<p>Thought I would start a thread on this year's BTP, especially for those of us with high school students attending. This is my D's first time to participate and we've already had one excited call home. Tomorrow there will be reauditions for dance placement and Patrick Wilson is already there to conduct master classes!</p>
<p>This is my son's second year at BTP, so I would be happy to try and answer any questions that anyone has.</p>
<p>Is your son in college or high school? I'm interested in how they handle such a wide age range. Do both the high school kids and the college kids have the same instructors, for example? Do they have "high school numbers" and "college numbers" in the final production or do they combine the groups at that point?</p>
<p>Been awhile since I checked in...hope all of my old CC friends are doing well and congrats to all of you who've discovered this very useful site. My D's at BTP this summer and so far is very impressed with the pace and substance of the program. Had good things to say about Patrick Wilson's participation yesterday and very happy that there's minimal "down time" in the program.</p>
<p>Best friend's daughter is there for second year (her older sister did two years too) and she loves it! My son is disappointed that he didn't audition but chose to intern in NYC instead. And Scogor, from what I know of the program, she will have VERY LITTLE down time at all!</p>
<p>D is there and is LOVING IT!!! She said the auditions went well and is looking forward to the 3 week INTENSIVE!!!! She is in college. Are there any other college kids parents around? Anne1244 and I have chatted as our Ds were both at the same program last summer. Isn't it a small world.</p>
<p>My D will be a junior at UF. Did CAP 21's summer program last year and spent a session at SDM one summer in high school. Very happy to be at BTP. Was hilarious watching the kids checking in--lots of bottled water and health food carted into those elevators.</p>
<p>I asked Kim Slade awhile back and she said the kids are about equally distributed between college and high school. Other than Patrick Wilson, has anyone heard of any other master classes or workshops? They definitely must do something right. I've heard of a number of students who have attended two and three times.</p>
<p>So great to see you back here, scogor and to read the update on your lovely and talented daughter!</p>
<p>My son will be a Senior in high school next year. He attends a performing arts high school in southern California. We have 4 participants there this year from his school. As I recall from last year, the performance was combined. At this point I don't know that age is a factor. I believe that they all compete together but are segregated some by age for housing. The performance at the end of the 3 weeks is amazing. Everyone should try and go if you can. Because of professional rights, etc., unfortunately it cannot be publically recorded, so live is the only way to experience it. Good luck to all of our kids as they wait for the cast list to be posted</p>
<p>Britbrat1961 is correct as far as the housing goes. They do have separate floors for different age groups. There are adult chaperones on almost every floor--I believe the participants that are college upperclasspersons or older have an unchaperoned floor.</p>
<p>Any of you that will be visiting Tampa for the BTP performance and need some recommendations as to restaurants, shopping, accomodations, etc. just post here and I'll be happy to provide some suggestions. We're pretty familiar with Tampa as we live an hour away in Sarasota. Best shopping area is International Plaza which is near the airport and not very far from where the BTP performances are being held, I'd say a 10-15 minute drive at most. Westshore Plaza is another shopping area just a mile or so from International Plaza. There's a very nice hotel (the Renaissance) attached to International Plaza as well as a number of restaurants (such as Capital Grille, Cheesecake Factory, Champps, etc.) and a food court at International Plaza.
Both Busch Gardens and Adventure Island are very close to USF where the BTP program is based and Tampa Bay's Museum of Science and Industry is right across from the USF campus. The Aquarium is also very nice and of course the beaches are great but it's a bit of a drive from both USF and downtown Tampa to get there. I'll be happy to provide specifics if anyone needs them.</p>
<p>Scogor - good to see your posts and your update. </p>
<p>My son attended BTP the summer between HS and college and had a great experience. When he finished at BTP that summer, he really wanted to do it again the following year. In the end, he changed his mind and decided to earn money instead - working in summerstock for 2 summers now.</p>
<p>Even though the ending BTP show combines a mixture of the age groups in each number, I'm fairly positive that they split the classes, so that HS kids are with HS kids and college kids with college kids.</p>
<p>I received the most wonderful text from my D today and wanted to share. She said she "feels like she's been [at BTP] for months" and "everyone has something different to offer--students and teachers...This place is great!"
Yesterday she had a private voice lesson with a two time Tony nominee as well as an acting workshop with an actress who has been the lead in two Broadway musicals and is currently the lead in a national touring show. While I realize that being great performer and being a great teacher are somewhat different skill sets, I am still blown away by the faculty at BTP thus far.</p>
<p>scogor, I'm about to send you an e-mail to an old e-mail address I had for you. Let me know if your e-mail has changed by writing me an e-mail from the pull-down menu. My PMs are almost full, and your e-mail function on CC is not activated.</p>
<p>Good to catch up with you!</p>
<p>Let me chime in too scogor, it is good to hear from you. I'm glad your d is still pursuing theatre, it sounds like she is getting great training! My sister moved to the Sarasota area last summer, and I haven't had the chance to visit yet, but she frequently makes me jealous during her phone calls.</p>
<p>BTP offers those passionate about musical theatre an incredible training experience. My D attended a few years back, and keeps recommending it to people she meets along the way. The faculty is outstanding, the money well spent (very little downtime), and the master classes are fantastic. The "showcase" (more a full blown show) is a real treat!</p>
<p>I completely agree. My S went last year and couldn't wait to go again this year. It must have been great training as he reported back last night that he has been placed in a group 3 steps higher than last year, so the training I am sure helped get him there. He danced so much last year that he lost a whole pant size. I hardly recognized him when I saw him at the show. He looked great. I know they are having a blast!!!!</p>
<p>I am so impressed by what I am hearing about BTP from my D. I was somewhat concerned because it was a much larger program than the one she attended last summer at OCU; I was afraid she might not get any individual attention. On the contrary, originally misplaced in dance due to an audition dvd snafu, she has been moved up 4 sections to Level 6! She's also on her second private voice lesson in less than a week as well. The teachers are inspiring and she is constantly learning from her fellow students as well. I can certainly understand why so many attend more than once.</p>
<p>Hi everyone- just got to this site by accident but glad I did. My d is a 4th year reterner to BTP and is an assistant this year. To those of you whose kids are first timers, BTP is one of the most awesome programs they will ever experience. After my d's first summer (2005) her passion for MT was confirmed. Her life was forever changed and the friendships she has made with BTPers from all around the country has been so stimulating for her. Everywhere she goes whether it be New York or just about anywhere, she runs into BTPers. Anyway, if anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to ask.</p>