<p>My Junior daughter has yet to land a lead in middle school or high school production (she’s 0-4) yet she regularly lands leads at Frenchwoods and community theater productions against a more talented pool of kids. Politics is a partial explanation. But I think a better explanation is that she’s an actress that sings. My anecodotal evidence is that as you move up in the MT world, much more focus and attention is paid to the ability to actually play the character. A blank faced kid with an amazing voice can get the role of Eponine in high school (particularly when the choir director is doing the casting!) but amazing voices are a dime a dozen at higher levels. So unless the actress can actually “be” Eponine – its not going to happen no matter how good the voice. My daughter’s voice teacher – who a long running part on Broadway and has other students who have been on Broadway – has told her his view that he believes acting is the most important skill in the MT world. </p>
<p>What this says to me is you are certainly not hurting your daugher’s chances in the MT world by pursuing a strong acting program while continuing with voice and dance lessons. Every good acting program I’m aware of has the ability to continue with voice and dance training at some level – Purchase, NCSA, Rutgers, etc. </p>
<p>Shaun – I sent you a PM with additional details.</p>