@potential574728 thank you! i got my acceptance call on May 3.
Wanted to check in, as with covid and life changes haven’t been on here for a bit. Our update - we are extremely fortunate many factors fell into place during May and are thankful my daughter was able to commit to UMich. I have appreciated all the advice & support here and in other forums, and am planning to hop back in down the line and help if able. Thanks! Wishing everyone all the best.
ooops things fell into place in April, geeez really have no clue what day or month it is… living in a true quarantine daze… though I know many have extentions until June 1…
Congratulations to your D @sagezinnia - wonderful news and thanks for checking in! If you have the energy try to write about your D’s journey in a “final decision” post - http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/2183564-final-acting-decisions-background-class-of-2024-p1.html that thread is always the most satisfying to read for fellow 2024ers and older board members plus it’s the best “paying it forward” gift you can give to the class of 2025.
Thanks @CaMom13 ! I know the journey/decision posts are wonderful and helpful. Maybe we can do a modified version at some point.
and by “we”, I mean daughter and I since it’s her info
Hello! Not sure if anyone is still checking out this thread, but, just wanted to ask if anyone could help me decide between Chapman Theatre Performance BFA and Penn State Acting BFA? Without visiting at all, seeing the spaces (I can’t seem to find pictures online of either theatre’s spaces), and meeting the main faculty in person, all the other facts on paper are nearly exactly equal. I don’t lean at all towards either one, so, could really use some insight to any who have visited, or might have their own insights. Thank you so much (I’m gettin’ those June 1st deadlines!).
Sorry, I have no firsthand knowledge to help you! Given that you find them to be similar in what they offer, do you have a preference for geography and student life? Can you zoom with any of the teachers to get a feel for them?
Same here. I think they are very similar in many ways and I would make the call on location (PA or CA), weather, and whether you are more inclined towards theatre or Film (I think Chapman gets the edge there). Great choices and I am sure you will love either!
@futureactress19 - my D and I visited Penn State, and it was very impressive. They have multiple fantastic theater spaces, although we didn’t get to see the ones that are somewhat off campus because we had to catch our flight (we were on campus for a half-day visit/interview). Check out the Facebook pages for Penn State School of Theatre and Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State to get a good idea about the school’s vibe. Back in April, The School of Theatre posted a series of performances called “Penn State Presents” on the page – each performer, including current students and alums, talked about the community, etc. You should definitely watch them. Some are MT, others are acting, but all were great. You’ll also see some faculty, too. It is a very tight-knit community with a lot of school spirit, and the theatre training is top notch. Judging from our experience, the faculty would be happy to set up a Zoom session (there may be some scheduled - check your portal!). Also, they did virtual accepted student sessions for Theatre, and I suspect those were recorded and posted somewhere. If you can’t find them on the website, I’m sure someone can point you to them.
Hope that helps!
thought I would pop in to say hello… at this point it would be nice to have connections with those in acting/performing arts moving along to colleges, or not, and to have some dialogue … the thread on “coronavirus” is out of control, so many comments and all over the place but it doesn’t address the specialty that performing arts is … I just thought I’d drop by to say hello to those that went through the process this year and say I hope you are doing well…
Hi @sagezinnia! Yeah, that thread is out of this world.
Every month of 2020 has been torturous waiting. Ugh. My million dollar question is what will happen with ensemble situations (shows, dance classes, choir, etc)
@sagezinnia Thanks for that comment. Couldn’t agree more as the thread you mention has become more a political stand your ground rant than anything.
D will be attending Molloy/ CAP21 for MT. They decided some time ago to push back ALL studio work for incoming freshmen (don’t know about soph-sen) to January. Studio is in Lower Manhattan which causes some challenges to say the least. They rearranged some course schedules and have moved the ones that can be delivered online to the first semester, so D will be taking those online from home in the fall. They added a summer intensive (no cost for classes or housing) that will get them caught up.
At first she was totally bummed and we felt her pain. Now, with what’s going on nationally, I’m glad she’ll be home in the fall until we get a better handle on this thing. As an example, there won’t be live theater in NYC for quite some time and she finally understands that.
She’ll be taking 13 credits online, local dance and music lessons to stay sharp, and was offered to join the studio she has been with since age 5 as a theater director . They’re thrilled to have a current BFA candidate on staff. She actually has a following there so feels good about that and she’s excited to expand her directing/ teaching chops.
Brutul yr for these kids between auditions, acceptances, and programs changing in real time to deal with Covid. Hope everyone finds a peaceful transition that works for them!
We just had our meetings with the school and a separate one for drama this week. I have to say every time the drama dept talks I remember how amazing they are and why we fell for them at their audition. They are essentially breaking every class into small groups for in person while the rest observe online and rotating each class, some are doing a sequence with starting online and then some days in class in partial groups. The class is split in half so essentially 16 and 17 kids will do their semester together then mix up next semester. Within their half group, they will do smaller in person depending on the class. Singing was the most complicated and will have the most precautions in place. They are doing a week long online orientation and then in person orientation activities during move in week.
We are still waiting on housing, they’ve expanded the number of singles as well, so crossing fingers and toes for one. I’ve set our flights and hotel and splitting up the shopping list between packing, shipping and buying when we get there. Of course knowing anything can still happen in the 40 days or so between now and lift off!
I do generally feel ok, then panic and waffle between learning to live with this as we don’t have any assurances about the future being much different. Biggest consideration I think is if their local health system gets overwhelmed, that would be a red flag to change course.
@Prairie yes, so much waiting, yet again! We only recently found out about covid plans in general, but still no class specific info. We are ok with the fact they took their time though.
@rickle1 I think Molloy’s plan sounds good, it’s one as a mom I would feel good about and back in April it was the direction I had thought most schools would take. It’s great your D has the local opportunities for lessons and gets to delve into directing/teaching too. Lemons to lemonade for sure!
@intheburbs I hadn’t heard the idea of breaking up a class with the other half watching remote on the off days, that’s a clever plan. … I too go back and forth as to how I feel, trying to find balance between anxiety and the need to move forward. Our family decision was made based on a variety of factors, and I do feel good about the base of reasons we are moving forward so that helps.
Looking forward to learning how the performance/tech classes will be conducted.
We’re still waiting for the fall plan from Rutgers Mason Gross. Early info suggested that performing arts and lab-intensive majors would be prioritized for on-campus consideration, but that may have changed since I read it in early June. Rutgers has a new president starting July 1, so he will be the one making the final decision with the university task force and announcing the plan, hopefully mid-July. The recent travel restriction in the NJ/NYC/Conn area is concerning for us since we are in the COVID disaster zone that is TX, but the landscape is constantly evolving, so who knows what we’ll be looking at in six weeks. One thing I feel good about is that the Mason Gross faculty will creatively make it work for the incoming freshmen, even if everything is remote – the accepted student Zoom sessions back in April were reassuring in that respect.
I am curious what will happen with schools in the new “hot zone” states that announced on campus hybrid plans a while back – will they regroup and make some shifts? As frustrating as waiting this long for info has been, I think the schools that have held off announcing fall plans were probably wise.
Neve a dull moment in 2020, that’s for sure. ???
@Loganator, I was wondering if the Rutgers junior acting students will be able to do their London Shakespeare semester this fall. Have you heard anything about that? (I know your student is a freshman, so probably not, but if you do hear anything, please let me know!)
My daughter is not at Rutgers, but she’s a junior and her school sends the acting students to London in the SPRING semester of junior year. So we still have 5 or 6 months to see what happens with that. But I know that the Rutgers students go in the fall, so I’d like to find out if THEY’RE going, because it gives me an inkling of whether my D’s school will be allowed to do it in the spring!
@actorparent1 – we haven’t heard anything definite yet, but some parents on a Rutgers parents’ FB group (not Mason Gross specific) mentioned that fall study abroad plans seem to not be happening. We shall see, though! I’d be surprised, honestly. Rutgers theater also has a summer trip to Germany (not sure which summer) and this year it was virtual (my D heard about it in a department Zoom meeting a couple of weeks ago).
I’ll post an update once we hear the scoop.
@Loganator, thanks! Keep me posted!
If they don’t go in the fall, I hope they can go on the spring. It’s such an amazing program- it would be awful if they can’t go at all. 
@actorparent1 – my D reminded me that she heard from some rising juniors in her area back in May that there was (at that time) an 80% chance the fall semester in London would not happen. I doubt the odds are any better now, unfortunately.