Bachelor [Musical Theatre] From Webster University

Year One

The first year of Conservatory is about discovery. Classes in acting, voice and speech, movement, introduction to musical theatre, stagecraft, text analysis, and make-up are all designed to help discover what it means to be an actor and establish the basis for a personal technique. Methods include centering and aligning, vocal production and phonetics, games, exercises, improvisation, scene study, and an overview of the twenty six most prominent composers and lyricists from the 20th and 21st Century.

Year Two

The second year of Conservatory is about exploration. Through work with highly contrasting styles of dramatic literature the basic technique established during the first year is strengthened and stretched. Basic acting technique is extended through song study in the second semester. Classes in yoga, neutral mask, and physical characterization are added to the core of acting and voice and speech.

Year Three

The third year of Conservatory is about application. The work in contrasting styles becomes even more ambitious. Skills acquired in the previous two years are applied to Shakespeare, Restoration, and Edwardian drama. In Musical Theatre Styles scene study these skills are applied to the various Broadway genres and to the completion of an audition book.?

Year Four

The fourth year of Conservatory is about refinement and looking toward the future. Interview, audition, and cold reading skills are developed. Acting for the camera, commedia dell'arte, and clown are investigated. There is continuation of the course in specialized musical theatre acting techniques, cabaret performance, dance and private voice. Toward the end of the year, fourth-year students present themselves in a showcase in New York and Los Angeles for agents, producers, and casting directors.