@anastasiasmom I am planning on applying there as well! I am so glad to hear it was a good experience!
Danette Baker is the head of the Theater Performance program. She is a certified fight instructor. My DD really enjoyed her class. She also loved the dance classes. One was an MT character dance class and was mainly jazz and the other was a jazz and ballet class given by the head of the dance program. She had classes from all three of the departments - Dance, MT, and Performance. She liked all of the instructors and learned something in each class.
For those who are applying to Penn State …
The MT BFA Requirements page lists on campus and Unified audition dates.
The Acting BFA Requirements page only lists 5 on campus audition dates (no unified dates listed).
I followed the class of 2023 Acting BFA thread last year, anticipating the audition/application process and doing some early research. Now I’m back as I support my class of 2024 kid who’s applying for acting BFA programs. This group is really quiet, so I found myself going back through the 2023 thread during this time period to figure out some scheduling and timing details. I realized that if I want the resource of an active group, maybe I should participate. So, hi!
My kid is starting to send in applications so we can schedule auditions without missing too much school. We haven’t sent in any of prescreens yet, though we filmed most of them. Have any of your kids submitted prescreens? I saw the MT group started a thread about which prescreens they’ve submitted and passed. Could be helpful in terms of knowing how long the turnaround is?
I’d love to hear your experience so far filming pre-screens. How concerned are you all about the format of filming? Are your kids keeping their videos under the time limits? My kid’s finding it tough to keep them under 60 seconds for the few schools who require that. Is it worth cutting down and re-filming to make sure it’s under time, rather than slightly over? Are there any 2023 parents who have thoughts or experience with this? Also we saw somewhere to always film horizontally (using an iphone) and we filmed the full body monologues vertically. We’re trying to figure out if we should re-shoot those. Seems picky, but it would be awful not to pass prescreen because of something like that.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
@TenaciousC Welcome! We went through this process last year with D. We always filmed horizontally (iPod on a tripod) even though it meant we didn’t have the entire body in the shot. I think CMU was one of her prescreens that had the full-body requirement for one of their monologues and we managed most of her dress in the shot (she passed CMU so it must not have been an issue). We also stayed fairly close to the time requirement. We had 30, 60, and 90 sec cuts of her monologues. I don’t think a few seconds over will be an issue and she might have had one or two that were, but we tried to keep them within 2 or 3 seconds of the requirement. Also, I said this in another thread, but something to keep in mind as you go forward on this journey- one of D’s instructors said they look for potential in the audition room, not perfection. Best of luck!
^^^ I liked the rhyme above I guess. We had an iPhone on a tripod when we filmed. ?
@TenaciousC Yes, my kid filmed adhering to each requirement as asked. I wasn’t involved as she didn’t want me to but I had put in a binder for her all requirements/deadlines, etc. Welcome and all the best this year!
I know this is going to sound crazy but my D is only applying to 2 acting programs and 3 MT programs. Only 1 of the acting programs has an optional video with very loose requirements. Also, the other acting and 1 of the MT are true safeties based on her stats and being nonaudition. She is definitely not the norm with how few schools she’s applying to but she wants to stay in-state and only public universities.
I guess I should also say that the acting programs are BA not BFA but I didn’t see a thread for that so I’ve been following this one.
Yes, this thread is quieter than the MT threads. Guessing that will change with time though. My daughter is doing her pre-screens this week at school so I won’t be a part of the filming, though trying to stay on top of any tips to pass along to her. I check the MT thread too, though I am considering taking a break from doing that because they just make me feel so behind. She is applying to a mix of BFA and BA.
Hi! I am a first year in the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program! If anyone is planning on applying, feel free to message me! I love talking about my school. 
And if you haven’t heard about the program, you should definitely check it out! It is a classical training program that is a collaboration between one of the top research universities in the country and one of the top regional theaters in the country. The caliber of training, the expertise of the faculty, and the connections that can be made in both university and theater settings are all incredible. Additionally, we spend the first semester of our third year studying at Shakespeare’s Globe in London! Our program direction has recently changed, which is bringing us into an exciting period of growth! Our leadership on the University side is Aaron Todd Douglas, a Chicago-based director and director who has strong ties to the regional theater scene. On the Guthrie side is Maija Garcia, a New York-based choreographer and director who also serves as a member of the Tony Nominating Committee. With conservatory-style training and full liberal arts education, the program prides itself on its nurturing of the entire human – not just one component of their lives. (Artist + Scholar = Actor)
If anyone has any further questions about the program, feel free to reach out!
@yellahamma Ipod on a tripod… I like it! Filming horizontally is rough for a super tall kid- you can’t get the whole body in or you end up with superfluous background on the sides and not enough of a close up on the face. Maybe we’ll try again and see what happens. When you filmed the close up, did you zoom into head and shoulders or head to waist? Or something different? One of the monologues is 10 seconds over at this point and one is 15. We talked to an admissions director about this at a performing arts college fair recently and they said as long as it’s not like a full minute over it’ll be fine. I get nervous about not following directions, though. I’ll let my kid decide how important it is. Thanks also for the reminder that it’s potential not perfection!
@NYDreammom That sounds familiar- I have an insane spreadsheet. Thanks so much for checking in- I followed you all last year! Still benefitting from your experience.
@MommaCat Good for your daughter- sounds like she knows what she wants and that’s got to make things easier. I actually feel grateful that my kid is so clear about this path- I really don’t think it’s common among 17 year olds!
@sagezinnia Those MT people could run a small country- they’re super on top of things!
@GingerAndLemon Thanks so much for posting! We’re looking at your program and my kid has a friend there from high school. I’m glad to hear all of those positive things about the program + that you’re happy there!
We’re starting to schedule some auditions. The kid needs to send the prescreens and finish the supplemental questions to submit applications. I appreciate the prescreen schools that let you submit monologues and find out about auditions before making you submit Common Apps (or at least don’t require multiple essays!) So much work. I really admire these kids.
@TenaciousC D’s closeups were from mid-chest. D is not super tall, but at 5’8” we had background as well (we filmed on a gray wall). She had movement in her classical monologue and needed the space. One of her “full body” monologues was done sitting in a chair. Good luck!
@TenaciousC
Welcome! And thank you for posting! My D filmed her prescreens according to the requirements for each college or university. None of them have been sent in yet but 2 are going out today.
Applications are almost complete and there are a few supplemental essays for my D to finish for prescreens. The essays have been the most time consuming for my D. We do have some audition dates confirmed and on the calendar. Some of those are early auditions (Oct., Nov. and Dec. dates). I’ll post on them as we go along.
It’s good to know that the MT group has a separate thread for prescreens. It will make it easier to follow the information they are posting.
@MommaCat
Welcome!! And I ditto TenaciousC. Your D knows what she wants. It is all about fit for each kid. And I just copied the thread title for this year from last year’s thread. BA and BFA are all welcome. The more the merrier. Maybe next year the thread title will include BA. If I could edit the title for this year I would.
@sagezinnia
That was what I was thinking too. Everyone is busy with prescreens and college applications. And I hear you about taking breaks from time to time.
@GingerAndLemon
My D will definitely check out the program. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts because this will be very helpful to this class and future classes.
Here is the MT thread for prescreen responses if you want to see which schools are already responding …
Has anyone heard from Elon for early pre-screen that was due out today, Oct. 2?
@nutmegdrama No, we were waiting to hear too. So glad you posted because I didn’t know what to think. I guess they were delayed in sending out the results? really don’t know what to think?
Glad to see more of you chiming in! My kid is only a junior, so I’m looking to soak up info this year. The theater thread is always slower than the MT one, but I’m wondering if the new CC formatting has contributed to things slowing down. I don’t know about anybody else, but I find it way more difficult to look at.
Hi @NoMoreDrama
Welcome! I followed the conversation last year. It was very helpful for preparing for this year. Hopefully, we can be just as helpful for future classes. Once prescreen results start coming in and auditions take place there will be more conversation here. And it is possible that the new CC format is part of the reason why the boards are so slow.
My DD had her first audition on Saturday. It was a relaxed audition which helped her feel better.
It was at Wichita State University. The students greeting her were friendly and the director of theater, Danette Baker, was the only person in the room with her when she auditioned. She performed her two monologues and then had an interview. She asked my D why she was auditioning for the school, what she liked about the program, and what her goals were.
Reading previous threads these questions will probably be asked at most interviews during the audition cycle. So know what it is that attracted you to that particular college or university and their theater program.