Colleges with fun theater programs

[Anonymous]

Swarthmore is worth looking at. Theater is very much open to everyone to participate, in a very "let's put on a show" environment, but it has also produced a disproportionate number of theater professionals and has relationships with local and regional theater companies. In other words, theater majors present no bar to nonmajors acting, producing, directing, etc., but the smallish program is enriched by visiting artists.

[Anonymous]

Muhlenberg

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Drew

+1. Drew has many student productions each year, plus the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is on campus too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oklahoma City University has a terrific musical theater program. They also have a high school summer program (run by the director) where they put on a full musical.

Why would anyone OOS attend OCU unless they were a musical theater major? Poor suggestion.

[Anonymous]

My brother had a great experience with theater at Bates.

[Anonymous]

agree that SLACs are a good option for this – maybe Wesleyan, Vassar, Skidmore. I've also heard good things about Haverford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oklahoma City University has a terrific musical theater program. They also have a high school summer program (run by the director) where they put on a full musical.

Why would anyone OOS attend OCU unless they were a musical theater major? Poor suggestion.

OCU is a private school, so it doesn’t matter if you are in state or out of state. They have other programs there, as well. My dad earned his accounting degree from there before he went to law school. Another friend also attended (major unknown) and then went to law school. Yet another attended (major unknown) and is now a curator at an art gallery. The list goes on. Aside from that, their performing arts programs are terrific and if a kid is interested in that, then it’s a great place to attend.

[Anonymous]

OP, what does she want to major in? I went to URI and majored in theater and minored in business. Anyone can audition for shows and there are a ton of double majors and students minoring in it. If your kid is passionate about theater, I would say they should double major or minor in it. While I didn’t go into it for a career, it has helped me immensely in my work. I can think outside the box, work well with others with different personalities, troubleshoot quickly and think on my feet, and am empathetic.

Most colleges will have a theater dept. you want to go with schools that do not require auditions as they will most likely be the ones that are open to anyone auditioning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oklahoma City University has a terrific musical theater program. They also have a high school summer program (run by the director) where they put on a full musical.

Why would anyone OOS attend OCU unless they were a musical theater major? Poor suggestion.

OCU is a private school, so it doesn’t matter if you are in state or out of state. They have other programs there, as well. My dad earned his accounting degree from there before he went to law school. Another friend also attended (major unknown) and then went to law school. Yet another attended (major unknown) and is now a curator at an art gallery. The list goes on. Aside from that, their performing arts programs are terrific and if a kid is interested in that, then it’s a great place to attend.

DP. No it is not. OCU's MT program is a heavy hitter, and there won't be a lot of opportunities for a non major. Their acting is bfa, their music theater is bmus. It's a conservatory program any way you slice it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dc is a theater kid. Decent voice, decent acting abilities, but is not top, definitely not professional. But they love theater so much and want to do it as a heavy activity in college. Which colleges have a big/strong theater program where a kid who loves to perform can have opportunities and a lot of fun?

Fwiw: Kid is also has a great GPA and rigorous course load in public school, good extracurriculars. Loves history, art, and writing. But theater is their passion, even if it’s not their future.

Are you asking about colleges with good student run theatre groups where a non-major has a good chance to participate or is your kid looking into a minor in theatre? Also is it theatre specifically or would they also be interested in theatre adjacent like student run groups for dance, film, improv, or singing?

University of Michigan has several student-run clubs for theatre as well as many more if you include dance, vocal, and improv. William & Mary, has lots of a cappella groups and is known for having a strong extracurricular in that area.

Michigan has the Residential College which operates an in-dorm 300 seat theater for the enrollees admitted to the RC to use to put on shows. I just went to their very nice strolling outdoor production of Shakespeare's "As You Like It". Another group is the North Campus "Rude Mechanicals". U of M also has strong a cappella. All of these are open to non-theatre/non-music majors.

While looking at schools, I noticed that Illinois Champaign Urbana had a student org that puts on musicals.

Baldwin-Wallace in Ohio does very high quality shows and does send grads to Broadway. I don't know if there are many barriers to entry but it's a small college with a heavy focus on music training.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Baldwin_Wallace_University_people

It drives me batty when people think a Wikipedia search is helpful and list a bunch of conservatory programs. Michigan is highly restrictive of involvement to specific majors. There are several smaller schools that have built powerhouse theatre programs -- BW, Point Park, DePauw etc. Their productions are equally exclusive and focused on majors. These are not good options for a non major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drew

+1. Drew has many student productions each year, plus the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is on campus too.

super expensive though

[Anonymous]

You want a program that doesn’t have an auditioned BFA or BMUS program. People suggesting OCU or Northwestern or other top theater schools are missing that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You want a program that doesn’t have an auditioned BFA or BMUS program. People suggesting OCU or Northwestern or other top theater schools are missing that.

+1 OP is asking about schools where a non-major can get to substantively participate in theater productions. Michigan is the opposite of that. OCU is also the opposite. I'll be interested to hear what other folks have to say, but it would be good for folks to make it clear whether or not they have any personal experience or are just listing programs they know Broadway stars to have graduated from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You want a program that doesn’t have an auditioned BFA or BMUS program. People suggesting OCU or Northwestern or other top theater schools are missing that.

Agree! Lots of well-meaning but misinformed suggestions here. Powerhouse conservatory or BFA programs are not where it’s at for this student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drew

+1. Drew has many student productions each year, plus the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is on campus too.

super expensive though

They offer generous merit aid.