NATIONAL MUSIC THEATER INSTITUTE
Fall
Semesters
20
Credit
Hours
Two Weeks
in NYC
NMTI ENABLES STUDENTS TO CREATE ORIGINAL WORK, LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR THE FUTURE OF MUSIC THEATER.
CREATE THEATER 10 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK
Pursuing a career in music theater? NMTI is a laboratory, an exploration into the depths of what it means to be a complete music theater artist. From 7:30am to 10pm, seven days a week, you are creating theater. The 14-week program is the ideal springboard to hone your craft, find your voice, and meet with like-minded collaborators. Conferring 20 credit hours, the National Music Theater Institute is offered only in the fall semester.
NEW YORK CITY RESIDENCY
During a two-week residency in the epicenter of American music theater - New York City, you will train with professionals in a singular series of workshops and master classes. You will visit designers and dancers in their studios; have conversations with orchestrators, writers, and performers; see a variety of performances; take a backstage tour of Broadway theater; and have Q&A opportunities with New York’s brightest creative luminaries.
MUSIC THEATER LABS
Weekly Music Theater Labs challenge you to put what you are learning in class on its feet. When given just 15 hours to stage a scene, you learn to trust your creative instincts. Under the mentorship or a professional guest artist, you gain practical experience with a wealth of music theater works.
PLAYWRIGHTS' AND LIBRETTISTS' WEEK
Playwrights and Librettists Week is dedicated to the staging of new 30-minute musicals written, composed, directed, choreographed, performed, and produced by your ensemble. This collaborative week provides a first glance at the future of the American musical under the mentorship of current contributors to the music theater cannon.
THEATER TRIPS
Theater Trips to New York City as well as to prominent regional theaters such as Yale Repertory Theatre, Goodspeed Opera House, and the A.R.T. are frequently taken. These excursions often feature exclusive opportunities to learn more about the artistic process with cast and creative teams.
COMPANY PROJECT
During Company Project, your ensemble collaboratively produces a full-length work guided by a prompt. You have two weeks to devise an original musical unique to your ensemble. Through public performances, you showcase what you have learned and what has inspired you throughout the semester.
ADDITIONAL PROGRAM INFORMATION
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
WRITING THE MUSICAL (NMTI-203) Through a variety of assignments reflecting the range of contemporary musicals, students develop skills as lyricists, book-writers, and composers. The course culminates in Music Theater Week, dedicated to the development, reading, and staging new 30-minute musicals created by students during the NMTI semester. Music Theater History is a weekly lecture series offered within the writing curriculum.
ACTING FOR MUSIC THEATER (NMTI-301) Students are given specialized actor training in a wide variety of scene work and music theater styles by core instructors and visiting artists. Classes concentrate on improving the student’s craft as an actor and on strengthening their intelligence and imagination as an artists. In-depth scene study covers a variety of musicals from Oklahoma! to Avenue Q.
SINGING/VOICE (NMTI-311) Students train in singing as well as vocal technique, production, and care. In addition to singing classes–using songs from classic and contemporary American musicals, songbooks, and pop music–there are speech and voice classes in a variety of techniques and styles (Linklater, Fitzmaurice Voicework, etc.).
DANCE/MOVEMENT (NMTI-312) Students train in a variety of dance and movement techniques for the musical actor, including: modern, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, street dance, tai chi, yoga, and acrobatics. Guest artists teach specific workshops in choreography and new dance forms, looking at the movement languages being employed and invented for the modern musical.
DATES & FEES
-
Tuition -
Housing -
Three Meals Daily -
Theater Tickets (approximately 16 shows a semester) -
Two Official Transcripts
-
Travel to/from CT ~TBD by student -
Books & Supplies ~$400 -
Personal Expenses ~$800 (approximate for laundry, sundries, & souvenirs). -
Refundable Room & Key Deposit ~$125
SCHOLARSHIPS & FINANCIAL AID
TESTIMONIALS
“I loved my experience at NMTI and think this program does an amazing job of building a supportive community. I think this program made me a more grounded and flexible actress and expanded my idea of myself beyond a narrow ‘type’ that I could play. I also felt like all of the professors truly cared about me and wanted me to do well.”
NEW YORK CITY RESIDENCY
SAMPLE SCHEDULE
> View the National Music Theater Institute sample schedule.
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