Musical Theater Summer Program Recommendations
My 9th grader is looking for recommendations for musical theater summer programs (both to build acting/singing/dancing skills and to learn about the business of musical theater production). We'd love to hear about programs you/your child thought were worthwhile (or not). There are a number of notable but very expensive and highly selective programs (e.g., Interlochen, NYU Tisch, UM Pulse, etc.) and many others that we can't tell are really as good as they advertise (e.g., The Broadway Experience, Stage Door Manor, etc.). There are almost no comprehensive reviews online that we can find. She would love to go to NYC but is open to local programs and other cities too. Thanks for the advice!
Jan 5, 2017
Parent Replies
Hi Inquiring Mama,
I can't speak to all the programs, but some of them (Including Tisch and MPulse) have age limits and will not consider kids until they are rising juniors at the earliest -- with preference to rising seniors. I believe Stagedoor Manor has programs for younger campers but those spots fill up fast, so you may be too late for this coming summer. I've heard good things about all of them. My high school senior daughter did a 3 week MT program at NYU Steinhardt last summer (the NYU school of music vs Tisch which is in the school of drama). Since it's a shorter program, it's somewhat more affordable -- although still hideously expensive. It had acting and dance in addition to voice and seminars about the biz. Her classmates were all rising seniors or older. She enjoyed it, but it confirmed her suspicion that going the BFA/conservatory route was not for her.
In 9th grade, I'd recommend staying closer to home. Young Actors Theater Camp offers a very popular sleep away camp. Berkeley Playhouse and Tomorrow Youth Rep offer good quality day camp summer MT production programs. My daughter did both when she was younger. Youth Musical Theater Company also does a summer production. It's very highly regarded, but my daughter hasn't done any productions with them. You should also check out the summer offerings at Berkeley Rep and ACT.
Good luck!