<p>How come this site has been quiet for so long? My son is a freshman at Muhlenberg studying musical theater and is so happy! Where is everyone?</p>
<p>My son is also a freshman at Muhlenberg and studying musical theater. What a great fit the school has been…the performance opportunities, classes, friends…Parents Weekend was fun and very telling for us. What a great choice he made in Muhlenberg!</p>
<p>What are some of those performance opportunities?</p>
<p>Performance opportunities are many and include staged readings, student-directed productions and films, black box productions, musical productions, etc. I believe that auditions for most productions are held the second week of each semester. The fall musical was Batboy, and the spring musical is “An American Tragedy” by Charles Strouse (of “Bye, Bye Birdie” and “Annie” fame) who will, along with his choreographer wife and Charles Richter (head of the Theater Dept.), will be closely involved in its production. One of my son’s fall performance opportunities included workshopping “An American Tragedy.” He will be in it when it premiers this spring. He’s most excited. For a complete listing of specific productions, check out the college website.</p>
<p>I’m hoping to have more information for you all regarding this, but I just arrived in Allentown last night to return D to school. She got together with some of her friends last night and was getting updated on what has happened on campus since last September (she was abroad fall semester). One new development is that there will be a ‘senior showcase’ this year in NYC for the first time. Don’t know how it’s going to work, details, etc., but that’s what she was told by some of the seniors who will be participating. I rarely visit this board anymore, mostly because the Muhlenberg thread gets so little activity. I will try to remember to check in from time to time as I learn more about this.</p>
<p>My s also was part of the “An American Tragedy” workshop and will be in the production in March. He feels he is thriving there on all levels and can’t imagine being at a better fit school or theater program.</p>
<p>My D is also in American Tragedy, and is a senior. Lyricmom or 42ndstreetmom…did either of you see the staged reading in Nov?</p>
<p>The only comment I heard about the senior showcase was that it was going to be a fee associated to participate. My D has been rethinking living in NY after graduation and isn’t sure she is going to commit to it. We will see.</p>
<p>In the next several months she will do her senior recital, American Tragedy, and then graduate. The part four years have slipped by. But I have no doubt that Muhlenberg was a great choice for her.</p>
<p>42ndstreetmom and anothermom-w-q…</p>
<p>So cool! Kind of feels like we’re related!</p>
<p>I did not see the workshopping of “An American Tragedy.” Did either of you see it?! I did get to see my S in the one-act, “Persistance,” by Muhlenberg alum, Brendan Votipka, and commissioned by the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding. The performance was very well-done and generated much interesting discussion at the talk-back which followed.</p>
<p>terriwtt and anothermom-w-q…</p>
<p>Great news about the Senior showcase in NYC. I hope it is well inplace by your daughters’ graduation.</p>
<p>teriwtt -</p>
<p>Where did your daughter do her semester abroad and how was her experience? How did she decide to go senior year vs. junior year? Funny, my S talked about it during the break. He would love to take advantage of this opportunity.</p>
<p>In the meantime, we are waiting to hear about colleges for my D who is only one year younger than my S. I can’t believe we’ve been doing this for two straight years! I only hope that my D’s transition/settling in and roommate experiences go as well as for her as they did for my S.</p>
<p>I don’t think we’ve spoken to everyone here before, but things are going well for our D who transferred in for her sophomore year last semester. She seems to be quite content, but certainly a different perspective compared to traditional freshmen. She did participate in a staged reading last semester and looks forward to performing a role in Blood Wedding this spring. I know she’s especially excited to work w/ Francine since she could not have her as an instructor this semester. Our son graduates from Otterbein this spring where he’s receiving his BFA. It’s been interesting to compare the two, BFA vs BA. One thing that Otterbein has had for a while is the showcase in NY. We didn’t expect to hear anything of a showcase at Muhlenberg, so it should be interesting to follow this and see how it develops. Our D also is considering next semester abroad in Italy - something that was not available to our son in his program. I believe the Italy semester is suggested for junior year and available in the fall only for her. All in all, our D feels very fortunate in her experience at Muhlenberg, especially as a transfer.</p>
<p>Glad to hear everyone’s doing well, and best of luck to those approaching graduation!</p>
<p>I did see the workshop, as my D had a big role, and we didn’t know how the recasting would work out. She got the same role again, so we will be going back in March to see the show in a more polished form. One interesting things about casting is that there are two main female roles, and one has gone to a freshman who was amazing in the staged reading. Muhlenberg does not just cast upperclassmen in main roles.</p>
<p>I will post when I learn more about the senior showcase.</p>
<p>Teriwitt’s D is a junior this year, I believe. I am sure she will come back and share more about her experience abroad.</p>
<p>Abparent, I think your perspective could be very valuable to students weighing the difference between BFA/ BA programs. And especially because Otterbein and Muhlenberg are similarly sized LACS.</p>
<p>I have heard other positives from transfers to the Berg. Some might be afraid that students who started at the school might get preferential treatment, but that has not been the case from what I have heard.</p>
<p>Just curious, does anyone know why Muhlenberg has a BA and not a BFA if the MT is so great?</p>
<p>I can’t answer specific to Muhlenberg’s reasons but many college theater departments have as their mission and philosophy the study of theater in a liberal arts context. Muhlenberg is a liberal arts college and so this fits that type of education. Such schools also believe that the BA program can be a stepping stone to graduate studies to specialize. </p>
<p>You should also know that the BA at Muhlenberg is not a BA in MT, but rather a BA in Theater but that a student can “craft” a MT type curriculum with double majors or minors in voice and/or dance, and there are MT production opportunities. </p>
<p>There are students who seek a BA degree and there is a place for that. Not everyone wants a BFA. I know students who were admitted to well regarded BFAs such as NYU/Tisch or Penn State, but who CHOSE BA Theater programs over these BFA options.</p>
<p>Does anyone know why freshman can not take acting classes?</p>
<p>24/7, I don’t know why they can’t, but I know it didn’t end up disappointing my D too much. There is a course for freshmen she took, a survey kind of class (I don’t remember the name of the course) and they worked on monologues and scenes in there. The professor was Charlie Richter who also started the theatre department there. He is also the one who could best answer your question.</p>
<p>anothermom how many musical theatre shows does Muhlenberg do per yr?</p>
<p>Muhlenberg does two mainstage musical a year, fall and spring. They also do black box productions, which are student directed with some help from the department. There are also “third tier” shows which do not receive any help from the department. My D has done several mainstage shows, a blackbox and directed a third tier show.</p>
<p>During the summer, Muhlenberg Summer Musical presents several productions. The cast is comprised of students, community members as well as equity actors from New York or Philadelphia. All cast members are paid, and are offered free lodging in the dorms. They generally do one large musical, one smaller one and a production for children. Any day now they will announce the shows for this coming summer, and then auditions will happen in the next month or so. Tech positions are also paid, and most are held by students.</p>
<p>Any student can audition for any show.</p>
<p>Thanks anothermom. two mainstage musicals during a school year is plenty. My d is auditioning there on Feb. 1. Maybe we’ll meet your d. We’ll have a couple hrs after the audition to grab a bite, got any ideas?</p>
<p>
Ah, yes, the incredibly talented Mr. Votipka. He was in D’s a cappella group… you should hear him sing, too. He also was a strong encourager of my D when she was ambivalent about submitting her one-act play to the New Voices program and helped her with rewrites, etc. I know she misses him.</p>
<p>
She went to London… Queen Mary, University of London. It seems to me like most of the theatre students pick from one of three study abroad programs (well, other than anothermom’s D), two in London, and the one in Italy. I really think the vast majority of kids go fall semester their junior year… in fact, I think D said to me that no one goes spring semester. She loved it! At Thanksgiving every year, Muhlenberg sends one theatre faculty member over to London to take the kids out for Thanksgiving dinner - a warm touch. When I went to visit her, we took a few days to go to Vienna and loved it!</p>
<p>
Is Francine even teaching this semester? I know she had to miss quite a bit during the fall semester.</p>
<p>
The rumor at this point is Spelling Bee is one of them, and I know they considered Evita, but I think it’s off the radar now.</p>
<p>Mom at home- I am glad you will be going to campus so you can get a feel for the place. An American Tragedy is in rehearsal 6 nights a week, but you will probably be gone from campus before rehearsal starts. You might have your D ask Charlie Richter if there are any other rehearsals she might attend.</p>
<p>As for places to eat, on campus there are a couple of places. She might enjoy GQ (General’s Quarters) as there is a lot of action there, as students pass through quickly between classes.</p>
<p>If you want to go off campus, I think Syb’s is closed on Mondays, which is the little neighborhood about 2 blocks from campus, and the farmer’s market is also closed. There is a Panera Bread at the corner of Cedar Crest and Tilghman. Further afield is Trivet, a diner that a lot of students like, or at the mall are a bunch of restaurants. Since you are just there for the day, I would recommend eating on campus so you can get a feel for the student body.</p>
<p>I heard the Spelling Bee rumor too, and am just waiting to see what else they have planned for the summer.</p>
<p>My D is auditioning there this Thursday…thanks for the tips on where to eat! She’s looking forward to attending the acting class before her audition.</p>