The musical theatre program is the only performing arts major at SUNY Cortland. This might confuse some incoming students, but after an illuminating conversation with some of the staff, it makes a whole lot of sense.
When I was in high school, I performed in a theatre arts program. It was an experience I really enjoyed, although it wasn’t something I wanted to pursue as a career. However, I did take some acting classes at the college where I received my Associates degree (Suffolk County Community College).
I know many students who sought to pursue performing arts as a career out of high school and many of them were accepted into colleges for that program. Many of them were nervous, unsure, and unprepared for what lied ahead.
When I came to SUNY Cortland, I was interested in seeing what their performing arts program looked like. Maybe I wasn’t seeking to pursue that career, but I definitely was interested in what they had to offer. To my surprise, there was only one official performing arts program: Musical Theatre.
I had the pleasure of speaking with the Department Chair Deena Conley as well as the former chair and current professor Kevin Halpin.
I think some people see having only one performance art major in the college as an undue oversight. However, my talks with the impressive individuals who’ve ran this program helped shed some light on this, and provide some fascinating insight as to the benefits of having one single program.
Professor Conley informed me that SUNY Cortland is the only school in the country which only has one performing arts major. This greatly surprised me, but she (as well as Professor Halpin) spoke of the serious advantages of this being the case.
They both explained that while there is only one official degree program, it does encompass a wide variety of disciplines necessary for a successful career in any corner of the acting industry. On the contrary, some colleges which provide performing arts facilities will have a student concentrate solely on dance, singing, acting, etc. This may create an issue of students receiving a less rounded education.
At Cortland, however, you do it all. The concept of having one program is so that the students who emerge from Cortland come out as dextrous and flexible performers.
I think this is actually a really interesting system, to have the program being laid out the way it is. I think incoming students seeking a performing arts degree should keep this in mind when picking schools, because it’s a huge advantage to be able to get a well rounded education while still being able to study individual disciplines with great depth.
How might one succeed in Cortland’s program? In one word… passion.
Professor Conley detailed an average performer’s schedule, and it is arduous. You need to be willing to make the department a central focus in your time at college because they are running an extremely professional ship which gets up and running faster than you could possibly expect.
Professor Halpin also goes into this, mentioning that the department seeks to provide an education for those who are seriously seeking to become performers. The phrase “if you’re not sure if you want to major in it, you probably shouldn’t” was heard by me more than once.
That’s not a note of dismissal though, it’s a recognition of the passion required to really succeed in the department, and especially in the field. Performing as a career is hard, and Cortland is going to prepare you for that.
From talking to both of them, it’s clear they’re both extremely passionate about the program and the students who come out of it. In fact, I actually asked them both what their favorite moments are from working in the department and they both expressed similar sentiments of being elated getting to witness students finding success in the field after graduating from their program.
Professor Conley also expressed a good quality someone gathers from studying at Cortland: being a good colleague.
Cortland’s Musical Theatre department runs a very professional ship because it’s a very professional world out there. Being unprofessional and a bad colleague does not reflect well on a performer and as such, they instill values and strategies which help create not only great actors, but great colleagues. The rapport between performers is something which is taken very seriously.
Would I personally recommend the Musical Theatre Program to incoming students? Absolutely!