Music Theatre of Connecticut School of the Performing Arts in Westport will conduct the College Bound in the Performing Arts Seminar, a crash course in performing arts degree programs for high school performers and their parents, on Saturday, September 15 at 10am in Westport. MTC's program is the leading College Performing Arts Prep Program in the country, enjoying a 100% placement rate with students accepted into the nation's most prestigious programs including Carnegie-Mellon, Syracuse University, Northwestern University, University of Michigan, NYU-Tisch, Boston Conservatory, Ithaca College, Elon University, and many more. The seminar, designed for students interested in pursuing an acting or musical theatre degree path in college, is led by Kevin Connors, MTC co-founder and College Bound in the Performing Arts creator and coach. He brings more than 25 years of experience as a professional theatre director and composer, as well as having served as adjunct professor of musical theatre at several colleges, including The Hartt School of Music/University of Hartford and the University of Bridgeport.
Connors and MTC co-founder Jim Schilling have advised, coached and guided over sixty students through the college process—selection through audition and admission. Many MTC alumni have completed or are currently enrolled in college programs and appear in Broadway shows, feature films, and commercials. "Musical Theatre and Acting programs have become 'the new football' in colleges," says Mr. Connors, "with more than 3000 students auditioning for 20 freshman slots in some programs. Our parents and students have told us that they can't imagine how they would have gone through this process without our ongoing guidance and consultation."Westporter Justin Paul, graduate of University of Michigan’s BFA musical theatre program and composer of the upcoming Broadway production of "A Christmas Story: The Musical," is an alumni of the College Bound in the Performing Arts Seminar. He said, “MTC and Kevin Connors have been essential in helping me find the programs and institutions that would best suit my desired career track. Though guidance counselors are wonderful in preparing for post-high school academic studies, Kevin guided me toward the best arts-specific programs in the country.”
Haley Bond, another Westport native, Emerson College BFA musical theatre graduate and College Bound in the Performing Arts Seminar and Program alum recently said of her experience, “Music Theatre of Connecticut nurtured my appreciation for theatre and started me down the right path. The staff is very passionate about theatre and they certainly spread it to their students.”“When I look back to when I started MTC and where I am now, I am amazed,” Ms. Bond added. “I never would have guessed that I would actually pursue a college degree in theatre, but they kept pushing me further and I fell deeper in love with it.”MTC’s College Bound in the Performing Arts Seminar outlines the performing arts college admission process from start to finish, guiding families through the many crucial elements of performing arts degrees most school or college counselors do not know including specific information on more than 50 colleges and their specific programs, variances in training, departmental philosophies and transitions into the professional world; student profiling identifying exactly the right programs and tracks, “college shopping” and visitation consultation, narrowing the field to final school selection, audition package creation and coaching, and developmental and strategic preparation.Tuition for the College Bound in the Performing Arts Seminar and one private consultation is $125. Students subsequently registering for the complete College Bound program have their seminar fee applied to their tuition.
The College Bound in the Performing Arts Seminar is at Music Theatre of Connecticut, 246 Post Road East, Westport. For more information on “College Bound in the Performing Arts,” or to register, visit musictheatreofct.com/college or contact Music Theatre of Connecticut at 203.454.3883.