and performance opportunities outside the mainstage productions. Another example of a large program is Tisch, which has mainstage shows, studio shows, student directed shows, directing projects, independent projects and cabarets and a variety of levels and types of musical opportunities. Even Yale, which is not a MT program, has many musicals each year on campus. Just looking at the mainstage season does not tell the full story at some of these schools. </p>

<p>Frankly, student directed musicals are a wonderful opportunity. Some schools also have students who are studying directing. </p>

<p>In choosing a MT program, it is important to examine the performance opportunities but simply counting how many mainstage plays and musicals may not tell the whole story. As well, in comparing the number of productions between schools, one must take into account the size of the program itself.</p>

11

<p>The intent here isn’t to compare programs, but to look at things that have surprised students/parents as they got involved in a program. I can see that many students, like CarnegieMT, could be surprised by the mix of performance opportunities available in any given program. I’m guessing that the ratio of musicals to straight plays was not something D looked into closely before choosing her program.</p>

<p>I think another surprise for D during a summer program was realizing how important it was to her to spend her college years on a full-fledged traditional college campus. After that realization, she crossed all the conservatories and many BFA programs off her list.</p>

<p>A guy D knows says he was surprised at how many talented guys there were, since he’d gotten used to owning every male role before hitting college. ;-D</p>

12

<p>Yes, I realize the intent of the thread was about what surprised people about their MT programs, but my post #10 was responding to your question at the end of Post #9 which was:

</p>

<p>I wasn’t discussing the topic of the thread and was only addressing that question.:)</p>

13

<p>The UMich MT’s I have gotten to know who have succeeded in other aspects of theatre (Pasek and Paul, etc.) have all gone in those directions on their own, with great support from Michigan but never any kind of “redirection”. They are usually following opportunities that begin to develop at UMich from endeavors they began independently; certainly their amazing education in all aspects of the business (starting freshman year with Mr. Wagner’s MT class) help this, as does being surrounded by incredible peers and having a very supportive alumni network. Interestingly, many of them also perform extensively on Broadway and national tours and big regional roles at the same time that they are pursuing their creative endeavors (Nick Blamire and Andrew Keenan-Bolger, for example). UMich seeks to attract students with diverse interests in the arts and in other academic areas, too (as the part of their website entitled “what do we look for in a Michigan student” explains), which is likely another reason that Michigan MT’s end up being so diversely successful in the theatre world - and other worlds, too! One fairly recent grad who worked on Broadway decided that he wanted to go back to get his MBA - and he did, from Stanford! (not too shabby) He didn’t leave for lack of getting cast - just found his heart was more strongly in other worlds, and his UMich education gave him the flexibility to make a smooth transition.</p>

14

<p>I agree that I don’t see this at all as being redirected (the examples from UMich are good ones). I don’t recall anyone redirected at my kid’s BFA either. However, many of my daughter’s fellow graduates are working in all facets of theater and music and not just performing in musicals. But they were not redirected to do this but have more than one talent or skill set and a variety of interests. In many ways, this allows one to keep working in the arts.</p>

<p>I can give my own kid as an example of this issue. ALL of her work is related to theater and music, including her so called survival jobs. And she genuinely likes all the aspects of the performing arts she is involved in and is pursuing them all at one time! She is not just waiting to be cast in musicals, though she surely is interested in that aspect of her career. I know some graduates who only do that and in between musicals, work at non-related survival jobs. My D is not doing that. </p>

<p>The areas my kid is involved in are: performing in musicals, writing/performing in a comedic cabaret revue, singer/songwriter gigs with and without own band (original songs in NYC clubs), singer/songwriter album to be released, librettist/composer/lyricist for an original musical and playing a lead in it (currently showing in NYC), musical director for a BFA in MT program’s upcoming faculty directed musical, accompanist for a BFA program’s song performance classes, private song coach, recording other artists’ CDs, performing in concerts and musical readings in NYC, a national tour, accompanist for a musical theater company that stages shows for youth audiences, musical director of an original musical for high schoolers in NYC, accompanist for high school aged MT training program (pre-college), accompanist for children’s rock/pop classes, etc. </p>

<p>CoachC, by the way, my D is good friends with Nick (above) and they have the same theater literary agent. </p>

<p>In my view, if you can have a varied skill set and diversify in the field, you may consistently work in theater/music in some capacity. My kid has been working since the day she graduated, but her life doesn’t revolve around auditioning for musicals only. In fact, she has been booked up so much that she has gone long periods without even auditioning as she has commitments/bookings. </p>

<p>Like CoachC mentions of these other young artists, none of this was redirection from the college but is my kid’s own choices to pursue all these things, and with support from her college to do so. And like CoachC wrote, many of these endeavors began while she was IN college and just continued after graduation. Another thing I observe that CoachC mentions is the network and peers through her college that are very much a part of her current endeavors. </p>

<p>I don’t know if all BFA in MT programs are like this but I have seen this with the UMich grads and also so many of my D’s peers from NYU/Tisch as well. These musical theater trained graduates are finding success and work not just performing in musicals but in several facets of theater and music.</p>

15

<p>Hearing of your D’s many different avenues of employment makes me happy. My D wants to perform so much, of course, but she loves every aspect of theater she has done and then there’s that costume thang she got goin’ on, too; maybe she’ll be like your D after she graduates and love all her “survival” jobs too. :-)</p>

16

<p>Thanks, CoachC and soozievt!!</p>

<p>It’s great to hear that all of these talented kids have discovered additional ways to pursue careers in theatre beyond only performing! It’s also good to hear that they’re doing it on their own steam. </p>

<p>Looking in from the outside I find it a little surprising that kids have time and energy to cultivate these other talents/interests all while immersed in grueling pre-professional training programs that seem to demand every moment of their time. Ah youth!</p>

<p>Or does the curriculum in a program like UMich or NYU/Tisch enable MT students to tailor their later years to a new interest like composing, directing, business management or whatever?</p>

17

<p>At UMich, the students manage to find time to create a lot of theatre on their “own time”, sparse as it is. For example, Edges was first presented at the end of Pasek and Paul’s sophomore year in a little cabaret-type space; they had just been “messing around” writing, and it turned into something incredible. (I remember the day it was presented and the reactions of their classmates - they knew it was going to be big, but no one had any idea just HOW big). UMich students are able to schedule independent study in things like orchestration and composition, directing, etc., mentoring individually or in small groups with certain professors when that suits the professors’ schedules, but this is in addition to their regular full curriculum. And the creating of student works (some of which then get widely known) that happens really is an extra, amazing as that is! Both Glory Days (which spent 1 day on Broadway but was quite an achievement for a 24 year-old writer) and the Very Potter Musical were done through UMich’s Basement Arts, which is for fully student-produced small-scale theatre. (Very Potter Musical was created by Theatre students rather than MT’s, but I believe there were also MT’s involved - I don’t know that class as well as I knew Pasek and Paul’s class.)</p>

18

<p>So glad Pasek and Paul found their voices as composers! We got to see their new musical version of A Christmas Story this year and really enjoyed it… plus it was great fun to hear them describe their creative process.</p>

<p>D has several friends currently at UMich MT, and for some reason I had the impression the MTs were discouraged from doing student productions? For example, I thought only theatre kids (no MTs) were involved with Very Potter?</p>

19

<p>Not at all discouraged! :slight_smile: MT’s often play leads in Musket’s productions (the “mainstage” student-produced shows) as well as choreographing, directing, etc., and do a lot with Basement Arts, too, and also stage their own cabarets for benefits (which is where the Urintown YouTube videos started.) And I just checked the names associated with Very Potter Musical, and Bellatrix (who was also the choreopgrapher) is an MT as well as the co-composer (or maybe lyricist? He’s just credited for “songs” along with Darren Criss) who also played the piano. Cedric may be an MT also - I think as recognize his name as being such.</p>

20

<p>See - yet another surprise for me! Thanks, CoachC!!</p>