Liberal arts, with non-competitive musical theater

College Search & Lists
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Hi Everyone,
I was hoping for college suggestions.

My youngest loves participating in musicals.
There is nothing in this world that brings her more joy.

She is adamant she does not want to major in musical theater because what she most enjoys is the collaborative atmosphere of musical theater and those moments of togetherness that participating in theater creates.
If it became competitive, like truly professional theater is, it would destroy it for her.

Her current theater teacher is the absolute best at bringing out everything kids have to offer and she has been so lucky to be able to work with him on a ton of productions. He is so good that he sends lots of kids to super professional programs in theater, kids come from all over to be able to work with him, but he is also inclusive enough to invest energy into kids like her that he knows aren’t in it as a career choice.
He has been a very special person, and likely irreplaceable, she has been so very fortunate with her theater mentors.

But you have to move on.
So now, she is looking for a small liberal arts school that is rural, suburban, or small town (absolutely no cities), a super friendly environment, approachable professors, low or no frat/sororities, strong academics, digital arts classes would a plus but not necessary and also this musical theater piece that just feels super important.

Does anyone have any thoughts on small liberal arts schools that have the musical theater that is more of a walk-on collaborative sort, like a non-competitive type, I guess maybe a non-degree type although like her current situation, it can have serious degree-seeking people along with not if the director/leadership is open to that.

I think Grinnell might be good to consider based on what I read here, it’s pretty far, we are east coast, and would love to stay within a drive but would be flexible for the right place. I think it’s also hard to get into but I am still going to suggest it to her based on what I’ve read here.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? If it is competitive where she goes she will likely give it up, she is a collaborative person, not a competitive person.

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Haverford or Bryn Mawr? My daughter enjoyed being in several productions and was director/producer of a student run production of Forum her sophomore year at Haverford.

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3

#14 has some suggestions. Check Drew and Allegheny too.

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4

We haven’t looked at a ton of schools, but we have looked at these and she did love both these options.

5

Thank you!

6

I think Swarthmore is worth looking at since it is a small department and full productions of anything with a chorus line would require walk-ons.

7

Definitely check Muhlenberg

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8

How about Smith? My D22 looked at it closely and they have tons of student-run theater clubs that looked really fun and low stress. Northhampton is a super cute town, too.

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9

What level student do you have ? Swarthmore, Grinnell- these are top schools

10

She’s a great and hardworking student, loves to learn, loves her classes, loves being inspired by her brilliant peers, so she would likely love all these schools but realistically, yes, I could use some suggestions for her that are easier to get into.

11

Can you provide her stats so we can see - it helps with perspective. Are there budget concerns? Gpa, # of APs, highest math, etc and types of ECs…

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Maybe 3.7 or 3.8 GPA unweighted probably over 4.0 with AP classes.
Just a few APs including statistics as the highest math.
Theater kid, so summers spent in theater, school years spent in theater, lots and lots of theater, including big roles that were fun to watch but nothing professional, so not resume building.
Some volunteer.
No financial constraints.
Pretty sure teachers will say extra nice things as kid absolutely loves them.

13

So a school like a Grinnell unlikely.

No test I assume.

14

No tests. It would be a reach.
Someone mentioned Drew.
That seems like a likely.
My other kids (many years older) went to our state school and our local community college, followed by another local state school, and they have done great educationally, multiple degrees and wonderful jobs so we know we have that option.
But the state school won’t have theater opportunities, there are 20,000 kids there and that’s all this kid loves. The other kids didn’t have a thing like that, they could have gone anywhere.

15

Many state schools, in addition to smaller schools, have student run theater groups. Often they have multiple. Definitely dig into the club scene at schools which strike her fancy. You may find more non-major theater options than you realize. 2 examples:

My son is not a theater or music major but one of his requirements was the ability to sing and hopefully participate in theater as well. He ended up at Miami Ohio which was a perfect fit for him. He is in the 100 member mens glee club and is currently in the ensemble in the student run musical. The student theater group is fun. The have parties and events. Each member gets a “family” ie big brother/sister to act a a mentor. He loves it. We looked at small schools first but he decided he wanted something larger with more arts options. He lived in the arts dorm freshman year and met a ton of great people. There are plenty of greek kids at school but there are many more that are not.

My daughter (current high school senior) is looking at many schools and one of her requirements is being able to participate in theater (backstage) as well. UVA is on her list for many reasons, one of which is the club “first year players”. It’s a club run by older students where all the actors and stage hands are “first year” ie freshman students. It’s a way to get first year students involved in theater right away.

Not that either of these schools are right for your daughter, but sometimes you need to dig a little to find the non-major arts options. Another school that was on my son’s list was Lafayette. It does have a greek scene, but unlikely that there’s tons of overlap with the theater kids.

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Thanks so much Meg, this is a really good reminder that there are a ton of clubs that might fill that space for her in a bigger place. I hadn’t thought of that. She will definitely apply to our state school here, she would have anyway, but I will share these thoughts with her when it’s time to decide.

Lafayette definitely makes the list, but I think it’s another hard to get into school.

17

If you’re full pay and ED it could work. But there’s other schools like it - F&M as an example.

There’s tons of LACs. Look at US News. Start at #50 and google theater clubs and see if they’re open for non majors.

18

I looked at colleges that offered musical theater as a major (per College Navigator) but that had a small number of graduates each year, meaning that they would need non-majors to be participating in order to produce the musicals. Some of those schools include:

Schools that are members of the Colleges That Change Lives association had their profiles linked. SUNY Geneseo is one of the campuses participating in the flagship tuition match with a number of northeastern states.

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19

Sarah Lawrence College is worth a look. They have an open curriculum so students can take just about any classes. They also have a lot of theater opportunities that all students can participate in. The small liberal arts school in a New York suburb seems to fit some of your other criteria too. Very collaborative environment.

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My engineering student at Lafayette got a role as a freshman as a non major, and the theater program seems pretty active. Also look at St. Olaf, Denison, Kenyon.

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