Musical Theatre performance program
Your Stage. Your Story. From Rehearsal to Performance.
The Musical Theatre Performance Program teaches you the skills to tell the story — as an actor first. Rigorous courses in acting, voice, dance, music, and business prepare you to work in the industry, on stage, and on camera. Refine your craft with movement, dance, vocal training, and work on acting specifically with the Meisner technique. You will be mentored by experienced industry professionals, meet casting directors, make important networking connections, and learn how to build a successful, sustainable career in the business of acting in musical theatre and beyond.
Program Pathways
The Musical Theatre Performance Program is offered as:
A Two–Year Associate Degree Program with classes starting every September and January
Click here to learn more about the Musical Theatre Two-Year Associate Degree Program
Click here to apply for the Musical Theatre Two-Year Associate Degree Program
A Four–Week Summer Intensive with classes starting every June and July for students 14 and older
Click here to learn more about the Musical Theatre Summer Intensive Program
Click here to register for the Musical Theatre Summer Intensive Program
Program Focus
Musical Theatre Performance: Storytelling through dance, song and acting.
Broadway is the bright and beautiful heart of New York City, and The New York Conservatory’s community enjoys the many gifts of its proximity: you’ll be trained by professionals currently working, acting, directing, choreographing, writing, composing, and creating in the dynamic and intersectional worlds of Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatre television, and film. You’ll have ample opportunities to see the world’s best productions live on stage and in the greatest city in the world.
From the librettist to the lyricist, to the composer and the choreographer, we teach you to authentically interpret and honor the story being told.
Performance opportunities set us apart from other training programs. It is an essential part of the training that you have a platform to put your training into practice. In addition to a final showcase and performing excerpts from original musicals, we hold live audience performance projects each semester. You will always be cast and always be rehearsing.
Two-Year Associate Degree Program Overview
In the first year, the focus is on building each of the artistic skills required of a musical theatre performer. You will experience a personalized teaching approach to entry levels of Meisner, Actor’s Lab (based on the work of Stanislavski, Hagen, and more), Studio Performance, Private Voice, Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Movement, Music Theory, Musical Theatre History & Styles, and Introduction to the Camera for Actors. With performances each semester, every student is cast and always rehearsing.
Second year prepares you for entering the industry. Faculty mentors will work with you to prepare an audition repertoire that showcases your unique qualities as a performer. Master classes provide the opportunity for audition feedback and guidance from casting directors, agents, directors, producers, and Broadway performers. You will also have weekly private voice lessons. The second year ends with a professional showcase performed at a New York City theater.
Found Project
Conceived and Directed by composer/lyricist/musical director Christopher McGovern (Disney Wordwide, Lizzie Borden, Cagney - Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations), musical theatre students spin their own personal artistic journeys into a monologue that’s paired with solo and ensemble songs and Broadway level choreography, resulting in a professional Off Broadway showcase performance. Inspired by such landmark musicals as A Chorus Line and Runaways, The Found Project uniquely addresses the need for today’s actors to create and develop their own projects tailored to their unique talents and authentic experiences. Celebrating each student’s journey as an artist, The Found Project is and is an industry showcase experience that is different from any other Conservatory in the world.
New Works Project
Revivals show us who we were, but new works show us who we are and who we can be. In collaboration with New York Theatre Barn, Musical Theatre students workshop and perform material from original culture-shifting musicals currently in development in the industry. Focusing on the philosophy that musicals are about us and that musicals are healing, the project offers a glimpse inside the blueprint of original musicals being developed in real time by living playwrights. This thrilling program offers the 2nd-year students a performance opportunity while learning about stories and writers that represent them and their unique experiences. Students become inevitably instrumental in the incubation and evolution of these new musicals, as NYCDA introduces the voices of tomorrow to the musicals of tomorrow.
Business Class
A practical opportunity to develop a clear business strategy for your unique actor brand. Classes focus on preparation of materials: resumes, reels, websites and social media platforms, how to network, get an agent or manager and do your taxes.
Four-Week Summer Intensive Program Overview
The Summer Intensive program introduces students to the NYCDA experience and trains students in the three components of musical theatre performance: voice, dance and acting. With an emphasis on preparing the musical theatre audition, the coursework is designed to challenge students at all levels. Industry nights with casting directors and agents are included during the four-week session, as well as a master class with a Broadway professional.
Hear from New York Conservatory Students
Learn a student’s perspective on the Musical Theatre Program and The Found Project