<p><strong><em>note I realize not all of these are real and follow the wonderful tradition of amazon reviews but they are quite creative and amazingly entertaining</em></strong>***</p>
<p>@chheseheadmike you just made me spit my Starbucks with ur (oh look! Another abbreviation! I’m getting cooler with each one, doncha know!) post! Lol!</p>
<p>@EmsDad - Thank you so much for recommending “Unnaturally Green!” I just downloaded the e-book (only $2.99 on Amazon). After just one chapter D and I are peeing our repsective pants! :)) </p>
<p>OMG NAtlantaStudio, I read the first couple of reviews and was cracking up. As for the inevitable football comparisons, we looked at it as not so much picking the school, but picking the coach. That was our fit and why we chose Texas State. Enough on that topic. </p>
<p>Re. AnnoyingActor, haven’t read the book, but found the blog hilarious and sadly accurate. My S was at a callback in NY this summer with other actors of all ages, and two little boys were there as well. A young woman, who clearly had been in a show with one boy, was loudly chatting with this boy pretty much going through his entire Broadway resume and coming prospects for the benefit of the room and perhaps her resume and coming prospects, too, by extension. Not quite sure what this young woman’s motivation was, but it was ugly. The poor mother of the other boy was aghast, according to my S. Even my son, who is somewhat seasoned, was shocked. There are always those who will use the “psyche out” approach, but to do that to a child. It does make you wonder. </p>
<p>I loved the book! It was a hoot. I think it’s a female author though
And I thought she/he does have one major point…that actors need to be aware of how they are representing themselves through social media, and have a balance of “advertising” themselves that is mixed with humility. Since their social lives and their profession often mixes, some actors can offend other actors, directors, etc, with their tone and attitude on social media. Yet in today’s world actors must be active on social media in order to get work and attract audiences. That’s the lesson I took from the book.</p>
<p>That’s a good message @dramamom0804 and a good take away even though I didn’t love the book. That extends to the family of these actors as well. I have a very good friend whose son is extremely talented and so far has attained impressive success at his young age that most of us would drool over for our own kids. She is gracious about his achievements, generous with her help and knowledge of how things work if it is needed and humble and quiet about all of it. I find that inspiring and hope that I take a page out of the same book if it ever comes to that. </p>
Guessing her alter-ego is not AnnoyingActorFriend. ;)</p>
<p>Honestly, what I think bothered me most about the book is a classic bullying issue. The reality is that different people (in every profession) have different skill sets. For example, alpha females typically have great social awareness, but not all people are #soblessed in that area. That doesn’t mean they aren’t otherwise talented, or that they deserve to be the object of ridicule. I have met incredibly talented performers who were very socially awkward offstage, and I’m sure sometimes that extends to their social media presence. It has always been true that different celebrities have had varying ability to handle their image in the media.</p>
<p>I think this industry, like virtually all industries, has room for people with varying levels of social competence. Just as all voices and body types are not created equal, not everyone is socially gifted.</p>
<p>Hi all…so to our “dearly departed” friend of yesterday- my D did not get wl at Indiana so Rider is still our school. And we are quite content . </p>
<p>Hey way to go @bwaybabie - congrats! Isn’t Rider one of the top ten? (oops!) Top notch program. As a fellow skater our D had a great interview with Robin Lewis, but sadly didn’t get accepted.</p>
<p>Hey everybody, I’ve got an idea for a thread that I want to run by y’all to see if anyone will participate. Something like “Song and monologue choices for the 2013/2014 audition season”. Song choice was something that our D wrestled with, and she changed both of her monologues (for the better) halfway through the process. I would be very curious to see what your S/D performed, and it might be a way to pay it forward to future crops of kids by building a consolidated list of material that people could cross check to school acceptances, etc… Nothing too serious, just a simple list. Might be kind of fun. Anyone interested?</p>
<p>I do think that it’s a few weeks too soon to start this list, as many schools do check the CC boards and we’re all fairly careful about protecting the identities of our kids at this delicate stage.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I’m what my 125 year old grandfather (were he alive today) would call a “stick in the mud.” This is a lovely and generous idea but with mud on my shoes, I offer that the best way to pay it forward is to not do what you are suggesting @cheeseheadmike. Let next year’s group and those that follow actually do the work of finding monologues and songs just like you all did. Doing the work is an important process which shouldn’t have shortcuts and crib notes. Too many students already show up at auditions with monologues off of the internet which they never read the play for and karaoke versions of songs from the top of the “do not” list. Leave the mystery in the hopes that it inspires innovation and effort if or no other reason than necessity and building the ability to think on one’s feet if asked… why those choices?</p>
<p>Mike, I like the idea of sharing. It is up to the kids to do the homework of reading the play, understanding the character and to understand what type of “character” type they are. My one reservation would be to wait until final decisions. Sharing the information is voluntary, and if my son is OK with my sharing, I’ll do it. We are in northern New England in a small town, without the resources found in large cities and the burbs. CC’s wealth of information was a lifesaver.</p>
<p>@cheeseheadmike - The problem I see with this idea is that the obscure monologues and songs that our kids have found might then end up showing up at too many auditions (not necessarily over done, just no longer obscure). I have no idea the percentage of auditionees on CC, though. Also, I agree with @halflokum that part of the learning process is the student doing things like going to the library and reading through stacks of plays/musicals. </p>
<p>Perhaps we could compromise, and begin a thread with suggested plays to read. There is also a gender difference here - It is really hard to find monologues for boys (Parents of boys - am I right?) I know I spent a reasonable amount of money on play scripts from Amazon, and was disappointed to find nothing worthwhile. (My personal theory is that teen/twenty boys are monosyllabic, so no monologues for them in scripts)</p>
<p>As the parent of a junior boy in a suburban/rural-ish area, I know we would appreciate an arrow towards appropriate/workable monologues. Even if it was simply the name of the a play… Obviously, S needs to read the plays & understand the characters. Maybe those of you who have invested in scripts might want to start a re-sale thread? </p>
<p>@PondsK8r - while I don’t know specifically what’s out there for boys, I do have a D who is currently writing a play with older teens as the main characters because she too feels there aren’t many plays/musicals out there specifically written for that age group. The monologues she used for auditions were all written for either younger teens (D can look very young) or twenty somethings. D’s best resource for finding monologues was an acting coach we found through one of the bigger theaters in a mid-size city (one hour from us). These theaters usually have summer classes for kids, and their teachers will often do private coaching.</p>
