New B.F.A. degrees approved

Students who dream of a career on Broadway will now be able to get a degree in musical theatre at UNT.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board recently approved the addition of three bachelor of fine arts degrees in the UNT Department of Dance and Theatre Arts, including a degree in musical theatre as well as B.F.A. degrees for the traditional disciplines of dance and theatre arts to prepare students for many different performing career paths.

UNT is the only university in the Metroplex to offer a B.F.A. degree in musical theatre. Only two other universities in the state — Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos and Sam Houston State University in Huntsville — offer similar degrees.

"The addition of the B.F.A. degree options to our program and the inclusion of musical theatre allows us to offer our students the opportunity to learn the full range of the professional dance and theatre industry," says Sandi Combest, professor and chair of the department. "We are thrilled to be the only university in the Metroplex able to do that."

The musical theatre degree is an interdisciplinary program that combines the university's prestigious dance and theatre arts department with the vocal division of UNT's renowned College of Music.

All students in the program will take a central musical theatre curriculum, and in their junior year, if they pass auditions to continue, they will concentrate in one of three areas: singing, acting or dance.

• Students who choose singing will complete a primary concentration proficiency in vocal training through UNT's College of Music voice division. Musical theatre students will be held to the same standard as other voice students in the College of Music.
• Students who choose acting will take intensive acting courses but will also be required to complete a secondary concentration proficiency in either voice or dance.
• Students who choose dance must take a diverse range of dance technique courses, as well as learn the style of the American musical. They will be required to dance in or choreograph several large production numbers to complete a proficiency in dance.

In addition to granting UNT the right to confer B.F.A. degrees in musical theatre, the coordinating board expanded the department's current offerings by adding B.F.A degree options for students majoring in dance and theatre.

The B.F.A options will be offered in addition to the department's B.A. in dance or theatre arts. Students choosing the B.F.A. options will be required to train more intensely for a professional career. Students pursuing B.F.A. degree programs in the department must audition at the end of their sophomore year for acceptance into the program and face annual reviews to continue each year.

Dance students pursuing a B.F.A. will have to complete an intensive program of performance classes.

Theatre students pursuing a B.F.A. will either concentrate on acting or design-technology. Students in acting must complete a two-year concentration in acting in sequence, as well as perform in department-sponsored productions every semester of their junior and senior years. In addition, one summer season of repertory is required to graduate.

Students in design-technology will be expected to demonstrate basic skills in various practical aspects of all areas of design, including more advanced skills in one to two areas selected from scene design, costume design, lighting design or the corollary technical areas.

For more information about the degree programs, call Sandi Combest at 565-4021.

BY KELLEY REESE kreese@unt.edu

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