<p>Going to Chicago with D for Unifieds. Is there any time for any fun? I have no clue about how late some of the dance calls are...looks like she will be doing one for Roosevelt and maybe Ball State. But, shouldn't there be time for a nice dinner somewhere? Maybe time to go see that fabulous art museum? She has her time slots for her auditions, but will probably want to try her hand at some walk ins...any previous unified folks out there?</p>
<p>Texblondie</p>
<p>We did the LA Unifieds, but the schedules are similar. The days can be completely filled depending on how your auditions are scheduled. I know my daughter would not have had time for a museum unless you were to stay an extra day. There was not time during the day to sneak out for more than a quick walk around or a bite to eat. We actually took most of our food because it was so hectic it was hard to take the time to go get anything. You would definitely have time at night for a nice dinner, but I would keep it pretty low key as she will be totally wiped out, especially if she is doing more auditions the next day. As far as the museum goes, my D would have been too tired to hit a museum even if we could have fit it in. Mine also did walk-ins, and it left no extra time at all. She pretty much went straight from one audition to the next. Again, it would all depend on how many auditions you have scheduled. Definitely take snacks and water because there is sometimes not much time between auditions. It is a long day, but a lot of fun!</p>
<p>We went out to see Second City one evening. You can take the El to Sedgwick from right outside the Palmer House. They serve food there so you can kill two birds with one stone. There are also several good restaurants around the hotel. We enjoyed Russian Tea Time on Adams. Or try Heaven on Seven (on the 7th floor at 111 N Wabash) for lunch (they close at 3). Great Cajun food.</p>
<p>Good Food in Chicago: </p>
<p>Gino’s Pizza- In Famous Deep Dish Pizza</p>
<p>Ed Debevicks- A Really fun american 50s style restaurant where the waiters (most likely all aspiring actors) are really mean to you. It’s all in good fun and very funny. The food is very good too. I also remember it not being too far from where Unifieds are held.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for something a bit nicer, I highly recommend Athena in Greek Town. It is probably the best Greek food I have ever had. And I’m from an area in NJ with a lot of Greek restaurants, so that’s saying a lot.</p>
<p>We did two auditions a day for the three days. We did have time to go to nice restaurants each night. On Tuesday we went to the art museum a few blocks away for about three hours in the middle of the day since the am audition was early and the pm audition was around three pm. It made for a nice break. We were going to go to a show one night but decided to rest up instead.</p>
<p>thanks everyone!</p>
<p>I love the Atwood Cafe–it’s right on the corner of State Street kitty-corner across from Macy’s in the lovely, rehabbed Burnham Hotel. Adorable Alice-in-Wonderland-type room that’s a lot of fun and really well done food. On the small side so would recommend reservations. It’s especially popular with the pre-theatre crowd.</p>
<p>Natalie Weiss, a singer who many MT students know from YouTube, is doing a Chicago concert on Monday night, Feb. 7th, in conjunction with the release of her 1st EP. </p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://theaterland.thundertix.com/]Chicago”>http://theaterland.thundertix.com/]Chicago</a> Center for the Performing Arts - Online Ticket Sales Reserved Seating<a href=“hope%20it’s%20ok%20to%20post%20that%20link!”>/url</a></p>
<p>Natalie is also working the Penn State auditions in Chicago and will be sitting outside the Penn State room - she loves to say hi to students!</p>
<p>I just wanted to wish all of you heading out to the Unifieds this weekend or in the upcoming week to “break a leg!”</p>
<p>We were preparing to head for Unifieds two years ago - can honestly say that weekend will always be a wonderful memory for me (D too I think). We shared so many interesting times and everyone was super nice to us. There were some nerves - more like getting really keyed up to perform over and over again at peak level - but the results were lovely. D is a sophomore in BFA MT now and loves her school and her life. Good luck to all starting the Unifieds this weekend - and remember to enjoy this special time! It’s truly “once in a lifetime” terrific.</p>
<p>I’m hoping for a fun filled few days, but I know it will be stressful too. Mainly, I just hope that we will get there and be able to fly out!</p>
<p>My D participated in Chicago Unifieds a few years ago and I will tell you that we had an AMAZING time. We ventured around the city to try interesting and trendy restaurants and had the opportunity to catch Jersey Boys just down the street from the hotel. The audition experience can be a lot of fun as well… Use the time that you sit around waiting to speak with other hopefuls and make new friends. Two people my daughter talked to at unifieds wound up at her school (1 BFA acting and 1 BFA MT)! I’m not going to tell you you will not feel any stress or anxiety, but go with the intent to have some fun it will help you to keep some balance.</p>
<p>Well, it was way too cold for us to do too much wandering, but we did make it to the H&M store a couple blocks away! All in all, we had a good time, had fun with room service, and found a couple of new favorite schools. Now the waiting begins again.</p>
<p>I heard there was huge buzz at the Chicago Unifieds for Texas State.</p>