Apr 25, 2024  
2018-2019 Undergraduate Bulletin 
    
2018-2019 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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.

Total Credits in Major Required for Graduation: 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.

  1. Participation in the Weekly Voice Seminar
  2. Participation in musical theatre productions sponsored by music department each semester in the major.1
  3. Jury examination each semester in MUSC 151 -MUSC 351  
  4. 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
  5. 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.

Outline/Advising Guide


First Year


Second Year


Fall (17 Credit Hours)


Spring (15 Credit Hours)


Third Year


Fourth Year


Fall (16 Credit Hours)


Spring (15 Credit Hours)


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

Where no prerequisites apply, some variation in the order or semester in which courses are taken is possible. Students should consult their academic advisors for additional information.

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