@momof3nerdz I have 3 - a S (MT), D (Acting) and D2 (senior now - plans to audition both). Frankly, the girls are not “competing” against the boys. Rare is the role that could swing to a boy or a girl (ensemble - some; Leading Player - maybe). My kids’ biggest problem was following a sibling into the major and being compared. D1 is an Acting major - sings well but not an MT - so she doesn’t feel the same pressure as D2. My questions always revolved around being sure this is what they really want to do - not something they feel pressure to do because their siblings participate. D2 is (so far) refusing to audition at S or D1’s schools. She definitely wants to blaze her own trails. I believe, so long as your children are both passionate about what they are doing, the fact they are both interested in the pursuing the arts should not put them in conflict. In fact, it should give them a common ground!
@MTTwinsinCA2 can offer some insight if she’s checking; she has twins in MT!
@momof3nerdz totally off subject from your above inquiry as I only have one D but she is attending SEMO in MT in the fall. Wondered how your son’s experience is going?
S is enrolled in TH800 and is living on the River Campus. Making friends with upperclassmen and working lighting and tech for the summer series…So far, so good from what we have heard.
@sopranomtmom@theatremom16 Thanks for posting and sharing because my daughter who has a beautiful voice is now definitely pursuing straight acting. I’m hoping and praying she ends up somewhere that still allows for some MT training and performing, so I welcome any thoughts or observations on that. If you’d rather message me, anything would be wonderful. Have a great day!
@FourStars Congrats on beginning this journey with your daughter! It is a very exciting time - stressful for sure, but definitely memorable. When we started this process my daughter was very conflicted - she had always wanted to do MT, but after doing a serious acting class and two straight professional plays here last year her focus really shifted to acting. So when we compiled her list we chose a few straight acting programs with the rest of her list made up of programs with strong MT and Acting components. For those schools with both MT and Acting BFAs, in most instances, she auditioned for both programs and she ended up getting accepted to 4 MT and 5 Acting BFAs which was amazing because it really gave her a very good choice and allowed her to feel like she had options. In every instance, the Acting BFAs were at schools with strong MT programs that allowed Acting majors to take dance and voice as well as audition for both plays and musicals. She strongly considered choosing that option - but in the final analysis she opted for the MT BFA at the Hartt School because she felt it checked all of her Acting and MT boxes the best. It is a serious acting conservatory - in fact they make it clear that even on the MT side of the coin, their goal is to produce actors first - actors that sing and dance very, very well. That really spoke to her. But barring that option, I know she would have gone with one of the wonderful BFA Acting programs to which she was accepted.
My best piece of advice to your daughter is to keep all of her options open when finalizing a list - audition for both Acting and MT in some instances in addition to the straight acting programs. Also, really find good monologue material that shows her range and one or two strong classical pieces. My daughter’s acting coach really did a stellar job with the monologues she helped her choose. She got such positive feedback, especially on her Shakespeare piece.
Best of luck as you start this process - if I can ever be of help let me know. I’m so grateful for all of the help I received here that I just want to pass it on!
@FourStars I was in the same position as you four years ago. My daughter who had done MT all of her life and was a trained soprano also decided that she did not want to go the MT route in college and only wanted straight acting programs.I understood her feeling that many MT programs spent most of their focus on the singing and dancing rather than on the acting part and that was where she wanted to focus. I am sure that is not the case with all MT programs, that was just her opinion based on discussions with many MT majors. She did choose schools that allowed acting students to audition and participate in MT productions and many straight acting students did just that. She also continued to take voice and dance lessons on the side. She graduated in May with a BFA in Acting and is very happy with the road she took. She considers herself an actress who can sing! Best of luck to your daughter, whatever path she chooses! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
@FourStars , also something to consider, an actor that can sing is a valuable addition to any BFA Acting program. It was something that set her apart. There are soooooo many girls that are auditioning for MT!! When she made her list of schools, she was going to audition for both at most schools, but she really wanted to go the Acting route at Otterbein. She is excited about the classes she gets to take and the fact that she still gets to dance every day! Best of both worlds!
Well this is weird…my D just got an email from UNCSA saying that her health forms are overdue and to submit them to avoid a hold on her account and problems with registration…um…she was waitlisted and never came off! :-?
I shot an email right back and said that my daughter was on the waitlist and I can’t imagine why I would be getting this email… her response was “my apologies”. Pretty disorganized though if you ask me! Of course it got me thinking that she got off the waitlist and no one ever bothered to tell us!
@marg928 - that is what I would have thought! But I am positive the drama dept would have been organized enough to make sure you knew. My D does say the admin part of the school in general (for the university - not the drama dept) is not super organized. Sorry that happened. Not cool.
Wow, @marg928 that is very strange indeed. I would have the same reaction - did she get in and they never communicated? Or - quite disorganized. We Stage Moms and students already on an emotional roller coaster.
Those of you who weighed in about MT versus straight acting, and you know who you are, thank you! It felt weird at first, but now I really believe she knew what was best before her mama! I guess that is how we hope things go, as we start to pass the reins to them after being Stage Moms (yes, I will accept that title, it was full of joy for me). She is at RADA right now in London, in a 5 week Shakespeare course, and she absolutely in her glory. Everything so far has confirmed her decision. She will never stop singing and she is lucky she does some vocal performance on the side in a way that may continue in college, if she is in the NYC area.
@jbtcat Thank you for sharing your experience! Did your D. target acting programs that had a little MT? Do you mind if I ask where she ended up? I know, so far, my D. prefers the acting programs where there is NOT an MT program sitting alongside the acting program. Does that make sense? So, what is next for your D.?
Hello again! My latest project is getting a handle on Pre-Screens. How do you figure out which schools require a prescreen? I know the answer is basically go to each school’s website, but oh man, it is not even front and center! I am pretty sure NYU does NOT require one. Boy, I hope not, because I can’t find it on the acting page!
NYU has not required a prescreen in past years. BUT - I would still check every school, I didn’t know CMU had added it until I read it here, they did not require one when my D auditioned
@marg928 Similar stuff happened with two schools for my D. Emails and a phone call from current student welcoming her and asking if she had any questions. Weird. But she’s fully committed to her college and has no interest in any of the others, so it wasn’t one of those adrenaline-filled “is this the call?” moments.
So we have explained time and time again to my D’s agents that she is looking forward to settling into college life and that she doesn’t want to go on any auditions for parts that would cause her to leave school the first semester. No matter how many times she tells them they keep sending her auditions. She has had about 20 self-tapes since the beginning of June and almost all of them film somewhere other than LA during her first semester. This week alone she had three due…one of them she didn’t even see the email for until after it was due. So then she apologizes and tells them she missed it but couldn’t have handled it anyway with the other audition they gave her that was due same day and packing for college and then an hour later they send her another one! It’s really the L.A. people who don’t listen, her NY agents are great. They promised at least a month ago to only send her opportunites that are life changing but they clearly continue to send her on everthing. It’s getting extremely annoying and very stressful for her. She had one due today at noon and she was nearly in tears trying to get it in on time…I think I hit the button at 12:01! This is just nuts…Of course I’m so grateful she has agents that believe in her but I just paid a huge tuition bill and she’s so excited to start and I don’t want anything disrupting that. Anyway…just venting!
Sorry that happened. Not cool.