I respond to my own blog from yesterday.

308-A

This is my response to the article I reposted 03/07/12. Please refer to that article so that this one makes sense.

I realize the title of Mr. Loughlin’s blog, “The BFA Musical Theatre Degree Should Die” is there for shock value.  It got me to read it and repost it, after all. He makes a strong statement that, with the proliferation of BFA Musical Theatre programs there is actually less Broadway-level work available. (We’ll look at some statistics later.)

 

I’m going to reveal my main point now rather than the end by quoting, what I believe, is Mr. Loughlin’s most valid conclusion:

 

“I am opposed to branding and marketing a degree program to students when that market hardly exists. A BFA degree program in musical theatre should exist in only a few schools at best, and as educators we ought to be honest enough to know that we are selling snake oil to most of the students who dream of doing Broadway-style musical theatre.”

 

I believe there are so many BFA-Musical Theatre programs because there is a market for such programs, not because there is a lack of Musical Theatre performers.  When there is a demand, the market responds, and there are a lot of kids and parents who want (and are willing to pay for) these kinds of programs.

 

If the odds are so low that someone will get the type of top-level work they desire through their BFA, does that invalidate the degree?  Is there no value to it? Is it “snake oil?”

 

Let’s look at another Fine Arts degree, for instance; The Oboe.  A young person can get a bachelor’s degree in oboe performance from numerous universities across the country.  Are young people graduating with an Oboe Degree going to make their living playing the oboe?  If they do not play the oboe at Carnegie Hall has the degree been a failure? Has it been “snake oil?”

 

I do agree, the BFA-MT is “high stakes.”  I also believe that the market will correct itself when those types of degrees don’t pan out in the way most of those folks receiving the degrees thought they would.

 

Here’s my “pro” takes:

 

People don’t just walk onto a professional performance stage without extensive preparation. That preparation has to come from somewhere. Why not at the University level?

 

My niece is a professional working TV & movie actress in Los Angeles.  She has spent thousands of dollars on coaching, lessons and classes.  How is that different from a formalized or standardized University Degree?  One difference is that she won’t be able to tack on a MBA degree to it later if she wants to leave acting? (Which you can do with a BFA.)

 

I do feel for those who have a dream to perform and think that if they just get into a BFA program and get the diploma, they’ll just walk to Broadway, show their card, and step onto the stage, ( and, “yes,” there are some folks-including parents-who don’t think too far from that scenario.)  But that doesn’t invalidate the degree or the whole concept of the “Triple-Threat” philosophy. It just means that kids and parents are going to have to be more realistic about what their kids can and can’t do talent-wise.  When there is a whole separate industry dedicated to coaching and preparing students to “get into” BFA-Musical Theatre programs, that tells you something is skewed,

 

So: ONWARD! YE BFA-MT PEOPLE!

 

chris