<p>Just wanted to start a thread to introduce/keep track of those of us going through the process this year in one place. I thought it would help me to keep everyone straight in my head, since I'm sure we'll be "seeing" a lot of each other!
So here's a bit about us:
I have a daughter. She is a specific type, being 4'11" and very young looking. More of a soubrette than an ingenue and she's also very funny. A mix/belter. Actor first, singer second, dancer third. Grades are an issue, so not applying to any of the more academic schools. Wants a BFA in a conservatory. Has professional credits, but not within the last 4 years. Working with MTCA.</p>
<p>I guess that's enough to start with! I also wanted to mention that this year's Facebook group for Musical Theatre/Acting kids is The Unified, and your kids will probably want to be added to it.</p>
<p>Sending all the best! I feel like I’ve seen your posts/username for a while now, so I’m surprised and excited to know that it’s finally your D’s turn! And, of course, all the best to the rest of the parents and kids of next year. Going to be a great one, I can feel it.</p>
<p>Guess I’m next… You’ll see me on here lots this year! (Been lurking for over a year)</p>
<p>Son is a 6’ 1" bass/baritone. Has been singing/acting since 6th grade-- mostly in school (which has an excellent, albeit small, fine arts program) and a few community rolls. He’s been in school chorus since 7th grade. (School doesn’t have any kind of show choir, etc.) He’s got a nice personality-- funny/goofy, easy to talk to, comfortable around/talking to adults, but still a tad shy at times. He’s primarily a singer, then actor, then dancer. He’s only been dancing for a year, but they say with the boys it’s not too much for an issue. Hey, I can’t sweat it now-- it is what it is. </p>
<p>Grades/scores are also an issue for us…not terrible, but not stellar either. He goes to a private college prep school, so it’s extremely competitive…we’re hoping that helps. Looking for a BFA program, primarily, but not a conservatory. Would like an “all around” college experience, even though we know he won’t have a lot of time to take advantage of it all. Our school list is quite long-- right now about 16-18-- but we know it’ll get smaller as he’s academically denied to a few. We live on the East Coast and he’ll likely stay this side of the Mississippi R. We’ve been working with MTCA since Fall 2012 and have been skyping with several coaches regularly.</p>
<p>Ok then…I can’t believe it is time for this…I have been lurking around with very few posts since D was in 7th or 8th grade. It seems rather surreal that the time has come.
My D just recently started with MTCA, she has been performing locally in community theatre for over 10 years. She is 5’3 with a pretty large range but is primarily known for her belt. She would classify herself first as a singer followed by acting, then dance. She has taken dance since she was four, but not competition style dancing-more of a mover that picks up choreography quickly. </p>
<p>Her grades are above average-but test scores so far have not been great. I know that she is looking at all options for schools, but will probably not be a good candidate for those who require really strong academics. Right now we are trying to narrow the list down-and trying to come up with financial and academic safety schools that we can both agree on.</p>
<p>So excited to start this journey with her this year…I have promised to do more posting instead of just obsessively reading everything!</p>
<p>Thanks for starting this thread! I have learned so much from these boards and also can’t believe the time has come to really get going! I have a daughter, interested in a BFA. She’s a curly girl, 5’7" and it’s just the two of us. I’ll probably spend more on therapy when she leaves than tuition - haha.<br>
She is a singer first, then actor, then dancer. She is a soprano with a strong belt. Most musical theatre experience has been community summer shows since third grade and during her first two years of high school, she did shows at a few different private schools. In March she was in her first local professional show and will work with the same company next year.<br>
Her grades are strong and I’m going to guess will have average test scores. She is working as an usher at a theatre company this summer to pay for private dance, acting and voice coaches - has had voice lessons for the last five years. She isn’t using MTCA because we live in a Midwest city with great local coaches.<br>
I’m looking forward to getting to know you as we go along on this journey! I’m excited to see where they all land!</p>
<p>Next!
I called myself a novice MT mom on an earlier thread. My S has been in community theatre and school shows since elementary school. He too is a bit goofy and he balances that with confidence, especially as a performer. I thought he was going to be a Jazz Studies major (drum set), but that all changed when he attended a northeast Thespian sponsored conference with students from eight states attending, and walked away with a superior rating and named “best of fest” in his category of solo, musical theatre. His life’s trajectory took a huge turn, and here we are. I would say he is equally strong as an actor and singer. The only dancing he has done has been in the shows he has had roles in. He is off to CMU pre-college a week from Friday. This forum has literally taught me almost everything I know about MT schools! I have toyed with the idea of looking into an MT coach due to my lack of experience. I’m looking forward to hearing about his experience at CMU this summer. He and we need to know how he measures up. Academically, he is better than average, but not NYU or U of M material, which leaves me with mixed feelings as I was born and reared in Ann Arbor. His list is long and I am grateful for pre-screens, though totally clueless about making a pre-screen video. I’m very happy to have this thread and forum in which to give and receive support. I feel like I’m on a wild ride!</p>
<p>I also have a daughter. She is 5’7" with very long straight light brown hair. She has played the ingenue, but also comedic/villain roles. She has a large range; soprano is her strength with mix/belt coming on strong this year. She is a singer first with acting a close second; however, dance is a distant third. She is also working with MTCA. She has been taking voice lessons for 3 years. She is relatively new to the MT world having just started training/performances 1-1/2 years ago; however, within 6 months she was competing successfully within a very large regional group. Her high school has no choir or musicals, so we have had to go elsewhere. Luckily, we live in a large metropolitan area with a lot of opportunities. </p>
<p>Her grades are not terrible but not stellar either, so she is not applying to the more academic schools either. She is very open to either a conservatory or college-like experience which doesn’t help pare down the list!</p>
<p>I too am thankful for the pre-screens, but wary about the quality needed.</p>
<p>I look forward to helping each other through this once-in-a-lifetime experience!</p>
<p>For what it is worth-I wouldn’t stress too much about the prescreens. Last year three of my D’s close MT friends (1 guy-2 girls) shot their prescreens in a living room with a simple video camera. All 3 of them passed through the prescreen to auditions at big schools. None of them were coached. As long as you are following the requirements set forth by the school-you should be just fine. BTW, they all ended up in great programs.</p>
<p>That being said, I will still stress when it is time to do ours in a few months.:)</p>
<p>^My son only had to do one prescreen, but it was for his first choice school, and of course you do them early in the “season,” so the pressure was high and the practice-time was low. We had a quiet room with a white wall, a tripod, and a LOT of time for repeat takes. He was incredibly fussy about which clips to use, but technically, just make sure your location is clean, uncluttered, quiet, and decently lit.</p>
<p>By the way, important note: his school used the “Acceptd” website for prescreens, which was straightforward, but although it looked like everything had gone through successfully, and he got some sort of email confirmation, it didn’t actually work at first. We waited several weeks with no word from the school; I actually checked on CC to see if other people had heard back. Finally (after a month!) I went back to his account (which I’d checked on previously) and THIS time when I opened it, a dialogue box opened saying that one of the components hadn’t uploaded completely, so the school had not received his materials. Re-did everything and he passed the prescreen within 2 weeks. Moral of the story: if your internet connection is funky like ours, check and double-check any online submissions…and do the prescreens early so that if something goes wrong, you have plenty of time left to fix it!</p>
<p>Hi Everyone! I’m a 5’6’’ girl with dark brown hair. I’ve got a pretty large range from soprano 1 to alto 2, I would consider belting to be my strength. I’m a singer first then actor then dancer. I have been doing musicals since I was 12 and I’ve been in love ever since. I recently moved down south so I’ll be navigating the college process from a different angle than I had been preparing for for a few years. I just recently started voice lessons again after a bit of a hiatus and am also taking piano. I’m looking for a new studio to pick up on my dance training. I’m very excited to get to know you all and share this journey with you!</p>
<p>Guess I’ll post a little breakdown myself, even though most people around here know me, considering I went through the audition process this past cycle as well.</p>
<p>I’m a scrawny 5’4" young lady with dark brown curly hair - a little mousy, a little quirky, definitely the off-beat ingenue (think Amalia in She Loves Me, Act I Little Edie in Grey Gardens). I’m a soprano with a serviceable mix, though I definitely sound my best doing Golden Age rep. I’m a strong actor with good comedic timing (both my parents are journalists and I’m an avid reader - I honestly think it comes from that. Knowing the way words work is so important in acting), and tend to be cast in youth/high school productions in character woman roles due to that. I would definitely call myself a “mover” - except in tap, which I’m very strong in. I just wish I had gotten the chance to show it more last audition cycle!</p>
<p>I went through the audition process this past winter as a high school senior, and was accepted to one program, but ended up not being able to afford to attend. This time around, with all the knowledge I’ve gleaned from being on the audition circuit - hindsight is 20/20! Even after spending three years on College Confidential planning out college auditions, I still discovered so much about myself and what I really wanted from post-secondary education while I was putting myself out there in real time - I’m casting a wider net and being even more careful with price tags of schools.</p>
<p>I just graduated high school, and I will be going to a university in Toronto in the fall for an arts administration program. My parents were not receptive to the idea of me taking a gap year, and the school I’m attending will cost my parents nothing (free tuition and I’m living at home and commuting to school). Though I will not be in a performance program, I’ll be gaining valuable insight into “the business” as a business, and I’m right in the heart of it Toronto, meaning I get to work with the best people in the performing arts in this country.</p>
<p>To be honest, I’m kind of excited to do this all again. I feel like the only way to truly be prepared to audition for these programs WAS to audition for them, and now that I’ve done it once, I’m raring to put myself out there again and find the best possible fit for myself.</p>
<p>LoveMyMTGirl: I think most of what I discovered was liking certain types of programs more than others once I spent time auditioning, which will help me fine-tune my list this time around. There were schools that I was enamoured with on paper that, once I got on-campus or in front of the faculty, I was disillusioned with. </p>
<p>alwaysamom: Of course I have! If it were up to me, I would be taking a gap year and applying again as a freshman. However, my parents aren’t receptive to that, and I have to respect that. I’ve learned while going through the audition process for the first time that you really do have to roll with the punches. Applying as a transfer as an international student certainly isn’t going to be easy. I have no illusions about that. But this is the path this dream of mine is leading me on, so I have to follow it and see where it leads…It’ll be worth it in the end, no matter how it turns out. I certainly came out a stronger person given everything that happened last audition season.</p>
<p>I thought you probably had, but I thought I’d add that for future readers. I wish you the best in the coming admissions cycle. I know a few actors in town who periodically hold workshops for auditions/ MT repertoire, etc. If that’s something you will be looking for, let me know and I’ll get details for you.</p>
<p>I am a 5’4 male character actor. I’ve been doing shows and whatnot since I was about 12, although I don’t think I really understood the craft of acting until I did the Boston University Summer Theatre Institute last summer. Since then I’ve been working hard to improve my technique. I am an actor/singer and I am still in the deciding process of weather to audition for Music Theatre or Straight Acting. I know I want a conservatory style program and one that has a good acting program as I am an actor first. I am working with MTCA and I will be doing college auditions at the International Thespian Festival next week. In July, I’ll leave for a summer program at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London! Super excited to see what this year has planned for me as well as the other college confidential members going through auditions!</p>
<p>Hi! Guess I might as well do this - can’t believe its coming up so soon! Daughter is 5’3’’ petite dark blonde hair and green eyes. Singing and acting both strong, dancing not as strong but certainly ok. As I’ve posted elsewhere, legit soprano very high range, probably coloratura / soubrette - hard to say, she is young. That said, she has a strong alto / mix range as well, though she does not belt. We have wonderful voice / acting teachers here, so feel very fortunate even though we are in a pretty small town. Will audition for both vocal performance and musical theater. Academics and grades very strong, PSATs quite high, haven’t gotten back SAT / ACT yet, but figure they should be good. We aren’t needy , but sure aren’t rich either - if she gets into multiple programs figure finances may be very important in decision. Thanks for all the info I’ve learned here, and best wishes to everyone on this list!</p>
<p>For those of you stressing about the pre-screens…don’t go crazy, but don’t assume they are just rubber stamps. The reasons you should do your best are: 1) the pre-screens are an audition. Period. You want to do your best at an audition, right? Do not assume they are something that can be just tossed off in an hour or two. You don’t need fancy cameras and sound systems, but you should have a simple background (even a sheet), and decent enough microphone so that the auditors can hear you. Also, you should follow instructions. If the instructions say, “Show us a full body shot and zoom in to a waist up shot, and make sure your camera is on a tripod,” then do it!!! It will not help you pass a pre-screen if you cannot follow directions. If the directions say 16 bars, don’t do 32. 2) Some schools really, truly use them to screen people out, either by talent or by type. I actually like the pre-screens. My D did 5 of them (UMich, Penn State, NYU-Steinhardt, Indiana, and Otterbein), and passed 4 (she did not pass Otterbein). Only one of her friends passed the Otterbein pre-screen, and they rejected some EXTREMELY talented kids. It seemed to us that they must have been using the pre-screen to type kids out, which is great. Better to know up front, before the stress and expense of an audition, that your child is not a fit, for whatever reason. Then there were schools like Indiana, who only let 98 kids past the pre-screen. It was nice to know that she was a part of a relatively small group that they liked…it meant I did not feel bad about spending the money to fly out there for the audition. Then there was UMich, who told us that they passed 600 people through the pre-screen. 600! We had heard that it was 200, which, to me, justified flying out there for the audition. But 600? That’s a LOT of kids. I really wish they had been more selective. I wish all the schools had a pre-screen, and I wish they would all really use it to screen people out. In the long run, it makes it easier on you.</p>
<p>Bottom line: production value doesn’t really matter, as long as the camera is steady (on a tripod, not hand held), the sound is clear and balanced with the piano, and the picture isn’t too dark, too light or blurry. You don’t need fade ins and fancy intros and transitions. The hardest part for us was pointing out which dancer was my D in her Penn State clip (they asked for a clip of your child dancing in a show). My son finally figured out how to circle her in the video, but I never would have been able to do that. So, leave yourselves plenty of time, do your best, follow directions, and you will be fine. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Thanks Monkey13 for the tips on the pre-screen. I also am happy that some colleges do them, I wish more did. I don’t want to waste our time or money if they aren’t interested.</p>
<p>I do have a question. I have read here that it is better to do the prescreen with pre-recorded piano music rather than a live piano because of the balance of sound. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?</p>
<p>We used a live pianist for the pre-screens, but the camera had an external mic. The balance was fine. I think you just have to test it to make sure that the piano isn’t drowning out the voice. </p>
<p>We also liked getting our D used to singing to a live piano, b/c anything can happen in auditions. At one school, the pianist just quit playing halfway through our D’s song, and she just kept going. When she talked to others, the same thing happened to them. We figured it was a way for the school to see how the kids handled it. But, some accompanists were awesome, others were not so great. Having your child be able to deal with everything from extra flourishes in the music to basic plucking will be helpful down the road. I think it helps to have the interplay between the singer and the pianist. Some schools actually said they WANT to see how the singer works with (or doesn’t) with the pianist during auditions. </p>
<p>Of course, all that being said, we have a friend who is a pianist, so it didn’t cost us an arm and a leg to use him. I guess my long-winded point is that you shouldn’t steer away from a live pianist in the pre-screens because the balance is something you can deal with easily. But either a live pianist or taped piano music will work.</p>
And, of course, all the best to the rest of the parents and kids of next year. Going to be a great one, I can feel it.</p>