@AmarilloTX - thanks. Yes, she got admitted into WTAM.
@onette re: Gap Year - Thanks so much for the offer. Yes, we would love to talk to two students who have done it. I donāt think I have enough replies to PM anyone directly yet. Weāll let the rest of the admission season play out and get back to you. Personally Iām a big fan of the gap year, as long as there is a plan in place.
@StanfordAI2019 You are so helpful to everyone on this board, and your daughter sounds just fantastic!!! Iām so hopeful she lands in a place she loves!!!
@csuram1994, I feel like Iām qualified to address your question from a certain perspective. What are they looking for? Itās actually something beyond ātrainingā. At this level, everyone has trained, even if that training only consists of being in the high school musicals. Some better, some worse than others, but, if theyāre getting live auditions, largely well to a certain attainable point in high school. What adjudicators are looking for is āitā, and that is very hard to define. It goes above and beyond training. A person can train and train yet never attain what another artist can based on their god given talent. Pavarotti is a case in point. Much to the chagrin of his fellow performers who studied and studied, he couldnāt read music and learned everything by ear. Plus Iām not sure if he ever formally studied. He was born natural, spawn of a singer.
As for Elon and itās level of āgoodnessā, I can assure you as a parent of a freshman boy there, it is absolutely fantastic. Over and over again the program is placing leads on Broadway these days, and Iām hearing and seeing the highest levels of excellence.
Itās actually impossible to judge someoneās suitability based on how many years of training are professed. My own son only had a year of formal voice training, but his opera singer mom (me) has been supplementing And teaching his already amazing singer instincts his whole life. So, the informal training has been tremendous and exceeds the formal, though he technically had ā1 yearā (and that was just to have another external ear I trusted). Another boy in the program, a junior, received very little training but, trust me, is naturally phenomenal. Sometimes you can train and train, but the natural talent will trump everything. Thatās the unfair part, and one of the things that ultimately differentiates an artist from a technician.
Itās pretty easy to adjudicate voice. I know within one phrase whether they have āitā (the magic) or not. And, sometimes one can see that theyāre just not ready because technical awareness is blocking the flow of the magic, or some other reason. Sometimes they just have an off day. At any rate, this is what differentiates art from everything else. Itās a crazy constellation of genetics vs learned patterns, and some people just have āitā as unfair as that may be.
I wish everyone the absolute best, and if anyone wants to toss some Elon questions my way, Iām happy to answer or field them to my son!
@valkyrie360 Yep. I get it. Well said.
@csur1994, at the same time I get the frustration. Itās human nature to want the formula. I hope your daughter lands somewhere amazing and right for her! If thereās any way I can help you if Elon is in your hopper, let me know. They typically announce on 3/15, so coming soon!
My 2 cents on relationship building is that it is wasted time. Judges will accept or defer based on what happens in that audition room only. In fact they flesh out every facet of the audition with numbers/rankIngs. I know several people who had relationships with professors at top schools who even sat in on their auditions. Didnāt make a whit of difference; they didnāt get in. Not because they werenāt good but because they didnāt score as high or werenāt what the judges were looking for. Itās a business and the child is the commodity they are considering developing. Everyoneās time is so valuable due to the sheer volume spent on this process. Judges arenāt going to remember a thank you note. Theyāre busier than we are, and in fact, may resent having to respond to communications.
The one thing you can do, you underclass parents, is have your child enter local competitions that lead to the Jimmies. Find out what those are. Everyone seems to be impressed by that. Oh, also send them to summer programs/intensives where you can get opinions beyond your high school community. My son went to CMU and loved it. He learned so much about himself and his capabilities there through their honest feedback. It really was instrumental to a successful audition season last year, since the focus is on auditioning rather than percormances. There are many others too!
@csuram1994 - a member of the class of 2022 is at Sam Houston and very happy with their program! Crossing fingers and toes for your D!!!
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Congrats to all who got good news the past few days. Got noās from Ball State Acting (and D never even applied, just walked in at Unifieds), Roosevelt, and TCU. All told that makes 2 BFA MT yesses, 1 BFA Acting redirect, and a crap ? ton of noās. Grateful for our yesses but this whole process is absolutely brutal. Still waiting on 7 more schools. Itās going to be a long month (or maybe longer).
Anyone on the WL at Indiana for MT? They said the WL moves at the visit. Any suggestions on how to find out where you are in the WL?
@user_752736 , I think Point Park said all decisions released on 3/11.
Sorry for all the TCU noās yesterday. We were also one of them and it was my Dās top choice. So, this one really stung. We have all noās and one WL. Still waiting on U of AZ. We have 9 programs to still hear from. So, keeping our spirits up and trying to be excited for the remaining ones ? Also, a lot of talk about that Gap year!! ?
@StanfordAI2019 What can you (or anyone else) share about Websterās BFA MT coursework being separate and apart of the BFA Acting coursework offered there? Do MT majors get similar opportunities to study acting as Acting majors? I would imagine that MT majors would take fewer acting classes but would still have a comparable selection of classes to study acting?) ā¦ I ask this but realize I may be misinterpreting the point you are making above.
@valkyrie360 Thank you for your perspective. I think itās important to read and digest the insights from those who have a lifetime of experience in the arts. Although itās just one opinion, it seems quite informed, so again, thank you!
I tend to agree with you on basically all your points and liken it to athletics (something Iām far more familiar with in terms of experience). After playing, watching, commenting on and coaching Iāve reached the conclusion that some kids just have āitā. You can see it a mile away. They move differently (literally, their gate is different, more fluid). Weāre all born with a certain amount of hand eye coordination, balance, strength, etc. You can take two kids, one with that natural ability and one who is good but doesnāt quite have it, and regardless of training, itās almost impossible to close the gap. Can there be technical gains acquired through practice, training, etc? 1000% You bet! But, the kid with a lightning bolt in his arm will just have more pop off the mound than the kid who learns to get all the results from his lesser ability. I call the lesser skilled athlete who really wants it the āgrinderā. I think Iām qualified to say that because I am one and, of course, have been my whole life. Good, and with lots of practice better, but never near the level of those that have āitā.
Iām about to head out and play a round of golf with an old buddy. Weāre both grinders and will grind our way around the course and shoot either side of 85 (on a typical round). For you non golfers, thatās a pretty good score and better than 90% who will ever play. But when I get around a āGood Playerā, itās so obvious how much better they truly are. The fluid swing, the sound of their contact, the consistency, the touch around the greens. Itās really a pleasure to watch. Iāll never be that player. Iāve tried. Iāve practiced. Iāve had moments when I was āin the zoneā. But I canāt live in that zone. God / DNA / whatever determined that 55 yrs ago.
Back to the arts and theater specifically. Weāve all seen that kid who just lights up a stage. They have that certain star quality. The magic. Yes they require training but their potential is so big. I think thatās what the adjudicators are looking for. A coachable potential star. Now is that different for leads vs. character actors? I have no idea but I trust that they do.
Off to the range and see what the golf gods have in store for me today. Iām sure Iāll be grinding it out.
Is there anyone else who did not hear from TCU yesterday?
@Twelfthman Websterās MT and Acting programs are highly integrated. From freshman year on they are mixed into two smaller groups spending every afternoon together immersed in conservatory classes. My D is an MT, but when she talks about her friends and what they do in class I canāt keep straight who is what major. Her mornings are filled with dance, voice, theory, song study, etc. Actors take directing and have more wiggle room with electives. Many, if not most, actors take dance and voice. All take acting, movement, and a whole list of things I canāt remember together. They share crew together. They audition for all the same shows together. There is some movement between the majors. Iāve heard of MTs switching to Acting. It would be nearly impossible to double major as an MT but a few do that in Acting. (They must have a ton of AP credits.) Hope this answers your question.
Has anyone received a decision from IL Wesleyan yet?
We have not officially - but got a call from the head of BFA Acting on Thursday (not an offer - but to talk about that program and see if she was interested). Looks like a redirect is coming (which is not bad since at some schools she applied to BOTH acting and Mt). He said we should hear soon. Donāt know if this helps or not - but it is where we are with IL Wesleyan
@frisbee3 I canāt speak to Indiana specifically, but often getting in off the waitlist depends on a schoolās offer being declined by someone who is similar in overall type, rather than moving up in a numerical ranking.