BFA Acting Class of 2023: preparation, prescreens, auditions, questions and support

Thanks @Gapyearguru - do you know what they are saying as the reason/justification for this extra fee for performing arts students?

@SoCalPops - from Pace’s website regarding extra fees for entering PPA students beginning Fall 2019 (new students only).

http://performingarts.pace.edu/how-to-audition/important-notice

Thanks @coronado

@SoCalPops Yes, it will be on top of the current tuition. Not sure if the increase can be justified.

Submitted Rider prescreen 4 weeks ago and still haven’t heard anything. Anyone know how long they take?

@frontrowmama Thanks so much for sharing! We’re in Southern California, and all 14 schools that my D is applying to are out of state, mostly on the east coast. We did not visit any of the schools before applying. My D did online research and made her decisions based on that. Of the 14 schools, 10 are considered 1st tier in regards to competitiveness, 3 are 2nd tier, and 1 is a safety BA (non-audition) school. If my D gets accepted to more than 1 school, we then plan on visiting to make a final decision. Right now, she is not too attached to any one school. And would be happy to go to any of the 14 on her list.

@love2share Your D is very wise!! Acceptances can feel really random at times, so it is best to just do your research , cross your fingers, and not get attached to anything until you know what the reality is! Once she visits her accepted schools she will get a feeling as to which one to attend! It is really a very cool thing!

@frontrowmama Yes! And we got lucky to be able to schedule 13 auditions over the 4 days during LA Unifieds!

Regarding the Pace increase in tuition, I wasn’t terribly surprised for a few reasons. My son had a similar situation at his big state university where the most popular and competitive (and successful) majors are engineering and computer science - so, they raised tuition on engineering and comp sci majors for Junior and Senior years. Add to that the fact that New York private schools are likely losing applicants because of the new law providing free tuition at public universities for New Yorkers.

Interesting @afterp89 - looks like a new trend in demand-based pricing instead of one-size fits all.

@SoCalPops I definitely think that will become a trend. My son’s school did an analysis and the grads for engineering and comp sci are making 50% more than the average recent grad the first 5 years out which is how they justified it. Not certain that model works for Pace since they can’t really guarantee the success of theatre majors. I guess we’ll see.

As for Pace, I just looked at my S’s letter. It says direct and indirect costs would have been a bit over 67K. That is factoring in travel expenses etc… The good news with Pace is after your child’s audition, you will know if they have made the final call back or not. If not, you at least know where your child stands and can move on. If you make the cut, you wait til early March to see if your child receives a phone call inviting them to the program. I will never forget that audition. The hotel hallway was absolutely jammed with parents and kids lining the walls and sitting on the floor and all over the place. The energy was insane. The audition is 2 phase. They do their monologue portion and then are given a short scene with an assigned partner with around 45 minutes to work on memorizing and figuring out logistics. When all are done, they post the call back list. Out of maybe forty plus kids only 10 were called back during my S’s session. It felt a little awkward and uncomfortable to see so many crushed kids exit It is pretty real and pretty brutal. Thought I would share our experience with Pace. Good luck to all!

It’s going to be an interesting day for my D to say the least. 3 auditions same day - 9am BA Acting International Performance, noon BFA Acting for Film, TV, Commercials and Voiceover, 3pm BFA Acting.

Out audition with Pace was similar to @frontrowmama’s except in a comical twist it was my D’s first audition at Unifieds (LA) and she was so distracted by all the people milling around she didn’t get in the right head space and when called for her audition she totally forgot one of her monologues. So she wasn’t surprised not to get a callback. After Pace, the remaining auditions were pieces of cake, it was definitely the audition with the least warm-fuzzies. Anyone auditioning for BU - prepare to fall in love. NYU was also very fun. Some schools go out of their way to make this process more pleasant.

@frontrowmama wow! That sounds intense. My D has her Pace audition first day of Chicago Unifieds.

@songbird17, you asked about Hartt. My D is a freshman acting major there and loving it! I posted about the program in more detail in this thread - check it out: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/2097272-hidden-gems-acting-programs-bfa-or-similar.html#latest

About the audition: it was the usual two monologues, plus a movement call. The movement call was VERY difficult. My D had a lot of difficulty with it - she’s not very flexible.

But it wasn’t a dealbreaker: after her monologues, they talked to her and asked why she wanted to go there, and in addition to the strong Shakespeare training and time in London, she said that she really wants and needs strong movement training, because that’s her weak area as an actor. She acknowledged that she had trouble with the movement call, but that made her want to go to the school MORE, because she can see that the movement training is intense and she wants to work hard and improve her physicality as an actor. And she got in. So be prepared for a tough movement call, but don’t worry about it.

The campus is beautiful - lots of trees and green spaces, a pretty stream with a bridge, and the performing arts center is great. The performing arts center is where they have their theater classes and where the auditions are held. It’s a mile from the main campus, but there’s a shuttle that goes back and forth all day.

West Hartford is a quiet suburb, but there’s a nice downtown area called West Hartford Center/Blue Back Square (two shopping areas right next to each other) with a lot of shops and restaurants and a movie theater, only a couple of miles from the school. They also see a lot of theater at Hartford Stage, Goodspeed, and TheaterWorks. The theater kids really bond and become a close-knit group of friends.

When we visit, we stay at the West Hartford Inn. It’s not fancy, but it’s clean, comfortable, with spacious rooms with fridge and microwave, very affordable ($100 a night), and only two blocks from Blue Back Square and a couple of miles from the school, very short drive.

Any questions about Hartt, feel free to PM me!

Thank you @actorparent1 ! We are getting excited about the trip, and it helps to hear about audition details in advance. My S will probably do ok with the movement portion because he was MT bound until the end of summer when he then decided he was going to focus on a serious acting degree. We are going to see Hartt’s Nunsense show Saturday night which we are looking forward to, but kinda wish we were seeing a play instead of a musical. So glad to hear your D is loving it! Thanks again!

Has anyone heard back from Chapman regarding prescreens? Just curious about their turnaround time. We submitted last week on 11/27.

Yes, thank you!

Oops! I meant to reply to Twoboysandadog for their feedback to my previous post regarding hearing back from USC! My D has still not heard from Chapman regarding prescreens either! I will post it when she does:).