<p>We honestly thought his songs and monologues were fine-- He’d been working on all of those for many months (since the spring.) We used pre-recorded piano tracks, which worked out well. The dance portion was the down-fall, in our opinion. It was embarrassing. My son’s dance training --up to that point-- was minimal. (Only 6 months of ballet and he’d just started a jazz class.) We relied on the dance school instructor to choreograph the piece and I think she didn’t quite “get it.” (Neither did we!) </p>
<p>But-- that’s all behind us… Live and learn! Like my hubby said, after son received the pre-screens Nos-- “At least we didn’t make a trip there, and spend all that money travelling.” True, true. Sure, they stung a little so early in the process, sent us a little bit into a tail-spin, but life goes on. Son ended up sending out 19 applications, including the 6 pre-screens, 1 non-audition school, and 2 Unified walk-ins. He’s got good choices so far and we’re still waiting on several more schools. “Things happen for a reason” has been my mantra.</p>
<p>My S’s prescreens were far from professional. Monologues were first shot in family room against bare wall, dance shot in school dance studio (which was the most professional of the whole thing), and vocals were shot in my Master Bathroom!!! Pre-recorded piano tracks worked well played on an I-Home in my bathroom against the bathroom doors as a back drop. I think one good thing about that scenario was he could see himself in the mirror as he performed both monologues (re-done in bathroom) and songs. He submitted 8 prescreens and was invited to audition from all 8! I truly believe the pieces and performance matter more than the quality. But I do agree, if they go to analyzing the quality of the pre-screen, that will make this “business” even more competitive, and difficult for those with a small pocketbook!</p>
<p>Of course-- the elephant in the room here is-- Not quality of the video, but of my son! All of us parents and students are here on this forum because we have a belief that they’re good at this MT thing. Talent varies widely. My son, currently, is a big fish in a small pond, here in suburbia. Roles have come easily to him, and he was good at them. His strongest asset is his singing voice.</p>
<p>Maybe those pre-screen Nos were telling us something we really didn’t want to acknowledge-- that my son didn’t have the talent to move on in the process. Personally, I DO think he has the talent-- he’s been accepted to several programs. He’s very new to MT, and still has SO much to learn. But…way back in November, when the rejections came in, it was very sobering! We scrambled and added a few more schools, and hoped for the best! Since those lousy videos, he’s grown so much. The difference in him between the beginning and the end of the audition period was measurable! His very last audition was where he received the most wonderful audition result and feedback from the auditor.</p>
<p>^Definitely the case for my son too. Not a lot of experience, big fish in tiny pond. Son is not a dancer, and frankly doesn’t look like he would be a dancer, so he didn’t do any pre-screen with a dance component
His acceptances have come from the Chicago Unifieds and were the last auditions he did. He absolutely improved over time.
SU88BFA - Your son absolutely is talented, congratulations!!</p>
<p>The big fish in a small pond phenomena is the reason I find it important to spend the money early in the HS years on summer programs like OCU, Mpulse, ArtsBridge, or one of the many others, or to compete in nationally like in Classical Singer Competition. This gives the parents and the students a chance to see where their child matches up against others in the “Big Pond”, so that you can begin to make some realistic choices on schools (saving money on auditions at schools that are totally out of reach) or see how much work needs to be done before auditions (motivating the student to work harder and attain the goals of the reach schools).</p>
<p>Last year I saw a girl from a small local HS near us perform in OCU’s summer program. I had always thought this girl to be extremely talented and one of the best in her school. But, in the group at OCU, she actually was one of the least talented. She is only a junior this year so hopefully that experience was an eye-opener for her and has motivated her to work harder.</p>
<p>When everyone talks about their children improving over time and being at their best at the end of auditions, I think some of what is happening is what happens when the kids go to these national camps and competitions. They are no longer in the small pond and they see that they have to step it up to survive. </p>
<p>Many of us can’t afford these summer programs. My kids go to private high school, so by the time summer rolls around, we’re tapped! Luckily, we were able to send our MT son to Israel 2 summers ago, and to Governor’s School (for vocal music) last summer. I think those were invaluable experiences, and make him a pretty well-rounded kid. I just have to hope that when he’s gets to college that he has what it takes to make it in the MT world. It IS what he wants to do, even if he’s new to it. Sometimes, I think some of these kids are worn out/down by the time they get to college. For my son-- whose never taken an acting course-- really!-- all these classes will be new to him. How exciting is that!?1?</p>
<p>@SU88BFA, just a word of encouragement. Programs such as those mentioned above by weski2 are all very good places to dip a big toe into the larger talent pool. D had an older sibling already in college, and D herself attended a high school with tuition costs well above what we could pay. We are not a wealthy family by any means, but we applied for all merit and some need-based scholarships for ALL of those summer programs and submitted whatever was required, extra videos or letters of recommendation, etc. Extra time well spent. D was offered generous scholarships at every one of those summer programs weski2 mentioned ^, so to anyone else in the same boat, do not hesitate to apply for those scholarships! The Classical Singer NATS competition was where D was offered a scholarship to help her attend the boarding arts high school we could have never afforded otherwise. If someone on the “outside” sees potential in your child, they will do their best to help him or her have the opportunity to grow. And one opportunity often leads to yet another, as the additional training only strengthens performance. I agree that it is important for our kids to find out where they fit in outside of their “known” little world. We live in Alaska, so after exhausting all local training, we elected to send D (her choice) out of state for further training she could not have received here at home, rather than letting her be that big fish in a little pond in her home town high school. As hard as it was, I believe it helped her to prepare for the level of competition that she now knows exists, and she is going into it with a more realistic view of the industry. I know everyone has to decide what works best for themselves, but for us, in retrospect, I’d have to say the summer programs she attended were very beneficial in preparing her for those college auditions.</p>
<p>It’s been a long time since my D went through the process, but I now get to see a bit of the other side of the process through her eyes as she works the BFA auditions at her school. So I’ll offer these up.</p>
<p>Prepare a balanced list. Especially if you feel like you are coming to this process “behind” others in training or experience, look to put a couple of programs on your list where they take extra time to work with you and get to know you during the audition. Put at least one “out of the box” school on your list. If you find a program you think seems like a great fit for you, but it isn’t one of the “top” or “buzz” programs, who cares? This is your journey.</p>
<p>Do some fall auditions. Try and audition for at least one school where you will hear a yes/no before the end of the year. Don’t pick schools that you wouldn’t want to attend just to get a fall audition under your belt. The idea is to not only get feedback, but hopefully go into the craziness of spring auditions with an acceptance at a school that you would be happy to attend. </p>
<p>Be yourself. Don’t try and be who/what you think the program is looking for. Be the unique person you are. Let your personality come through. </p>
<p>Treat everyone you meet at your auditions with kindness and respect. You are going to be working and training with the people in that program for 4 years. I have attended several of the BFA auditions at my D’s school. When I’m there, I make myself available to parents who want to talk. You would be amazed at what I have seen and heard, because the kids don’t know that I am “connected” to the program.</p>
<p>Be mindful of what you say on social media. If you are putting it out there for the world to read, then remember that “the world” includes students and faculty from those programs. The musical theatre world is in many ways very small and very interconnected. Keep that in mind.</p>
<p>Finally, if your parents are supporting you in this journey, tell them thank you. It’s entirely possible that during this process you have driven them a bit crazy. They have probably returned the favor. Tell them thank you anyway, </p>
<p>My son’s school had prescreens for the first time this year. The teachers who were reviewing them were discreet about what they said about the process, but one did comment in class that she had seen all she needed to see in the first minute. This suggests that you want to make that first minute good. It doesn’t need to be a professionally produced thing, but don’t have it begin like all those dreadful YouTube videos, with someone reaching over to the switch, then shuffling around and saying “So, uh, this is my audition song.” And don’t save your best for last.</p>
<p>I am sure they went ahead and watched the entire prescreen videos, but apparently the first impression sticks, as such things always do.</p>
<p>Prodesse, I’ve seen some of those bad videos (people actually post their prescreens on YouTube, and I’veactually watched, to my embarrassment) and you’re absolutely right. It’s not about having professional equipment; it’s about avoiding things like people wandering into the (cluttered) background, sloppy slating, constantly moving camera, background noise, and other distractions. Just use a clean, quiet environment with decent light, put the camera on a stable surface, and introduce yourself calmly and correctly. Oh, and follow the darn directions!</p>
<p>Re: summer programs–not to continue stirring up controversy, and we all know they cost money and this may incur resentment, etc.–but after just bringing home my son for spring break following his first college production, I am realizing another advantage to his having attended a couple of precollege programs. He’s not a kid who comes into a new situation with guns blazing–rather, he’s the type who holds back, watches, makes a slow start, then gets traction and does well. He learned that about himself in a couple of summer intensives, so he was not discouraged by his apparent slow start at college. This semester has been great, and because he’d learned how to adjust to a new environment and how he personally functioned in that process, he was patient with himself and didn’t panic. Just another thing to consider in the whole “if you had it to do over” thread–help your kid find experiences that will lead to better understanding of themselves as learners, not just as future performers (or auditioners).</p>
<p>By the way: Please don’t take this as an indication that if you can’t afford a summer program, I am saying your kids won’t do well. That is not remotely the intent. I’m not wealthy, my kids aren’t “over privileged,” I’m a school teacher and I know how hard it is. It’s just what we chose and I’m describing why. </p>
<p>Back to the question: What would you do differently? I would have taken a stronger stand with D, and had her audition for more schools within an 8 to 10 hour drive. We live in the South and options for BFA are limited. Also would have not let her audition for any of the Big Three (She only auditioned for one of them) or auditioned for a school just because it is in NYC. Costs can skyrocket before you know it. Would not book auditions that required a campus visit unless it was within driving range. Airports are not pleasant experiences any more, and costs for hotels, airfare and meals can be much more than you expect. Also, don’t have your parent heart set on one school that you want your S or D to attend. If you get too involved with the process, it will OVERWHELM you. (From one who knows what that feels like). Definitely would go to Chicago Unifieds again! Great experience all around.</p>
<p>D mentioned this weekend that one of her regrets was auditioning too soon for Elon, which was one of her top 5 most desirable schools. It was also her first audition, way back in early November, and she admittedly wasn’t ready for the process. She also changed both of her monologues to stronger material just before Christmas. By the time she got through with Chicago Unifieds she felt like a pro. All 3 off her acceptances came from Chicago Unifieds. I’m not saying that she would have gotten a spot at Elon had we scheduled it for later, but she certainly feels that she would have performed better.</p>
<p>The lesson here is if you have a few schools on your list that are more important to you than others maybe you should get a few less important auditions (I hate to use that term here, 'cause they’re all important) out of the way first to build your confidence and get comfortable with the process.</p>
<p>We could only provide one travelling excursion so we put all our eggs in the Chicago Unified basket and for S it was all or nothing. What helped him the most were lots of mock auditions at home before we left. He practiced exactly how he was going to perform his stuff -wearing his audition clothes, using his CD player and so on. By the time we got to Unifieds he was really comfortable with it. So if you live in a remote area and can’t manage travelling to several campus auditions - do as many mock auditions as you can with a variety of people.</p>
<p>@ikemom mock auditions are an excellent idea. I wish that we’d have thought of it. The little things add to the nerves - trouble with the CD player, clothes not feeling right, etc. Maybe enlist neighbors or other non-immediate family to act as auditors, and have them offer no reaction other than a few interview questions.</p>
<p>@lkemom I see from the list that your S got at least 3 acceptances from Chicago. Our D also got 3 acceptances from Chicago, although she did travel to 6 other schools. Your experience reinforces my #1 suggestion - if you can only travel to one place make it the Chicago Unifieds. We could have saved a boat load of money, but I guess you never know that while you’re going through the process. </p>
<p>My point is that I counted over 40 schools in attendance in Chicago. D had 8 auditions scheduled, did 4 walk-ins, and was looking for more walk-ins until the last day. She felt like she was at the top of her game and got 3 acceptances for her efforts, 2 of them from walk-ins.</p>
<p>For every kid who experiences what Cheeseheadmike’s did in terms of saving the “big” auditions for later, there’s another kid who has the opposite pattern! Mine was glad he did one less crucial audition very early on, but his first two auditions were successful (as was his last)–the cluster in January/February were not. I guess it’s hard to know in advance how you’re going to react, but for my son, that intense period of auditions every weekend just led to a little burnout. We were glad he was able to audition at two of his top choice schools in December when he was energized and excited about beginning the process (and yes, for the record, he did do a LOT of practicing in advance, starting in early summer).</p>
<p>Seriously, @cheeseheadmike, if there’s ONE lesson to be learned from the hundreds of thousands of posts in this forum, you’ve just said it: it’s insane and unpredictable! And maybe that’s the best preparation for what these kids are signing on for in terms of their careers… You just can’t game the system. But at least we can keep our sense of humor! </p>
<p>Cheeseheadmike I’m so glad your daughter had such great success. We thought Unifieds was a blast and S got in front of every school he was interested in. I was a little worried about having so much on the line. I wondered if four minutes with the adjudicators would make the kind of impression a kid a can make with a whole day on campus. But it all worked out - after his first audition he was in the zone.</p>
<p>My D is currently deciding between an acceptance she received from her second audition in November, and one from Chicago Unifieds. We’re also still waiting on one and that was the first audition in early November. So no real pattern here! </p>
And maybe that’s the best preparation for what these kids are signing on for in terms of their careers… You just can’t game the system. But at least we can keep our sense of humor! </p>