<p>The University of Houston theatre department has nice facilities, does lots of productions including a musical, casts Freshman despite having an MFA program, has a Shakespeare Festival in the summer, brings in guest directors with Broadway credits, and has Edward Albee on faculty. Plus, the city has lots of theatre companies and it is possible to find professional work in town as a university student. It is an audition-entry BFA program, although probably not as competitive as the top-ranked schools. It is relatively inexpensive.</p>
<p>In addition to the UH/Houston Shakespeare Festival, the well-respected Texas Shakespeare Festival in Kilgore each summer (about 3 1/2 hours away) offers housing and professional work, although it is competitive and most of the actors are MFA’s, grads, academics, and some equity members.</p>