<p>Hey! I just visited CMU Thursday thru this morning, took all the tours and saw the scripted (yawn) info session. </p>
<p>I’ve always been in love with theatre but am one of those people totally unqualified for a conservatory (such as CMU’s SFA) and I want a liberal arts education anyway (plus I love technology, science, etc.).</p>
<p>But with the conservatory as the main theatre focus, does CMU have any student-run groups? If it does, do they have decent performance space? Do people care? If I want to participate (backstage, not onstage), would I be able to?</p>
<p>My son had the same questions when he was looking at CMU a few years ago, and he was relieved to find out that there are many opportunities for non-theater majors to participate in student-run productions. Check the CMU website for “Scotch-and-Soda Theater” under “Student Activities.” There should be a name and email address for the student contact for more detailed info.</p>
<p>I also know some people who aren’t theatre majors but who have helped with the drama school’s productions backstage, so there’s a chance that that’s an option - you might try contacting someone and asking. Scotch-and-Soda generally performs in Rangos Ballroom, I think.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for a liberal arts education, you might find that CMU isn’t the best choice for you. I’m sure there are some older posts on the topic, but because you apply to a school and not a major, it can be difficult to get a broad education without committing to a particular path of study.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (H&SS) is in many way CMU’s “liberal arts” section, even though there may not be a LAC-feel to it. In fact, even engineering majors (for example ECE students) have so many free electives that they can pretty much make their education as broad as they wish. </p>
<p>Contrary to popular opinion, CMU actually has a few excellent non-engineering/CS departments whose courses are very accessible. Many tech majors take classes in modern languages, music, psychology, creative writing, philosophy, etc. Besides electives BTW, ECE majors for example are actually required to take on average one arts or humanities course per semester.</p>