<p>Jeffandann, I agree with Flossy 1000%. My D has always been very driven and conscientious. She has always been mature about her decision making. I’m not going to lie and say there weren’t times when she cried and wished she could go to a dance, or on a vacation with friends, etc. BUT, she made the decisions herself. No one pushed her. Did she miss out on some social things? Undoubtedly. But in exchange, she was doing what she loved to do the most: singing, dancing, acting, performing in regional productions, and meeting other people passionate about MT. And, when she made the most difficult sacrifice of all (for her) - quitting show choir after her sophomore year - it was really hard for her. But the other day she told me she knows she made the right decision, because quitting show choir allowed her the time to take dance lessons three times a week, and she felt prepared going into her auditions. And getting into a good MT program is what is important to her.</p>
<p>I always told my kids that high school can be great, but the rest of their lives is what’s really important. Our test was this: is it more important to go to this event (party, dance, trip, etc.), or is it more important to do this other thing that you also love, and that will better prepare you to achieve your dream? I cannot recall one time when my D chose the former over the latter. But if she had, it would have been fine with me. </p>
<p>I think every kid is wired differently. My D has had this MT passion for a long time. I think she’s lucky. It always amazes me when I talk to some of her high school friends and ask them what they want to do (these are seniors in high school, remember), and they say, “I don’t know what I want to do.” I am thankful that my D has this dream that she is so passionate about, and that she has the maturity to do what it takes to try and achieve her goals. Are these other kids happy? Sure. But so is my D. </p>
<p>So I don’t think it’s a matter of sacrificing high school memories. She has plenty of memories. And more importantly, she is creating a future for herself that will make her happy. Five years from now, I don’t think she’s going to be waiting in a crowded room of auditioners thinking, “Darn. I should have done show choir back in my senior year of high school!” She’s going to be thinking, “I feel as prepared as I can be for this audition.” And to her, that’s more important.</p>
<p>Monkey, as you say kids are wired differently. I hope your D’s dreams are fulfilled. I would say though that there seems to be a bit of an undercurrent that kids like my D who elected not to sacrifice as much are not as dedicated to a career in performing arts. She has been very dedicated towards that, does the voice lessons, etc. And she has not had to give up show choir or other activities to do so. And her auditions are going well. To each his own.</p>
<p>I completely agree - to each his/her own. There is no right way to raise a child. It depends on the child and the family and the circumstances. This goes for everyone, whether it is a child who is passionate about MT, or about Statistics, or one who hasn’t yet found a passion. And there is no right way for you to parent your own child either. If you had taken a different path, your child may have had other doors open. There is no way to know if your parenting choice had been “right.” It was the path chosen and hopefully felt right at the time.</p>
<p>For us, we supported our D to the extent we could afford it, but also encouraged balance with non-theater activities and schoolwork. There were times we said no to certain auditions due to her other commitments, and times we offered MT opportunities she hadn’t yet discovered on her own. Is it possible that not having been focused 100% on MT will cost her admittances to some MT programs? Absolutely. Will she have a wider range of experiences to draw on in her work and life? Also, absolutely.</p>
<p>While we can’t help but second-guess our choices from time to time, and compare those choices to those others have made, there are few choices my husband and I would change in raising our two daughters because at the time they were what we felt to be the best option. We all love our children, see their strengths and weaknesses, and do the best we can with our guidance.</p>
<p>It’s interesting how everyone who reads this thread finds something different irksome and I didn’t even see it until it was about 3 days old but I was tweaked by the notion that missing out on some high school activities in the pursuit of MT goals was somehow a sad sacrifice since my kid never saw it that way at all. Obviously, she had to pick and choose and did it with her eyes wide open. No pushing. Really. Heck, she was thrilled to have outside options and learned so much that was not available in her high school from people she really respects. She’s grateful and has amazing memories. That’s all.</p>
<p>I would never suggest that a kid should give up something they enjoy because this or that would better help them get into a good school. It’s way too unpredictable.</p>
<p>I echo the “to each his/her own” and I’ve seen either extreme work out just fine as far as college admissions go. However for sake of the discussion I’ll bring up an example that I’m not saying describes ANY of your kids because I have absolutely no way of knowing that. I’m also going to try to be deliberately gender neutral so sorry about that I know it is tiresome to read. </p>
<p>Where I live, we have a young actor (probably 16 – 17 but they have been at it since they were much younger) with the most amazing voice, AEA/SAG membership, Broadway experience etc. The kids is spectacular in many ways and is frequently cast in lead roles in both professional and amateur theatre companies in our city. I’ve actually seen this actor as a lead three times in the past year and probably missed him/her as a lead in as many other shows. With that pace, there seems little doubt that this actor has given up virtually everything about high school for theatre. I have no doubt he/she is following their passion and doing what they love. I can certainly understand the decision of the local directors to use this actor because he/she is good and I suppose willing to make him/herself available at the cost of all else.</p>
<p>However as an audience member I’ll be honest, I’m bored as are many of my theatre-going friends. He/she plays every role no matter what it is, the same. </p>
<p>I’ve always heard that if you bring a variety of experiences to your acting, you become a better actor. I’m not sure how much variety someone so young who has always done nothing but theatre brings to their acting. Or that isn’t the problem it is just that he/she isn’t a particularly good actor. Time will tell but I think going to college where perhaps you can’t even audition the first year and even if you can, you may not be cast because everyone is really good and equally available/unavailable will be so good for this actor - perhaps even necessary to take things to the next level. The potential is certainly there but at the moment I think he/she has gotten stuck.</p>
<p>Jeffandann, it may have helped if I had noted that our show choir has a particularly gruesome schedule…some weeks they were at it 30 hours/week, on top of school. By NO means am I implying that any child is less dedicated or will be less successful if s/he partakes in things like show choir or other school activities. There are so many factors that play into this: the type of kid you have, the type of school/musical director you have, the availability of other activities/lessons in your area, etc. As I have said before, there are many, many different paths to success, and many definitions of success. My point was merely that for some kids, they do not really feel like they are sacrificing anything to forego some school activities. Others may feel they are sacrificing, and may not want to forego high school activities. There is no right or wrong answer. All of our children are different, and I sincerely hope that they all get to where they want to be! Good luck to your D.</p>
<p>Exactly halflokum! It also amazes me when I see interviews with actors who happened to have stumbled upon the industry in college, after college, or because they had an injury and couldn’t do sports or dance anymore. Just because one is all consumed with theatre also doesn’t make them more talented than kids who are not. I truly believe in well-roundedness!</p>
<p>Monkey, I know of what you speak. My D is President of her show choir and their hours are incredible. But that experience has also I believe helped her prepare for her college auditions. I’m constantly amazed at how much these kids can do.</p>
<p>And today she prepares to go on another college audition Saturday, and hopefully will go to call backs this afternoon for the high school musical. Ah, life as a performer!</p>
<p>There is so much helpful information on the audition process here but it seems to me that we are over looking the preparation. I am both a mom of a son who is involved in theater as well as a theater teacher. I am often surprised by how little some very talented students seem to know about how to audition for college musical theater programs and/or professional theater. Because these programs are so competitive it is imperative that the student auditioning have prepared audition pieces as well as the understanding of how to audition. No matter how talented the individual is if they have not properly prepared for the audition they will most likely not get into the program they want. These programs are looking for students who have taken the time to properly prepare for their audition. There is a wonderful summer theater intensive program which my son participated in last summer which focuses on getting people ready for college auditions as well as auditioning for professional theater jobs in NYC. This is a highly selective program which only accepts 22 participants per summer. My son worked with NYC professional actors, casting directors and agents. By the end of the summer he had a book full of audition songs and monologues which he had thoroughly prepared with the help of these NYC professionals. He also had the opportunity to go through many mock professional auditions with these NYC professionals and have his performance critiqued. Visit the website [url=<a href=“nycinma.com - This website is for sale! - nycinma Resources and Information.”>http://nycinma.com/]NYCinMA[/url</a>] to learn more about this program. Break a leg and good luck with your auditions.</p>
<p>Training is something not all high school students get.</p>
<p>My son commented that when he was at Unifieds in NYC, he could tell that the abilities of the candidates were far higher than what he saw at the Virginia Theater Association auditions. He also said that there was a huge range in the level of training the other students had received. My son did not attend a performing arts school but he has taken high-level classes with theatre professionals, and has learned a lot of acting theory, and has read widely about the basic principles of comedy. He discovered in conversations that many of the other kids there didn’t have any idea what he was talking about. They’ll catch up quickly in college, of course, but they have never been exposed to Ute Hagen and Meisner and so on.</p>
<p>Does this matter? I don’t know. He says his training made the audition process much less stressful than it would otherwise have been, that he was as well prepared as he could possibly have been. So I guess it was money well spent.</p>
<p>Take it from a theater teacher. Your preparation really does matter at an audition. It is all well and good to know how to act, sing and dance but if you do not know how to audition all that knowledge and talent will not mean a thing. There are so many talented kids out there and these programs are looking for what sets your child apart.</p>
<p>TheatreMom18 - that is absolutely essential. Preparation for auditions is key (well, preparation for anything in life is key if I’m not mistaken, right? ) I am also familiar with the NYCinMA program as there were a couple of kids in my town who attended last summer. One of them already has an agent in NY and is working. We re just in the beginning stages of considering colleges - we still have a couple of years before we have to make any real decisions, so I appreciate this forum and that I can get some great information!</p>
<p>Well, actor12, besides choosing the material that is right for you and the place/role you are auditioning for you need to prepare that material. If it is a song, you need to work on your vocal technique as well as on acting the song correctly. Really the only way to do this is with a voice teacher, vocal coach and/or an acting coach. A monologue should be worked on with an acting coach. You should also work on what to wear, how to enter an audition room, how to address the people you are auditioning for, how to speak with the accompanist and how to end the audition. This is what the program I mentioned before (NYCinMA) will teach you.</p>
<p>^^^ Many local programs around the country offer audition training as described above as well as many national summer programs.</p>
<p>You can also receive this kind of preparation training from national networks of MT professionals, like MTCA.</p>
<p>For basic information on what to wear, how to enter the room, how to address people, how to speak to an accompianist, etc. a good place to start would be one of the books on auditioning referenced in this thread:</p>
) I am also familiar with the NYCinMA program as there were a couple of kids in my town who attended last summer. One of them already has an agent in NY and is working. We re just in the beginning stages of considering colleges - we still have a couple of years before we have to make any real decisions, so I appreciate this forum and that I can get some great information!</p>