<p>2 years ago when my daughter was auditioning and there weren’t as many prescreens (she only had one, which she thankfully passed), some of us assumed that prescreens were to weed out the delusional Glee fans and pathetic American Idol wannabes from the kids who actually had some talent. Wrong wrong wrong. Super talented kids frequently don’t pass pre-screens!! - For whatever reason which, yes, can very well be that you are not the “type” they need that year. Also, keep in mind that the prescreens can be re-used by the auditioners later on, after the live audition, to help the school choose between candidates. I wish we had taken ours more seriously.</p>
<p>@Calliene that is another “fault” of prescreens imho. If they are used later I think so many of the kids have grown from late summer/fall when they did their prescreens until most of their auditions in Jan-Mar. I know my D was very different from the early stages of auditioning to the time when the bulk of hers were in February. If they looked back at the prescreens I know that would not have helped her </p>
<p>I remember hearing at the Pace audition info session that they would review the pre-screens as part of the decision process.</p>
<p>@entertainersmom we heard the same thing at my S Pace audition last year. It must be quite a handy tool; very difficult to keep 100s of auditions straight! </p>
<p>My D just got news that she passed her first pre-screen. It was very exciting but there are still 4 more out there. It was from Otterbein, so seems to be tracking with what @MTMajorCook said the timeline was last year. Guess we all need to get used to this wait and see thing! I don’t know about the rest of you, but no matter how organized I think I am, I am still having trouble keeping everything straight! My D is applying to 13 schools, I can’t imagine juggling more than that…I know many of you out there are!</p>
<p>That is awesome MTRaleighmom!! How long from the time she submitted until she was notified? Ugh! The wait!!!</p>
<p>@MTRaleighmom Congrats! Is she doing on campus? Let me know my son is going to be involved, schedule permitting. </p>
<p>Yes @MTMajorCook I sent you a message. @tmygirl we submitted the audition on accetd on the 29th of September. Hope that helps. This waiting stuff is grueling. </p>
<p>Ugghhh. not to be a Debbie Downer… but is anyone else worried about the worst case scenario? If your kid doesn’t get into a program he/she wants… or even worse into no program at all? My kid has been in MT since she was 8 years old. She has tons of experience, both regional and professional credits… MT is the only life path she has ever considered. Of course, I wholly believe in her talent, but the truth of the matter is - THIS IS SO COMPETITIVE!! AND THE ADMISSION NUMBERS ARE SO LOW!!! We all want our kids dreams to come true, but what if they don’t? It will be easy to celebrate if the dreams come to fruition … but what words of wisdom/inspiration/encouragement will we as parent share if things don’t turn out the way we hope? And what words should we use now to both encourage our kids in their dream but to also bumper the fall if things don’t work out? … I guess this falls under the “venting” heading… ;)</p>
<p>My daughter was the worse case scenario (she got into her original top choice school after she came off the waiting list) but was rejected from EVERY school she applied. 13 of them…My mantra…love your safety…and my daughter decided to go to the safety even after her admit to the #1 choice. She couldn’t be happier. She was cast as the lead (the only freshman) in the fall production and couldn’t ask for better training. So don’t be surprised if it happens because we are living proof it does. It has little to do with talent (although it will shake your resolve). It’s about numbers, and for girls it’s especially difficult.</p>
<p>@hanaliy … Yes, we’ve talked about the worst case scenario. (And for D - there isn’t even a “favorite” school. She’s been really level headed and can’t/won’t choose a favorite until it all shakes out.) </p>
<p>The truth of the matter is, a BFA is NOT the end all be all. She has several academic acceptances under her belt at this point so she IS going to college … somewhere! </p>
<p>If she doesn’t get in, she’ll go SOMEWHERE (my bet would either be IU or Ball State) and still pursue training - and re-audition the following year.</p>
<p>My heart will definitely be broken for her … but these are the things that make you stronger & builds character! (And makes for great stories when you’re far enough away to look in life’s rear view mirror!)</p>
<p>Of course, @hanaliy… we know our kids are talented in our town/school/community… but are they talented enough for a competitive BFA program with talent from all over the nation? That is the scary question. We’ll know when we know, I guess. I’ll tell you this… I am in a perpetual state of stress. </p>
<p>@hanaliy - yup, we worry about this a lot.</p>
<p>We have tried to mitigate this as much as possible through auditioning for what we think is a well-balanced list of schools. We also have a non-audition safety, but, honestly, D will feel defeated if she ends up there. She knows the odds are long no matter how good you are, there are some great non-audition/audition-later BA/BFA programs out there, etc., etc., but I don’t think any amount of rationalization will staunch the pain. It will just be something she will have to deal with if it happens. She had some great callbacks at the International Thespian Festival, and I am worried that she will be especially crushed if at least one of them doesn’t give her an acceptance.</p>
<p>We are very surprised at the lack of balance in some lists that we have seen from other students. Having a list consisting of nothing but tippy-top schools is probably not a good plan for many/most students.</p>
<p>Employment rates for performers make the admissions statistics look like wide open doors. Manage your child’s expectations. Explore what “success” means to him/her. Does s/he have a realistic view of how little opportunity there is and how poorly s/he would be compensated for most of it? </p>
<p>This profession is not a dream. It’s a business and aspiring musical theater performers need to look long and hard at the fact that a tiny handful of people make a decent living (by NY standards) on Broadway. The vast majority of union members never see a single day of work. Non-union work is dangerous and pays only exploitative rates with no possibility of earning health insurance and a pension.</p>
<p>At minimum, discuss other income-generating activities s/he can prepare for in college that might provide economic stability in the quite probable possibility of frequent extended periods of unemployment. Better to be a bit brutal now than for him/her to graduate expecting to find a dream. Showbiz is reality and about as cold and hard as a business can get. </p>
<p>(emoticon to soften the message)</p>
<p>@vocal1046 - I wrote what became a fairly well-traveled thread a while back on employment in the industry, you might be interested in it:</p>
<p><a href=“More Freakonomics: Life Upon the Wicked Stage - Musical Theater Major - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1418008-more-freakonomics-life-upon-the-wicked-stage-p1.html</a></p>
<p>D has been fortunate enough to work with and be taught by many professional actors who worked in New York but left for various reasons. They have been a great resource for her to understand the industry and the difficulties faced by those who want to make a living on stage. She just wants to get the best training possible and then see where that leads. She knows that path is very difficult to predict, but if you don’t get on the road, then you will never know. </p>
<p>@MTRaleighmom – I know it is just crazy keeping track. Lists, lists, lists. Based upon what I read on CC, we won’t know about two of D’s prescreens until December!!! Crazy. I am glad we arranged a couple of fall auditions – Elon and Penn State. They are booked and she has something concrete to prepare for. That and the school musical are keeping us somewhat sane. (At least I can say that since her recommenders are FINALLY following through after having the information for over a month). Also, academic acceptance to Indiana today! That may the Diva’s day!</p>
<p>
@vocal1046 - So well said and, in my opinion, such an important reality for both kids and parents to get their minds firmly around before getting swept up by the excitement of BFA audition-season competition and selecting schools. Our D has been incredibly fortunate in the opportunities she’s gotten to-date, but I don’t think she forgets for a moment her many friends who got in to top BFAs and Conservatories but graduated to little or no paying work. As with many careers these days, being versatile, flexible and realistic is a huge plus and that might shape school choices for some. </p>
<p>@EmsDad Yes, I see your thread and raise you Equity’s own recent statistics. I posted </p>
<p>"A little reality check here from AEA’s reporting: Of Equity’s 43,000 members, only about 17,000 achieve any (even a single day) of employment in a calendar year. Of those with reported (Broadway)
earnings a couple of years ago, about 40% earned less than $5000, another 30% between $5000 and $15,000. 79% of the working members had annual earnings of $25,000 or less under Equity’s jurisdiction. About 11% of those with reported earnings fell into the $25,000 to $50,000 range. Approximately another 10% earned between $50,000 and $200,000. The remaining group – 70 members – earned over $200,000 during the season. That’s 70 out of 43,000 and that 70 includes all the TV and film names who spend hiatus in the theater, so the number reaching middle class (for NYC) earnings, is minuscule.</p>
<p>The vast majority of actors do not work - about 95% of SAG-AFTRA’s 165,000 members earn nothing under the union’s contracts. The remaining fraction, for the most part, do not earn enough to qualify for union health insurance or pension benefits. It is very important to build these facts into our sons’ and daughters’ understanding of the marketplace they’re hoping to enter. Better to drop the idea that the goal is to be a ‘star’. A fulfilling career as an actor is about creating strong work, making art, building community, and if you are very lucky, earning enough to send your own children to college some day."</p>
<p>On the other side of the coin, if employment actually arises, please discourage your children from working non-union. They will have no workplace safety rules, no minimum wages, no overtime, no mandated breaks or rest periods, no bond posted for liability, no pension and health, no recourse if they are not paid, and so on. It’s simply not worth the risk. If your kid can compete in the professional world then encourage him/her to assess the value of their labor and refuse to undersell themselves. Selling your services cheaply does not increase your value. On the contrary, it sets you up for more of the same.</p>
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<p>If only you knew how fast this will not even factor into your thinking. Blink. </p>
<p>Bisouu’s story is a good one. Her daughter will have (and is having) the last laugh. </p>
<p>And “talented enough for a competitive BFA program” is such an interesting question. Many kids who are talented enough for a competitive BFA program will not get in. It’s a math problem. There are so, so many things that factor into the equation. I firmly believe many of these top schools could accept any number of students who would have a successful BFA experience. However, as many have pointed out, a number of the so-called top tier programs fill very specific needs (e.g., they won’t likely stack the program with 4 freshman blonde beltresses). They look to fill holes and, in many cases, for the unique (think Josh Gad). I also realize the employment prospects issue has caused many a MT parent to lose sleep! I had many, many heart to heart talks with my S about employability, looking into a minor, etc. He seems to understand the odds but there is nothing else (at this time) he can see himself doing. He knows he’ll probably be working numerous jobs to pay bills as he pursues the business of acting. I’m thankful for the hard-working actors that bring art and music into our lives :-)</p>