Andrew Said:

Has anyone ever done CAP21 summer musical theatre training?

We Answered:

no.

Erin Said:

Is it too late for me to want to major in musical theatre?

We Answered:

No, but you should be in dance classes (ballet, tap, jazz) and be taking voice lessons. You need to be in all the school and community plays and musicals that you can. A great many colleges and universities offer musical theater performance majors which is what you want if you want to be an actor. Hints on how to choose the better schools are in my free ebook, The Tao of Acting.

Carol Said:

Anyone know a good theological seminary with a good theatre program?

We Answered:

Look up Wesley Theological Seminary or maybe Sewanee

Henry Said:

I'm thinking of auditioning for the University of Minnesota's Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program

We Answered:

It is always worth a shot. I had no experience other than a few lines in a couple high school plays, and decided on a whim to audition for college programs, and to my surprise was accepted into a lot of different ones! However, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Make the decision to study this and then start looking at other schools too. There are lots of smaller BFA programs that are wonderful even though they are not quite as well-known. I also thought that musical theater was my passion, but I ended up being really grateful that I went for BFA acting training. You can still take voice and dance lessons while you're in school, and the acting program will be serious in depth training which will have great rewards. That being said, there are also lots of good musical theater programs out there. I would suggest doing a mixture, audition for some acting programs and some musical.

Guthrie is a big deal. It is always worth a shot but you may not get in. Approach the audition process the same way they tell you to approach applying for schools in general. Maybe Guthrie will be your "long-shot" program. Start researching and choose a bunch of middle of the range programs. Then choose a couple "safety" schools, which can include BA Theater programs that dont necessarily require an audition.

Lastly, talk to your high school director and/or drama teacher. They will be happy to help you choose and rehearse monologues. I practiced for my auditions with them for 15 minutes everyday afterschool and it helped immensely. :)

Calvin Said:

What opportunities are available for a theater student in Germany?

We Answered:

Hello, I don't know where you are but I would tell you to check out http://www.campus-germany.org for further details. That site has a compilation of everything related to education in Germany. It is the website of the German government.

You can send an e-mail to "postmaster@daad.de" with your complete resume and your career plans and ask them for institutions in Germany for theater.

Look on Google for DAAD in your country.

All the best!

Melissa Said:

what are the best summer theater training programs?

We Answered:

Telling us where you are would help.

In LA:

Cold Reading/Auditioning
-Margie Haber
-Annie Grindlay
-Saxon Trainor
-Brian Reise
-Robert D'Avanzo
-Amy Lyndon

Commercials
-Hey, I Saw Your Commercial!
-Chris Game
-Stuart K. Robinson
-Stuart Stone
-Killian McHugh
-Francine Selkirk-Akerman
-Carolyne Barry

Improv (All four are great)
-Groundlings
-Second City
-Upright Citizens Brigade
-Improv Olympic

Scene Study/Acting (It varies. Some schools are not for everyone. Chubbuck, Eric Morris, and Howard Fine are not for people who aren't fans of Strasberg or Uta Hagen (ie. affective memory and substitution.) Playhouse West, Joanne Baron/DW Brown, and Acting Corps are more Meisner oriented. Try to audit these places and make sure if they're for you or not.

-Doug Warhit
-Stephen Book
-Diana Castle
-Beverly Hills Playhouse
-Howard Fine
-Stella Adler
-Ivanna Chubbuck
-Joanne Baron/D.W. Brown
-Tom Todoroff
-Playhouse West
-Aaron Speiser
-Acting Corps
-Vinny Guastaferro
-Eric Morris

Comedy:
-Scott Sedita
-Lesly Kahn


In NY:
-William Esper
-HB Studios
-Stella Adler
-T. Schreiber
-Weist Baron
-Upright Citizens Brigade
-Margie Haber
-Redwall Productions (Rosalyn Coleman)
-Neighborhood Playhouse
-Circle in the Square

Thomas Said:

A Theatre major. I want to pursue my dreams and pay bills too. What is the best decision for Grad School?

We Answered:

Sigh. Well, I think, the wisest and best choice is to get a Ph.D. Professional acting training is a waste for teaching, MA in community college teaching sounds smart, then a Ph.D. in speech and theate education would make you most marketable as a teacher. I found being a College Prof was very flexible for me to participate as a professional actor for ten years. Contact me at the aol address in my profile and I will tell you why this starts with a sigh, and can fill you in on my thinking if you would like. Doc