<p>Based on your schedule, cellomom, it seems that Ithaca runs the same audition at unifieds. It sounds identical to the schedule The D received. I like that they try to run auditions the same way on campus and regionally. Can’t wait for the reports!</p>
<p>I stayed in one of those jacuzzi rooms (at the Country Inn & Suites, right?) when we visited Ithaca recently to see their production of Into the Woods…which was terrific, btw. My S stayed with a friend in the dorms so I treated myself to a long soak the night we arrived – sure worked the kinks out after our 5-hour drive. Good to know the schedule is short enough that we might be able to get away with just one night in the hotel and drive back right after the audition when we go in February.</p>
<p>I’m getting ready for my audition at UArts this morning and my mom and I are at the closest starbucks…everyone in here is auditioning for UArts too!!!</p>
<p>Knock em dead futuremillie! I will be send good thoughts to everyone auditioning today!! Exciting!!</p>
<p>Meanwhile back at home with MTMajor and S…performance today at a church with the group of kids he performs with. Madrigal dinner with the chamber choir this evening. My tree isn’t up, my outside light are but I haven’t run extension cords yet, I’m barely decorated and Christmas Eve party is here this year. Glad I waited until the temps dropped below 30 degrees…ahggh go me!</p>
<p>Break a leg, Future Millie!</p>
<p>Break a leg to everyone auditioning at Ithaca today!!! My D is a Freshman BFA MT there, and when I asked her if she was going to be helping with auditions today she said no that she needed her sleep!! She was in Into the Woods and then went straight into doing costumes for Mere Mortals and has been there every night this week until 12:30 a.m. But she loves every minute of it! She also wishes broken legs to everyone as she slumbers away :)</p>
<p>momarmarino – I saw Into the Woods, and it was terrific! Was your D Cinderella’s Mother/Grandmother? Good for her landing a featured role in her freshman year!</p>
<p>maMTma: Yes she was. All she was hoping for as a Freshman was a call back for anything at all, so she was beyond thrilled to get cast in the show!! We are on the west coast so it isn’t exactly easy to go see the shows there but we did make the trip to see Into the Woods…wouldn’t have missed it! Break a leg to your son in February! I remember how stressful it was a year ago at this time but enjoy the ride–it will be over before you know it and he will flying from the nest :(</p>
<p>U of Hartford/Hartt report
Dance call was at 8:30, and we were there early which was a good thing because the students needed to fill out forms first. I counted 6 guys and 23 to 25ish girls. My son, a non-dancer, said the dance portion was not bad, and the man who lead the session was a hoot and very fun to work with.<br>
My son was the last to audition. This morning he told me he was doing a different monologue than the one he had used for his three passing pre-screens. I probably looked like a corpse with rictus with a maniacal grin on my face, but I held my tongue instead of squealing, are you nuts?!? I knew if I questioned him he may get rattled, so I kept my mouth zipped. He felt the audition went well, but someone earlier mentioned a son with a big head, and I think this is my guy’s affliction, if only I had had a pin handy!
I did try to check out the female’s attire as that has been mentioned before (and I like fashion). The nude high heels were in force, but I did notice boots too. There were a few monochromatic lace overlay dresses, some jewel colors and couple outfits they maybe should have been re-thought, mostly because the wearer looked uncomfortable. The guys wore mostly dark slacks and nice shirts, nothing that shouted out “Look at me”. Most of the men were slender and looked like they were dancers, unlike my guy, who looks like he should have a helmet and cleats on. Sorry this report is brief, but ask me questions and tomorrow when I’m fresh I’ll be happy to answer.</p>
<p>Ithaca audition</p>
<p>Good day at Ithaca. Signed in with nice theater dept. coordinator and D filled out her audition form (6 copies - 3 adjudicators in the monologue room, 3 in the song room). There were 20 MT kids auditioning (17 girls/3 boys) and 5 Acting. Head of the Theater Department spoke to kids/parents for 30 minutes, took questions then sent our kids off to do movement exercises (D said point of this was to shake out the nerves) then the musical director of the MT department led them through a vocal warm up.</p>
<p>Kids were brought back upstairs to join the parents and the audition order was read (went by when Ithaca received your prescreen so no alphabetical discrimination!), D was #3 so she went to change into her audition dress then was led down to the audition rooms by a friendly MT student. </p>
<p>While the kids were off auditioning, parents were left in the small theater with a panel of 12 current Ithaca theater students from different disciplines (MT, Acting, BA Theater Arts, Set design, screenwriting, etc.) who were very friendly, informative and answered every question in detail. The overall vibe from the students was extremely positive, they all know and like each other and love Ithaca.</p>
<p>D was pleased with her audition. The monologue judges said they liked her audition dress and laughed at her comedic monologue. Said thank you and that was it. One of her friends was asked to do one of her monologues again with a physical suggestion but they emphasized that auditioners shouldn’t read anything into corrections or a lack thereof.</p>
<p>Songs both went well (accompanist was the music director who warmed the kids up and he is great) and we were on the road home by 11:11am.</p>
<p>Theater director told parents that the only kids who will hear a yes or no within the week are ED candidates (they can’t be put on “hold” (Ithaca’s term for a deferral)) but the rest of today’s auditioners should hear yes, no or on hold (most will be held over until all auditions are completed on February 22 unless they are sure you don’t fit what they are looking for this year) so no real advantage to the first audition date except the kids got to see the campus and meet a lot of very nice people associated with the theater department.</p>
<p>Here’s hoping for a hold?! Ithaca is fantastic and D would be thrilled for the opportunity to go there!</p>
<p>I second what entertainersmom said about the attire, girls were on red, purple, blue & black - some lace dresses, none too short, some nude heels but a lot of short boots (I think my D was the only one in knee high boots). Guys were dark pants, jewel tone blue shirt, tie. A couple of the heels were high, none of the dresses were too short and all of the parents were very nice (rats?! no drama).</p>
<p>Looing forward to more auditions in January!</p>
<p>More blue shirt guys…ahghgahggh…LOL</p>
<p>Sounds like a great day cellomo51. How did you like the area?</p>
<p>A mom I met at BW was nice enough to send me a review of the day at CCM yesterday. Seems to confirm what I’ve heard of audition day at CCM. They have a ton of students to get through, I’m surprised they don’t prescreen.</p>
<p>CCM</p>
<p>Report time 7:45, dance call at 8:30 and her S audition was at 10:30
CCM definite contender after being there again. So glad they don’t make you wait forever, decisions are sent within 2 weeks. Its all business there, no fluff or sell. You’re in and out. No contact with students except a quick showcase they watch of a few seniors who perform a little medley right after dance audition. That’s it. I hope you have all morning so you can get in and out as there’s nothing to do even around there except wait…</p>
<p>MTMajor, I like Ithaca college, it’s situated on a hill and the view is pretty. We woke up to an inch of snow/ice on the car on audition day and didn’t you know it this former upstate New Yorker did not have an ice scraper in the car, LOL. Just ran the defroster for 15 minutes then scraped the windows with my hotel room card!</p>
<p>The town of Ithaca is close to the school and easily accessible. There is a bus that runs through campus continually and it’s only a 25 minute walk in good weather (the students said the uphill back to campus is a little bit much but their young…). Plus, as part of the program each freshman is assigned a “big” who is a senior and most seniors have cars to take their “littles” places. </p>
<p>I also found it amusing how the student representatives and to a certain extent the department head was telling us all about the wonderful things associated with Ithaca like they had to sell us in a place that will take only maybe 32 MT candidates (kids over accepted last year so they are going to make use of a wait list this year) out of hundreds of auditioners. As I said, my D would be thrilled to go there is she got in. They really emphasize acting as the basis for MT training without ignoring voice and dance. No grad students for MT voice lessons which is nice and the faculty get to know all the kids personally and by name quickly. D spent last summer there taking their intro to MT class so she has an personal attachment to the college which is scary cause as a parent you know they shouldn’t get attached to ANY college until they have choices to make but it is what it is.
Looks like your S is auditioning at a lot of schools that will (or have) let him know decisions ASAP, that’s great-none of the programs D has auditioned for will let her know before March so she will have to go through with all 12 of her auditions. Sigh! Tough on a mama’s nerves! At least she has school, a lead in her musical, work and 3 a cappella groups to keep her distracted!</p>
<p>HARTT AUDITION - ACTOR TRAINING</p>
<p>I know this is a musical theatre thread, but I’d figured I’d post this anyway if my impressions of the school itself are interesting to you, or any of you ARE going to audition for Actor Training.</p>
<p>So my dad and I got a little lost trying to find the performing arts building (we’d both never been to Hartford, and who knew that there would be an Asylum Street and Asylum Avenue right near one another?!) but we still made it there by 8:30. I was the first Actor Training person there, but that actually isn’t saying much because there were only about 6 AT kids who were auditioning, including me, which I thought was strange. But I guess it gave me a better chance of standing out, since there was less competition.
My dad went to the parent’s info session and I was left alone to wait til my audition time at 9:30. I started talking to another auditionee, and I discovered that our Shakespeare monologues were from the same show (Love’s Labour’s Lost - not an overdone show, I thought, but the fact that he was doing a monologue from that show too made me kind of nervous). </p>
<p>Three or four current Hartt students approached us and asked us how we were, if we had any questions, and basically made us feel really relaxed and welcome. All of the students were SO nice. I can’t say that enough. They knew we were nervous out of our minds and tried to reassure us in every way possible. They also told us a lot about the school, even things that I didn’t already know, such as the fact that they have semester juries, but more as an evaluation - no one gets cut from the program. A lot of them said that they picked Hartt over other schools because of the friendly, family-like atmosphere. AT only has 10-12 kids per class, and spending four years with these people, plus going to London together junior year, creates a really special bond. They said that MT accepts around 25, but the family atmosphere is still present. Also, they told us that they have a senior showcase in NYC and that the faculty can get individual showcases in LA if students are interested.</p>
<p>My audition was at 9:30, the first of the day (and probably the school year, since this was the first audition day -eek). I walked into the room and there were two men sitting behind a table: Alan Rust and Bob Davis. They asked me how I was, where I was from, which monologue I’d do first, and then told me to begin. (The woman who signed me in told me that I had to do my contemporary monologue first and classical second, so I didn’t have much choice.) They immediately asked for my second monologue, and right after I finished Alan asked “Why did you choose this monologue?” The question caught me off guard and I kind of panicked and said something that wasn’t at all what they were looking for. They then asked what I was looking for in a school, if I knew anyone at the school, and if I had any questions, then they told me I could go. No adjustments or anything. Overall, it was really short, and I honestly had no clue if they liked me or not - poker face the whole time. I’m mad at myself for screwing up the interview. I feel like I could have left a bigger impression on them than I did. And I had a really good answer prepared for why I want to pursue this career, but they never asked. It’s out of my hands now, though, so I’m trying not to worry about it too much. </p>
<p>After I left the room, all the students asked how it went and assured me that I probably did great (they were SO. NICE.) They even waved at me as I drove away. </p>
<p>So that’s my story. I know I’m supposed to find out before January 1, but I remember kids in past years finding out around Christmas. Any thoughts on when I could hear?</p>
<p>RIDER</p>
<p>Staying at the SpringHill Suites off 95, very nice place and 4 miles from Rider. I highly recommend this hotel vs any hotel off US 1. US 1 is a busy business route, not bad today but on Friday traffic was horrible. It”s also a little tricky as you have to loop around, you can’t cross the highway.</p>
<p>Check in at 7:30AM. S completed a short form, had to list his songs and monologues. It also asked you indicate whether you would wish to be considered for any other programs. The Head of Admission spoke for a little while. Decisions won’t be sent out for MT Majors until February. Your audition # is assigned in the order you check in so S was 15th. if you want to go sooner get there more than 15 minutes early. They had danishes, juice and coffee. A very welcoming school. The faculty spoke for a bit, also very approachable and even funny people. They indicated even though you were asked to prepare 2 songs and 2 monologues they only expected 2 songs and 1 monologue and you may not even be asked to sing your 2nd song. They emphasized not to read into it that it just means they’ve heard what they need and that’s neither good nor bad. Everything got started around 8:30. They took everyone down to warm up vocally together. The first 4 stayed downstairs then after that they took the auditioners down 4 at a time. Some current students mingled and sat at our table to address questions etc. They were all very nice. </p>
<p>Today I found out voice is not at Westminster Choir College as I originally thought and ballet is not at Princeton. Not sure where I heard that rumor but everything is right at Rider.</p>
<p>Rider is a very nice campus. There are warm up rooms in the MT dorms. The campus is in an upper scale neighborhood, seems very safe. The train station is 10 minutes away and I believe they said a shuttle will take you there. Rider is about 1 hr from NYC by train.</p>
<p>S was asked to sing both his songs, which I said in the other thread he didn’t feel they were his best by far. He did his monologue and came back to the room all of us started in. Then while changing in the restroom, he dropped his dance clothes in the toilet… He wore Rider shorts from the school store for the dance audition. The dance audition consisted of a few ballet combinations and then a jazz number. They were asked to do turns and leaps, one at a time. He said it was the toughest dance call by far but felt it went extremely well. He was done at 1PM. All in all S would b very happy to be accepted by this program.</p>
<p>We went to Princeton for lunch. Beautiful town and campus, looked like Hogwarts LOL</p>
<p>Sounds like a great day for your S (minus the toilet incident, he will definitely remember that story for a long time to come!). Rider sounds like a great school, looking forward to D’s January 20th audition. We will take you hotel recommendation too, thanks for that.</p>
<p>You don’t want to read too much into Robin Lewis going out of his way to talk to your son but that sounds like nothing but good news since he didn’t do that to everyone. Here’s hoping good news heads our way (but not until February :()!</p>
<p>EMERSON COLLEGE – BFA MT</p>
<p>I realized today in reading some of the recent posts that I never reported on my S’s audition two weeks ago! Better late than never…</p>
<p>There were two sessions for MT applicants, the first from 10-2 and the second from 2-6; S was in the afternoon group. We were asked to check in 20-30 minutes early but arrived around 1, well before the morning session was over. In fact, they were running late, so S got to see a friend who was in the morning group and get the lay of the land from her. Parents went to a waiting area on the 5th floor, while auditioners went off to the 4th floor, and we didn’t see them again until they were done either 2 hours later (Acting) or 4 hours later (MT). Uneventful wait for parents, most of whom were on their various electronic devices throughout, broken up by a Q&A session with the admissions coordinator for performing arts. No PBB’s in sight!</p>
<p>So here’s my S’s report: At check-in, auditioners were divided into dance-first/dance-second groups according to their alphabetical position on the registration list, but S was #15 of 29, right in the middle, so they gave him a choice, and he elected to dance first. They took a photo of each auditioner – no professional headshots allowed! – and sent them off to change into their dance or audition clothes, depending on their group. Then the admissions coordinator, along with the faculty adjudicating that day, conducted an intro/Q&A session for auditioners before sending the groups off to dance or sing/act. </p>
<p>The dance call consisted of a jazz combo, and ballet moves across the floor but no ballet barre. S, who is not really a dancer per se but has some training in ballet and MT dance/jazz, didn’t find it too difficult. For the song and acting auditions, Emerson student helpers would ask for volunteers, say, two MT applicants to sing and two MT or Acting applicants to do their monologues, then send them off to the appropriate room. As soon as applicants finished, they were free to find their parents and leave. </p>
<p>It was S’s first audition (and only one so far) and was a good one to start with. He particularly liked the laid-back, Emerson-student-run nature of the auditions and being able to sing and act when he felt ready. And the end result was also good: he was accepted to the MT program!</p>
<p>^^Congrats on your son’s acceptance, maMTma.</p>
<p>I know it has been spoken of here & there, but what did they tell you guys about the cut program (or getting rid of it, as has been reported)?</p>
<p>I only ask because a family friend (crazy talented!) was cut after sophomore year. Junior year is going on and the student is still at Emerson, but not in the MT BFA. Curious how Emerson will handle that situation, or is it just unbelievably unlucky for this wonderful student that they are ousted the year before they get rid of the “cut”.</p>
<p>Yes, the elimination of the cut program was touched on briefly during the parent Q&A, by way of explaining why Emerson was going to be more selective this year, but I’m pretty sure everyone who had applied for MT already knew about it. It does seem unfair that your friend’s S/D was cut just before they changed the policy. Maybe there’s some way to appeal that decision?</p>