Shenandoah Conservatory muscic, theatre, dance
Theatre and Musical Theatre
The Conservatory's Theatre and Musical Theatre Programs prepare students for professional careers as actors, actor-singer-dancers, scenic and lighting designers and costume designers. Shenandoah's theatre and music theatre graduates have won assistantships and fellowships for further study in professional theatre programs and graduate schools; they manage their own successful children's theatre companies; and they have worked in films, television dramas and commercials, seasonal theatre companies, dinner theatres and major regional theatres in the United States and Canada, in numerous national and international tours and on Broadway.
Dance classes are also required of musical theatre students and elective for others. These classes are all taught by the artist teachers of the dance faculty, and students are placed in classes with others of similar background and ability.
All theatre performance students have the same Stanislavski-based acting classes, taught by acting professionals.
At Shenandoah, the talented student is continually working, and unlike many other schools, freshmen not only are encouraged to perform during the first year, but are required to audition for the major productions. The faculty members work very closely with each individual student. They believe that observing the student as a performer on stage gives the best opportunity to recognize each student's strengths and weaknesses and allows them to be of greater value as teachers.
The design programs begin in the freshman year and continue throughout the curriculum carefully balancing classes with extensive production work.
Career Opportunities
The theatre and musical theatre programs at Shenandoah prepare students for professional careers in theatre. Shenandoah's theatre and musical theatre graduates have won assistantships and fellowships for further study in professional theatre programs and graduate schools; they manage their own successful children's theatre companies; and they have appeared on Broadway, in films, television dramas and commercials, seasonal theatre companies, dinner theatres and major regional theatres in United States and Canada, and in numerous national and international tours.
The Conservatory is also home to Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre, a professional company that presents four professional, large-scale musicals with full orchestra each summer. Conservatory theatre students are given first auditions for the acting and technical company, and its music students have first auditions for the orchestra. Current students and alumni have made up the majority of the Summer Theatre's actors, technical and management workers and musicians since its inception in 1984.