<p>So here’s the story. I’m an undergrad music education major, I play the saxophone, haven’t had much formal training in voice/dance/acting but have been told by my voice teacher I have great potential. I’ve fallen in love with musical theater but am wondering how to get training. </p>
<p>My school - Penn State - has a musical theater program that’s pretty tough to get into, so changing majors is not an option. Transferring to a non-audition MT school is also not an option, as my credits wouldn’t really transfer, costing me an extra year. In addition, my dad is a Penn State employee on a branch campus so we get a discount for me to be here. Therefore, I intend to finish my music ed degree, because of these reasons and also because I love conducting bands, and it’s more of an income guarantee than MT.</p>
<p>But I’d still really like to pursue musical theater as another career. I know that there are a few programs offering graduate degrees in MT and also professional training programs like CAP21. Here’s my question - are there any other ways to get this training? I’m just curious to see what all my options are.</p>
<p>I thought you had a thread on this before? I think I may have responded to it. But in any case, besides the few grad programs in MT, there are the professional training programs for someone like you such as CAP21 and Circle in the Square. Then, another option is to obtain great training by piecing it together, such as in NYC, training with a competent voice teacher for MT, taking dance classes at a very good studio, and enrolling in acting classes. During that time, you might also work part time jobs (maybe give sax lessons?). Meanwhile, try to audition for musicals (if you have natural talent) at any level to gain experience on stage and by doing. For example, do that now during the summers and also are there student run shows on campus? Join an a capella group? See if you can take any voice, dance, or acting classes at college or in the college’s local community now and not wait until you graduate? At many schools, you don’t have to be a major just to take a class or to be cast in a student run production. Also, use your college summers to take voice, dance, and acting, or if you can afford it, a summer MT intensive (there are some that take students your age, and there are threads on this forum that discuss them).</p>
<p>Someone else had a thread on it, and I made a comment, I believe. I’ve had a couple threads asking questions before but none asking this one, specifically, I think. Maybe I’m wrong though…in the stress of finals week I may have forgotten I already posted something!</p>
<p>Good suggestions, thanks!
As far as shows, I’m auditioning for a community theater production back home this summer, and for student-run shows on campus during the year. I think non-theater majors can audition for mainstages, but they don’t generally get cast.</p>
<p>Also, I believe that most of the acting and dance classes here are unfortunately reserved for theater majors, but there are a few gen eds, plus a downtown dance studio. And thinking about going to NYC for some great training is also a good suggestion!</p>
<p>Sorry, I may have mixed you up with someone else but I just remember your story. :D</p>
<p>Yes, this all sounds good. Try to find classes or lessons either at college or near the college and also in the summers wherever you will be. </p>
<p>You can do that AFTER college too but why not start now during college to do what you can and also in summers. And if you can swing it, a summer MT intensive program would immerse you in training too.</p>
<p>It’s good that you are exploring options for MT. I observe that you are also asking elsewhere on CC about your plans to get a Masters in either wind conducting or music education and possibly a doctorate in music. And it is only natural for a freshman in college to be figuring out the direction they wish to take with their studies and their careers. But if you DO want to pursue graduate music degrees in conducting or teaching, put your energies into that, rather than training for MT in the next three years and summers. Once you figure out your direction, keep building your training, experience, internships, extracurriculars, summer plans and jobs around your goals.</p>
<p>Oh…I see…yeah, wasn’t thinking of that “Non-audition colleges” post when I made this thread. </p>
<p>The issue I have with plans is that I want to pursue BOTH MT and wind conducting, and don’t know how to do so. In addition, I’m sure that if I did get into MT performance as a career, there would be a point at which I would be “too old” and continually beat out by younger auditioners, at which point (the way I see it) I could then teach music. </p>
<p>The reason I was asking about the master’s degree was namely because I was wondering if I needed to get the master’s degree in wind conducting in order to get the subsequent doctoral degree. My idea was getting my master’s in MT, or double majoring for my master’s, which would in theory allow me to do both, but I wasn’t sure how feasible that would be.</p>
<p>What it comes down to, I guess, is most people will probably tell me “you can’t do it all” and that I have to choose between 2 things I’m truly interested in and love doing. But I don’t want to have to choose.</p>
<p>First, I am not aware of the possibility of double majoring in a graduate program and so I will put that out there (I have a daughter in grad school and went to grad school myself). </p>
<p>While in college, surely study more than one thing…take classes in many things that interest you. </p>
<p>In terms of your educational path with grad school and all that, there is some choosing involved. If your goal is further education in MT, you have to try for that and if your goal is for a higher degree in conducting, then you would pursue that. </p>
<p>But in terms of LIFE, you can do more than one thing! For example, you can become a conductor but also do community theater. That is just one example. I’ll give you another example with my own daughter, though each of the things she is pursuing RELATE in some way (which is another idea for you such as pursuing teaching instrumental music, conducting, and perhaps pursuing singing). My daughter’s training is as a MT performer. Her career and pursuits in the two years since graduating fall mostly into three areas (she likes them all)…performing in musicals and related types of shows (that involve singing or acting), singer/songwriter (these are non-MT in nature, but involve putting out a CD, playing concerts in venues of original songs), and writing/composing musicals. On top of that she has “survival” jobs to earn money a such as accompanying MT classes on the college level and high school level, musically directing shows, coaching MT performers, etc. These areas all relate but she is pursuing more than one thing she likes to do. All of her work is in one field though, even though she is doing many different facets of it. You could pursue several facets of the music field, as one idea. I do have to say, however, that with pursuing more than one thing, as my D is doing, it makes for a very very busy life as each area is pursued with much fervor and time, whereas some people are pursuing just one thing at a time. This means networking and contacts in several areas. It is a lot to keep going at one time. But it is possible. By the same token, to do something very well, you really must pursue it. So, let’s say you want to get a doctorate in conducting, you can’t take a couple years off to train in MT and then try conducting as you must keep building your resume and experience in conducting. In other words, my D is not doing one thing and putting others on hold. She is pursuing several areas all at one time. It is hard to do though. </p>
<p>Food for thought.</p>
<p>Very good points as far as exploring all the opportunities in colleges and within a particular field. Though, it seems as though there still is some choosing. While I see that it’s possible to pursue a conducting career and do community theater on the side, I didn’t get from your last post that it’s possible to have professional-level careers in both at the same time. Perhaps something that’s both a good thing and a bad thing about me and my personality is that when I want something, I have huge goals and want to go all the way with it. And I won’t stop until either my goals change or I reach my goal. (For example, when I was little, I didn’t just want to ride horses - I wanted to be a jockey racing horses at the Kentucky Derby. Things haven’t changed much as far as what I see for my future when I have a new goal in mind.)</p>
<p>And that, I suppose, is my concern.</p>
<p>I think it would be hard to have a career as a conductor of wind ensembles and one in musical theater. Both fields require a lot of training first. Also, if cast in a musical, the hours are often a lot and you may have to put conducting aside temporarily and vice versa. But it MAY be possible to do both. My daughter musically directs shows, composes shows and is a MT performer. But there are times when she is immersed in one thing, when she has to do a little less in the other. For example, when she was musically directing a show, it was difficult to also be cast in a show at the same time and so as soon as one ended, she did the other. Or when a musical she composed was being produced, she was very involved in major rewrites and revisions and stopped auditioning during that time (then again, she also performed as a lead in the musical she wrote and so was still performing). Of when she was recently involved in several shows, she had to put the recording of her CD on hiatus temporarily but is now back in the recording studio as two shows ended recently. As I said, her various pursuits relate in that they are all in music and theater. Again, it may be possible for you to be involved in both MT and music conducting at the same time in your CAREER. But what I was saying was that in terms of your EDUCATION in grad school, you’ll have to pick one or the other for THAT. (for example, my D’s education was training as a MT performer, but she also writes/composes but her education was not training for that, but she happens to possess skills/talent in that area but her degree was in one area). For your undergrad education, you can learn about many things, but in grad school, you can only study one field at a time.</p>
<p>Ok, thanks very much, you are very helpful. It’s a lot to consider but in the end, since I’m interested in both, I think I’ll find a way to include both in my life.</p>