@azmtmom13 I’d love to know the information about Utah as well. We visited the campus in a December and loved it. My D loved the audition as well, and it’s very high on her list. I just want more information.
Gosh, my daughter is a Sophomore just starting this path. I have only scanned a couple of threads on here and am already having an anxiety attack about the process.
@katzenbogen feel free to PM me too with questions. One thing we learned is that U of U doesn’t necessarily admit by “type”, but by “person”. This has pros and cons I gather as you do have to compete for roles–there isn’t just one blonde soprano, for example. SLC is a city but not so big that the transition is particularly hard for kids from smaller towns. When people think Utah, they often think super conservative (depending on your view I guess that could be a pro or con for you). SLC is less so. The congressional district SLC is in (UT-4) just elected a Democrat. He previously was mayor of SLC. The Mormon Church is definitely an influencer, but the influence in SLC is less than in the surrounding more rural areas. (Again, the degree to which this matters to you is individuals. My D is not religious, so this matters to her). I guess the facilities for theatre/MT weren’t great, but they are building new facilities (not sure on timeline on that). I know my D figured out that you can do daily dance (important to her) and that there is opportunity to take instrument lessons. David had said he expects kids to come in with some music theory and if they are behind in this (my D is), he’ll send work for them to do over the summer. It is possible to get instate tuition, but I think the child can’t be put as a dependent on your taxes and has to stay in UT for a year. There are equity theatres in SLC and others in surrounding areas, including Utah Shakespeare Festival. Her friend had summer work in some of these. Send me other questions you may have.
@mauidad - just a suggestion - you’ll rarely get an objective view of one school vs another on a public forum like this. You can probably get feedback on each school separately but most parents/performers will be biased. What people have found really helped in deciding between schools was to do a “blind” review of the schools - put together a spread sheet of the curriculum of each comparing apples to apples without the school name being called out. Schools can vary greatly in how they aproach a BFA and putting together your own “objective info” (if you haven’t already) is helpful.
Any time anyone publishes “rankings” on MT or Drama schools the CC forum goes a little nuts. Whether the rankings are data based (like Playbill) or reputation based (Hollywood Reporter) or based upon a matrix review by a small group of people (Onstage) they are all biased. When it comes to your kid’s education I honestly don’t think the rankings should tip the scale at all - unless there is truly no other difference you can objectively decide on. At that point - possibly the school that’s getting that good PR is worth considering - if only because having a higher profile isn’t a bad thing.
Thanks. It would still be great to get some anecdotal info from people who have attended or considered these programs.
Sorry if this is unrelated but has anyone attended Penn State pre-college (S.T.A.T.E?) and could give some of your experience? Thank you!
@azmtmom13 Thank you so much. I have texted him to see what questions he has. You answered a few regarding the city/religious aspects in your other post. Being from a large metro area, you don’t want to assume things and it helps to get real insight. I will pm you with the list when I get it
@mauidad I agree with those 2 programs looking at the 4 year schedule of classes would be helpful. But I would say visiting is the most important. My d totally changed her mind after visiting her 2 options (she wanted a conservatory and chose the school with many Gen Ed classes)
@azmtmom13 thank you so much. I’ll see what questions my daughter has and PM you. We are very liberal, and not particularly religious. We were happy to see all of the LGBTQ+ support there appeared to be on campus. My D is straight, but this is an issue that is very important to all of us. The daily dance was very important to my daughter as well.
@mauidad there was a thread on TCU still going first week of February… http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/2114488-tcu-bfa-mt.html#latest
@universitygirl44 I sent you a PM!
Does anyone know if all the PACE offers are out?
I agree with @MTdreamz. Visiting definitely gives you a different flavor. Also, in at least half of the cases for our schools, the website for the curriculum wasn’t the complete story (e.g., some schools offered way more than listed or some schools were thinking of paring things down). It may have been specific to the schools we chose, but something that was part of our experience.
Another thing that helped my daughter was talking to current students. She’s learned a ton. If the kids go to “Courtney’s Breakroom,” they can get some questions answered and the student are very helpful.
So I’m in the class of 2024! Could someone please tell me more about CMU’s Pre College Program for MT? I got accepted a while back and they haven’t really been emailing me with like info about the program. Last year when I was accepted into NYU’s program is seemed like I was fillling out a survey for my dorm room in like a week.
@MuTh2024 .my daughter is class of 2024 as well. she did CMU summer program last year and loved every second of it, they were crazy slow about sending paperwork after verbally telling her she was accepted as well last year…if you want to speak w my D , send me a pm w your contact
@MTdreamz - saw you comment about seeing the schools and how your child had a change of heart about which type of school they wanted to attend. I’d be curious to know if they went from BFA to a BA or just a Conservatory style to a regular college campus type program? I’d love to know which schools and why? Reason I’m asking is we’re in decision mode and having similar concerns. You can PM me if you prefer to answer that way.
@frisbee3 They were both BFA’s - CCPA and Ball State. She wanted to be in a conservatory in a city (PP was her dream school) so she wouldn’t have to read a book again unless it was a play. After she got accepted to Ball she visited and felt at home there (we live in a rural small town) and told me gen ed’s were good because they like smart actors! LOL so that’s where she is! I always tell people to visit the schools after they are accepted and they will know when they are at the right one.
@frisbee3 @MTdreamz can someone list their thoughts on the pros and cons of a conservatory vs non-conservatory. I have looked at a variety of curricula for BA’s and from what I have seen, a large percent of the “gen ed” classes are, generally speaking, geared toward the humanities, which in my view are great for the arts. I have also seen that some of the MT curricula satisfy some of the gen ed requirements. Of course, this is going to vary from school to school, but I have specifically looked because so far my D has been accepted to BA programs. Of course, she wants to be at a conservatory, but we shall see…
@BWmama , I’m not an expert but from what I have seen, it is more specific to the school than the label of BA, BM, BFA or even conservatory vs University. I have seen University programs with less gen Ed’s than conservatories.
@BWmama not one of the one’s you asked, but my personal opinion is that our kids can thrive in either. With many BFA’s the gen eds are geared toward performers - need a literature class, take Shakespeare; need a phys ed, take another dance or a yoga class. One of the other benefits of a BFA are the “soft skills” students learn that are applicable in any work environment - teamwork, attention to detail, dedication to the end product, collaboration, communication and punctuality all are skills the business world wants to see as well.
I think BA’s are also great because a performer should be well rounded with knowledge and understanding of a variety of subjects. If you’re doing a show set in a specific time period or a specific location, knowing the history of that period or place, what the political and societal issues of the day are is important. If there is a central theme to a show, knowing the language of the culture (like knowing a bit about baseball if you’re doing Damn Yankees) would be good.
Of course all actors should have research as part of their character development process, and that’s where lab sciences help - it’s not always as much about the facts they learn but the process of getting there.
I would point these out to your D as well. Development as a well-rounded performer includes skills beyond just acting, voice and dance. The path to get there is different, but not necessarily better or worse.