2013/2014 Audition day review

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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<p>The cold was not to bad…nothing that some steam and Mucinex D couldn’t handle…and lots of tissues! WE are at the airport now, hoping our flight doesn’t get delayed due to weather. What a wonderful experience we have had! Great feedbacks on most of her auditions-which I will post about when I am home and not trying to type things out on my Kindle. Some potentially exciting verbal acceptances were issued at Unifieds, but until we have an actual offer on paper, we will keep them under wraps. I hope things have gone equally well for all of you.</p>

<p>GSOMTMom-I can’t believe we were in the same hotel and couldn’t manage to hang out, but I trust it went well for “The D”!
That’s all for now!</p>

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<p>frazzled, how exciting! Hope your D receives some wonderful mail soon!</p>

<p>My second hand report will be short and sweet. I have only spoken to my son by phone as he and dad were in Chicago and I stayed home. The auditions that my son was most excited about all had similar elements. The auditors worked with my son, laughed with my son, and really, demonstrated that they love to teach and share their craft. He felt he did well at all the auditions, but I will only write about the ones that lit his fire.
Otterbein - Son performed his two songs and then was asked if he had the sheet music of his ballad. Luckily they had brought the binder (MP3 was used initially). Dr. John and Co. worked with son, and offered dramatic scenarios for different effects. Son loved the experience, and just bubbled away when he explained the process to me later. </p>

<p>Coastal Carolina U - Son had a blast! He reported he had so much fun with the auditors, and that he received a lot of positive responses. This audition also set son abuzz with excitement. I think it gave him a glimpse of what may be next year. Son had passed the pre-screen so this was considered a call-back. Son, the novice dancer, said the dance call was fine. Now, he has said that about every dance call, and I think if he sees someone who dances at his level or below, he feels he is doing OK :)</p>

<p>CMU - Son attended the CMU pre-college this past summer so had some familiarity with the program. Son also is very aware that he most likely will not be accepted, and I think that allowed him to be very relaxed and enjoy the experience. This was also his last audition, so I think having the other 10 auditions under his belt helped too. Son was in the first group of five to sing. Son worked with Gary over the summer, and said Gary laughed during his uptempo just like he did last summer. Son, like most everyone, likes Gary a lot, and said he had fun. Next son met with Barbara. Barbara allowed son to use a chair with a water bottle on top as a pseudo audience for his Shakespeare monologue. Son said she laughed during the monologue, which I think is great considering he has never performed Shakespeare on stage. Oh yes, it was a comedic monologue! She offered praise and encouragement. Son enjoyed the time spent, and the lessons learned.</p>

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<p>I am now back home and warm in Florida…yay!
So I will give a brief feedback on most of the auditions-I am sure there are going to be many similarities to others who have or will post about unifieds.
Monday- Montclair (both song/mono and dance) and Rider (song/mono) Northern Colorado, and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Montclair- D was actually the first kid auditioning on the first day. I think the nerves were a bit higher because of this. She did get a positive response to her songs but audition was over very quickly. We then wandered around deciding on where to do some walk-ins. Montclair dance call was “fun” according to D-she didn’t give me anything else to go on there.
Rider- Got great feedback and response on her audition and felt really good about it…they loved her song choices which made her feel great, because like many kids-she started to second guess her material (both of her songs are a bit obscure).
We then take off to the Westin (2 miles away by cab) and attend a walk-in at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. This audition was totally driven by D-who has had an obsession with this school for several years. I told her prior to unifieds that if she wanted to audition for a UK school, it was her responsibility to apply and pay for the app and audition fee. She decided to try her luck at a walk-in and apply later. Turn out that strategy worked in this instance.
She was in the room with the Director for more than 30 minutes doing everything in her book. All the songs and monologues. They improved with her, and also did some additional vocal work. After the audition they invited her to come back and dance the next day. She did Tuesday evening and ended up dancing alone with the director as no one else showed up for the dance call. She was told to go home and immediately send in her app. Fingers crossed!!
Northern Colorado: This was a Walk-in as well. Mathew Herrick was so nice according to D-audition went very well.
Tuesday:
Rider Dance Call-According to D a total blast-she loved the song which was a jazzy swing number (her favorite kind)
Pace: She had the afternoon call-Dance was first…“lots of fun” according to D. There were several moves that were beyond her training so she just tried to “work it out” LOL Pace was pressed for, so the kids did 16bars instead of 32-and no monologues. She felt great about that part of the audition-but honestly, sitting out in that hall and overhearing the FANTASTIC voices…I don’t know how they could ever choose.
Wed-
Ball State- D really enjoyed this one, especially the interview-She did 16bars of her ballad and 32 of her uptempo-I think she did both monologues, but I can’t be sure.
Otterbein- The last, and one of her favorite auditions of the week. At first she was a little thrown by the number of people in the room, but they were all so nice according to her. She did both her songs-her monologues-then they asked to see her book and they worked with her on one of her extra pieces. She did not have to dance for them in the room, but they did ask about her training. Just as a side note, when she walked up to check in, she was greeted by name by her admissions counselor who recognized her from the prescreen. I saw this happen to other kids checking in as well. I thought that was a wonderful touch by the staff at Otterbein-I am sure it makes the kids feel that they are more than just a name or number on a page.
PHEWW!
That’s it…sorry if this was long. We had a fantastic time-my regret is that I didn’t get out and explore the surrounding area more-and didn’t get a chance to network with very many of you.</p>

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<p>@frazzled, sadly I only made it out of my room to take The D to offsite auditions and then grab a bite to eat later. I did NOT get to experience that which is Chicago! :(</p>

<p>Your daughter’s Ott experience sounds extremely similar to The D’s which was yesterday afternoon.</p>

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<p>On campus Otterbein reviews the prescreens while the kids are in the dance call. I heard my S’s voice while I was waiting for the parent meeting to begin and thought “WTH is he warming up in the hall, that’s not like him” Turned around and saw them watching the video. Such a great group!</p>

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<p>Off to LA for our first east coast school audition…the next four days are going to be crazy…</p>

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<p>BAL Bisouu’s D!</p>

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<p>D had her first and only musical theatre audition with CMU yesterday. It was at the Chicago Unifieds. It’s such a crap shoot (admit 10-12 kids!) that who knows what to think of it. She’s been auditioning for voice programs. But she sang for the music guy (Gary) and he asked her for a third song. Then she went to see Barbara I believe and did her monologues and then she asked for a third and then sang for her too, and then she was passed onto another lady and did monologues and also sang for her after she read Barbara’s notes. At some point in there one of the women (Barbara I believe) asked her to take her shoes off and yell during her monologue. They asked the usual questions about what parents did and where else you’re applying. So that’s the word. It was a long audition only because they take the kids five at a time. The kids were not warming up which is such a big deal in the voice auditions. You get your own room! So I made my daughter and her friend go warm up. Good thing I did she sang alot. Very nice folks. They tried to break through the nervous tension in the room beforehand which was great. Three more auditions to go, all for vocal performance.</p>

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<p>Dradsmom. Too funny my d is doing the exact same thing…auditioning for cmu only at la unifieds and the remainder are vocal performance auditions. We are headed east next week and will be there for 10 days auditioning in boston, nh , ny, and ct. Maybe we will run into each other. She’ll have one of those antibacterial scarves:)</p>

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<p>Sguti40 we are headed to Ohio for two auditions and one at U of I. My d plans on studying voice and hopefully getting a minor in acting. She hopes to use her training in musical theatre much like her idol Audra McDonald. So we will see. It would probably kill her voice teacher if she didn’t study vocal performance though. lol I guess your d is thinking along the same lines. Best of luck on your travels and the auditions. Some of the best time we will ever spend with our kids. Enjoy!</p>

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<p>Dradsmom. D is accepted into otterbein (which she really likes) has auditioned for oberlin and has a scheduled audition for Baldwin wallace in March. Her background is also musical theatre but she has recently discovered opera. We love ms McDonald and just did ragtime with a local college. Best of luck to your daughter! Looking forward to seeing where she chooses. </p>

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<p>Does anyone recall if there was a similar thread for last year’s class?</p>

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<p>Sguti40, Otterbein has not done early BFA acceptances in the past; how did your daughter find out so early? Am curious! :)</p>

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<p>I think Sguti40’s D is for vocal performanc</p>

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<p>sguti40, congrats on the acceptance to Otterbein! I didn’t realize they were already accepting students! So is this for vocal performance or BFA? How exciting–it seems like such a great program.</p>

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<p>Finally able to take a deep breath after our whirlwind weekend AKA Chicago Unifieds! I traveled there with my son. Arrived on Saturday and left Wednesday. Of course, it was snowing both of those days, so it made for interesting flying. Stayed at the Palmer House Hilton, and glad we did! It was so nice for S to just take the elevator downstairs to audition. </p>

<p>My son had 7 pre-scheduled auditions, starting Sunday afternoon and ending early Wednesday morning. Timing of everything went very smoothly, as I was able to arrange all auditions early in the fall (when time choices were plentiful) and built-in 45 minutes to 2 hours in-between each one. Son was very grateful of the rest time in-between. I’m not going to go into the gritty details of each audition, but son definitely had those that he left with a good feeling about, and others that were “eh.” He was surprised that hardly any schools “talked” to him or asked him Qs about his resume, etc. I think he was a little disappointed in that. </p>

<p>3 of the 7 schools had “info” sessions/talks at the beginning of their blocks. Those talks were greatly appreciated! I wish all the schools did that-- even if it’s only 15-20 minutes. One school kept the kids for about 20 minutes of the talk, then dismissed them to do their auditions. Head of the dept then talked to the parents for an addition 2 hours! It wasn’t required that the parents stay, but all did-- this was the Sunday audition so it was the first one for most and all info was appreciated.</p>

<p>Just after arriving in Chicago, we were heartily encouraged to add walk-in auditions to S’s schedule. Told that many kids have success with the walk-ins because of the lack of stress involved with those auditions. I didn’t put much thought into it, other than thinking “Sure, we can try to squeeze 1 or 2 in-- they’ll be a good warm-up for the ‘real’ auditions.” Tuesday morning, S walked into a small mid-west MT school with a good rep. I sat in our room reading. He came back beaming! “They talked to me! Asked me Qs about my resume. Told me about their awesome program and that they do X, Y and Z.” Well, great! </p>

<p>Two hours later, we get a nice email from one of the reps at that walk-in. “Great to meet you! Enjoyed your audition! Please apply!” Great! By 6pm that same night, we get another email from head of dept-- “We really enjoyed your work and are interested in having you as a student at our school. Please be sure that all you application materials are submitted and then be on the lookout for more information from us. Congratulations on a great audition.”</p>

<p>Wait-- What? Did I just read that right? Is that an acceptance? By gosh- yes- and my S’s first one! Hallelujah! From a walk-in! Granted it’s from a school that wasn’t on S’s radar, but it sure is now! </p>

<p>S begged me to add another walk-in. This one was for an school that he’s had his eye on for a while, and was a bit trickier to coordinate, as they weren’t at the PHH. Luckily, I was able to secure a spot only a few hours before our flight home…tight squeeze, but I really wanted to allow S this one wish. Slot was for 15 minutes-- He was kept for 45 minutes! I was called into the room at the end of the audition and told (by the head of the MT dept, no less) that my S is just want they’re looking for in a student and please apply! Well, alrighty then! He most certainly will! We’ll see what happens with that one. S left that audition floating. I was happy that he ended his Unified journey on such a positive note.</p>

<p>So, now he (we) waits! He’s all done with his auditions, and quite relieved to be done with it all. He also did several on-campus auditions before Unifeds.</p>

<p>Moral to story-- Add walk-ins and schedule auditions early.</p>

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<p>That’s great, SU88BFA! So cool for your S to end on such an up note! :slight_smile: We will be heeding advice and try to schedule auditions as early as we can for next year. Congrats! Enjoy the waiting… hopefully you still have some HS performing opportunities to fill the time! </p>

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<p>WooHoo!!! SU88BFA!!! :-* </p>

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<p>Elon</p>

<p>D was at Elon this Friday. It was a long but well organized day and she loves the school. Each auditioner received a schedule for their day about a week before online.
D’s first activity was to walk down the street with a group of auditioners to watch an acting class. She enjoyed the chance to see the professor and the MT kids in action.
Next the audition started and D danced first (it was 1 1/4 hours long), they were taught a fun combination and after a few kids were asked to show tap moves and leaps across the floor - D was happy to be included in that bunch and enjoyed the dance call.
After dance, D met with her accompanist to review her songs. Elon and Ithaca were the only schools who afforded her this opportunity and she really appreciated it (she said her accompanist was super).
Then parents and students all met in the recital hall for a information session led by MT program coodinator Cathy McNeela with a panel of current MT students. She is funny and obviously loves the program, keeps it fresh and relevant (we were introduced to a new staff member who specifically teaches the students different aspects of modern MT song-he was part of the song audition team later in the day along with music director Rick Church. - forgot the modern MT teachers name if anyone could help that would be great!). Cathy explained that students were evaluated on three sections, singing, acting and dancing separately and given a score for each. They don’t expect any student to come in as a triple threat but it seems you need to be extremely good at at least two out of three - they are taking 18-20 with a wait list after that.
At the end of the info session two of the senior MTs performed a duet from Ragtime and they were AMAZING! Whole room gave them a well deserved stand in ovation; it was a special treat to see kids from the program my daughter is auditioning for perform.
After the info session there was a bit of a wait so D and I went down the street for some non-dairy lunch at Smittys (D did eye the ice creme list and made me promise to return after her audition).
After lunch, we went into a holding room until D was escorted by a friendly current MT student to the recital hall where she sang both of her songs from the stage. She said the acoustics in the hall were impressive.
Then she was sent directly to her acting audition even though it wasn’t supposed to start for another hour. She performed one monologue and was done.
Everyone was friendly and professional. The campus is beautiful and audition results will be online on March 14th. The remaining 3 MT audition dates are full and there isn’t a wait list for them so hope anyone else who is still interested has already signed up!</p>

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<p>Temple</p>

<p>We started this trip to Temple knowing our D had been accepted to their “Theatre Studies” program & were going in to audition for their Musical Theatre concentration, but D felt this was at the very least a back up option for her depending on how things look on the other side, I think it makes her relax a bit.
Started w/the dance call, D is not a dancer & said the dance call was fun! Was glad to hear that! Then time for changing & then she was 6th I think for the songs & 1 monologue. This was done w/Nancy Boykin & Peter Reynolds, who both spent time w/the parents waiting before they watched the kids dance & started the auditions. They were both very nice, giving a general overview of how you can do just theatre studies & take classes in all areas (as long as the classes aren’t closed, those in the concentration for that area would have first choice). Also said you can audition for MT freshman & sophomore year & acting you can audition all 4 years. Peter really emphasized that they are a BA program, that they are NOT a conservatory. It was obvious he prefers this approach & talked about getting the whole college experience at Temple & it being a liberal arts education. He said they do not send out “singing-dancing machines, this is not CCM!” He said if you want a program w/theatre 5 days a week this is not it! Still not sure how I feel about that. But D enjoyed talking w/some of the students, who were super nice & helpful. Overall, we had a good vibe throughout our time there.
She felt great about her audition & came out w/a huge smile…and w/Nancy Boykin following her…told her if she was available there was auditions at 1:00 for the acting concentration & she should think about doing that! Our D was thrilled & of course we stayed around for that!! She had a great auction for the 2 acting professors & did one of her monologues w/the 1 professor as her partner & loved it! Acting is her strength so we were tickled that it appeared they saw that! Overall, we were very pleased w/the our experience & our visit. The campus looks beautiful, obviously we have concerns about the area of Philly, but w/in the campus it seemed ok. Oh yea, Peter also said, in his opinion if you are going for theater you really need to be in a city.</p>

<p>Peter said he would begin to email or mail letters (acceptance & rejections) after the end of Feb, they had another audition date end of Feb & beginning of March. </p>