Colleges for Musical Theater Major - Part 33

<p>I've been reading your MT parent's forum for 6 months and have found it so very useful. My son and I have been looking at colleges for musical theatre and have info. to share and things to confirm that I've read on here, so I finally signed up for a password. Last night I drafted a lengthy posting with all of my info. on visiting programs, and when I tried to submit it, the computer came back and said I wasn't logged in. This is my short version to see if the posting works. If it does, I'll be back to share info.</p>

<p>Thanks to Sue - twins' mom (the freshmen that go to Webster) for your behind the scenes help. To the rest of you, we got to meet her twins at Webster and were so impressed! What cute and very nice kids!</p>

<p>Ericsmom</p>

<p>Mtheatremom,</p>

<p>Thanks for the alert regarding John246. I suspected he was a poseur. After his post to this thread on Nov. 19 I did a message search of his name. My instinct told me something was not right. I discovered that he had posted a couple of times the same day on another thread regarding international business programs. He was plugging OCU and was insulting others who had posted on the thread. I thought it was a little fishy that the same person was posting about two different programs at the same school on the same day and running down other schools offering the same majors. His posts seemed like the work of a kid, not a parent. Unlike you, I did not remember that he had posted last year. I simply believed that he had some sort of agenda to promote OCU programs at the expense of all other schools.</p>

<p>It's a shame that some people feel compelled to engage in this sort of bizarre behavior. Oklahoma City U. seems to have a fine MT program. John246's comments, though painting OCU in a positive light, should be ignored as should his comments denigrating other MT programs. Thanks again Margaret for the heads up.</p>

<p>Theatermom--thanks for the info about the audition--especially the tip about the knitting!</p>

<p>I've been reading your forum for about 6 months and can't tell you enough how helpful it has been. This was about half way through our visits to theatre programs and trying to figure out where the good MT programs were. I decided to sign up with a password and post after reading that at least one of you was at Elon 11/5 when we were and one of the Michigan moms may have been at Michigan about 10/17 when we were. I wanted to echo that both Jekyll & Hyde at Elon and A Chorus Line at Michigan were truly outstanding and Broadway quality with extremely talented kids. We were blown away impressed with both. We were not auditioning at Elon but happened to be there on an audition day because we wanted to see the show. </p>

<p>My son is a high school junior in Arkansas and is much like your kids. He has been seriously participating in professional and community theatre here for over 6 years. Musicals are his favorite and he sings and dances. In between shows and when he has time off from school, we've visited 21 colleges over the past year and a half. I wanted to share some thoughts. He currently plans for next year to audition at the following 9 programs at least. The first 4 listed below were the most recently seen (this fall) and are our top 4, both in terms of loving everything we've seen and geographically (OKC is a 5 hour drive, St. Louis 6 hours, and Michigan and Elon are 13 hours away each - could be driven if had to). </p>

<p>Elon - Can't say enough good things - loved the faculty (met 3), the show, students we met, size of university (4600), and other programs offered. Eric worked with 2 of their graduates who starred in our equity theatre show here last Christmas when he was in the ensemble. They raved about the school and keep in close contact with Catherine McNeela (dept. head). She spent over an hour with us that morning even though they were busy with auditions that afternoon. Linda Sabo who teaches MT and dance and choreographs most of their shows gave me good info. She previously worked under Brent Wagner (Michigan head MT) when he was at Syracuse for many years. </p>

<p>OCU - Very personable faculty and staff - got great info. from Dr. Herendeen head of MT and from Mary Mowry their admin. assistant. The university is small (1700 undergrads, I think) and feels like family. They have great theatre facilities and are adding a huge nice facility for music dept. The MT is under school of music, degree is a BM, and it seems that classical vocal music training is their strongest point. Also, they want the kids to be proficient in piano at least before they are done. The students take dance from the great dance dept. teachers. Eight or more levels of each type of dance are offered. For a small school, they have huge performing arts emphasis. </p>

<p>(side note - both of the above schools do not do senior showcases in NY, and after hearing their thoughts, I'm no longer worried if a school doesn't offer this. Their grad's are very successful. They bring casting directors and others from the business to the school to meet students and see shows).</p>

<p>Michigan - Wow - probably the perfect place if one can be accepted and especially if you could be a chosen one to get a scholarship. This school is expensive for out of state students without a scholarship. I have nothing bad to say. We had a great day, watched Brent Wagner's MT class and the great show. Toured the lovely and huge campus and the music facility and got great info. on auditions from Laura Strozeski, their assistant. This was the most informative info. session regarding the audition expectations. They are also building new theatre facilities. Their MT is also under the school of music. I couldn't believe how consistently well the kids in class could sing and how all of them (especially the guys - kind of unusual) could dance in A Chorus Line. I've hardly ever seen such advanced dance skills. </p>

<p>Webster - Great size school (probably smaller than Elon and bigger than OCU). My impression is that they want to be a strong acting program first with very good music and dance to supplement this. Acting and MT students are tracked together the first 2 years. It reminded me of the conservatory program at DePaul in Chicago if you took that and added voice, piano, and dance. All the faculty bent over backwards to spend time with us, as the head of MT was out sick. Eric got to shadow Sue's twins (from this forum) in acting and movement classes all afternoon. They are great! Eric raved about the teachers and what was done in the classes. Also, the students he met, Alex and Nathan and several others, took him under their wings and made him feel very comfortable. </p>

<p>Ithaca and Syracuse - Liked them both very much. They are very different programs but both have good qualities. We visited in summer so didn't get to witness school in session. The only negatives for us are that they are far away, expensive to travel to, and we hear, very cold with much snow in winter. He will audition, and scholarships would be nice!</p>

<p>Juilliard (straight drama) - Eric wants to audition to see if he can be one of the 2% accepted. I hope he won't be, as it would not be a real college experience, in my opinion. The lady that heads up drama recruiting for them spent an hour with us and was very personable.</p>

<p>NYU - Eric likes CAP 21 and will audition. I like the liberal arts aspect (which I think we also found at Michigan and Elon). I don't like the lack of campus experience, and I really don't like the cost! However, when I summarized our trip to the northeast (which was last spring break - NYC, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh), I thought the NYU program was the closest to what we were looking for. We had planned to fly into NYC, rent a car, drive to Ithaca and Syracuse, end up in Pittsburgh and fly home. Upstate NY got 15 inches of snow that week in mid-March, so we skipped those (went back in summer) and drove to Baltimore instead on the way to Pittsburgh.</p>

<p>CMU - Great program if a student could be one of the 10 accepted. They make students wait 2 years to audition for mainstage shows (if I remember right). Also, they recommend that a student go to Point Park in the summer for additional dance training, so I think they are emphasizing acting and voice with the basic dance added. We have a friend who auditioned for MT but was offered and accepted the acting program. He is a freshman (wasn't there when we went in spring) and his dad says he is happy but very busy - very intensive program. We loved Pittsburgh - got to spend an extra day there due to the upstate NY snow, and got to do much touring and hanging out with our friends who attend Point Park. What a great college town! This school is also very expensive absent scholarships.</p>

<p>Our maybe schools - </p>

<p>Point Park - We have 2 friends there, so the faculty and students spent extra time and were so nice to us. They have a great program. Eric just feels that it may have too much emphasis on dance (which may be its strongest point). I'm a little concerned about the academics because it is 4th tier in US News. My son does well in school and is at the top of his class, so I want him to be challenged academically.</p>

<p>Northwestern - Chicago was our first trip - we loved the campus and the university at Northwestern. No audition is required, but it is still hard to get into. Besides being expensive, the other drawback is that MT is not a degree but a certificate. Students audition for this after being there a year and only a few are accepted. I think they have 80 or 90 in a class of theatre (which limits performance opportunities based on a friend we have there). The MT takes 15 of the theatre students and 15 from the school of music (starting soph. year). Our friend is now in 2nd year and didn't get into MT.</p>

<p>OU (Univ. of Oklahoma) - only reason we would consider is that it is close to home and cheaper than others. We went there when did OCU. Our experience may have been worse than someone I read here recently who got 3 minutes of time with the head guy. We had scheduled ahead and were told he would not see us at all (which he didn't) because he had changed his policy and only meets with people he has seen audition at state thespian festivals, for example. Another drawback is that they require a student they haven't seen to send a video taped audition before they invite the student to audition on campus. We probably won't do this one. Also, a recent grad. from there is here in town to do his second show at our equity theatre. Eric has been in both of these shows as ensemble. They are rehearsing the Christmas show (Children of Eden) now and open next week. This guy told Eric that he liked the program but wished he had gone somewhere else and that he didn't get everything they told him he would. I'll try to get more details next week at the opening night reception.</p>

<p>Our safety or backup options (of which we must chose one) are currently:</p>

<p>Univ. of Tulsa - great college, but tiny MT program (we have a friend there who is performing in major roles as a freshman)</p>

<p>TCU (my alma mater - in business) - they offer a sub-major in MT under the theatre dept. We haven't visited TCU for Eric yet.
(Tulsa and TCU have auditions for scholarship consideration, not for admission)</p>

<p>Indiana University - great dept's of theatre, opera singing, and dance - in second year a student can effectively start MT under an individualized major program. They don't require an audition to get into the theatre major. We haven't visited IU yet.</p>

<p>Ericsmom</p>

<p>The above message told you what we are considering. I wanted to tell you what we're not doing. Schools visited that he won't apply for:</p>

<p>DePaul
Roosevelt
Goucher
Sarah Lawrence
Marymount Manhattan
Univ. of Pittsburgh
Cornell (in NY)
Davidson</p>

<p>We decided for geographical reasons (farther than upstate NY from us) not to travel to Boston (hear it is a great college town), California, or Arizona. Florida schools were ruled out due to travel time limitations after the bad hurricane season! CCM is not being considered due to negative things we've heard. </p>

<p>If we were to plan another trip, it would be to Ohio, at least to see Baldwin- Wallace and Otterbein, but possibly also Kenyon as a safety school. Kenyon is a small highly ranked liberal arts school with a large emphasis on the fine arts (but not musical theatre). Eric hears wonderful things about Baldwin-Wallace from 2 graduates currently here rehearsing for the Christmas show.</p>

<p>If time, we had considered visiting IL Wesleyan and Millikin, but we probably won't. One must stop somewhere! Nearby possible backup choices would be Sam Houston and Southwest Missouri State.</p>

<p>Eric has interest based on his dance teacher recommendations in the Broadway Theatre Project. Thanks for your postings on this. Also, I've requested summer program info. from OCU. I'm somewhat hopeful he'll do the Ark. governor's school drama program which is free and for students after junior year. The past couple of summers he has ended up working in local theatres and hasn't gone to any programs. Earlier he spent 4 intensive summers in acting training at our local children's theatre, where he now volunteers helping the younger kids in the summer.</p>

<p>Much luck to all of you with students auditioning! Also, I'm so impressed with all of you on here whose kids are already in the wonderful college programs. Congrat's on getting accepted when the percentage chance is so low!</p>

<p>Ericsmom</p>

<p>Ericsmom- thanks for the great info! One question- why did you crossed Cornell off your list? Geographical considerations? Or was there another reason? Thanks so much! Danielle</p>

<p>We are back from interviews and survived!!! We left just before the snow hit the midwest. I promise to post more, but just wanted to drop a quick note. Everyone at Baldwin-Wallace, Otterbein, Ill. Wesleyan and Millikin were wonderful. We gained so much insight into the programs and students.
We removed Ohio Wesleyan and Dennison from our list of back-up schools. Neither seemed to have particular strong points. I think after visiting Mullenberg, we knew what a strong BA program should be and neither of the aforementioned schools had the strength of Mullenberg.</p>

<p>Cornell is a beautiful campus and we've heard wonderful things about their drama program. Ithaca is a great small town. We visited Cornell because we were there to visit Ithaca college. As I had said in my earlier long message, our March trip planned to upstate NY had to be cancelled due to a huge snow storm. We went back in June and not many faculty or students were on campus. We had an appointment with someone in the theatre dept. who didn't show up for the meeting and didn't let us know. We later found out she was out sick that day. She felt very bad for forgetting to cancel. The drama secretary showed us around their lovely facilities, but she didn't have much good info. for us. We did have a nice meeting at college of arts & sciences. We missed the campus tour because we spent longer than expected at Ithaca College (which was a school and program we dearly loved - the best we had heard about up to that point - wish I could move it closer to home and a little farther south!). Cornell was not on the top of our list anyway since it isn't MT, but we wanted to see a real Ivy league school while in town!</p>

<p>Ericsmom</p>

<p>Theatermom,
thanks for the very helpful info concerning Emerson auditions. Every little bit of advanced preparation makes the day go so much more smoothly for me and my D.<br>
To catsmom,
we also have a "200" on the front of our Emerson envelope, so I have no idea what it might mean.<br>
Also, thank you to Mtheatremom for the heads-up on john246. My D auditioned at OCU last weekend and I can tell you that we were very impressed with the school and the program, especially if developing musically is your goal.<br>
To ericsmom,
Thanks for reiterating what a fine program Elon U has. We are from NC and had no idea what they were doing there until my D went to audition. We also saw Jekyll and Hyde and were amazed at the talent and professionalism. And I agree with you, after visiting both Elon and OCU, we were also not at all concerned that neither school has a senior showcase...their graduates are working! Another fact that we really liked at both schools was that there are many performance opportunities and that freshmen are not only allowed to but are encouraged to audition for all productions!</p>

<p>Ah,.......my husband watching a meaningless football game, the sounds of my son working out upstairs and the sweet sound of my daughter singing in the shower........</p>

<p>Our nest is full again, at least for a few days. I am content.</p>

<p>Happy Turkey Day all!!!</p>

<p>I'm grateful to be able to gather with some of my family this Thanksgiving. Sniff, sniff - my youngest is staying in Florida for the holiday. We couldn't bring her home, but her finals end on December 10, so we'll see her in two weeks. I'm thankful that she has new friends to spend the holiday with. I hope everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving.
Kathy</p>

<p>Theatermom,
Your post made me cry. A full nest is a good nest and the singing around the house only makes it better! Enjoy your time with your family as well as everyone else who has kids home for the holiday.</p>

<p>Lexasmomkbj,
Thanks for your response about the #200 on your Emerson envelope. Could it be 200 people are auditioning? At least I am glad we are auditioning in that order and we are not #200 that day. We need to catch a plane that evening!</p>

<p>Hi </p>

<p>I'm new to the thread. It seems like you certainly have a great community. I was wondering if anyone knew anything about AMDA (The American Musical and Dramatic Academy)??</p>

<p>Happy Thanksgiving</p>

<p>Happy Thanksgiving All!</p>

<p>I haven't posted for awhile, but I do keep reading and appreciating. I'm happy to say my D has all her apps in and is now looking forward to auditions. (And "looking forward" is definitely an accurate description. If you asked this kid to choose between 50 auditions and one math test -- no contest! Sound familiar to anyone?) She's generally opted for smaller schools -- Webster (where she too had a great time meeting Sue's sons), Otterbein (thanks, Doctorjohn!), Point Park, Ithaca, UArts, Hartt and (smallest of all, farthest away from us, but in a very appealing, arts-oriented place) College of Santa Fe. She'll be auditioning Jan. and Feb., except for Santa Fe, where she auditioned in the summer and has already been accepted by the Performing Arts program. She couldn't audition anywhere next weekend (Dec. 3-5) because she'll be doing "Songs for a New World" at her school. Have any of you/your kids done "Songs"? Wonderful music. It's written for 2F, 2M, but the school cast 6 and 6 to get more kids involved. My D couldn't be more excited about it. Among other things, she gets to do the song "Flagmaker, 1775," which is tremendously powerful -- in the emotional sense, not the belting sense. She's in love with it.</p>

<p>A number of pages ago, several people wanted to find out more about Catholic U's MT program. For those who might still be interested, today's Washington Post (we live in the Maryland suburbs just outside DC) ran the following article. I wish I could give you a first-hand report about the show that it focuses on, but I didn't get to see it. You can also find the article at <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12006-2004Nov25.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12006-2004Nov25.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>They've Got Musicals
Catholic U. Wraps First Run In Program to Develop Shows
By Peter Marks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 25, 2004; Page C01 </p>

<p>A college founded by Catholic bishops is not tops on the list of likely birthing places for new musicals. But that's the role in which Catholic University has cast itself. This month saw the initial phase of the school's efforts to establish a kind of theatrical maternity ward on campus: the first workshop production of a revue-style musical based on the songs of Jerome Kern, the composer of "Show Boat" and such standards as "A Fine Romance."</p>

<p>"The Land Where the Good Songs Go" is the inaugural offering in a five-year commitment by Catholic's Benjamin T. Rome School of Music to attract theater professionals to the Northeast Washington campus for the purpose of developing new work. The music school offers a major in musical theater, and the new production, supervised by a team that included the Broadway conductor and music director David Loud ("Ragtime," "Steel Pier"), cast undergraduates in the six singing roles. The creative team eventually hopes to remount the show in New York.</p>

<p>Loud, who appeared on Broadway as the piano accompanist in "Master Class," Terrence McNally's biodrama about Maria Callas, said he and the revue's originator, former theater critic Edwin Wilson, had been on the lookout for a suitable spot to shape and try out the songs they had dug up. "It really needed to be put up on its feet," Loud said just before the show ended its run last weekend.</p>

<p>The arrangement was brokered by Jane Pesci-Townsend, a Washington actress who chairs Catholic's musical theater department and happened to know Loud. The idea seemed a natural to Murry Sindin, the music school's dean. "We knew they were looking for a place, and I said, 'Stop looking,' " he recalled.</p>

<p>Sindin said the school had received a $50,000 grant from David Savage, a Philadelphia area businessman active in Catholic organizations and enamored of the musical theater, to pay for productions and thus promote the university as a site for new show development. The advantage for the school, Sindin added, is exposing students to professional-caliber opportunities: For the six slots in the revue, 104 students auditioned.</p>

<p>Wilson had been poring for a year or so over the work of Kern, who collaborated with a number of lyricists, including P.G. Wodehouse and Oscar Hammerstein II, when he asked Loud to help organize, orchestrate and write vocal arrangements for the revue. Best known for the landmark 1927 musical "Show Boat," Kern also wrote the music for classic movie and theater songs including "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." Last season, Kern's music was the basis of a short-lived Broadway musical, "Never Gonna Dance," adapted from Kern's 1936 movie "Swing Time."</p>

<p>The format of "The Land Where the Good Songs Go" follows the current vogue for dialogue-free musicals that try to tell a story simply by stringing together a composer's songs. Judging from the well-sung version at Catholic last weekend, the piece, directed by Stafford Arima, offers a coherent narrative but needs additional fine-tuning. Constructed from 35 Kern songs both well known ("Long Ago and Far Away," written with Ira Gershwin) and obscure ("Never Marry a Girl With Cold Feet," with M.E. Rourke), the show is at this stage amiable if a bit flavorless.</p>

<p>It chronicles the ups and downs of three young couples, played by Catholic students Kurt Boehm and Lauren Williams, Peter Merideth and Lisa Ferris, and Paul Chamberlain and Laura Kelley. One thread follows a pair of newlyweds and the loss of their baby; another, a husband falling out of love with his wife and into the arms of a friend's. The sequences dealing with the infant's death are compelling, but the other stories are rooted in less well-defined incidents and never get the same kind of traction. (Oddly, one woman, played by Williams, was given an Irish accent, which seems out of place because no other character has a comparable identifying trait.) While "The Land Where the Good Songs Go" makes for easy listening, the 90-minute musical is almost too smooth. It still could use a couple of rousing moments.</p>

<p>The show does feature some nifty song progressions, as in a series of numbers about dancing ("I Won't Dance," "Heaven in My Arms," "Dancing Time") and another cycle about betrayal ("April Fooled Me," "Bill's a Liar," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"). And the workshop proved a fine showcase for the locally schooled talent. Boehm and Ferris in particular performed with polish and assurance, confirmation that in one important category, the production had done its homework.</p>

<p>University of Oklahoma</p>

<p>Thanks Ericsmom for your post. Thank goodness for the variety of offerings; imagine if we all were aiming for the same two or three programs. My D is especially interested in OU at this time, however she is very worried that she won't be invited to audition. I understand why they have chosen this route - - it's not an easy trip to make under any circumstances and they might as well prevent unnecessary travel if you don't meet with standards (wish I really knew what those were LOL). We did a very brief campus visit, met some very enthusiastic theatre students, and saw a bit of the opera rehearsal (all were very good).</p>

<p>We have had glowing reports on OU from some sources and warnings from others. But honestly we've heard some criticism of every program on the list. That's why this thread is so important, and why it's so disappointing that someone would betray our trust with false information. On the other hand, it was fairly obvious to me and I'm glad it was confirmed. My D's audition at OCU went well, but she was not too happy with the idea of required religion classes or the disproportionate (in her view) focus on music over dance and theatre. There will be a "right" program for her somewhere. The next three months should prove to be interesting.</p>

<p>Please add Coastal Carolina University to the Big List of colleges with MT majors. It may be a relatively new program.</p>

<p>Hi everyone. We're back from a visit to UArizona and ASU. Because we're from CA, we like the geographical proximity of these two programs. BTW, my D and I like the idea of OU's request for a videotape and an invitation to audition. Why spend all that money and time from school if they aren't remotely interested in one? My D is only a junior, and this was our first real college visit, so right now we're still being very open about programs and collecting information. But my D loved much of what she saw at both schools. We first saw Carousel at UArizona. It was a good production. The main lead was absolutely phenomenal. The next day we visited ASU (just to confuse things lol). In the morning we visited the dance department because I had wanted my D to check out a "typical" high quality university dance department (i.e., modern based) just to see what it is like. We sat in on a Modern III class. My D loved the class and learned a neat combination she wants to "steal," but she also learned that at ASU she would have to continue her dancing at a local studio, not at the university (not enough challenge in general--or the right sort of courses). In the afternoon we got to the heart of our visit. We sat in on a course called Advanced Expressions which was a type of musical theatre coaching course. The teacher was wonderful (his previous work was opera director; his training is all classical). My D just loved him and keeps mentioning that she would really like to take a private lesson with him if it ever works out. After the class the students said he is a highlight of the program. The theatre is a music theatre, not shared with the theatre dept., a copy of one in Germany. The theatre dept. is children's theatre oriented, and MT students do not participate in straight plays. MT students do crossover work in opera. The department puts on 2 operas and 2 musicals per year. They encourage their students to get roles in community theatre because sometimes there are not enough roles for a lot of the students. Program would be fantastic for students who want that crossover between classical and MT, but is light on acting training and for an advanced dancer, dance must be supplemented off-campus--which is doable. ASU is ideal for a student who wants to focus very much on voice. We also learned something very interesting. Students who are accepted to ASU, but not to MT, can still take almost all the classes and are welcome to audition later on. This seems amazingly generous.</p>

<p>The next day we visited UArizona. We started out with a course called Acting III taught by an acting professor. The students were both Acting and MT, a group of about 20. The professor was wonderful. My D took almost 4 pages of notes. There are definitely cute boys at UArizona, just in case anyone else like my D is interested BIG LOL. That afternoon we sat in on Intermediate Musical Theatre, taught by two professors, inc. the MT vocal coach. The class once again was wonderful, D took notes, and we had a good time. The faculty and students at UArizona are very friendly. They seem to value dancers and claim to have the 5th best dance department on campus (I've heard this elsewhere, but we didn't have time yet to check it out). Facilities at UArizona are very nice, and the classrooms/offices area is spacious and comfortable.</p>

<p>Both schools use live accompanists for every MT and dance class, from what we could tell. At ASU D was advised to take up piano again in preparation--because music theory classes are with instrumental majors and singers are usually left in the dust. </p>

<p>My D loved her visits. Now she's trying to think up good retorts to her MT and dance teachers when they complain about Arizona (they have NY on the brain). Oh, and UArizona is a pretty campus of traditional red brick buildings (reminded me a tiny bit of Michigan State's campus), and ASU is huge and very modern. Both are in relatively safe areas. I would feel happy with my D at either school, though right now UArizona is very very high up on her list and she wants to learn more about ASU (go back to see Anything Goes this spring, for one thing).</p>

<p>I've been away and just trying to catch up on such amazing informative posts here, thanks everyone. </p>

<p>I hope I can keep this straight. I think it was Denvermom who mentioned UMich for Jan. 14, my D has that one as well. </p>

<p>It sounds like quite a few of us will be at Emerson on Dec. 5. We just gotta talk to other parents while the kids are in the audition and figure out who are CC parents! Thanks for last year's description of the Emerson audition, theatermom. You mentioned your D was one of three accepted for EA last year there. My D's girlfriend, a current freshman in MT at Emerson got in EA last year too. This is our first one. </p>

<p>Bdwaymom....as it gets closer to Feb., I should hook up with you re: Penn State. I just have not put the details of any of these trips together yet, just the appointments. I do hope we can see Sweet Charity. It so happens that yesterday when in Philly for Thanksgiving, we were with my niece, a freshman at Penn State (not in theater) who likes it. She has seen some national tours there and my D was pleasantly surprised to hear there were those kind of offerings in State College. I hope we meet your D when there after all these years (I also was just in your neighborhood this AM as I grew up there, I think I told you.) </p>

<p>MTMommy...sounds great that your D has gotten a glimpse into some colleges at this point, and even likes them. I owe you email , long overdue. My college freshman is home so am not going to be online that much plus I've been away and am backlogged with work too. </p>

<p>Someone posted that their D is doing Songs for a New World. Yes, we know that show, have seen it. My D has always loved the songs from that show and has performed some of them. She created and directed a musical revue last year of Contemporary Broadway music and did a few songs from that musical. She has created another musical this year that she is currently directing and I believe once again, there is a song from that musical in the show she wrote. Good music. Break a leg to your D ! </p>

<p>Thanks for the "trip reports" to those who wrote them. Hope to connect with those on here in Boston next weekend. I have to book a hotel, have not done it yet!! </p>

<p>Susan</p>

<p>Has anyone gotten their results back from ARTS awards?? My friend just found out yesterday she got Honorable Mention in Popular Voice but hasn't heard anything yet about her MT entry. Be sure to post when you find out!</p>

<p>Also, my voice ended up doing fine in the show, thanks for all your great advice, there wasn't much time to go out and find the products everyone suggested but I will definitely keep them in mind for next time (God forbid that there is a next time but I'm sure there will be...such is life). Our play was a part of the one-act festival at my school and we ended up winning the top awards and best overall production, even with my voice being gone, so I was very pleased to say the least. I hope everyone breaks a leg at their auditions coming up!</p>

<p>Aspiringactress, actually, yes, today my D heard today regarding the NFAA Awards for musical theater. She got a Merit Award. She knows of a friend in FL who got a Merit Award today in MT as well but has not spoken with other friends who applied (all of whom live in other states from us). </p>

<p>Glad your shows went well. </p>

<p>Susan</p>