@Acoka I love that post.
Sorry @MThopeful2022 We had D checking in so frequently that the secretary in the guidance office would say “you AGAIN” when she’d walk in. It’s hard to keep this many schools straight for the kids - I figured it wouldn’t hurt to keep checking back with the guidance department!
Ha! Our HS guidance department had no idea how to advise an MT student, even though we have an excellent theatre program. They had never heard of the colleges where some of what we would consider “prominent” programs are. The attitude was, “with your grades, why are you bothering with those no-name schools?” And at the end of the day: D is the first graduate of our HS to attend Molloy College - a mere one hour away - despite its prominence in nursing and music therapy (before it launched the Theatre Arts BFA, that is)!! Sadly, MT hopefuls at our HS are definitely on their own.
Ditto to everything @EastchesterMom stated. It saddens me to hear that guidance counselors tell students that they’re better off applying to non MT programs because they won’t be able to do anything with an MT degree. I’m grateful that the teachers in performing arts department have awesome relationships with students and help them through the process. I was the guidance department’s worst nightmare… checking … double checking and triple checking to make sure transcripts were submitted and that each of the applications were complete.
So true that guidance counselors don’t always give the most accurate advice. The MT daughter of a good friend was told with her scores she’ll never get into Carnegie Mellon and to not waste her time applying there. She was a little discouraged, but having strong faith applied and auditioned. She’s a freshman MT there now.
I will chime in on the don’t get discouraged! We did get apps and prescreen in early, and scheduled 2 fall auditions hoping for that relieved feeling for Christmas… we netted a waitlist, and a school that bumped back the notification date into the new year (and then the letter got lost in the mail and they had to reissue and they wouldn’t tell us over the phone! Argh!) Long story short… despite attempting to plan ahead… she had no positive results until after unifieds… and she ended with a nice healthy number to choose from… so keep the faith! (But I do remember being envious of those with a “yes” in their pocket before the holidays!)
I am not sure of the early admits for all programs, but the director at Emerson told us in our D’s year that they accepted 8 of 25 during the EA process. They even admitted that some of them might not have been regular admits but the EA application tipped the balance. NYU said about 10 of 60 for the Broadway studio.
Does anyone auditioning for Webster off campus know what we are supposed to do about the CD they mentioned? Is it a video or an audio file??
Hello all. Apologies for what I know will be a long post… I’ve been lurking here for a little while, but I should formally introduce our situation: I am not a mother of an MT hopeful, but an aunt. My nephew and I are close, and he comes from a family that is, on the whole, unsupportive of his dream. They have permitted him to apply and audition at 5 schools (I know). He selected one “dream” school, two great, well-known schools, and two good schools that are not necessarily renowned for their MT programs to try and cover all his bases. A little about my nephew: he is academically very strong. He is a national merit semifinalist, with a 1500 on the SAT and a 34 on the ACT, and will be graduating with honors. Performance-wise, he is a very strong singer, strong actor and can move. I think the world of him and his ability, but he and I are both very concerned with the situation, given how competitive and unpredictable these auditions are. My sister and her husband have stated that a gap year is out of the question, and that they are willing to let him “try out” the MT thing, but that if he does not get into any of the schools he picked, he will have to major in something else. Accordingly, he is worried out of his mind. Only one of his programs required a prescreen, which we have not heard back from about yet. I’m just not sure how we move forward aside from grilling his rep over and over again… the stress is practically eating him alive. Any advice, knowledge or otherwise would be greatly appreciated!!
That’s so hard. I feel for the guy. But you should tell him that there are many ways to skin a cat, and that if he has to major in something else, there are summer intensives where he can hone his craft.Plenty of people end up with successful careers without going to a big time MT school. The main thing is to work on his skills – as an aunt, maybe you can help him financing singing/dancing classes? – and don’t give up. Talent and hard work rises to the top. I mean, I have to believe that, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Maybe he’ll get in anyway, even given his abbreviated list of schools, and if he doesn’t, there’s always the MFA, in which his parents have no say (and do not count as a financing source.)
@ginag01893 Bless you, for encouraging and supporting your nephew, and for helping him do the best that he can with his 5 applications/auditions. I think it was a very wise strategy: And hopefully he will get into his dream school! I hate that he is worried; that makes me sad. Like @Jkellynh17 said-he should keep his chin up, through the audition process, and beyond. No matter where he winds up-there are many paths to success/happiness. And with your nephew’s high academic stats, this only increases his options.
As many will attest a talented person can be successful in this business without a BFA. Training, drive, luck, passion are all important. Most of those things are not attained in a BFA program. Tell your nephew to hang in there and he will find his way. @ginag01893
Thanks everyone. I’ll talk to him more about other options in case nothing ends up working out… He has been studying with a voice teacher for quite a while, but no dance. He can handle choreo in shows but does not feel confident about dance calls. Perhaps a few private dance classes are worth looking into before his first live audition in January? Academically he’s golden - already been offered huge scholarships to 3 of his schools. But obviously that means nothing in the MT world! I keep telling him if it’s meant to be it will be.
@ginag01893 - there was a boy in our HS whose parents wouldn’t let him apply for any theatre major. This kid was (is) talented with a capital T. He’s heavily involved with the Theatre club at his college. My heart breaks for this boy, but if anyone can make it against the odds, it’s him. As @bisouu said, there are many roads to success. Your nephew will find his. Kudos to you for your support!
@ginag01893 your nephew is so lucky to have you in his life. As a parent of a mover son, we focused on private ballet lessons this past year and it helped him during the audition process. If your nephew has a chance to learn a little, it’s worth it. As far as colleges are concerned, my S only applied to 8. It’s been incredibly nerve wracking.
I posted this in the BW forum but I’m not sure how often that one is checked. Any idea on what kind of song may be used as a third piece for the BW Musical Theatre audition? D already has a classical and a contemporary MT piece. I am wondering if it’s acceptable to use an art song or an Italian aria as a contrasting piece? Or is something like a pop song preferred?
@collegemom2000 My daughter had one ballad, one golden age belt song and one more contemporary song. BW generally only has you actually sing 2 of the three. You pick one and they pick one from the remaining 2 choices. Scour their website… they have an older video that describes how the audition is structured… it’s extr helpful!
@kategrizz Found it! Thanks so much! Sending the link to my daughter right now.
SO D passed the Penn State prescreen (YAY) but all Chicago Unified spots are gone (BOO). She signed up for an on campus slot for January - luckily we are close enough to drive. Has anyone done the Friday on campus day? It seems they are invited to sit in on classes and meet some of the professors. I’m a little nervous to have her miss another day of school. At this rate, I’ll be answering to the truancy officer ;;). On the other hand, I wouldn’t want her to miss out on the opportunity to take a deeper look at the program. Thoughts?
@artskids, in 2015 my kid did the campus day. She attended a class in a lecture hall that overwhelmed her because she had mostly been in small class settings. I don’t really remember the rest of the day, only that it was COLD! HA! It gave her a bit of a feel of the campus though.