Thanks @afterp89 !
I have been a lurker for well over a year now, and was blown away by the minute by minute updates on the Class of 2022 BFA Acting Prescreens/Auditions/Acceptances. However, my daughter is class of 2023. I’ve enjoyed this thread as well, but I feel like Class of 2022 is killing us in the posting department. That’s why I decided to stop lurking and start posting! My D is 17 and is auditioning for BFA Acting programs, and we just did NYC and Chicago Unifieds. Prior to that, she did an on campus audition at University of Evansville and my D got a few acceptances right out of the ITF Festival in Nebraska last June (although those acceptance were “verbal” and became written months later after we officially applied. At this point, she has two acceptances (University of Evansville and CCM) and one rejection (Juilliard). We are still waiting on word from 2 schools from NYC Unifieds and 9 schools from Chicago Unifieds. She did receive her University of Minnesota Callback Weekend invitation this afternoon. How was the Unifieds experience for those of you with kids who attended? I hope your kids felt great about their auditions!
Can anyone give their thoughts or experience with the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Actor Training program? From reading, there has been a lot of very positive experiences with the program and many had specifically mentioned its Director of Actor Training, Joe Price. I believe he has left and not sure if there is a new head of the program. Any thoughts or information is appreciated. Thanks.
@HPDbfa I have heard that they are still searching for a new director, but I’m certainly not privileged to any inside information if they already have their sights set on someone. I intended to ask that very question at the audition, but there was not a “Q&A” or information session beforehand. Their audition slots were in 10 minute intervals and, on the day my daughter auditioned, the slots were filled for the entire day. So it was a very quick in and out, and I never had the chance to ask anyone for an update on the search.
In other news, it appears that Rutgers and Minnesota have the same callback weekends. Does anyone have any feedback on which they would encourage their child to attend if invited to both?
@loudclappingmom d is a BFA Acting candidate. So far, two on campus auditions and two acceptances - BW and CCM. Didn’t much care for Chicago Unifieds experience. Felt very rushed and impersonal- much different than on campus auditions. Waiting to hear from five unifieds. Did Marymount regional audition today in Atlanta. In state bfa program audition this coming weekend.
Proud of all these brave kids putting it all out there!!
@morgan830 Amen to that! I cannot imagine how brave they must be. The look on my D’s face when she wasn’t on that callback list at Juilliard just broke my heart, even though we went into it knowing the odds. It was the first college rejection she’s faced. But, I imagine there will be more with 11 more answers coming down the pike soon from both Unifieds. I agree with you completely on Chicago Unifieds. I know some posters have talked about how convenient and wonderful it was to stay at the Palmer House, but my gut told me no. And I am so glad it did! The whole vibe there was suffocating. So much angst, pacing teenagers everywhere, kids all over the floor stretching, the loudest singing I’ve ever heard in my life pouring out from behind every closed door, nervous parents on the floor staring at the ceiling. I was SO GLAD we stayed about 10 minutes away at the Dana. We would leave Palmer House and go back to the Dana and just fall over on the bed and talk about how we felt like we couldn’t even breathe at the Palmer House. My daughter is in love with CCM, and I think it will take an utterly amazing program to sway her heart away from there. Their facilities are fantastic and their kids are so friendly. Plus Richard Hess is just something else. The best director I’ve met in this whole process! Maybe our ladies will end up there together!
@loudclappingmom lol we didn’t stay at Palmer either. We fortunately had a relative we stayed with. We loved hanging out there for a bit soaking it all in… then leaving. ?
CCM and BW are both amazing programs!! We are anxious to see the financial info from CCM!
@loudclappingmom Haha, indeed, my thought exactly about last year’s thread! They’ve helped so much, I have so many screenshots of info and while we were in NYC for auditons for 10 days in Jan re-read it again. Yes, I also was not fond of the Unifieds frenzy, thankfully most schools we did were either not part of them or at a quiter location and on campus. My D is so focused on being and living in NYC that it was hard to cast a wider net. Congrats on all your acceptances so far and the Gutrhie callback!
@morgan830 Congrats on your acceptances too!
@HPDbfa My D is a sophomore at UMinn/Guthrie. Maybe I can help. They have not yet found a replacement for Joe Price. I understand it’s down to three candidates that are now meeting the students, as they have input into the hire.
Some insight… Joe succeeded Ken Washington, who was a powerhouse and visionary director for the program. He was nationally recognized and revered - Mahershala Ali mentioned Ken and thanked him during his acceptance speech for Ali’s Oscar. Very influential. Ken died suddenly in 2014 and the program survived and thrived under Joe’s leadership after that, so I think it will be fine with this transition as they have had time to plan and strategize the direction. I understand Joe knew Ken personally as well so there was some continuity after Ken’s untimely passing.
They’re looking for someone new that will have Ken’s vision and influence with strong ties to both coasts. The resumes are really impressive, according to my D.
I have not heard any rumblings from the kids about the program. We’re local, so we’ve gotten to know most of her company. The faculty is the same and the Guthrie connection is as strong as ever. The program is really unique in its connection to the Guthrie, which is a true institution, and that relationship remains solid.
I hope that helps!
@loudclappingmom Congratulations on the acceptances and Guthrie call back. We are waiting to hear on Guthrie, can I ask if you auditioned for them in NY or Chicago? Has anyone else heard from them?
About Joe Price, I did ask about his replacement to the man at the desk in Chicago, he said no decision yet but they had good candidates. This made me wonder how the choice will affect other acting programs down the line. Does anyone know where Joe went?
@HPDbfa, I was surprised when we realized that both Rutgers and Minn picked the same callback wknd. It would be a tough problem that we hope to have! I think the child has to go with their gut on this one. Both good programs.
@ThenSheSaidIt thank you so much for the input and information, that’s really helpful. @2artskidz my son got an email through Acceptd for his UMinn/Guthrie callback and he auditioned for the program in NYC on 1/18.
Also, @loudclappingmom and @morgan830 my son also was accepted to CCM and is beyond excited. We haven’t had a chance to visit CCM yet but plan to in late March or April. We got a great sense of the program from the in-depth info session, but would appreciate anything you can add since you’ve both been there. Thanks!
@gidamom - if you look at last year’s BFA Acting results by person (not school), I am pretty sure most of us put in the date we got the acceptance or WL result. It won’t tell you the rejection date (which might have been the same date as others’ acceptances, but could have been earlier).
Has anyone started an Acting Acceptances thread yet for Class of 2023?
No Acceptd message from UMinn/Guthrie…guessing that’s not a good sign. Does anyone know if they do rolling notices or did they all go out yesterday?
@HPDbfa CCM is most definitely an amazing program. The current students who helped with audition day certainly spoke highly of the program. It’s the largest school d applied to but the kids said it was the best of both worlds- traditional campus but tight knit small ccm. The facilities are STUNNING. No doubt top notch. The actors said they didn’t in any way feel overshadowed by mt. But they are totally segregated— acting cannot audition for musicals. And I’m anxious to see the financial aid packet— they made it clear there wasn’t much in the way of talent scholarships. We shall see. But no doubt, an excellent program.
Hello! Regarding Rutgers and Guthrie callbacks, that is really a shame they are the same weekend again. Two years ago this was the case, last year they adjusted and were different weekends. My D attended Guthrie callback last year and it was a great experience. She did get one of the initial acceptances. I do know of folks who did NOT attend callbacks and were offered acceptance off the Wait List. So it’s not impossible to get in without attending. Maybe someone else can share if that ever happened at Rutgers. I do know some people chose to split the weekend and at least attend some part of EACH callback. If both are on your short list, that could really make sense. Otherwise, you are of course sending a signal that you prefer the other program more. BAL at callbacks!
I haven’t verified this myself, but my S said if you can’t make the Rutgers/Guthrie callbacks you can submit a video in lieu of attending. If that’s true, I’m not certain how I feel about that. We are hoping for callbacks from both, but have known for a while that their callback date conflicts with our schedule. Does anyone have knowledge about submitting a video instead of attending the callbacks. Does this lesson your chances of admittance?
@collegeadmiss I can speak for UMinn/Guthrie that they do accept video submissions and they have offered spots to some who have done that. It seems like they understand the conflict dilemma.
@loudclappingmom , my sentiments exactly. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who felt that Class of 2022 was rocking this forum. LOL… My S attended ITF and Regional Auditions last year and was offered acceptance into several programs if he were to apply most with scholarship money. The only schools from ITF that he actually applied to that offered him acceptance was Univ of Nebraska because they offered him a full ride. His thought was, zero debt and I could get my MFA later at a potentially more prestigious school, The New School with partial scholarship, and The Univ of Houston with partial scholarship. At regional auditions he received great interest from CCM and Cal Arts. He had received a lot of callbacks and had to do his final audition for TNS so he didn’t get to visit with CCM for callbacks. CCM was so interested that they immediately emailed him saying they missed him for callbacks and asked to set up a Skype interview over the weekend. CCM wasn’t on my S’s radar at all thinking it was mostly MT, but he set up the interview anyway. After the interview, he received an email congratulating him on his acceptance into the program so he applied. We are waiting on any financial aid/scholarship packages. He also enjoyed the Cal Arts callback so much so that when he got home he immediately applied. At Chicago Unifieds Rachel (CalArts) remembered him immediately which made him feel great and put him at ease. He subsequently had an amazing audition and was given “the card” from Andrea. My S applied both BA and BFA for Rutgers and was accepted into the BA program in December. He was also accepted academically to Evansville in December. He had 11 auditions in Chicago and we actually had a great experience. We stayed at the Palmer House and it couldn’t have been more convenient or pleasant experience. S only had 3 auditions at Palmer House, 1 at DePaul, NYU at the W, and 6 at the Hyatt so maybe because he didn’t have many at the Palmer House it didn’t feel congested and crazy. I’m a singer myself so I actually enjoyed waking up each morning to hearing people warming up with their keyboard in the room next door or across the hall and hearing all the singing throughout the day/evening. So in a nutshell he’s where we stand:
TNS- Accepted
CCM- Accepted
UNeb- Accepted
UHouston-Accepted
Rutgers - Accepted BA
Evansville- Accepted Academically
Julliard- Rejected
Waiting:
NYU-
BU-
UMinn-
SUNY Purchase-
UNCSA-
Rutgers BFA-
Fordham-
CalArts-
Evansville-
DePaul-