<p>My D was finally accepted (rec'd the letter April 14) by Ithaca but NOT for Acting. She had blithely checked off Psychology as her 2nd-choice major on the application, never realizing they'd take her seriously. So we visited a few days ago -- our first visit there, by the way -- and we were impressed with both the college (the campus as well as the bright students and generally kind-natured personality of the place) and the Theatre Arts program. She observed student-produced short plays as well as a few culminating performances by freshman Acting students, and she liked what she saw -- good skills, strong presence, courageous innovation, and a strongly collaborative, supportive team spirit among students, not to mention none of that "Look at ME, I'm so different," humorless self-consciousness that is so rampant at many arts schools. (She DID see that off-putting attitude at Fordham Lincoln Center when she visited earlier this week, by the way -- and of course this was admittedly just a first impression -- so she quickly dropped interest in their program, where she had been wait-listed.)</p>
<p>Bottom line, she found out she really wants to go to Ithaca, and she IS enrolling (we worked out the financial problems; see my other post on this if you're interested), even though she is going in knowing that she will need to re-audition for Acting in November, and even then she may be rejected again. Plan B, if her freshman-year audition doesn't pan out, would be for her to apply to transfer (involves interview and dept. approval) into the B.A. in Drama program -- not conservatory training for acting, but still worth looking at if you're open to getting a more wholistic foundation in theatre arts. She met with Admissions while we were there this week, and they had no problem letting her come in as an Exploratory major rather than as a Psych major. The Exploratory program looks perfect for her needs at this point -- she can dabble in everything (including Theatre Arts) for up to 2 years before declaring, and Exploratory majors get preference for class registration, just behind seniors; also, it will be a great way for her to discover the big universe of possibilities out there, including other back-up career options (e.g., their speech therapy program might be a good option for acting students with natural speech talents [dialects, etc.]).</p>
<p>Something important to know about the Ithaca Theatre Arts programs, if your son or daughter isn't admitted to it: All three mainstage productions each semester are cast based on open auditions held at the very beginning of the semester (before classes begin) -- AND AUDITIONS ARE OPEN TO EVERYONE, NOT JUST THE ACTING STUDENTS. Be warned that the lead roles normally go to the more highly-trained acting students, but this is still an encouraging feature for non-majors who just want to be on the stage and receiving direction, regardless of the line count.</p>
<p>So that's our happy ending. I expect that her current reality -- that she still will still have to prove herself and could still be rejected -- is a reality that will last her whole life....given her chosen, highly unemployable field. Well, it beats giving up and settling for less than her sincere path in life. Conservatory training would be a wonderful thing, and maybe I'm just rationalizing, but I think that what matters more than conservatory admission for aspiring actors is honest talent, a generous spirt, and a strong will to follow your path even if you have to carve it out yourself.</p>