Illustration by Allyson (Aven) Rivas
It’s affordable, minutes away from New York City, and led by professors with professional theater experience — Montclair State University’s Musical Theater program is the powerhouse of our campus, yet we barely recognize it.
Despite being ranked the second-best acting program in New Jersey according to Backstage, an American entertainment magazine, the program and the talent it holds remain relatively unknown.
The lack of media attention for a program that holds high accolades raises questions about what kind of stories are prioritized on campus, and how it does a disservice to the students pursuing a career in the arts. While the BFA Musical Theater program consistently gains state and national recognition, its coverage is overlooked in comparison to more conventional interests, like athletics.
Through this program, many doors opened for its students. They gain mentorship from experienced professionals and accumulate a wide variety of marketable skills necessary for entertainment. This is all achieved while having desirable student-to-teacher class ratios.
After graduating from Montclair State, students find themselves open to many opportunities and come across success pretty early in their careers. The Department of Theater and Dance recently recognized an alumnus, German Martinez ’18, who was awarded the Princess Grace Award in Theater, one of the nation’s prestigious awards for early-career artists.
Along with Martinez, the university recognized Moriah Baskett, a 2024 alumna, who is living her dream and traveling the country for the production of “The Tina Turner Musical”.
In fact, the program’s reputation is so well-known that many of the students are traveling from out-of-state. To make tuition affordable, The Montclarion reported in 2018 that a majority of scholarships that are given to these students result in paying equal tuition to in-state students. Putting a specialized effort into increasing theater student numbers proves that the school values the field’s outputs.
Another facet of this issue is student exposure and affirmation. A sophomore musical theater student I spoke to described the importance of recognition in their studies. It’s something we all hope for during our time as students and one way of achieving that is by using our resources to spread the word about it.
She is right. When a program has demanding hours, consistent practices and artistic vulnerability that feels ignored, it can be discouraging for its participants, who need to gain exposure before heading out into the industry.
In the month of November alone, there have been fourteen newspaper articles written on the university’s athletic teams covering season previews and game scores. On the other hand, only five articles that focus on Montclair State musical theatre productions have been released in the last year, the latest being the opening of “Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812”.
With sports, there’s already a large audience that knows the topic, whereas the arts call for more extensive writing to convey a performance’s meaning. I find it especially true when considering shows that have not-well-known titles, as opposed to the names of sports, which most people understand or know somewhat about.
The lack of coverage does not necessarily suggest that there is a lack of interest in the arts. Student journalists are often busy with tight deadlines and limited staff. Some gravitate towards athletic reporting because of personal interest and others do so since they draw more readership.
But the arts are more than people who enjoy singing, acting or dancing. “Assassins,” for example, focuses on the lives and motivations of 9 people who either killed or attempted to kill U.S presidents. Beyond the show’s controversial subject matter, it opens a discussion and reflection on today’s political climate.
The audience confronts conversations about power, identity and frustrations with government. Experiences like these, even if they are somewhat uncomfortable, would be more frequent for us if marketing for the program and its productions were more prevalent.
Amidst the lack of coverage for such a program, its students still move through the program with the same rigor and enthusiasm as professionals do. As such, it’s time for the Montclair State community to celebrate the department that brings them national recognition. It’s long overdue to take action and shine the spotlight where it truly belongs.
