Anyone going to SETC in a few weeks in Lexington, KY? We are going with our son, a HS junior. He is thinking about a MT program for college so we thought this would be a good introduction so he could see the level of competition and get some feedback. Also doing some general college touring the same week. Never been to one of these large audition programs before, so should be interesting!
We attended last year when my D was a junior. It was a great experience. She had a chance to see her work compared to children from different schools. We also found out about some MT programs and had the chance to meet their faculty. Highly recommend SETC!
If you can’t make SETC, you can get basically the same experience at the International Thespian Festival in Nebraska in June (but you have to go with a Thespian troupe). Somewhat different set of colleges in attendance.
Same opinion on SETC …great experience to try out some audition material , hear others , attend workshops etc, and get callbacks to schools and check out schools perhaps not in your radar. My D is accepted to an MT program now that she discovered at SETC.
Our S (current junior BFA MT) went to SETC as a HS junior. He had an excellent experience with the audition process and college program “callbacks” - where he got to practice his talking-to-college-representative skills. Also highly recommend the workshops - some even “workshopped” their audition material with the same folks who would later be behind the auditors’ tables when he auditioned his senior year. As a parent, I hung out in lobbies and hallways (schlepping S’s stuff) and listened to some enlightening conversations. Other parents, faculty and professionals in the business were very easy to talk to and generous in sharing their knowledge/experience. Keynote speakers are a highlight. The SETC convention is the largest of its kind and is well worth spending as much time there as you can.
S is attending the SETC professional auditions for summer stock for the second time this year.
Here are some terrific past threads on SETC started by some CC folks with lots of experience sitting behind the auditor’s table. Though they may focus a bit more on the professional side of things, there are some information gems relevant to HS auditionees.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1749523-thoughts-from-setc-2015-p1.html
My D is an MT junior, and she will be attending SETC for the second time in a couple weeks. She has to pass KTA pre-screens in order to get a slot. Last year at SETC she was very sick and lost her voice :(. She is looking forward to this year’s audition!
I will be there teaching two workshops, one on functional voice training (Thursday) and the other on how to rap (Saturday). Stop by if you have a chance. ~ VT
I would love to see my son rap! But alas we will have to hit the road before then.
@VoiceTeacher My D will be there on Thursday, so I will recommend she check out your voice workshop, thanks!
Excited about attending SETC with my hs junior S. Sadly, we have to fly in Wednesday late and out late Friday night as he has a community theatre show he is performing in Saturday. He’s got his undergraduate audition material set. He has no coach and is hoping his local theatre teachers have done a good job of helping him choose songs/monologue pieces. After he auditions Thursday morning, I noticed there are Callback Interviews listed on the schedule. Could someone please give us some advice as to what he needs to bring to these interviews? Is a formal head shot needed for this time? I was thinking he might need formal head shots fall of his senior year? Thanks in advance for any information you can give us prior to SETC.
@Tbosmom The callbacks at SETC are mostly done in a big conference room where each program has a table set up with brochures and info for you to get to know about them. Last year, D only had one school that actually had the students that they called back, meet them in a hotel room and work with them on another song in their book and interview them. And a few who called her back gave her feedback about her audition-but most were really just selling their program. D did have headshots w/resume and did leave them w/the schools after speaking with them-but they were not professional-just something we already had on file. Take advantage of the workshops they offer -there are plenty to choose from. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere and you will learn about a lot of programs that you never knew existed 
D just got an acceptance from a school she would have never known about if we hadn’t ventured to SETC.
Have fun and enjoy yourself!
@Jjrmom8 Thank you! He has been looking through the workshop newspaper and circling the ones he would like to try. This experience is a huge learning process. Thank you for the encouragement as we begin this phase of the journey!
Ditto what @Tbosmom says about callbacks. It’s generally more of what you would find at a typical college fair, but they at least “know” who you are from your audition and are very knowledgeable about their theater/music related programs. Don’t sweat a professional headshot. I also recommend going to as many workshops as you can. HIGHLY recommend VoiceTeacher’s Functional Voice Training on Thursday. At least when my S went as a junior, there were some good panel discussions hosted by faculty of some of the very competitive MT programs that gave excellent advice to students planning to apply/audition in the next few years. Take advantage of some of the subjects your S is unlikely to have access to during his HS years. Most of the workshop leaders are excellent and the participants usually have lots of fun while learning. I think one of S’s greatest takeaways as a HS junior, was how he fit in with his same-age peers. Getting to observe 30 (??) auditionees in your cohort can be eye-opening. He could feel good about his own strengths and be realistic about his weaknesses. Enjoy!
My D, high school junior, will be attending. She’s mostly interested in Acting but looking forward to all of the workshops and the audition process. I am looking forward to seeing how this all works. Frankly, it’s pretty overwhelming.
Go with an open mind. Learn and look for the fun. Terrific acting workshops, too.
@mom4bwayboy Thank you for your advice. I don’t know why I was concerned about the head shot. My S kept saying it was fine. I keep having those nightmares where you think you have everything but you forgot it all. He seems to be cool as a cucumber, which is great since he is auditioning and I’m busy collecting great books to read on the trip! I looked for the voice workshop, and he has circled it, so thank you. He was delighted to see a juggling one since he loves to juggle too! I love how you said, “Look for the fun!” I choose that as my mantra!
SETC is s great experience to do as a junior. Highly recommend.
@Tbosmom just keep track of the callbacks you all get and maybe make list afterward of what schools you’re interested in seeing. You’ll forget everything when you get home! We screenshot the callback boards for memory purposes and I kept them in my phone forever! Lol
That’s a wonderful idea, @theaterwork! I’ll bet you look back on that list fondly now. Thank you! I’ll make sure to have my phone all charged up.
Lol @Tbosmom yeah I kept them for awhile and deleted them finally. We’re on our last leg of auditions so it’s funny to look back over the schools that were a consideration & see if they ended up being an audition choice. And actually 2 were.
Late to the game I know. But is it too late to go to SETC? Do you have to sign up for auditions in advance?
I’m asking for a friends son who is a junior. He is extremely talented but I fear he has no one really directing him in the process.