<p>Not to be so severly off topic - but I know your PM box and e-mail box must till be full so I just wanted to post one more response your way:</p>
<p>I saw Beauty and The Beast and I was amazed. I'm pretty sure your D's friend played Cogsworth, b/c that boy received a scholarship that we all auditioned for. My girlfriends and I didn't mind that he won it instead of us because he was a cutie and we were happy to see him accept the award onstage!!! (lol) But anyway the talent of the students in the show was amazing. Particularly the boys! Their Belle was just perfect - I cried at the end! It was so lovely and I was so happy for them and their hard work!</p>
<p>How funny that your D wants to wear a short prom dress! I did that on purpose - I wanted to try something new and I was very pleased with finding that dress and then I loved my hair (I'm always nervous to let a hairdresser style it!) so it was a fun, fun event! I had not been any previous years, b/c like your D, I was performing! Last year it was in Carousel, I believe. This was my first and last prom! </p>
<p>I bet the parody on the song was very entertaining!! The music from that show is histerical - in the particular song I talked about, there is a foul word that my character sings, right at the beginning and we were not allowed to say it in Tampa so we came up with a quick little bit to avoid actually saying the word and it got a great reaction at the Tampa event. We were so proud of that! LoL</p>
<p>I can't wait till my spunky lil sis goes through this college audition process (as long as she still pursues MT in high school) - I will have so much knowledge to share with her. I learned so much at every audition I went to and just loved soaking up the devoted atmosphere of THEATRE! (cheesy me! lol) Seriously tho, I kept reminding myself these were the people who I was going to see at auditions for the rest of my life - either that or on Broadway, or who knows where! But they were the serious contenders and it was cool to be at that point in life - and of course I can't wait for next year.</p>
<p>I'll be sure to stay in touch over the years - I hope we all can meet some day! I'm such a fan of your family!</p>
<p>My little sis and youngest brother are wrapping up a run of Gypsy. She's playing Baby June and she loves this role since she gets to dance so much. She's looking forward to taking over the bedroom we share in the fall!! LoL. </p>
<p>My mom continues to do what all mothers of future actors do - drive! :)</p>
<p>Beeze, sweety, so glad we connected and this is way more the kind of post I am interested in so while it is off topic on this thread, you are a breath of fresh air. </p>
<p>First, yes, she is very close with the boy who was Cogsworth and speaks to him every day. I have seen him in many shows. He is going onto one of the top BFA programs and we are so excited for him. My D saw their B and B on video when she was at his house over the holidays in Florida. She knows every single lead in that show as she spends her summers with them. She rooms with Mrs. Potts in fact, lol, who also did the choreography. </p>
<p>I wish I had seen your performance! I know what you mean about the lyrics. This past January, in a musical cabaret that my daughter created/directed, she did two numbers from that same musical you are talking about and she had to change a few lyrics to keep it "kosher". We have yet to see the show but it is hilarious. </p>
<p>Your little sis is Baby June? My D played that role at a large theater in our state way back when. Guess what? Another girl who played one of the kid roles is going to be her roomie next year at Tisch. I love Gypsy. Funny that we are talking about Gypsy on this thread! The whole stagemom persona thing, whatever ;-). </p>
<p>I am glad we reconnected after so long and I loved reading of your success and am not surprised at all from all the hard work you have done in the past. </p>
<p>Tell your mom I admire her doing what she does with several kids. I only have two! ;-)</p>
<p>I came here as a lurker of sorts. My daughter chose the Classical Music route rather than a Musical Theatre program. We went through a great deal of the same stressful situations that I see many of you here have encountered and I was just killing some time to see how things went for everyone.</p>
<p>I did get to exchange some email with Soviet (Sue, I know your ID is a bit different..sorry). She was helpful and nice and knowledgeable.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, my daughter's high school did not do so well in guiding a musically inclined person. I learned a great deal from these boards and a few of the people I met here (another is a very accomplished woman who posts in the Music Major forum).</p>
<p>In any event, we are all our children's biggest advocates. It's a common thread between us. I have seen only one person who has made some troublesome remarks and she's the one that characterized all of us from the Northeast as uncaring. I did not view any of the posts that spoke about dialects as personal against her daughter and I am an outsider!</p>
<p>i have never characterized anyone from the northeast as uncaring. please don't put words in my mouth. the whole reason for these issues are rash statements. what you just said about me is a lie. and believe me, my house is sad tonight, so everyone on here can celebrate that fact over dinner.</p>
<p>No one would ever, ever be happy to hear about someone's misfortune on this forum. I am sorry to hear that and hope you all get through this, trying to look on the bright side, that your lovely daughter has another option available.</p>
<p>Ok, so here's what you said about those from the Northeast: " i realize most of you are from the northeast and it's a different culture. here in the south, we treat each other with kindness and courtesy." Sorry, you didn't like how I paraphrased it?</p>
<p>Why on earth would you think ANYONE here would want your daughter to receive a rejection letter???????? How sad.</p>
<p>I did think I read that your daughter was accepted at a school she liked. I hope that I am correct and that she does well. Music and musical theatre are full of rejections. Give her a pat on the back and congratulate her on her achievements. In fact, tell her we all said we are happy for her!</p>
<p>MrsArk,
I do not know why you would think any posters would be celebrating regarding your daughter's recent college decision letter. If you truly understood the well meaning posters here, you would know that as parents we feel for your daughter's disappointment. This field involves many "rejections" and it is difficult but it does not mean she does not have what it takes. She has one program worth pursuing and she can discuss her various options for next year and move forward if she has this burning passion inside of her. I am sorry for the news she received today. I hope you will share Shauna's story with her because she did not get into any of her BFA programs last year and took what I think was a BA program (similar perhaps to what your daughter has been offered at OCU) this year and then reauditioned for transfer. Tomorrow is another day. I wish her the best. I am sorry you take posts the way you have because I can tell by your remark that others would celebrate your daughter's disappointment, that you really do not "know" the good will of the many posters here.</p>
<p>DivaMommy, hey, long time no see. I hope we can IM again soon and I can hear the latest with your D and her Broadway callback and her college process. </p>
<p>Susan
(who is not a Soviet person by the way, LOL....it is Soozie and VT as in Susie who lives in Vermont)</p>
<p>Mrsark--I feel badly for Lauren about her letter. I'm assuming it's the OCU one since Shauna's letter came today and since Lauren only just auditioned for Sam. I am still hoping that she gets into that one--and then she can have a choice about where she'll go next year. But if it's not meant to be, by all means share Shauna's story with her so she can see an example of someone who squeezed every drop of goodness out of the program she's been in this year. She worked very hard on building up her training and experience this past year and it paid off.</p>
<p>Susan--I think Shauna's program was a BFA in MT at UNT, but they are dismantling the MT program at UNT.</p>
<p>Everybody SMILE! We all have healthy children who are blessed with some incredible talents! How fortunate we ALL are! Life is too short to be upset....take a breath and SMILE! Life is definitely better if we go through it Happy!</p>
<p>Mrsark: I join with many of the posters in wishing your daughter nothing but the best. Just as we feel real joy for Shauna (who we have never met either) many of us feel your pain.</p>
<p>geez. im sorry my post caused so much "tension"</p>
<p>im pretty sure i didnt get into sam's musical theatre. if only 5 get in out of 80, then i can kiss that goodbye. eh, oh well. i anticipate yet another rejection. maybe i should just major in communications.</p>
<p>you know after reading what some of yall wrote... i just think that you should just be happy for one another. being involved in theatre you need to learn to view criticism in a constructive manner. i mean, really now, a lot of your sons and daughters sound like they have a lot going for them and a lot of opportunities. BE HAPPY!! not everyone has as much going for them. "dont hate. appreciate!"</p>
<p>I didn't want to get involved, but I think it's time I did. I'm new to this forum, but you know me. I'm MidgetMom's dd. </p>
<p>I think while forums are great, there is no way a person could tell what another person really means to say by just the written word. The beauty of conversational in-person speech is to be able to see the other person and take from their body language and gestures. On a forum, it's only the cold, written word.</p>
<p>That said, I'd like to defend my mom. I've read and re-read all of her posts, along with the responses and cannot believe that a lot of you have taken this kind, warm-hearted person and turned her into some kind of jealous fool. She has no reason to be jealous of any of you or your kids. I've not only been successful in my journey, but my younger sister has, too, therefore, mom is doubly blessed. As a music teacher, she's given so much of herself to others and NEVER been resentful. </p>
<p>I've appreciated all the advice given and will continue to read these threads. But, I think it's been horrible the way two well-meaning, considerate moms have been made to feel like lower class citizens. </p>
<p>One more thing......mom didn't ask me to write this. Quite the contrary. Once she finds out she'll kill me!!!!! :) Only kidding. But, she's been really upset over cyberspace lately! All of you ladies need to chill and work on supporting us kids that need all of you off the boards and into our rooms at night giving us the kind of love and support we need to "try out our wings". Some of you must stay up all night writing on these forums by the times shown on your posts. Unbelievable!!!</p>
<p>Thanks, Kaysmom. In a similar vein, the very wise Newmtmom said on another thread, "In the scheme of things, our children are so fortunate--they have so much opportunity." I'll repeat here what I replied there: All of us -- parents and kids alike, who have the luxury to explore and aim for and debate all these opportunities -- should count our blessings. I guarantee you: somewhere in the middle of Afghanistan, Ethiopia and every other destitute country you can think of, there's a 17-year-old girl who could dazzle the world with her talent, and no one's ever going to know.</p>
<p>Enough griping, bitterness, misunderstandings, suspicion, accusations and perceived need for self-defense. I'm sorry, people, but those things are nobody's best use of this slice of cyberspace. We all have marvelous, talented kids who have achieved wonderful things and will continue to do so. They have been immensely fortunate to have our support in their endeavors, and we have been immensely fortunate to be able to provide that support. They will all be going off to places where they will learn wonderful things. In some cases, including my D's, it may not be the place where they hoped to be, but all these programs have great things to offer, and they all will do their utmost to prepare our D's and S's well for the future they so want. To keep riding the horse of negativity is to do these terrific, determined, passionate kids a terrible disservice.</p>
<p>Artsymom--"somewhere in the middle of Afghanistan, Ethiopia and every other destitute country you can think of, there's a 17-year-old girl who could dazzle the world with her talent, and no one's ever going to know."</p>
<p>Thank you for mentioning this again because I was so moved when I read it before and remembered later that I had forgotten to thank you for writing it. </p>
<p>There are also plenty of kids in the United States who have it a lot rougher than ours, too. For example, I have a student right now who is a theatre student at my university. It's not the most well-known theatre department in the country or even in the state or even in our part of the state, but thanks to our state university system he is having the opportunity to go to college and study theatre which is his dream. At his high school they had no performing arts classes at all and he certainly never got any private lessons because his single mom couldn't afford them. But he's very bright and from the minute he walked into my classroom I knew he was a drama student LOL (I don't know what it is . . . ). He plans to major in theatre education.</p>
<p>Pookie (that's a cute name, btw), I want to personally congratulate you regarding your acceptance to UCF and the great options and opportunities you have there, plus the scholarship! You have much to be proud of as well as much to look forward to in your studies there. I know from reading your mom's posts over the years on another forum, that you have been quite successful in the past with many fine theater experiences (and your little sister too!). I think you are on a very positive path to realizing your dreams and wish you continued success as you embark on this exciting next step in your performing career. Knock 'em dead at UCF! I know your mom is very proud of you as she should be.
Susan</p>