Musical Theatre, B.A.

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An audition is required for admission to the interdisciplinary Major in Musical Theatre.

Applicants will audition in the three performance areas of voice, dance, and acting. Musical theatre applicants will also complete music theory and sight-singing placement exams.

Voice: Students must prepare three 32-bar musical theatre songs that demonstrate their ability to sing in tune with good vocal quality and musical intelligence. The songs should be memorized and one should be written before 1965. One of the songs should be a ballad. If a student has significant classical training, an art song or aria may be substituted as one of the three prepared songs. Please bring your sheet music, in the correct key, in a hard-back, three-ring binder (for easiest page-turning.) A pianist will be provided.

Acting: Student must prepare two contrasting monologues, traditionally a comedic and a dramatic monologue. Each piece should be less than one-and -a-half minutes long and memorized. Select audition monologues that contain characters within five years of your current age. There is no period requirement.

Dance: Students will participate in a warm-up, a short technique class, and learn a brief dance combination from a musical. There will be time to change into dance attire. Students should dress in appropriately fitted dance or athletic clothes.

An interview follows the audition. Musical theatre students must submit a resume that includes personal goals as a theatre artist, relevant theatre experience, special skills and hobbies, and other performance or athletic experience. Your resume will be collected on the date you are scheduled to audition.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate:

A familiarity with the styles, genres, and forms of Western art music, and the most influential composers and compositions therein.
The ability to accomplish a stylistic analysis of music from different eras in music history.
An awareness of and skill in researching current issues in music history/musical theatre/theatre.
The ability to describe musical styles, structures, and techniques precisely and articulately in writing and in speaking (oral discourse).
An understanding of Theatre and Musical Theatre literature, the historical settings, and criticisms through written analysis and/or oral presentations.
Aural comprehension - through dictation - of melody, harmony, rhythm, and form in various musical styles.
Skills in sight-singing of music from the Baroque through 21st-Century.
Skills in playing functional keyboard harmony.
Knowledge of the most pertinent concepts of tonal music: proper voice leading, harmonic motion within the circle of fifths, tonicization and modulation, sequences, chromaticism, and aspects of traditional small and large scale forms.
Knowledge of the most pertinent concepts of post-tonal music: modal scales and harmonies, twelve-tone serialism, quartal/quintal harmonies, polyrhythm, metric modulation, minimalist techniques, chance music, graphic music, and non-traditional forms.
A level of mastery in their instrument (voice) as defined by the departmental standards (as recommended by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) and by the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).
The ability to perform in, collaborate, and/or facilitate musical theatre and/or theatre productions at an artistic level comparable to professional expectations.

General Education Requirements (30-40 Credits)

Prerequisite coursework may be required to satisfy certain General Education courses and will count as elective credit.

Total Credits Required to Complete Major: 48

Footnotes:

*Prerequisites: Two semesters of MUSC 251 and permission of instructor
**Prerequisites: DANC 101 DANC 102 DANC 103 DANC 104 or equivalent and permission of instructor.

Additional Requirements

Meeting the following requirements and the Minimum Competence Requirement (stated below) are prerequisite to continuance in the Major.

Participation in the Weekly Voice Seminar
Participation in musical theatre productions sponsored by The Department of Music & Musical Theatre each semester in the major.
Jury examination each semester in MUSC 151 -MUSC 351
Performance each semester in the Major on a Friday Afternoon Recital or in some other public, faculty-sponsored event approved by the Coordinator of Musical Theatre and the Coordinator of Vocal Studies
Junior Review

Minimum Competence Requirement

A grade of C- or better is required for each required course.

Department Writing Requirement

All musical theatre majors write in all courses except MUSC 160 , but the style and content of the writing varies widely, based upon the course topic. Examples include journals, concept statements, production analyses, character analyses, musical analyses, and traditional research papers, such as one might find in typical courses in the liberal arts.

Sample Course Map

For students who matriculated prior to Fall 2022: please select the bulletin year in which you entered the college (matriculated) at the top right of this page.

Curriculum Map

First Year
- Fall - 17 Credits
  - DANC 103 - Jazz Technique I: (subtitle) *
  - MUSC 151 - Voice for the Performance Option **
  - MUSC 160 - Choral Organizations
  - MUSC 182 - Musicianship I for Musical Theatre
  - THEA 140 - Play Analysis for the Theatre
    - Counts for Global Society: CAI and WCV
  - WRTG 105 - Writing Seminar: (subtitle)
  - Global Society: CGC - Credit(s): 3
- Spring - 17 Credits
  - DANC 102 - Modern Technique I: (subtitle) *
  - MUSC 160 - Choral Organizations
  - MUSC 183 - Musicianship II for Musical Theatre
  - MUSC 251 - Voice for the Performance Option
  - THEA 221 - Acting I
  - THEA 130 - Introduction to Technical Theatre
  - Math/Quantitative - Credit(s): 3
Second Year
- Fall - 14 Credits
  - DANC 2xx - Technique II: (subtitle) - Credit(s): 2 OR MUSC 201 - Musical Theatre Dance
  - MUSC 251 - Voice for the Performance Option
  - MUSC 280 - Musical Theatre Performance I - Foundations
  - World Language 101 - Credit(s): 4
  - Global Society: DPP - Credit(s): 3
- Spring - 16 Credits
  - MUSC 222 - History of American Musical Theatre
  - MUSC 351 - Voice for the Performance Option
  - Global Society: SST - Credit(s): 3
  - World Language 102 - Credit(s): 4
  - Natural Science with lab - Credit(s): 4
Third Year
- Fall - 13 Credits
  - DANC 2xx - Technique II: (subtitle) - Credit(s): 2 OR MUSC 201 - Musical Theatre Dance
  - MUSC 351 - Voice for the Performance Option
  - Electives - Credit(s): 9
- Spring - 14 Credits
Fourth Year
- Fall - 15 Credits
  - DANC 2xx - Technique II: (subtitle) - Credit(s): 2 OR MUSC 201 - Musical Theatre Dance
  - MUSC 451 - Voice for the Performance Option
  - Integrative and Applied Learning - Credit(s): 3
  - Electives - Credit(s): 8
- Spring - 14 Credits
  - MUSC 459 - Senior Recital
  - THEA 320 - Acting II
  - Electives - Credit(s): 9

Total Credits: 120

For sample schedule for even years, see department.
*If prerequisites for DANC 201 DANC 202 DANC 203 are unmet.
**If prerequisites for MUSC 251 are unmet.

Note: Variation in the order of courses is possible, depending upon prerequisites. Consult course information in the bulletin or your academic advisor to customize your eight semester plan.

KEY - Participation in a Global Society (PGS)

Attributes:

Sub Areas

Abbreviation	Definition
DPP	Diversity, Pluralism, Power
WCV	World Cultures & Values
CGC	Contemporary Global Challenges
CAI	Creativity & Innovation
SST	Sustainability

Learning Areas

Abbreviation	Definition
ARTS	Arts
HUMA	Humanities
SOSC	Social Science