<p>For the information of anybody who is interested, my son had his on-campus Purchase audition this morning and there were callbacks.</p>
<p>There were about 30 kids in the a.m. group. (I believe more were registered for the p.m. auditions.) The majority of the morning kids were boys. After the auditions, a callback list was posted. Six kids were called back to audition in front of a larger group of faculty members. Five of the kids called back were boys and one was a girl. </p>
<p>I don't know if Purchase has had or will have callbacks at the unified auditions.</p>
<p>I just heard that Purchase will have callbacks (of a sort) at Unifieds. They videotape the kids on the callback list and review the tapes with the panel back at campus.</p>
<p>If you didn't get a callback does that mean you won't be accepted. If anyone ever got accepted that wasn't on the callback list, please post. They said denies will go out in the next week or so for the 1/24 groups. Otherwise acceptances will be by phone mid-march.
Thanks!</p>
<p>Do Work, we discussed this with several of the freshman Purchase students who were helping with the auditions yesterday, and they were of the opinion that not getting a callback meant you wouldn't be accepted.</p>
<p>What I heard, from the parent of a Purchase student who will be helping at Unifieds, is that Purchase will videotape only the callback students. This only applies to Purchase. I don't know if any other schools tape at Unifieds.</p>
<p>My son was videotaped last year at the Purchase audition in Chicago. He was asked to do his monologue again on video. I'm not sure if all auditions are taped at the unifieds or only some are for taped for further review. It is my understanding that ALL of the admissions committee must approve of the applicant prior to an offer of admission.</p>
<p>Also, please keep in mind that a "callback" does not mean a strong or even good possibility of admission. It only means further review with the entire admissions committee. I had visions of my son appearing on Broadway in "Spring Awakening" last year after he had a second callback. When he learned that several of his classmates at his HS, also had a callback, it sort of put the whole thing in perspective. </p>
<p>I would not read into the videotaping so much since every school is different and the audition process can vary from year to year. Last year, my son was asked to do 8 monologues at his CMU audition (no videotaping). This was split up between two different rooms and different auditors. In a sense, this may have been considered a "callback". He felt positive about the audition, but in the end, did not get an admissions offer. </p>
<p>It's my opinion that the schools do recognize the best "potential students" for their program. Many of those potential students, unfortunately do not gain admission. The best advice as the parent of a student who applied to these highly competitive schools is to encourage them to apply to a variety of schools and be as supportive as possible.</p>
<p>My D was videotaped last year at NYC Unifieds during her Purchase audition. So were her classmates who auditioned. Back then, they did not have callbacks at the NYC Unifieds, but it sounds as if they do this year. </p>
<p>I agree with ProudFLDad that most of the potential students identified by various schools are very talented and yet will not be admitted anyway. The schools can only take so many kids and have to fit together a class. So as Prouddad said, encourage them to audition for a wide variety of programs and, as another CC mom said way back when, be your kids' "soft place to land" when they get bad news.</p>
<p>ProudDadFL, did you mean that your son did the same monologue 8 times, or that he had prepared 8 different monologues and had to present them all at the CMU interview???</p>
<p>Skipsmom, he started with his two contasting monologues and then was asked to do an additional 2 or 3 monologues. He repeated the same monologues with a different auditor so the combined total was 8. </p>
<p>I don't think they are expected to come up with 8 monologues for any audition. In his case, the conversation came up about a character he was playing at the time and they asked him to do a monologue from the play and one he had done in another performance.</p>
<p>This was only his experience and do not think this is the norm unless a callback is involved. His first audition that day was Purchase and he was asked to do the required two monologues. The CMU audition followed that same day and took alot of steam out of him since he was sick with a cold. This was probably the most demanding of all his auditions.</p>
<p>Thanks, Dad. We're in the early stages of this process and are trying to decide how to get help choosing his monologues. The theater program at his current high school is very, very weak. We want him to start working on the monologues this summer and are considering having him work with an audition coach. </p>
<p>He is (we hope) going to RADA this summer but I'm not sure they will help him do anything beyond the curriculum. That's an unknown; it's possible they might, or that he could hire a private coach while he is there. How did your son select his audition monologues, ProudFlDad and everyone else?</p>
<p>Not a bad idea to work with a good reputable coach. My son graduated a performing arts HS and actually worked with a coach the HS audition in 7th grade.</p>
<p>His theatre teachers at the HS helped him and the other students with their college monolgues. They were fortunate to have quality teachers that coached them individually. The school attended the Chicago unfieds with about 12 kids so all were similarly prepared. Many of the monologues were performed in class and were also performed at a Black Box showcase at the school prior to the unifieds. Preparation is critical and I know they put many hours into preparing.</p>
<p>For his contrasting monolgues, he had 3 to choose, one from "The Tempest", one from "The Pillowman", and another from "This is a Test." He also had a monologue from "Our Town." </p>
<p>Some schools (Purchase for example) prefer age appropriate monologues. Since there is no costume or makeup allowed at the audition, they want to see a genuine and believable performance. </p>
<p>I know he was also asked to do an improv in one audition (CMU or NCSA maybe).</p>
<p>In his first year acting class this year, they are really digging deep into their own personal experiences and emotions and trying to infuse those into characters. This is a whole new world of theatre for my son and he is really excited to learn new techniques and go deep into character. He has had tremendous growth as an actor since the unifieds. His acting teacher at college also coaches several well-known actors. </p>
<p>Even the best pros need coaching, right? Your son is very fortunate to attend RADA this summer. That's awesome.</p>
<p>Skipsmom, my son also attends a high school with a weak drama program. Fortunately, he found out about an excellent monologue coach from a fellow "theatre kid" in our area.</p>
<p>The coach has been invaluable. She helped my son choose excellent monologues that he would probably never have found on his own, and she worked hard with him to hone them. He learned things about acting from her that he had never learned in previous training. For one of his schools, a Shakespeare monologue was strongly suggested, and the coach greatly improved his facility with Shakespeare.</p>
<p>During the period of his major auditions, my son kept in touch with his coach by phone, and she provided him with critically needed emotional support.....different from what a parent could provide, because she knows how auditions work and is familiar with my son's abilities.</p>
<p>I would recommend that, if possible, your son work with a coach for at least a couple of months before college auditions, and keep the sessions going right up until he sets off for unifieds. Even if you have to drive something like an hour away and pay a stiff fee for the coach, I believe it would be worth it.</p>
<p>It would be wonderful if your son attends RADA and they work on monologues there. Whatever happens, it might not be a bad idea for your son to have sessions with somebody in your area during the weeks leading up to his college auditions.</p>
<p>P.S. It is my understanding that there is a big difference between "coached" and "over-coached." Colleges don't like to see over-coached kids in auditions. However, they realize that most kids will have some coaching. A good monologue coach with a lot of experience (and a proven success record) at preparing kids for college acting auditions will know the difference and do things right.</p>
<p>I have heard about a few coaches that people seem to like very, very much. We are leaning toward some sessions with a teacher in the drama dept. at his former boarding school, who is very experienced as well. Unfortunately he is more than three hours from us. </p>
<p>Does anyone know a good coach in the Atlanta area? And I ask this because I really would not ask the theater teacher at my son's current school to recommend anything! If we could just get the monologues picked out before he goes to London (if, I should say) then he could work on the classical one there and perhaps even find someone to help him while he's in that program, after hours.</p>
<p>Skipsmom, I looked at the website for the University of Georgia Department of Theatre and Film Studies, and there appear to be two or three faculty members whom it might be worthwhile to ask about private coaching.</p>
<p>In addition, I sent an e-mail to my son's coach in Philadelphia to see if she might possibly have any suggestions for you.</p>
<p>Here is what my son's monologue coach suggested:</p>
<p>"I would tell the Georgia mom to call the ALLIANCE THEATRE or any other high profile theater company in Atlanta and ask if they can give you some names of Atlanta-based professional actor/teachers who could coach. As well, Emory University or any other good college should have a Theater Program, and they might have some teachers that would be able and willing to freelance."</p>
<p>Skipsmom, one of the first things my son's coach did was loan him piles of plays containing young men's monologues. His assignment was to read them and see what appealed to him. Then they started working on different monologues to see which ones were the best fit, and after that they started honing his top choices.</p>