Last year it seemed that most of the auditions were going on in hotels near the Weston on the Century Blvd. corridor next to LAX. My daughter did the majority of her auditions at the Weston, but CMU was at the Crowne Plaza and Manhattan School of Music was at the Hilton. Many other drama auditions were going on at the Sheraton. All of these hotels are in the immediate area of the Weston. As long as the audition is in one of the hotels in this zone there is absolutely no reason to allow a 2 hour window. Even with the traffic on Century Blvd. it generally only takes at most 15-20 minutes to traverse Century by the airport in either direction. Many of the hotels are withing walking distance from each other, although we chose to Uber - D didn’t want to be all sweaty and winded walking into her audition and of course nobody walks in LA! The only time you would need to be concerned about extra time and traffic is if you were heading to a hotel outside of this area that required freeway transit. But it really seemed to me that the bulk of the auditions were all going on in hotels right by LAX.
Yes, as @sopranomtmom says, almost all the LA auditions are in that 1 mile corridor along Century Blvd from the Westin to the Hyatt. My comment about leaving a 2 hour cushion was specifically directed to the question about the NYU audition posed by @Twoboysandadog.
Even for the auditions other than NYU, though, I would focus on exactly which hotel they are in. For those who haven’t been there before, note that it is a mile from the Westin at one end of the hotel strip to the Hyatt at the other end, and it is not a pleasant walk (although it certainly won’t be snowing - LOL).
@FourStars this is the Musical Theater board but you can get lots of info here too.
I wanted to encourage everyone to take a good look at University of Arizona’s BFA MT program. My D ended up there after initially accepting a place in a so called “top tier” program in New York. We knew nothing about their program until Los Angeles Unifieds. My D only applied to 6 programs. Arizona was her 7th - and her only walk in. After meeting Danny Gurwin and Hank Stratton - the new department heads - my daughter was impressed. After visiting the campus and learning about the specifics of the program, we knew this was the right place for her. And now as a member of their class of 2021, my daughter is challenged, engaged, and absolutely LOVES this program. As parents, we have been so impressed by what we have seen in terms of faculty, student engagement, theater, talent, etc. This seems like a very current program - one that truly meets the needs of these young talented students as they cultivate their individual talents. Again, Gurwin and Stratton along with the rest of the faculty is making this a program to watch!
@JaneDo I was really impressed with University of Arizona. I pressured my daughter to do a walkin in LA because living in CA I was eager for her to consider a program closer to home. She ended up getting waitlisted but took herself off the list when she got accepted to one of her top choices. But she was definitely considering it a strong option had things worked out differently. It seems like a really great program and I think it still is under represented here because it used to be a cut program which gave it a bit of a bad rap. My daughter loves the school she chose but she is awfully far away. There are definitely days I wish I could just hop on a short flight to Tucson! So glad your daughter is thriving there!
Thank you for your kind words. It’s so nice to hear that your daughter found the right program, and is happy there… There are so many good programs to consider. I really wanted up and coming students to know about Arizona. It is such a fantastic option, especially for those who want something in the west.
Whoops - I was directing that specifically to @sopranomtmom. But good general advise not to overlook U of Arizona.
I’m glad to hear that Arizona has changed their policies and program. It had a terrible rep for many years because of their egregious cut system.
On another note but I don’t think it warrants a new thread. We did a first audition and my daughter loved the school so much ( Elon- is it OK to name or better form not to here?). I mean loved. Sat in on a class. It felt so right to her. The other kids there looked lovely and gorgeous and just as deserving. I am a single parent. Leaving and flying home I felt so confused as to what to say. “I’m so proud of you” I am- but she hates compliments from me. “I loved it too but lets look toward the next audition and hope- but be prepared- remember the odds?”. How to keep them hopeful but keep the appropriate amount of skepticism?! I feel teary this am just because…well…these are teenagers. The emotional journey for them. It is so much!! If they aren’t at a performing arts school ( mine’s not) this process does not compute- with peers, teachers, anyone really. We are staying strong but …just …wow : (
I feel you, @laylamom . Staying strong (or at least trying to) is one of the only things we have control over in this process. You will not encounter a shortage of lovely and talented kids at these auditions-that’s for sure! I have no idea how these schools choose just 16, or 20 or 24, or whatever. Wishing you and your D a great audition season!
@laylamom Letting them be hopeful but tempering their expectations is extremely difficult. My son has not done any auditions yet, but he did a master audition class at a top tier school last month with the director of the program. He got great feedback (told one monologue was “perfect” and was given no notes at all on that monologue) and was invited the next day to sit in on an acting class. He was so excited about how well it went and we started think too that maybe it was a possibility. Two weeks later – didn’t even pass the prescreen. This is an extremely difficult process. I think we need to remind these kids that they need to wait until they get a decision and don’t assume positive feedback in the audition room means admission.
Thank you @owensfolks and @Twoboysandadog. Sending love, balance and strength to all of our kids and to US! This is going to be a looooooooong year!
I hear you, @laylamom! My d definitely has a “dream school” that she has her heart set on, but is super-competitive to get in. One thing I’ve done is casually talked up the other schools on her list, all of which are on the list for good reasons - they all have something special and appealing to offer. But not in a “lecturing” way like “don’t get your heart set on one school because it’s so competitive!” More like “You know, I was reading about X school, and one really cool thing I found out is…” So by doing that, she’s gotten more interested and enthusiastic about the other schools on her list (though she’s still hoping for the dream school!)
That is great advice @actorparent1 . I do this as well and will continue. There really are so many great programs now!
The truth is though. My daughter see’s through me. Even though I am sincere …my attempts to say “look over here” are met with the proverbial eye roll. I am clearly , also …a terrible actor.
I think what a lot of people shared last year is that it is the auditors jobs to make kids feel comfortable in the audition room. They want kids to feel happy and confident because then they can relax and give a good performance. Therefore audition panels are friendly and welcoming and complimentary - it’s not disingenuous - but it’s also important to appreciate the compliment and move on and just let it fuel you to have a good audition season.
I also want to let people know - yes it’s really competitive - but somebody is going to end up at those schools - why can’t it be you? Concentrate on your skills - playing an instrument is helpful, taking music theory if it’s offered, extra dance on the side if you have the time. Crafting a good resume to show your skills and so that they have something to talk to you about in the room. My daughter did not go to a performing arts high school. We live in rural area with limited community theater opportunities. We did send her away to do an amazing program each summer to build her skills (and get her out of our small town). It paid off and she is so happy in her program, I don’t think she will come back to the country!
Hi all can someone chime in on dance heavy schools? I am continuing to worry that we don’t have enough schools and looking for ones to add. My daughter is not a dancer but moves well. She even did fine on tap numbers in a recent show including mostly professionals. I guess I’m just not wanting to add a school that expects you to be a dancer upon arrival. Does that make sense?
Also, keep in mind that when students visit a school for auditions or meet program directors in master classes, many of them are seeing for the first time what it’s going to be like being in a setting where they are going to have the chance to do this thing that they love so much everyday, with other people who love it as much as they do. It is intoxicating. And it’s easy to fall in love with a lot of programs that way.
@laylamom This is such a process! All these kids have one or two dream schools and every year a few see that dream school admission happen. So it can and does happen. But the reality is most of these kids at the end of the process will be very lucky if they get a few acceptances from which to choose and those might not be from the schools they’d originally been wildly excited about. There will be rejection, there will be tears and there will be days you just want to curse the universe for being cruel to your child. However, if you make sure that you have a good balanced list of schools that she would go to if accepted and learn to embrace that idea, ultimately one of them will become her dream in the final analysis. Once upon a time CMU and Boston Conservatory were my daughter’s ultimate dream schools - but if you asked her today she would say without hesitation Hartt is her dream come true and she couldn’t imagine a better place. She found her perfect fit - but only by going through that long and often painful audition process with all its twists and turns, highs and lows. Just keep reminding yourself and your daughter that you are still just at the beginning with so much more to do, learn and experience so it’s important to keep that heart and mind open to every opportunity.
@anotherBwaymom, not all “dancy heavy” schools require or expect students to be a dancer on arrival. My D is at Point Park, and while she’s a decent dancer, there’s a wide variety of dance levels in her class.
@sopranomtmom Amen. My daughter did not get her dream school. Of course there was disappointment. But there were acceptances from several other schools on her list so much work to be done finding more information on which to make a decision. That left less time to pine over why and “what if”.
Over the Summer, she plunged into a community theatre production in which she was cast. I’m sure she had many thoughts on her new school, but with friendly, encouraging castmates, and much work to be done preparing for the move, again, there was less time to over analyze the situation and negative thoughts to creep in.
Once my daughter got to her new school, well, it was as if she was a returning student rather than a new student. Her (and my) worries were immediately dispelled. She was immediately embraced by, and embraced her collegemates; Freshmen and upperclassmen alike. She is very busy with classes, and extracurricular activities, but obviously enjoying it.
So if you don’t get a “top tier” school, give yourself a moment to be disappointed. Then move on. There IS life beyond dream schools. Reality can be better.