Class of 2019 (the journey begins) - Sharing,Venting, Etc

<p>Coming at this from the side of a kid who has been heavily immersed in MT and on the BFA trail until a month ago I think I would be wary of committing to a 4-year training program like a BFA without really being 100% sure that it was your path. Of course you can always transfer but you will start over and that is expensive. I think at the very least you should focus on BFA programs with strong liberal arts or BA programs. A true conservatory without much in the way of other educational options seems like it will not allow for any wiggle room. What I have learned is getting a BFA or a BA has nothing to do with how much you love MT or Acting, or even if you plan to pursue it as a career. It is about how you will best train yourself for life and that will be different for everyone. </p>

<p>Thanks for the responses! </p>

<p>@toowonderful the main school Iā€™m considering is University of Alabama. Honestly Iā€™ve had trouble finding a place that had a good MT program AND everything else I want - UofAā€™s the only one thatā€™s filled that need so far. A friend of mine talked about Northwestern soā€¦ I might do some research in that area? Iā€™m also very interested in Oberlin, although they only do MT in student-run groups (however, Iā€™ve heard itā€™s very well-established). Iā€™m considering Vanderbilt, too, but I havenā€™t found out much about their theatre program (I donā€™t believe they offer MT). I also might apply to Carnegie Mellon just to ā€œsee if I can,ā€ but my chances of going there are low because I hear you canā€™t double-major with MT. Alabama is the main ā€œsure thingā€ for me to go audition at this point, though.</p>

<p>@sillyslytherin Why apply to Carnegie Mellon? You can definitely apply if you want but Carnegie Mellon is highly selective and it is an intense conservatory BFA program. It is not possible to double major in Carnegieā€™s program. I think there is only 1 or at most 2 classes they take outside of the major? Of course this is just my opinion, but in a process that stressful, expensive and time consuming, I say save your money, time and effort for schools you really know you want to go to. If you know in your heart of hearts that you want to double major, then research BA programs. There are many wonderful ones. Many of them shared right in this forum. If you must go to Pittsburgh check out Point Parkā€™s BA program in musical theatre or University of Pittsburghā€™s BA in theatre program. There are many schools that fit what you are looking for. You just need to do some research.</p>

<p>@sillyslytherin Why apply to Carnegie Mellon? You can definitely apply if you want but Carnegie Mellon is highly selective and it is an intense conservatory BFA program. It is not possible to double major in Carnegieā€™s program. I think there is only 1 or at most 2 classes they take outside of the major? Of course this is just my opinion, but in a process that stressful, expensive and time consuming, I say save your money, time and effort for schools you really know you want to go to. If you know in your heart of hearts that you want to double major, then research BA programs. There are many wonderful ones. Many of them shared right in this forum. If you must go to Pittsburgh check out Point Parkā€™s BA program in musical theatre or University of Pittsburghā€™s BA in theatre program. There are many schools that fit what you are looking for. You just need to do some research.</p>

<p>@sillyslytherin Muhlenberg in PA might be a good choice for you. They have a non-audition BA (you audition for scholarship $) that allows you to combine MT/acting/dance or double major in another subject if you like. It has a beautiful campus and a well-respected, supportive arts faculty. You should check it out!</p>

<p>Iā€™ve been on these boards off and on for yearsā€¦but I guess we actually belong in this post (hard to believe!)</p>

<p>My daughter is a 5ā€™3" tall redhead, mezzo. Sheā€™s been doing community theatre for 8 years now, voice lessons for 6 years, she competed in Irish Dance for 5 years and has danced ballet at a professional ballet school for the past 5 years, where she was a member of their junior company. Her high school experience has been pretty limited at her school - but sheā€™s auditioned for and been in state honors choir on her own, sang with the U of Mich youth ensembles and just transferred to a new high school for her senior year with a fabulous theatre/choir program. Over the years, she has done quite a few summer programs - Interlochen, MPulse, Artsbridge, OCU, Take it from the Top. We are currently working with both MTCA and Dave Clemmons for coaches. Her list is includes 21 schools - mostly midwest and east coast, trying to figure out how the heck to fit in auditioning at all of those! 8 require pre-screens - one of them she had waived. CONSIDERING attending Moonifieds - where she can do combined prescreen/final auditions for 6 schools on her list (but Dallas is SO far away ā€¦and expensive to get to!)</p>

<p>Please help! Decision Desk is driving my kid nuts! It keeps insisting that he has to upload a complete repertoire list even though Michigan says on their website and over the phone that Musical Theater applicants do NOT need to do that! Did your applicant successfully complete an application without uploading a complete repertoire list?</p>

<p>@mommabears26- From all the people I have talked to and know personally, they said Moonifieds were well worth it. Some got offers and interest from places they didnā€™t think about applying to. But I totally understand. If it just isnā€™t economically feasible then donā€™t do it. I would check though and see if you can come up with any deals for flights or hotel stays. You never know.</p>

<p>@mommabears26- From all the people I have talked to and know personally, they said Moonifieds were well worth it. Some got offers and interest from places they didnā€™t think about applying to. But I totally understand. If it just isnā€™t economically feasible then donā€™t do it. I would check though and see if you can come up with any deals for flights or hotel stays. You never know.</p>

<p>I need an experienced eye to take a look at my Ds headshot. I just canā€™t look at these anymore and need someone to tell me if they hate it or like it. Send me a pm w/ your email addy if youā€™d like to take pity on me. </p>

<p>@KaMaMom, Iā€™d like to suggest to you thatā€¦ no you donā€™t need any help. Find one that looks the most like your kid to you and run with it. I assume since you are posting in the 2019 Journey Begins thread that your daughter is applying now and is a senior in HS and not a college senior about to launch her career. My daughterā€™s headshots senior year in HS were all shot by me (and noā€¦ Iā€™m not a photographer). I think she was either standing in front of a noxious weed in our front yard (though very green) or kneeling in our living room with a blue Velour blanket draped over the back of a chair behind her. The many holes that were in that blanket were strategically behind her head. I think that blanket is now with my son at his school in Boston so from now on, I guess I better pony up the $500 for pro shots. Kumbuyah. </p>

<p>That was the fall of 2011 and the apps went in the winter of 2012. Have things changed that much in 3 years? If they have, pardon me and ignore me. But also if they haveā€¦ run for the hills. If this has truly become a game of worrying so much about professional headshots to apply or you wonā€™t get in, I hate the major. I really do. I think I spent $28 to have my home shots printed at Costco. If my kid could not get in with those thank you for the advance warning. She did though. </p>

<p>@halfokum ā€¦ I actually agree w/ you. She modeled as a kid (got steady work too!) and her comp card was professionally shot be me! :)</p>

<p>I had just looked at this specific shot too much and I was second guessing myself. </p>

<p>Thanks to the CC member (who shall remain nameless unless she wants to be!) who gave me great feedback last night and basically confirmed what I thought. </p>

<p>On the subject of headshotsā€¦ saw this today. 8x10 prints at York Photo are 50% off with low shipping costs. Use promo code LARGEPRINT. They work out to be $1.50 ea. In the grand spending amounts weā€™re all facing, not a huge savings, buy, heyā€¦ a dollar is a dollar. :)</p>

<p>We paid a photographer to take the shots (very reasonable hourly rate) and he gave us the unedited digital files same day as the shoot. S did his own editing/cropping/adding name in iPhoto - not much got changed. We printed them at home on our not-so-great inkjet printer, with photo paper from Staples (inkjet paper in B&W laser printer does NOT work, but S thought heā€™d give it a try). Print quality/color was ā€œadequateā€. I thought we should print the resume on the back, but S insisted on stapling them the ā€œold schoolā€ way. He ā€œgot inā€, so I guess the photos were not a hindrance. They also doubled as senior pics for yearbook, etc. Two weeks ago, he requested the headshot file be forwarded to him at college, so I guess itā€™s still ā€œadequateā€.</p>

<p>At Sams Club you can print color 8x10 photos for around $1 each. They do a great job too.</p>

<p>You can order printed headshots from the actors photo lab dot com. Very good quality. $55 for 50. $80 for 100. 25 cents additional per photo for your rƩsumƩ which you can either put on back of photo or on a separate 8 x 10 sheet. Note to do-it -your -sellers; headshots and resumes should be 8 x 10. Standard paper is 8 1/2 x 11 so you may need to crop if printing resumes at home. Above referenced site sells 8x10 resume paper too - $9.99 for 100 sheets. There is same day service, no rush charges. Shipping is a flat $8 or free if your order is $100 or more. You get to see a proof and approve before anything is printed. Just email them your photo. Even though we are in the Southeast and they are in CA, it still was a quick and cost effective solution for us to get professional quality printed headshots and resumes. </p>

<p>I did it myself and printed 8.5 x 11 with no problems. Certainly in the professional world, I wouldnā€™t have done that, but tiā€™s fine for college auditions.</p>

<p>Printing them out yourself is fine. But if you are applying to 15-20 schools and they each want 2-3 copies of your headshot, it can actually be a cost and time savings to order them from somewhere like the actors photo lab or other similar places. It also saves you stress about things printing out crooked, ink colors, and all the other little things that can go wrong when you are printing :)<br>
I will say for the resume, I preferred our D have that on her own computer because during senior year things continued to change as she was cast in some shows, received some honors, etcā€¦ Having it on her own computer she could easily update it as needed before an audition. If we had had the resume printed on the back of her photo, that would not have been possible.</p>

<p>I agree with @vvnstar ! Headshots can be used longer than resumes as our kids continue to get cast in shows and receive honors senior year so printing resumes on the back may not be the best idea. Also, some schools like the headshots separate from the resume (Otterbein?) so they can see them side-by-side? I will concede that trimming down the resume paper to 8x10 is rather a pain, but a mindless chore to be relegated for the next time I find myself waiting for her get out of some rehearsal, audition, or other such common occurrence!</p>