Theater BA: Musical Theater Emphasis

The Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program is designed to graduate actors who can sing and dance. Musical Theater emphasis students are integrated into the acting emphasis classes and students may find themselves performing in Ibsen and Chekhov as well as Sondheim and Tesori. Students are exposed to a variety of performance techniques and approaches through a combination of studio classes, performance opportunities and guest master classes.

The UCLA TFT Theater program is not a training conservatory. For those persons who want an immersive professional training program we recommend one of the acclaimed B.F.A. conservatory training programs found across the country. The Theater program at UCLA TFT is for the student who sees him/herself as a scholar/artist — one who is eager to learn and wants a great university education from one of the world's major research institutions. Roughly half of the student's classes are in subjects other than theater. This education will prepare the graduate to be an informed citizen of an increasingly complex world, an original and critical thinker, as well as providing one of the best theater educations offered in the country.

The Undergraduate Musical Theater emphasis is a minimum of six-quarter related performance classes that begin in sophomore year. Transfer students enter in their junior year and complete a minimum of four-quarter related performance classes. Related performance courses consist of acting, voice/speech, and dance and singing classes.

Students admitted to the major in the musical theater emphasis are not guaranteed a place in musical theater classes each quarter. All classes require instructor consent to enroll. The faculty may elect to not continue a student in the emphasis at any time. This could be due to poor performance or poor citizenship (excessive absences, not working up to the standards of the class, poor grades in the class, etc.). In this situation the student would still graduate with a degree in Theater (providing that the degree requirements have been completed), but without an emphasis.

Like all other theater undergraduate emphases, musical theater is not a "major." All undergraduates in the theater program are Theater majors and graduate with a bachelor of arts (B.A.) degree in Theater.

Please note that students in the UCLA TFT Department of Theater cannot transfer to the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media department at any time during their four years here, nor can they change from their emphasis into the acting or musical theater emphases.

All Theater undergraduate students (from any area) may audition for most departmental undergraduate productions.