Class of 2022 (the journey); sharing, venting, discussing

From our experience some prescreen school do have walk-ins. But they can quickly fill up! So I would never plan on avoiding the prescreen and then hope to get a walk-in. You could just end up getting shut out. I guess it depends how high it is on your list! On the other topic - one should never do a walk-in at a school where you have not passed the pre-screen. At least that is what we were told by coaches and faculty at various schools. They have your name in a data base and can quickly look you up. So it is frowned upon and considered a waste of their time. But maybe someone here has done it?! and actually gotten accepted to a program after doing it? - if so I would be interested to know.

And bring your checkbook, I assume, for walk-ins?

A few schools where my daughter did walk-ins last year did charge a fee, so do bring your checkbook just in case. Many of them did not - however, after the audition if your child decides to follow up and apply there will generally be the standard application fee.

duxellen, Strawhats are non-equity auditions. Equity theaters do not attend. Also, you do not need to be equity or have equity points to audition for equity shows. All you have to do is get up early and wait on long lines to get seen. But seriously, your child should do a number of non-equity shows/tours before auditioning for equity shows anyway. There are many more non-union jobs and getting experience before joining the union is super important. You will be competing against seasoned performers once you join the union and can no longer do non-union work.

@BeBop1 is quite right. Don’t be in such a rush to get that Equity card; the competition is fierce enough without having to audition alongside Broadway royalty. For most, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

@Notmath1 - Regarding Moonifieds: I was there as well representing my university. It was our first time and we were quite impressed. Not sure how much of that has to do with the coaching vs. the training opportunities in Texas, which are plentiful and excellent. We see a lot of strong performers from Texas every year, with most students coming from Dallas and Houston. We will not make offers until we have seen everyone we are going to see this year, which won’t be until after Feb. 24th. The audition situation in the room was the same as you will find on campus. The dance call was very similar. I think it is a great opportunity if you can attend.

~ VT

In regards to walk-ins: I completely agree with the post about not attending if you failed the pre-screen. We allowed it one year out of our own curiosity and in every instance, we felt the same as we did when we watched the student’s prescreen.

~VT

@VoiceTeacher - Moonifieds was a great and informative adventure for both the families and kids auditioning, alike.
Your school was quite the popular audition, along with your workshop! @Notmath1 (love the name by the way) - many of the kids were from out-of-state, and some, while coached with material selection, etc, weren’t what schools would consider “highly trained”. We appreciated the supportive atmosphere, parent and student workshops, the Q&As with colleges, and the manageable size (maybe 115 students total). Some schools were “live” prescreens and are calling back students for true auditions either on-campus or at Unifieds. Other programs were actually final auditions. Hope that helps!!

My S was a non-Texas kid at Moonifieds. He has been in a lot of productions but has no formal training. That is what he is going to college for hopefully! Given he is not from a performing arts school, we felt a coach would provide him with good material and some guidance since we started the process knowing absolutely nothing about it. I would not classify what he received as training however. And it is not billed as such. Overall it has been a good thing, and the best thing about Moonifieds is it gave him experience so that the audition still to come would not be a completely new experience.

When my D was auditioning in 2014, my big regret was that we didn’t have a coach - we had no clue that such a thing existed. It would have helped D know what to expect and would have minimized her anxiety. Although it all worked out for D in the end, it sure was a rough ride. A coach would have made it a lot easier.

My D doesn’t have a Coach, a Performing Arts HS or formal training, so we are headed into auditions blind. :-/

I’m happy to hear it worked out well for your D @EastchesterMom ! Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Sounds like there is no shortage of talent in and outside of Texas! Good luck to parents and colleges. Sounds like you guys found it to be a great experience. Hope your upcoming auditions are positive as well.

Does anyone know the best way to get around in Ann Arbor, Michigan? I am trying to make travel plans for a January audition date and plan to fly into Detroit. I saw that there are shuttles to Ann Arbor. Does Uber have a large presence there or do we need to rent a car? Was not sure about driving there in January, we are coming from the south. We chose a hotel near north campus but wondered what would be the best way to get around. We have used Uber in other locations easily. Thanks for any advice!

@Dody5678 you can get an Uber in Detroit/Ann Arbor. Does the hotel offer a shuttle? Because the hotels near north campus aren’t really easily walkable to the music building or Walgreen Drama - especially in January - especially if you aren’t used to the cold! You should also be able to get an Uber at the hotel… but a shuttle might save you some money.

Thank you @kategrizz . Still trying to figure out details & we haven’t been to Ann Arbor yet so I am not sure what is best.

@MTMOM17 - My advice is (1) cast a very wide net; include schools in various geographic areas and a few non-audition programs; (2) be open minded about the type of program you want; (3) stay positive- don’t get discouraged! In other words, do the opposite of what we did!

@Dody5678 we stayed at a group of hotels on the way into the town of an Ann Arbor. Because of the weather I would recommend renting a car if you fly. You also never know about weather. It was a beautiful day when we auditioned during the day a major snowstorm hit the east coast and flights were being cancelled left and right. It’s a really cute town. Here’s another thought. You said you’re in the south? University of Michigan is 10 hours from my location. It was an easy drive. It’s nice to have your own car.

We rented a car last year for my daughter’s UMich audition in Ann Arbor as it is a ways from the airport - about 30 minutes as I recall. There is s shuttle service called Ann Arbor Airport Shuttle you might want to check if you would rather not do the rental car route.

@DramaMan - sounds like our situations were very similar. Break legs to your kiddo in upcoming auditions!

Thank you @EastchesterMom! Good advice!