Musical Theatre, Bachelor of Fine Arts

At Sam Houston State University, we pride ourselves on training great performers with the ability to sing, act, and dance, making our graduates true triple threats.

The BFA in Musical Theatre is designed to meet the specific needs of musical theatre performers in the industry through classes taught by talented instructors with years of experience.

We recognize the importance the industry places on dance and acting; therefore, we have built strong dance and acting components into the degree plan for Musical Theatre majors. We emphasize ballet and offer courses in jazz, modern, and tap. Our students participate in acting, directing, design, speech, and auditioning classes, as well as Musical Theatre-specific classes such as History of the American Musical, Musical Theatre Workshop, Voice, and majors-only music courses.

Students further specialize their skills by following one of two degree paths; Major in Musical Theatre with a Dance Emphasis or Theatre Emphasis.

Internships

Our relationships with many of the Houston area theatres give our students the opportunity to enjoy working in their discipline while attending school. We have current students and alumni working with Theatre Under the Stars, Stages Repertory Theatre, The Classical Theatre Company, and Main Street Theatre, Queensbury Theatre, and AD Players. Our students are able to audition for positions in these and other theatres, adding valuable credits to their resumes and hands-on training to their experience.

Careers in Musical Theatre Performance

• Stage/TV/Film Actor
• Commercial Singer
• Dancer/Choreographer

Alumni Success

Graduates of SHSU's musical theatre program have appeared in:

• The Light in the Piazza (Broadway)
• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Broadway)
• Legally Blonde (Broadway)
• Wicked (Broadway)
• Hairspray (Broadway)
• Fosse (Broadway)
• Billy Elliot (Broadway)
• Chicago (Broadway)
• Grease (Broadway)
• Cats (national tour)
• Dreamgirls (national tour)
• Hair (national tour)
• The Drowsy Chaperone (national tour)
• Altar Boyz (national tour)
• Legally Blonde (national tour)
• Wicked (national tour)
• Oklahoma (national tour)
• The Producers (national tour)
• Hairspray (national tour)

Entry Auditions

The BFA Musical Theatre Program is an audition only program. Prospective students interested in being considered are required to participate in an entry audition.

Program Breakdown