Student Blog: Musical Theatre at SUNY Cortland and How It Stands Out

Hello! My name is Sam Smith and I am a new student blogger here at Broadway World. This is my second article and I wanted to use it to talk a little about myself and a lot about the MT program at my school.

I've been doing music and theater for a little over twelve years, and now I'm working toward my BFA! As for shows I've been in, a couple highlights are Sweeney Todd in the title role, and the two shows I've been cast in at Cortland so far: Ensemble in The Rocky Horror Show and Bradley in the play Mr. Marmalade. As well as theater I also play clarinet and saxophone, and I occasionally write music -- only for me, though; my compositions will never see the light of day. Additionally, at the time of writing this, I am the assistant music director for our production of Carrie the Musical. 

SUNY Cortland's isn't exactly the most well-known musical theatre program in the world, but there is a lot of serious talent and skill coming from both our students and professors. Should you research musical theatre schools, you may find that SUNY Cortland has been described as a "hidden gem"; however, if there's one thing our program isn't trying to do, it's hide. So what is so special about our program that sets us apart from every other musical theatre school?

MT is Cortland's only degree for music, theatre, acting, etc. There are no other BFAs for anything other than musical theatre. Maybe our one musical theatre degree next to Cortland's massive reputation as an education school is why we're called a "hidden gem" -- but I digress. So why is this such an important factor to consider when looking at SUNY Cortland?

With just the one major, it means that all the facilities, classes, and productions are for the MT majors. We have a whole hallway of practice rooms that don't need to be booked or paid for because 95% of the time there will be one open. The dance studio (and the fine arts building itself) are open 24/7 exclusively for MT students so that -- if you are so inclined -- you can pop in to film a dance call at midnight! True story, by the way.

Not only is there almost never competition for the facilities and spaces, but there is also no competition for casting. Musical theatre majors are the only casting pool for the program; there's no acting major or dance major to compete with when it comes to the plays or musicals. The crew is also composed entirely of students, save some creative team roles such as music director, lighting designer, Costume Designer, and (obviously) director.

Students here are very well-prepared for and familiarized with everything related to the industry. We have classes like Tech Theater to pair with the actual productions' crew positions, and Working Actor to prepare us for the professional scene. There are also frequent opportunities for networking and putting yourself out there. Every year one of our shows partners with the local repertory theater, and each member of the cast and crew for those shows obtain a regional credit for their resumés. We also frequently bring in guest directors, and you never know when one of them will remember you and reach out with an exciting opportunity! 

Currently, SUNY Cortland has multiple alumni on Broadway national tours and professional contracts! This includes -- but is not limited to -- Harry Sperduto (Class of 2025), Emily Reilly (Class of 2026; TheatreWorksUSA's National Tour of Magic School Bus: Lost in The Solar System), and Lizzie Fitzpatrick-Cárcamo (Class of 2026; Mystic Pizza: A New Musical National Tour). I asked Harry, who is currently on the Jersey Boys National Tour as Tommy DeVito, what he thought the SUNY Cortland musical theatre program provided that he may have not gotten somewhere else. Harry said,

I would say the one-on-one attention and the amount of time that professors are able to work with the students in the classroom really helps you get better ... I also like the way the curriculum is set up so that you start your dance, acting, and singing classes all within your first semester. You really hit the ground running at SUNY Cortland.

Harry Sperduto's website

Lizzie Fitzpatrick-Cárcamo's website

Emily Reilly's website