<p>That's why we need more female playwrights and musical writers, people!</p>
<p>From what I heard on the other side of the door most of the kids were very good and some phenomenal. This surprised me as I thought for sure I'd hear some awful or at least some off-key singing. I think when you get to the point of a college audition (many talented high school students in one place) that someone along the way has given you an honest evaluation of your talent. The kids know who is really good and talk about this amongst themselves. At my daughter HS they (unofficially) line them up for the recitals (best singers are at the end). While there are certainly some parents out there that over estimate their child’s talent there are just as many that are very subjective and even skeptical of their child’s chance to make it professionally or even get into a good program.
What was even more surprising was some of the poor wardrobe choices I witnessed. The easiest and most fundamental piece (your appearance) was missed by about 20 percent of the kids. Although it's been stated here that there is a 2 girls to 1 guy audition ratio it appeared to be more like 4 to 1.</p>
<p>You will find them at the UNIFIEDS this winter. Having just returned from Scotland here are the numbers we got (second hand, pretty reliable), they get over 2,000 applications of which they will audition 500. The first year Acting class is comprised of 22 students 8 female, 14 male. Of the 22 students 4 are Americans of which 3 are recent graduates of Interlochen! In fact, there are 2nd year Interlochen actors there. They visit the campus and recruit there. Makes sense........kids that have lived away from home and have excelled to this point. We will keep the group updated as we get pieces of information from our son.</p>
<p>(Bumped because the redesign of the CC site resulted in a loss of the pegged "Featured Threads" and this is an informative one for this time of year :) )</p>
<p>NYQ12 you are right 1000 kids aren't all brilliantly amazing. But there are a lot of very talented kids within that 1000. On the other hand you have programs admitting 16 kids only - 8 boys and 8 girls. So the question becomes first off (assuming 2/3 are girls) is your D among 600+ girls in the top 8 or is your S among 300+ boys in the top 8? Then it becomes even more unknown because what if the particular program already has too many tall brunette altos or short blonde sopranos and is seeking a particular type? </p>
<p>I would like to poster an analogy. Every Sunday across the nation in the newspaper the local high school football star is written up...once again. He might surely think he can apply and get into Notre Dame. But as we know there are 1000's of these across America and unless they had the opportunity to play against each other we would never know where they stand side by side. A lot of the audition pool is like this - they are little stars spread across America who will be compared at audition. Last year I saw kids get into the top schools that appeared on Broadway when they were young or were already cast in upcoming Broadway shows. I also saw these same people rejected from schools. I don't mean this to be negative just insert some reality into the situation when you evaluate your chances. Before anyone else posts it I will post that yes you also will see that girl whose resume didn't compare with the others but obviously aced her 3 minute audition and was accepted. It's just a heads up to make sure you don't overestimate yourself or your child and do please have those safety backups. </p>
<p>If your child has talent and loves theatre more than anything, I would highly recommend just going for it. Beyond the result I think parents that have gone through audition season will tell you it is one of the best experiences with their child. Being on the other side - my D is GONE, grown, living at college - I will always cherish the months we spent travelling around the country on our audition trips. I will always be thankful we had that one-on-one time as a team together towards a common goal. It is a chance for an amazing bonding experience before they leave you. </p>
<p>My D has been auditioning for college productions. She told me just this week that auditions have become totally different for her. After auditioning for the colleges they aren't frightening anymore - they are a rush. She has done so many of them she is accustomed to them. The same thing happens during audition season - the first one you don't know what to expect and it can be frightening. But after doing a couple of them they become less frightening and more familiar</p>
<p>The bottom line is to be aware that the competition is fierce and the odds of admission to any audition-based program are small, but at the same time, not to be intimidated or "psyched out" by those odds and by that competition. </p>
<p>It's been said before a million times and needs saying a million more: NO program that requires an audition is a safety program, and the most important piece of the admissions puzzle is the development of a realistic and appropriate list that includes a range of schools that include those with longer odds of admission and those with better odds. And definitely include (it's the most important school on the list) at least one non-audition safety school that is a TRUE safety: that you pretty much know you will get into based on your grades, scores and extra curriculars, and which has a strong enough theater/acting/performance program that you would be happy to attend. That cannot be overemphasized.</p>
<p>What we also must recognize is that most of these schools are casting their troupe for the next four years. They are trying to build a group of talented diverse actors. Even though your blue eyed blond child is very gifted there may 16 blue eyed blonds in the program across the four years of students already and they really are looking for a very talented dark ethinic looking kid. who knows.....but I can tell you that our son's freshman class is very diverse. My suggesstion to all auditioning HS seniors; the more the better. Use the regionals and get in front of as many schools as possible.</p>
<p>"The more the better" - well perhaps only to a point. There has been a tremendous amount written about the number of schools to which to apply. The general consensus seems to be 8 - 10 including 1 -2 non-audition BA programs in the mix. More important than quantity is to carefully research schools, have a diverse list of schools which are all a good match and be well prepared and rested for your auditions. Any more and you risk exhaustion while not materially adding to your chances of success. All more will do is add to your stress. A well thought out smaller list gives you better odds than a "shotgun" approach. There are loads of students who put together a well crafted list of 6 or 8 schools who ended up with multiple options because their list was well thought through and they were prepared. See the pegged thread "Class of 2009 and 2010 - Preparing to Apply" for many interesting posts on putting together a list of schools.</p>
<p>Point taken.
My son auditioned for 10, a resonable number. My suggestion of, "more is better" is that I just see these posts where students have picked 4 -5 schools (all of which are some of the toughest programs to get into) and feel as if they might be limiting themselves.There are a lot of great programs for talented kids.</p>
<p>I am no expert, but four or five schools is probably not enough. Of course, you only need to get into one; you can only attend ONE school.</p>
<p>Last year, there seemed to be a large number of posters who did not fully appreciate the highly competitive nature of audition based BFA admissions (3-9% acceptance rate depending on the school), applied only to 4 or 5 schools or even if greater numbers often only to schools with a "Big Name" (i.e. 800 - 1000 applicants, national talent pool, class sizes of about 12 or less, acceptance rate 3-6%) and did not have a non-audition BA safety on their list. As a result, there were a load of posters very disappointed with the outcome.</p>
<p>In contrast, there seems this year to be a lot of posters who have taken the message to heart but to the opposite extreme and have lists with 12, 14 even as many as 20 schools. There needs to be a balance so that you have a reasonable number of well thought through schools, comprising a diverse list, that is manageable and does not turn the process into a hyperdrive over stressed situation that is counter-productive.</p>
<p>One thing to note is that acting auditions generally take less time than do musical theater auditions. My D auditioned for 12 schools, but several of these were for straight acting programs (Minnesota, Fordham) and thus, was basically "in and out" in between 10 and 30 minutes for each audition. (Minnesota does regional auditions in New York during NYC Unifieds. Of course, if you are fortunate enough to get a callback, then you have to travel to Minneapolis for an entire weekend, but that's another story!)</p>
<p>My D (still a junior) is musing over the possibility of auditioning for some schools as a straight actor and others for MT, depending on the school and the program. And, of course, having straight non audition BA schools on her list, too. We were just at a college performing arts fair and it was interesting to see how much action the Muhlenberg table was getting. The secret is obviously out on that one! In any case, I'm wondering if there are other students out there who scattered their approach like this, or whether you think it's better to stay focused on one thing.</p>
<p>The reason my D did some straight acting auditions is because she attended a high school with an actor training program (public) and her teachers only felt qualified to weigh in on her chances for successful auditions for straight acting: they admitted that all they knew about MT college auditions were that they were even more stiffly competitive than were the straight acting ones! So my kid decided to hedge her bets a bit and do a handful of acting auditions. </p>
<p>She ended up being quite fortunate in her outcomes both for MT and acting, and as MT was her first choice, is now at a BFA program in musical theater. </p>
<p>One thing to think about if your kid is considering this is whether the student would be happy doing straight acting/drama at a place where musical theater is offered. My own daughter wouldn't have been, though her passion for Shakespeare and classical drama is second only to MT! But she wouldn't have felt OK doing Shakespeare while kids at the same school did musicals. Other kids may feel a different way.</p>
<p>HSN, I also did a combination of acting and MT auditions (and MT auditions at schools where I marked I would be considered for acting as well - CMU, Ithaca, and Otterbein, for instance). I knew that I wanted to study either at an MT program with great acting training or at an acting program with great opportunities in musical theater so that I will be well-equipped to work in both plays and musicals when I graduate. Musical theater is my greater love, though, and so I ended up opting for a MT program when all was said and done, though there were acting programs I applied to that I know I could have been very happy at.</p>
<p>I am currently applying to both acting mt and ba programs. I really believe acting is the one essence of theatre, the number one discipline. Therefore, I strongly believe it is more important to receive a comprehensive acting education over a musical one. Although, mt only makes you that much more adept and well rounded. But I think I would rather be at a strong acting program over a mediocre musical theatre one. But hands down, this process is so individually created by each individual student. Do what you want, go for what you love, and don't necessarily do things just because others did. Create it to your needs and desires.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that MT and a strong acting program are not mutually exclusive. There are many schools where the acting component of MT is given great weight. At my daughter's school, the BFA acting students and BFA MT students take all of their core acting studio classes together throughout the curriculum. It is very important to look closely at the curricula at schools and at the course catalogues to get a good sense of whether a MT program gives the emphasis to acting that will meet your needs.</p>
<p>If you are not sure you want to sing, act and dance all day, every day then my advice is to look for a drama program. BFA-MT requires intense work on the student’s part in all three disciplines (triple threat). Especially voice and dance. There is a surprising number of freshman who drop out because they realized it was not for them.</p>
<p>Just to follow up on the BFA MT intensity issue, as an illustration, my daughter, a sophomore, has 27 hours a week of class and 28 hours a week of rehearsals for the show she is in. Add to it time needed to prepare for classes, do required readings, practice scenes for studio classes, learn music for vocal classes, write papers etc, there is very little down time. Her experience is typical for a BFA MT program.</p>
<p>MichaelNKat- WOW! 28 hours a week?? I've never heard of such a long rehearsal schedule! They must have only a couple weeks of rehearsal, OR they're doing one INTENSE SHOW, lol!!!</p>