I have a high school junior who is interested in auditioning at the Florida Theatre Conference this November. We have attended the conference for many years as a part of the Community Theatre category as his high school has a non-existent/sporadically existent theatre program. He is preparing his audition material as per the FTC website and my question is what type of feedback could he expect as a junior? Also, is it important for him to audition at the Southeastern Theatre Conference in the spring as well? He is looking for a program where he can either double major in musical theatre (performance) and psychology, or major in MT and minor in psychology as he believes the extra coursework in psychology will help him learn psychological motivations for his stage characters. Thank you in advance for any help you can give.
My S, a current junior in an MT BFA program, auditioned at SETC as a HS junior and found the experience to be a tremendous help in getting an idea of what to expect when auditioning for college programs. I don’t know how it’s done at the Florida conference, but at SETC you audition with a cohort of other students (10? 30?) and you get to observe the other auditionees. There were also several very informative panel discussions and workshops geared specifically for HS students getting ready to audition for college. From his audition, he did get some very specific and useful verbal feedback, but a good portion of the callbacks were about getting to meet with program reps who wanted to let you know about their programs. This was also very helpful in allowing the HS juniors to get some practice talking to these people, asking questions and starting to look at what kind of specifics they (both the program and the students) were looking for.
As for double major/minor in psychology? Why not? It may be difficult to do in a BFA program, but there are some that allow - or even encourage - minors and/or double majors. My own S is interested in psychology for the same reasons. At his BFA MT program (heavy on the Acting emphasis) it is nearly impossible to double major/minor w/o taking a lot of classes outside of the normal school year. He has been able to squeeze in some additional classes - one psychology class being online - but at some point exhaustion and lack of “free” time becomes an impediment to adding in additional coursework. Others don’t seem to have an issue.
Thank you so much for your feedback @mom4bwayboy. It helps to hear how these conferences help the kids. I have read a lot about different program choices. I am hopeful if he gets called back to colleges, he can ask at that time about the possibility of double majoring/minoring. Glad to hear your S has had success in college. I hadn’t considered the possibility of online coursework. I really appreciate your wisdom and insight! Thank you!
@Tbosmom I second the opinion of @mom4bwayboy about SETC. We took my D this past March as a junior & it was a good experience for her. It’s a good way to practice auditioning in front of others, you can do tons of workshops etc & you will get callbacks from colleges & other theatre programs etc . There is a college fair etc where the schools have reps to visit with and a vendor fair too where you could buy stuff.
My D got lots of interest from schools & did get an in state tuition waiver from two schools & visited twice with one school that is now one of her top choices this fall. She also found out about a summer intensive that she ended up attending.
If you can make the trip it would be worth going. I believe it’s in Kentucky this year?
Also agree about the benefit of getting your kid taking to the college people and reps . It’s great for them to have that conversation & get comfortable in front of professors etc that they may encounter. My D was nervous but by the end of the day she was walking around to all her callbacks by herself . The schools don’t mind a parental presence to some degree but we were in the background inquiring about scholarships etc . She took the lead & we hung out elsewhere most of the time.
@theaterwork How wonderful for your D! I was on the fence about SETC, but there are a number of schools he is interested in that will be attending that one and not FTC, so thanks to your sound advice, we will be attending both. Yes, you’re correct. I just checked into it and it looks like it is in Kentucky, so it sounds like it is well worth the trip. Congrats to your D for earning two instate tuition waivers. That’s awesome! We are also up in the air with summer plans before his senior year, so maybe these conferences will help solidify those decisions as well. It’s funny having a theatre kid after going through this process with his engineering brother. VERY different tours/conferences to say the least! But, both are very happy and that’s what matters. Yes, I completely agree that kids need to learn to advocate for themselves, and kudos to you for encouraging her to meet with the professors/reps by herself. I will share your story with my S and I know he’ll feel more confident as a result. Thanks again!