<p>So...how do you (and your prospective MT student) bounce back from a rejection, when you still have more auditions to go? How do you get the confidence back so you can keep on doing your best?</p>
<p>First, keep in mind that the opinion of that college or university probably has more to do with factors outside of your control than it does with any perception of talent. </p>
<p>Second, each evaluator has a different opinion of what is and isn't necessary to be a successful theatre artist. Twelve people in the room will have twelve opinions. </p>
<p>Finally, the world of theatre is full of "rejection" (I am not in favor of this word, it does not do justice to the fine art of casting). Each and every person in the world of theatre goes through many, many, many moments when they are not hired / cast. It just means that continuing to work on the craft is important. The annals of history are filled with highly respected actors who couldn't buy a role, or were kicked out of school, or... </p>
<p>In any case, one small negative should motivate and inform, not devastate. I'm sure your student will do well.</p>
<p>Remember the element that has nothing to do with how talented they are - the school had too many tall altos or too many short sopranos or baritones, etc. </p>
<p>Also at 18 actors can be in 3 different stages:
1. Ready to audition today on Broadway
2. Ready to get into a "top" MT school or
3. Not ready for either of those but give them 4 more years of training and they will outdo the first 2</p>
<p>Remember they told Tom Hanks to go home, he'd never be an actor and never make it</p>
<p>And finally, trust in life - that everything happens for a reason and puts you exactly where you are suppose to be when you are suppose to be there ...we only learn this in retrospect but you just have to trust it's for your ultimate good</p>
<p>I'll look forward to your future happy posts :)</p>
<p>Georgia30720, Part of keeping your perspective in this emotional process is to remember that your child should be evaulating/auditioning each school as well as being auditioned! The threads about "fit" might help you gain more insight bc as kjgc said above the "rejections" in this business are numerous. My D looks at each audition as an opportuniity to learn more about herself and grow as an artist. During this process last year I had my D make a list of her "choices" from most to least before we started this process. She and I made separate notes about the school after each audition and put them in an envelope. I had her re-do her list after every audition. You would be amazed at how this list changed from August to April! In April when she had her "choices" we pulled out our notes and lists and were able to remember things we had forgotten along the way- old age for me, high school and college stress for her affected our memories! This was very helpful to her as she did vacillate until her final decision in the end! Last year in NYC while getting coached for college auditions she took some acting classes with Matt Scott, swing for Jersey Boys at the time, and he gave her some great advice. He told her to keep a journal about every professional audtion and see what # the first job came at- he felt that it was entirely reasonable to go through close to100 auditions before getting hired! This has helped my D gain and keep perspective. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Well when I was rejected from my first audition (Elon), I looked at what I could improve about my audition. It really makes you look at which pieces you should use to show as much variation as you can and makes you look at even whether those pieces are right for you.</p>
<p>For me, I'm using a different cut of my ballad to show different emotion range and I'm using my comedic monologue instead of my dramatic because it is more "actable".</p>
<p>freedom_fri911, it's great that you were able to take an experience that did not come out as you had hoped and use it to improve on what you did. However, I have a question: did the adjudicators at Elon give you feedback that led you to those changes in your audition rep, or did you just perceive that those changes were what were needed? I ask because I have heard other people (experts) caution kids from changing songs, monologues, etc. based on one school that they did not get into. In other words, what might not appeal to one school or fit one school might be exactly what another is looking for. Does that make sense?</p>
<p>freedom makes a good point one should always be re-evaluating their material. HOWEVER a rejection is NOT always or even often a signal that your material is wrong- it is more that you do not fit their needs THIS year!!! One should always have 5 or 6 song combos( at least one classical/art song) and 2 classical and 4 other monologues- 2 dramatic and 2 comedic- to choose from and play mix and match... I think it would be helpful to get verification on your material by asking working professionals or at a university theater dept. in your area or your drama and vocal teachers to observe and critique you. Good luck!</p>
<p>There is wonderful advice above. I think too many people use an audition as some sort of test to see if they are any "good". My S got the opportunity to spend several days with a Tony winning MT actor and one thing that he said, very specifically, when you get to NY, audition, audition, audition, because you will have to go through many, many auditions before you can get hired, it very normal so expect it. I think one of the most important things a young actor can learn is not being cast is NOT confirmation of their talent, there are hundreds of variables that you have no control over and you will never get into the auditioner's heads so that you can "predict" what they want.</p>
<p>NMR, I guess I didn't word my post that greatly. I changed the CUT of my song. Same song, different measures. As for my monologue, I had been working on it, but for the auditions that only allowed 1 monologue I've been using my dramatic. I switched that so that I would use my comedic instead. I still have my dramatic if they need to see a backup for the 1-monologue auditions</p>
<p>freedom_fri911, you worded your post just fine. I was merely trying to make the point that one rejection doesn't necessarily call for a student to change his or her material, unless the auditioner could tell or was told that they should have done something different. For instance, I remember a mom telling me that the adjudicators at one school told her kid that they didn't much care for the song she sang, so they asked for another. After the girl sang the third song, the adjudicators said something like "That's what we wanted to hear in the first place! In our opinion, as you continue auditioning, use the last two songs and get rid of the first." (As an aside, I think the girl did get accepted to this school in the end, among others, so it had a happy ending! :)) As for you, freedom, it sounds as if the adjustment you did makes sense and, as a result, you feel better about your audition rep, and that is all that counts.</p>
<p>I suppose we're always trying to determine if he's "good enough." He's a big fish in a small pond, plus we don't have as many resources as some kids do for training. He's done stuff at state thespian conference, and we sent submissions in for NFAA this year, too. He got a 7 out of 10 for MT, and a merit award for popular voice. Maybe this school just wasn't the right fit for him, but I hope we can find him the right one.</p>
<p>Georgia30720 - one other thing, please remember the odds as you go through this process. Most schools only have a really limited number of spots to offer, and wind up rejecting very, very talented kids. No need to take a rejection personal, but better to view it as a simple "not meant to be".</p>
<p>Now, assuming that your S is comfortable with his material, and that it accurately shows off his vocal ability and emotional ranges, it may not hurt to also evaluate how he presents himself as he walks into the room. From what I have gathered, some kids can truly hurt themselves, coming across as insecure, or over-confident. Needless to say that for some people it can be quite difficult to happily "chit chat" with an audition panel under all the audition pressure, but first impressions are everything.</p>