<p>My D worked professionally for a well-known Bwy MT writer in one of his shows a few years ago. She was an understudy but he did see her perform twice in a principal role and loved what she did. She feels funny about asking him for a letter of rec for BFA programs she is applying to, like it's taking advantage of the relationship/his clout in the industry. (She can be modest and self-effacing to a fault). Is this thinking crazy? I happen to think there is a good chance he will say yes to the request.</p>
<p>Obviously, no college will accept her on the basis of a letter, she has to be great in the audition and have the rest of her stuff together, which she does. However, it would be a tremendous boost...in my opinion.</p>
<p>So if I can talk her into it and she does get a yes from him, can she just ask for a "To Whom It May Concern" general letter and copy it to attach to all of her applications? That would mean she would have to see it which I think is a no-no. Or should we just have him send it directly to her first choice school? Can't ask him to do 5 letters, that's over the top.</p>
<p>Input from admissions folks and counselors, please!</p>
<p>Never hurts to ask for a recommendation letter! Usually, I find that they’ll request a letter if they want one specifically for the major, otherwise, hold on to them for the future.</p>
<p>Assuming that the schools she’s applying to want this type of rec (not all do), I’m still not sure of the value of a letter that will detail someone’s opinion of what she did three years ago. If it was this year, that would be a different story, in my opinion.</p>
<p>I believe they want more current recommendations. I know for a teacher recommendation they prefer a teacher from your child’s Junior year in high school.</p>
<p>Another approach is to take the top 2-3 schools on your D’s list and then research the background of the MT department head at those schools. If by any chance that well known broadway MT writer has worked/knows the head (quite possible), then you could perhaps ask your contact to make an informal direct email or phone call to the head. I think there is no harm in a department head having a heads up to be on the look out for a prospect that someone with great Broadway credentials thinks is good.</p>
<p>The thing is, my D has a couple of other friends who have incredible connections in the Broadway business and they are all getting these kinds of letters (I’m talking some bold-face names) to attach to every single one of their college applications whether the school is asking or not. They think we’re crazy for not doing it too. Last year, one of them got one of these letters and they rec’d a full ride from a top tier MT BFA program. Granted-- he had talent, a great audition and good experience too. But interestingly, not great grades…and this school has some very high GPA and test score standards they are looking for. I’m so confused.</p>
<p>Most schools have “admissions flexibility” for athletics and various fine art areas that permit coaches and department heads to “get the talent in the door.” This is not to say that anyone can get in if they have enough talent, but not every student has to meet the same requirements for admission if they are gifted in an area that the school is focused on. Many schools also do not like to talk openly about this.</p>
<p>MTmomNYC we’re actually “sort of” in the same boat and have decided NOT to use our Broadway legend contact as a reference at all. He knows me and knows my D by extension and has seen her on stage, he hasn’t worked with her. It feels too many degrees of separation away from a meaningful reference. I cannot for a moment imagine a letter of reference even if legitimately glowing that would have any weight despite the pedigree in a thoughtful college admission review. We’re making the concious decision to surrender to our naivete’ if that is the case. I’d much rather supply a relevant and detailed letter from her high school drama teacher who is amazing in his own right.</p>
<p>But sure, people will do the opposite and people are telling us we’re crazy not to as well. It doesn’t feel honest for us. But there will be plenty of it as well as plenty of best friend’s father was an alumni and knows the brother of the director of… you get the picture. I’m sure sometimes that works too. But it doesn’t work for us. All the best!</p>
<p>Just to be clear though… in your case since broadway legend HAS worked with your daughter, I still standby my earlier advice that something informal if there is a direct connection to the school,'s MT director I would ask if an informal call/email could be sent just as a “heads up watch for this one who is auditioning on ___ date”. We’re not in that boat.</p>
<p>I think many who audition have these kinds of “connections” but most do not attach a letter to their application. Your daughter will have to attach a resume listing all her performances and there’s also space on the Common Application so that is where she could put her work and his name. If someone from the college knows this writer or wishes to contact him on her behalf that is their choice. Believe me, there are plenty of kids with Broadway/television/movie credits and contacts auditioning with your daughter, she will be admitted based on her audition and the school’s need and little else.</p>
<p>Absolutely agree with this and with everything else you’ve said, amtc. </p>
<p>MtMom, there will certainly be individuals who have their great contacts write letters, whether they’re relevant or wanted, or not. Just like there will be individuals who have their supposedly well-connected coaches stalking auditors and department heads at auditions and at the Unifieds to promote their clients. Trust me when I say that this is far less likely to impress those who are making the decisions as it is to annoy and put them off. Kids who are auditioning will be admitted on the basis of their actual audition, and their academic stats at the schools that value those. No one is going to be accepted to a reputable programs solely based on who they know. It’s far more important (and a good lesson) for the student to go into an audition ready and well-prepared, then to rely on the annoying stage mother/father/coach stereotype. If it doesn’t feel right to you, don’t do it. The theatre world has far too many of those types as it is, they don’t need yet another! :)</p>
<p>Good posts. Can’t possibly be a game of pedigree references. That would set up a school for overlooking real talent that comes ouf of nowhere. I can’t imagine that is how it works.</p>
<p>Here’s my opinion about VIP Letters of Recommendation…first generally speaking and then in reference to the OP’s daughter…</p>
<p>A VIP reference tends to not truly help unless the person who is writing it is VERY important to the college itself (ie., an administrator, faculty member) AND also knows the student well enough to write a letter that is truly a personal endorsement. I think the latter point is the most important. The person has to have worked with you in a significant capacity and not merely know you, seen you perform, etc. Sometimes the use of a VIP rec could hurt one’s chances if not used in an appropriate fashion, as if to say…“I can’t get in on my own…hope this impresses.” All my remarks are pertaining to any college applicant, and not specific to MT. </p>
<p>As to the OP’s daughter who was an understudy on Broadway, perhaps in her freshman year of HS…It is unclear to me how much the writer/composer of this production worked with your daughter. He may have been part of the casting. Did he work with her throughout the rehearsal process? Or was he mostly involved in casting and then saw her perform when she went on for the role? In other words, how well does he know your daughter and how significant was the capacity in which he worked with her? Just knowing her a tiny bit or seeing her perform is not enough, in my opinion. It is FAR better to get recs from people who worked with you in a significant capacity over time (not just briefly either). It is not about the NAME of the rec writer as much as how in depth they can talk about their experiences with you. The other drawback in your case is that this person had contact with your D back in about ninth grade and it is better to have recs more recent than that (or can go back that far if they continued to work with the student more recently as well). In your case, this credit is on your D’s theater resume and that alone speaks for itself. I’m not sure how much such a rec would help. You want to make sure it doesn’t come across as trying to use a “name” to some advantage. I’d ONLY use this rec if he worked with your D over a period of time in a significant capacity (beyond casting her or seeing her perform, etc.)</p>
<p>SoozieVT, here’s the deal. He saw her many times during the casting process, about 8 callbacks, talked about her in a podcast he did on Playbill.com. He worked with her as part of the whole cast during regular rehearsals (but not understudy rehearsals). He saw her perform in a principal role twice at the end of the run and let her and I both know that she did an excellent job. That’s the long and short of it. I think at this point, we will get the artistic recs from Drama, MT song presentation and Dance teachers at her h.s. who have worked with her for 4 yrs. They are all happy to do it. We will ask the writer for a general statement from him in a letter form which he will send to us first. We’ll take a look at it and if we feel the tone is right and honest, we will send to the college programs separately, just before the audition. How does that plan sound to you?</p>
<p>Thanks for clarifying the extent of the composer/writer’s experience with your daughter. He obviously knows her talent through the audition process and seeing her perform. Sounds like he may have worked with her during rehearsals. I think that last part is key. Just getting a rec from him to comment on D’s talent (which is accomplished somewhat by merely having the credit on the resume) isn’t enough. He’d have to comment more about having worked with her, in my view. (recs are not needed to endorse talent when there is an audition…they are more about the qualities of the candidate) Was his part of the rehearsals with her on a regular basis? The other issue is she was quite a bit younger and he hasn’t worked with her since then, I assume. If you wish to include the rec in addition to her actual artistic teacher recs, you could (though sometimes too many recs are not a good thing either!). As long as you don’t replace those recs with this. Still, stay wary that you don’t want it to come across as trying to impress and so hopefully the rec can speak to knowing your daughter beyond merely saying she is talented and be a true personal endorsement that is meaningful. I don’t know why you have to send this rec separately or right before the audition (handling it differently than any other rec), however. </p>
<p>One thing I don’t agree with you about is in the first post you stated that you believed this rec would be a “tremendous boost,” and I don’t feel that way. I think your D, who sounds to be quite talented, would get in on her own merits, as most do. In my line of work, I have seen some parents go after obtaining recs from “names” feeling it is going to really make a difference and I don’t think it will unless the “name” person has a relationship with the school that is important to them and has worked very closely with the candidate to comment about her as a person more so than to validate her talent (which is what the audition is for).</p>
<p>Best wishes to your D on her admissions process.</p>
<p>Just wanted to address OP’s question about the logistics of getting and sending the recommendation letter (regardless of who writes it). Early in the process, S asked his voice/acting teacher, whom he had worked with for many years, to write an artistic recommendation for him. His teacher wrote the letter in the “To Whom It May Concern” format and printed 15 copies of the letter (10 for applications and 5 to take to unifieds). Teacher signed each copy, inserted each in a marked business envelope, sealed the flap, and then signed his name across the flap (at the tip so that the signature ran across both the envelope back and the flap). That way, it would be apparent to the recipient that the envelope hadn’t been opened or tampered with. When teacher had finished, he gave all the envelopes to S. This worked very well…whenever S’s schools requested an artistic rec, he could quickly send one of the envelopes with his application – didn’t have to keep imposing on the teacher to write individual recs, and S didn’t have to wait each time he needed one. BTW, son never did open any of the envelopes to read the recommendation (in fact, there’s still an unopened copy or two in the file here, hmmm maybe I should peek, he he).</p>
<p>If you do end up asking for the letter (which is looking like more and more of a good idea), one trick to getting a letter of recommendation is to give the person some criteria of what the school is looking for in a letter of rec and then ask them to write the letter and give it to you. That way you can look over it for any corrections that have to be made and then send it to the schools yourself-- it looks more uniform to the school and then you don’t burden the person you are asking by having them mail it themselves. I hope it works out!</p>
<p>The “burden” aspect is something I’m concerned about. Don’t want to make it difficult for this person, know him well enough to realize this would make him cranky about the whole thing. Going to check w/head of P.A. Program at D’s hs tomorrow…he’s also head of college advisory staff there, so there will probably be precedent at the school from other students that have been in a similar situation. Thanks everyone for your input.</p>