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BW Puts Students Center Stage

Fall 2024 Updates


Frequently Asked Questions


Next Chapter for BW's Music Theatre Program

Baldwin Wallace University is a premier training ground for the music theatre industry, renowned for the outstanding accomplishments of our music theatre department.

The program's national prominence continues to grow, with alumni gracing Broadway stages, national and international touring companies, regional theatres and participating in the development of new productions. BW stands out among collegiate training programs by offering a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Theatre, providing a distinctive and comprehensive education for aspiring professionals.

 

For 94 years, Baldwin Wallace University has been a proud member of the National Association of Schools of Music. We are privileged to join more than 630 conservatories, schools of music and community music institutions across the United States in our shared commitment to a high standard of curricular design and delivery. NASM accreditation provides students and their families with the assurance of program excellence, ethical and collegial practices, and a pledge to encourage diversity and equity in the delivery of high quality music programs. Baldwin Wallace University received NASM re-accreditation in 2020.

National acclaim comes from industry pros and media year after year. Recently, two prestigious lists placed BW music theatre among the best of the best.


The Hollywood Reporter's "25 Best Drama Schools in the World" list.


Backstage magazine named BW to its list of the "Top college musical theater programs in the U.S."


The Next Chapter Will be Exciting

We are about to embark on an exciting year of instruction, production and preparation for the next chapter of BWMT. This year, students will have the extraordinary opportunities to meet and work with leading music theatre professionals from around the country as we transition to a new team that will advance and redefine the BWMT brand for the next generation. Students will also engage in formal dialogue sessions with transition team leaders and have a voice in visioning the future of BWMT.

At the end of this academic year, we will bid farewell to Professor Bussert, Assistant Professor Webb and Assistant Professor Welsh Berg. We are grateful for the contributions each has made to our program, and we will build on that foundation for the students who are looking for the education and training to succeed in this field.



The BWMT Experience

Master Classes

Starting their sophomore year, students perform for casting directors/agents that BWMT welcomes to campus every year for its master class series. And by the time our students graduate, they will have participated in multiple master classes, forging valuable connections with New York City’s theatre industry, having received direct feedback from the casting directors who will hire them soon after graduation.

Our Location and Campus Culture Matter to Your Success

The Baldwin Wallace campus is beautiful; the community is intimate and friendly. Located just 20 minutes from downtown Cleveland, the city of Berea, where BW is located, is a real college town — and a wonderful place to call home for four years.

BW's commitment to the performing arts is notable and exceptional. More than 17% of the undergraduate population at BW are students who study at the Conservatory of Performing Arts. The music theatre program prides itself on its diversity: more than 30% of music theatre majors are students of color.

BW's Relationship with Northeast Ohio's Rich Theatre Scene

Central to the BWMT program is our relationship to the rich theatre scene of Northeast Ohio. Students perform at Cleveland's Playhouse Square, known globally as a theatre mecca with the largest community of season ticket holders in North America. Boasting eight resident companies, Playhouse Square is a major presenter of Broadway shows and a leading champion in arts education.

Additional partnerships with the Beck Center for the Arts and Great Lakes Theater translate to an abundance of performance opportunities and venues that support the program throughout the year.

Professional Partnerships

Central to the success of the BWMT program is students’ constant interaction with Broadway agents and casting directors. A master class series is at the heart of these connections. Students have coaching sessions with industry leaders and a star-studded lineup of top professionals. Our students graduate having successfully appeared before sophisticated audiences with high expectations for the performance they’ve come to see.

Mastering Audition Techniques

Audition Technique is taught as part of the Music Theatre Workshop sequence in the sophomore year. In addition to mastering the art of the in-person audition, students learn the finer points of self-taped and Zoom auditions, giving them the ability to make their videos pop out over the competition. Every spring, BWMT welcomes regional/summer stock theatres to campus, giving all students the chance to audition directly for each company. This results in dozens of summer contracts for students every year.

BWMT Students Take Care of Business

Multiple entrepreneurship classes, taken alongside with arts management majors, teach website creation, personal branding, money management and self-care. Our goal is to help students be ready for life as music theatre professionals in the real world. Outside of the classroom, all auditions and rehearsals are run by Actor's Equity Association rules, so students know how these processes work before they venture out into the real world.

Senior Showcase

All senior MTs perform each year in the New York City Showcase at New World Stages. More than 200 industry professionals, including agents, managers, casting directors, modeling agencies and TV/film studios attend each year. For the past decade, the majority of students have obtained representation following the showcase.


The BWMT Legacy is Solid, Strong and Bold

Our program is known for top-notch training; we produce actors who are well-prepared to enter the industry immediately upon graduation. As our plans take shape throughout the coming year, we will announce changes and additions to our music theatre program. We are incredibly excited by what lies ahead for our students, faculty and staff, and we look forward to sharing more details soon.

Maria Nadina Hassan (left) as Maria and Colton Ryan (right) as Tony perform in "West Side Story" at BW (fall 2016). Ryan had already been cast in his first Broadway role and would go on to earn a Tony Nomination in 2023 for his leading role in "New York, New York." Hassan would be cast as Regina George in the National Tour of "Mean Girls."
Maria Nadina Hassan (left) as Maria and Colton Ryan (right) as Tony perform in "West Side Story" at BW (fall 2016). Ryan had already been cast in his first Broadway role and would go on to earn a Tony Nomination in 2023 for his leading role in "New York, New York." Hassan would be cast as Regina George in the National Tour of "Mean Girls."

BW on Broadway

The list of BWMT alumni who have appears on Broadway is impressive and growing. See our grads and what major Broadway productions have featured them.

Why Major in Music Theatre at BW?

Find out details about the music theatre major, courses and student experiences and get a closer look at the BWMT experience.


Previewing the BWMT 2024-25 Season

Nov
14-17,
21-24

Jesus Christ Superstar

7:30 - 9:30 PMNOV 14-17, 21-24

The fall musical for this season is Jesus Chris Superstar, the renowned rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. View details and show times.

FEB-MAR
Feb 14 -
Mar 9

Waitress

6:30 - 8:30 PMFEB 14 - MAR 9

Regional Premier of Waitress. Beck Center for Performing Arts.

APR
25-27

[title of show]

6:30 - 8:30 PMAPR 25-27

Playhouse Square.


Meet the 2024-25 Music Theatre Team

Music Theatre

Victoria Bussert

Victoria Bussert

Director, Music Theatre Program
M.F.A., Northwestern University

Matthew Webb

Matthew Webb

Music Theatre Music Director
B.A., Baldwin Wallace College

Ryan Garrett

Ryan Garrett

Lecturer of Music Theatre Music Direction
B.M., Music Theatre, Baldwin Wallace University

Bryan Bowser

Bryan Bowser

Associate Dean, Theatre Arts & Entrepreneurship
MBA, Baldwin Wallace University

Dance

Gregory Daniels

Gregory Daniels

Dance Program Coordinator
A.A.S., Onondaga Community College in Business

Acting

Laura Welsh Berg

Laura Welsh Berg

Assistant Professor, Acting and Directing
M.F.A., Acting, The Theatre School at DePaul University

David Alford

David Alford

Visiting Assistant Professor of Acting
Diploma, The Juilliard School

Voice

JR Fralick

JR Fralick

Chair, Vocal Studies Department
D.M.A., The Ohio State University

Colin Briskey

Colin Briskey

Visiting Assistant Professor of Voice
M.F.A., Musical Theatre Vocal Pedagogy, Boston Conservatory at Berklee

Dirk Garner

Dirk Garner

Professor of Conducting
D.M.A., University of Iowa

Tracy Grady

Tracy Grady

Area Coordinator, Music Theatre
M.M., Ohio University

Gregory Harrell

Gregory Harrell

Professor of Voice
M.M., University of Idaho Lionel Hampton School of Music

Sandra Simon

Sandra Simon

Lecturer of Voice
M.M., Vocal Performance, Cleveland Institute of Music

Sue Wallin

Sue Wallin

Lecturer of Voice
M.M., Vocal Performance, Kent State University

Marc Weagraff

Marc Weagraff

Professor of Voice
D.M.A., The University of Michigan

Theatre Production

Tesia Benson

Tesia Benson

Design and Technical Program Coordinator
M.F.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Maya Michele Fein

Maya Michele Fein

Associate Professor
M.F.A. & Teaching Certificate, Northwestern University

Lindsay Webster

Lindsay Webster

Assistant Professor of Scenic Design
Resident Scenic Designer