Current Musical Theatre Junior!

UCFMT1992
Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:21:16 +0000

I’m a current UCF Musical Theatre student and I love the program. I actually transferred from FSU, but the professors at UCF seem much more down-to-earth while still having comparable professional experience. My professors always encourage me to try new things and push myself harder each semester.

For our program, Acting, Dance, and Voice are pretty equally balanced. Students are expected to grow in each area, regardless of where they start. By the time you finish the program, you are expected to be strong in all 3 areas (making sure you are a true “triple threat”).

While we take classes with many different theatre professors, but the musical theatre classes with Earl Weaver, Dr. Steve Chicurel, Tara Snyder, Judi Siegfried, and Jim Brown are the most excellent that I’ve had in my college experience.

Earl is the coordinator of our program and one of our dance/acting teachers and he amazes me because he always knows what all of his students are working on and he comes to any performance (within UCF or outside) that I ask him to. He always pushes me and encourages me to be the best performer (not actor, not singer, not dancer, but PERFORMER) I can be.

Dr. Steve is one of our voice specialists and he is brilliant. I swear that he knows more about my voice than I do. His attention to detail is musically unmatched. Tara Snyder is one of our other voice specialists and she always pushes us to use our voices in the most actor-driven way I’ve been taught. It’s great to have both of them as voice professors because I get the music-heavier feedback from Dr. Steve and the actor-heavier feedback from Tara.

Judi is the best dance teacher I’ve ever had. She pushes all of her students to their individual limits and then she pushes them further. I’ve never been happier with my dancing than after having taken class with Judi. The great thing is that she makes sure that you have great technique while also making sure that you pick up the history and vocabulary you need to succeed.

Acting and Musical Theatre history could not be more fun than with Jim. Jim’s energy made a 9am History class actually fun. I never missed a class because he found a way to always keep me intrigued and entertained. Jim is also the best professor to talk to outside of class because he’s always interested in what you’re doing.

Another positive side-note about UCF’s Musical Theatre program is that we currently have 2 staff accompanists and 1 student accompanist that have accompanist office hours. This means free time for students to go over their songs for class or upcoming auditions to make sure they are prepared. The accompanists are always willing to answer musical questions you have and will give you feedback if you request it. They’re great sounding boards and wonderful people!

Some other great things about UCF are its location, student activities, and people. There is something for everyone. If you can think of an idea for a club, we’ve probably already got it. Make sure to check out some of our other awesome activities!