This is all very very helpful: I went to a Performing Arts night at my son’s high school last spring and was completely mystified as to what on Earth they were all talking about! Thank you all for your great tips.
@mindatwork it may depend on what schools are on your students list. For New York unifieds since we will already be in New York and some of the NY schools don’t participate in unifieds but have auditions during unifieds weekend or the Friday before or Monday after we are going to try to do those. And if your thinking about doing Marymount Manhattan that weekend they say you will be there from 10 am until 6 pm so that’s one whole day devoted to to just one audition.
Hi Everyone! I am trying to get our official plan together for Chicago Unifieds next week. My daughter has auditions at 3 schools with the schedule looking like M morning and late Monday afternoon. Her next round is Tuesday late afternoon. We can arrive Sat or Sun. leaving Tuesday night. She is open to checking out walk-ins. I am open to making the most of our time in Chicago. 
She did also apply to some Chicago schools-academically so I keep thinking we should pop by and “show interest” if the window of opportunity presented itself? Wondering would we be attempting walk ins on Tuesday morning? Is there any walk happening on Sunday or is would they just be that week M-TH? We would arrive Sat. night if there were walk ins on Sunday? Could she call the schools that she would be interested in walking in this week and see if we can snag a spot to fill her days? Also what did you do in the evenings for fun? Catch shows? Dinner? Shopping or just resting for the next day? Anyone want to share their expertise?
Check for walkins- on Monday morning and again on Tuesday morning. If a school has open slots they’ll work with you to schedule a time that works for you. If a school will only take you if there’s a no-show, you will need to be prepared to hang around and wait. Evenings…catch a show! Lots of theaters in the area with the Majestic being just a block from the Palmer. If you have time off during the day with no walk-in possibilities, the Chicago Art Institute is just a couple of blocks away and a great place to take in some art.
Chicago Unifieds: Some schools will let you schedule walks ins for the week on Monday morning while others make you check back each day or twice a day. As I recall, the ones that had auditions on Sunday were schools not located at the Palmer House…there are a few named schools that did their auditions off site. I suppose if they hold auditions on that Sunday, you could try to get walk ins there. There were no Palmer House walk ins on Sunday that I saw, when my D and I walked the place that afternoon to get the “lay of the land”.
BTW, It’s quite a maze, so I recommend doing that ahead of time so there is no stress about your student finding a room on audition day. Also, as a side note, they crank the heat up in the hotel, so you don’t want to be rushing and get perspiration marks.
So much good food in Chicago too. Near Palmer House I love the Cochon Volant for dinner on a cold night. And the Goddess and the Baker for coffee and yummy anything.
Thank @loribelle, @speezagmom ! I sure appreciate you weighing in! I thought I had this together in my mind and I guess now that we are approaching it-I’m getting nervous for the mom jobs-- navigating, time and stress managing and food!
My D ate a small breakfast but did not want to eat a lot during the day. We packed protein bars and nuts, but that’s what she likes to eat as a norm. We went to Trader Joe’s on the day we arrived and loaded our fridge up with their yummy salads and snacks. We packed up each day (we stayed off premise) in a small cooler bag and then she and I either ate at lunch (if she had at least two hours) or she ate at the very end of day after the adrenaline wore off and she became famished. She doesn’t like to audition on a full stomach.
We “yelped” a couple of nearby restaurants for dinner, as we didn’t know what we would feel like at the time. You could also do Door Dash or Uber Eats if you don’t feel like going out.
I think we’re going to try to hit Second City for a show one night. My wife and I did that a few years ago and had a blast.
As a native Chicagoan who did Chicago unifieds last year, I’d just like to put myself out there are a resource both for Chicago-specific questions and questions about unifieds in general. I’ll also add LIU-Post (which is the school I am currently an acting major at) to the list of walk-in schools.
I hope you folks have better weather next week. My D who spent a year at Steppenwolf after graduation is back in Chicago this week visiting old friends and this morning it feels like -51!
If your S or D is auditioning for Manhattan School of Music in Chicago, just a quick reminder that they are NOT at Palmer. They are at 5230 N Clark St, which seems like it’s about 30 minutes away from Palmer.