Musical Theater B.F.A.

About this Program

• Develop skills in singing, dancing and acting in a structured, intensive format that features careful and expert guidance.
• Focus in your first year on techniques of acting, ballet, voice (both singing and speaking), sight singing and dramatic theory with opportunities to work on productions behind the scenes.
• Enjoy opportunities after your first year to audition for roles in department productions, co-productions with Syracuse Stage, student- and faculty-sponsored productions, student films and more.
• Benefit from our partnership with Syracuse Stage, a professional theater company, including shared theater complex, access to industry professionals and the possibility of earning Equity points in Syracuse Stage productions.
• Experience immersive learning opportunities in New York City, Los Angeles and London (in partnership with Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre).
• Collaborate with community members with disabilities to co-create theater in an inclusive environment through our All Star C.A.S.T. (Community Actors and Students’ Theater) workshops.
• Benefit from a strong, supportive alumni network.

Musical Theater (B.F.A.)

Department of Drama

Learn the skills necessary to thrive in one of the most demanding performing arts professions.

Our bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.) degree program in musical theater focuses on the development of your individual talents and abilities with the aim of helping you to discover your uniqueness as a musical theater artist. This rigorous program requires coursework in three areas of performance—singing, dancing, and acting—as well as foundations in liberal arts and theater history.

Musical theater students learn singing techniques to support all styles of theater music, from operetta to rock, with foundational coursework in music theory, sight singing, and piano. The dance studio offers four levels of ballet and jazz plus additional studies in tap, modern, and theater dance styles. The acting training incorporates scene study, dramatic theory, text analysis, speech, movement, and on-camera skills. All three areas are interwoven in musical theater performance classes, audition technique, cabaret, and participation in the many production opportunities available each semester.

The first year is the foundation for all future training. You will focus on techniques of acting, ballet, voice (both singing and speaking), sight singing, and dramatic theory. Although first-year students are not permitted to perform on stage for the public, you will have the opportunity to work on productions behind the scenes in a wide variety of jobs, ranging from running crews to assistant stage managing.

From the second year on, musical theater students may audition for roles in faculty-directed plays and musicals, co-productions with Syracuse Stage, scenes and plays directed by directing students, and films produced by film students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Advanced musical theater students may audition for and perform in Syracuse Stage productions in appropriate roles. Students may also understudy the professional actors. Equity points may be earned through work with Syracuse Stage.

The Department of Drama has a very limited number of spaces available for strong singer/actors who are not dancers within its B.F.A. acting program’s concentration in musical performance, also known as the actor-singer track. Interested students must apply to both the musical theater and acting programs. Learn more about the actor-singer track.