<p>Catsmom, we will be at the Dec. 5 Emerson audition. Is your D's that day or the 4th? Break a leg....maybe we will see you.
Susan</p>
<p>Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Have loved the posts, have not had enough time lately to post much but am reading all these great accounts!</p>
<p>CC Parent Reunion
Soozievt, thanks for the great report. I wish we had been there, but we have attempted to limit our trips. The comments about putting all the eggs in one basket hit home with me since my D hopes to get almost all her auditions done at the unifieds. Before then, we have a trip to L.A. in January to audition with Syracuse. Are there any other December auditions?</p>
<p>Jerry and Laurie...yay, you came out from hiding. Had fun meeting you guys. By the way, after I left you and my D went to meet up with her Boston friends from her summer theater program, one of these boys lives in the next town to you. Told him a boy from your town was at the audition and he said, yes he knew him and that your son is talented. This friend's initials are JL and he is a junior in HS so not yet auditioning. I agree with you that one might think that the college might give a little intro to parents (many of whom had never been there before, though we had) and provide a little hospitality in terms of drinks or something but c'est la vie. I have not been to other auditions so it is hard to compare on that front. I can tell you that when you go to open house events for accepted students as I did with my older D last April, the schools we went to pulled out all the stops for parents! </p>
<p>Hoofermom, not sure if there are more Dec. auditions. There might be some at Syracuse this month. In my D's case hers are mostly all in Jan. and Feb. The audition today for Emerson was for Early Action, not sure if you knew that. I'm sure many feel that if they could get into Emerson EA, it surely would make the rest of the audition season a little more at ease. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>Early Action
Yes, we're waiting on OCU. I guess it's like EA since you find out so early but don't have to accept immediately.</p>
<p>Soozie,</p>
<p>I'm glad to hear that your D seemed happy with her Emerson audition. I was always thankful when my D felt good about herself after an audition. If she felt she had given an audition her best effort I was pleased. I think that's all we can ask. The rest is up to the fates. </p>
<p>Jerry and Laurie,</p>
<p>Welcome to the club. I look forward to hearing more from you.</p>
<p>P.S.</p>
<p>I'm curious. How did all of you CC people find each other at Emerson?</p>
<p>We found that it varied wildly, from absolutely nothing to eat or drink and no place for parents to hang out, to a lavish spread and nice space for parents. We also found that (as grateful as we were for last year's parents posting details of auditions) last year's experiences were no guide at all to the current year! at one school I missed breakfast and then thought - no matter, the CC board said this school provides x, y and z while parents wait...only to find out that NOTHING at all was provided. </p>
<p>I'm not complaining, just saying this fits into the category of "expect anything!".</p>
<p>Better days are likely ahead! Every other school we went to last year except for Emerson provided some kind of food or drink for the parents and the students, including NYU Steinhardt, Syracuse, UMich, CCM and CMU.</p>
<p>Congrats to you all for what sounds like a fun and successful audition day.</p>
<p>Just wanted to add my "break a leg" wish to all those who are starting their auditions this month!</p>
<p>D2 asked that I post this here. Apparently there is a large group scheduled for Tisch tours that weekend and perhaps some of you are here on CC, and may be interested in this event. </p>
<p>Tisch School of the Arts All-School Choir
Drama Cantorum
presents</p>
<p>The Carl Orff Trilogy:</p>
<p>Carmina Burana
Catulli Carmina
Triumph of Aphrodite</p>
<p>Sunday, December 12th, 3:30pm
Eisner Lubin Auditorum, 4th Floor Kimmel
$7 Students / $15 Adults</p>
<p>For tickets and information, call 212 802 7643</p>
<p>What an exhausting weekend! Saturday, my D auditioned at Hartt. They held a very nice information session for the parents while the kids auditioned. It really made the time fly by for me, anyway. My D basically panicked and really felt that her audition went horribly. She cried from Connecticut to Boston, saying "what will I do with my life now?" By Saturday night, she was calmed down. Everyone we know, including her voice teacher, assured her that it was just a bad audition, her first, and that now she'll improve with each. </p>
<p>Sunday was a completely different experience. I had prayed that if she just came out of Emerson feeling better about herself I would be happy. So many great things happened. First, she got to see 3 friends from the CMU pre-college program. Catsmom - I can't tell you how much that relaxed her. She knew from Saturday that she would be seeing your D on Sunday and couldn't wait. Secondly, her audition went just fine this time. Seems she got all her nerves out of the way the day before. Thirdly, she couldn't believe how wonderful the Emerson faculty treated them. She felt it was a completely different/opposite experience than Hartt. She even had a chance to discuss this with the auditor after her monologue. Lastly, she felt that she met so many really, really, really nice kids on Sunday during the process - said it felt like being in Chorus Line when you stepped forward to state your name and say a little about yourself. She felt that all the kids were really rooting for each other, that it didn't feel competitive. If nothing else....I'm grateful that she now has a positive experience with which to go forward onto January and Feb. auditions.</p>
<p>My experiences for the weekend....Hartt was a very informative/friendly environment. Emerson was not overly friendly to adults, but I'd rather they focus on relaxing the kids than worry about me. My D. said they were very specific about wanting to try to take the nerves out of the process for the kids.</p>
<p>Personally, I had a WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL time on Sunday speaking with all the CC parents, lurkers (now, really posters) and other parents in the room. Everyone was so friendly. It was terrific putting faces to screennames and screennames to real names! Thank God I have my cheat sheet here to try to remember everyone. I hope we meet again in person at other auditions. It was such a terrific way to end a weekend. </p>
<p>The trip home was pretty stressful driving. Had the sun directly in my eyes for about 2 hours until it finally set. Also (being from NJ) I'm not used to pumping my own gas! Just joking. Once again, great to meet everyone. Good luck on future auditions. I hope someone get good news from Emerson in two weeks!</p>
<p>I will echo the other posters--it was really nice to meet in person. How did we meet? the secret handshake of course! In fact, I think I opened my mouth and asked if anyone in the room read college confidential. At that point there were only a few people in the room and Lynn was one of them! Then Jerry and Laurie arrived and Catsmom and Soozievt.</p>
<p>My D's experience: She came out of it smiling! She felt it had gone well and that it was a good experience. So kudo's to Emerson--maybe they don't take care of us grown-ups, but they apparently know how to do auditions that don't leave our children feeling like -- bulltinky!</p>
<p>My d has had very little dance training but didn't find the routine particularly difficult. She felt her monologue went well, and the person asked some questions. She only sang one song and doesn't have a clue how it went because she was very congested and couldn't hear herself. She was a little surprised he didn't ask for more because that song didn't have a belt in it.</p>
<p>So my question is this--what does it mean--if anything, whether they ask you to sing more or not, whether they ask you to do your monologue differently, etc. Can one interpret anything whether they do these things or not?</p>
<p>We also had a great weekend in Boston, though much colder than what we are used to in NC. I really hate that I didn't go into the parent's room...it was quite crowded when I got to it, so I decided to take some time to explore the city, but unfortunately I missed out on meeting the rest of you. My D also felt that her audition went well...thought the dance was not very difficult even for her and she has not had years of dance training. My D also sang both songs and was then asked to repeat her first song with some improvisational acting. She loved the school and felt that the faculty was very friendly. She told me that this was her best audition thus far (her 3rd) but we also realize that there were a lot of very talented young people there and only two dozen or so spots. I just keep telling her that everything will work out the way it's supposed to, but sometimes even I being to think that perhaps she won't get in anywhere (which will really be difficult to deal with). I will certainly be glad when this stressful year is over! Anyway, we have gotten through all the first semester auditions and without her getting sick! I certainly feel for all of those who have been battling illness thoughout auditions. We should be hearing from some of her EA schools shortly so we will keep you posted. Continued "break-a-legs" to all who have upcoming auditions. To the CC posters...I hope we have a chance to meet somewhere down the road as this board has been a great support for me!</p>
<p>Hey guys, nice to hear you back on here. As far as how we knew who each other was.....when I was riding up the elevator, Jerry and Laurie were on it but were not CC posters, nor did that come up. But they said what town they were from. When I entered the parent room, I saw them talking to NewMTMom and she had written me an email telling me what town she was from (same town as them) and what color hair she had so I put that together and went over and said, NewMTMom! And at that point, Catsmom and Lynn were next to her and it all came together. The parents at the other end of the room must have thought we were all nuts so I explained that none of us knew each other in real time but had met online and no, we are not having affairs (meeting folks online and then in person conjures that image up!) and then Jerry told everyone in the room about CC, great commercial. That's when I found out Jerry/Laurie were lurkers, lol. Then my D's friend's mom came for a while (she was ultimately in the PM group later on), also saying she had lurked and promised to join in. It was a fun group. </p>
<p>I agree that my child also said that the Emerson staff was friendly and that is what matters. It does seem that the monologue person talked to the kids and the song person my D had did not but I realize that is how some auditors handle such situations as to come across as noncommittal. </p>
<p>As far as singing one song and what does that mean....I really think you can drive yourself nuts trying to analyze what this or that means in these auditions, though admittedly it is a natural inclination to do. Singing one song can be positive in terms of it could be that they heard what they needed to hear. Redoing a song or monologue a different way can be seen both in positive ways or negative ways too. I think the most you can hope for in these things is that your child comes out feeling like they did as well as they could, as opposed to coming out feeling like they "messed up real badly". If they can walk away thinking they did what they planned and it went pretty well, the rest is out of their hands. I also worry that if a child does not get admitted, that they do not come away from it thinking they were not "good enough" because the odds are in these programs, SO SLIM, that plenty of VERY talented young people are going to get some rejections. I very much hope that my own child and all the others can realistically view this situation, and not as a commentary on just how "good" they are. Let's say a program takes 20 kids. My feeling is that the next 20 in line are likely about as talented as the first 20. At some point, they want a diverse group of talent...some ingenues, some character types, some comedic, some belters, some sopranos, some great dancers, etc. etc. Some of that aspect has some luck involved if you fit one of the slots they are looking for. It is a bit like casting in shows. I just hope if a kid does not make it into a particular school that they do not take it as a testament to their talent. They have to believe in themselves and keep going. </p>
<p>I had a child last year applying to highly selective colleges (not for theater) and I was thankful that she went into it realistically. She believed in herself and knew she was qualified but at the same time knew that at that level, there is an element of a lottery ticket to it. You have to have the "goods" to enter the game but it does not mean you win it. She had a healthy outlook on it and knew what the situation was with that kind of college admissions and this is a lot like that. My younger D thinks this is worse because of the audition element and the judging of "talent". I don't know about that but the admissions odds are actually worse than at Ivy league schools. I am sure every kid going into it has to know this and hopefully is realistic and just takes it one school at a time, with the thought that hopefully at least one school will work out. The other thing on the talent end of it, is that they only see you at an audition and really never get to see you on stage in a show or lots of other aspects of your talent and so it can be a difficult situation to hope that they can really see who you are as a musical theater actor in that short time in an audition situation. Of course everyone is in the same boat with this, just commenting. </p>
<p>Lynn, I am glad that your D had a much more positive feeling after her second audition. I think it will get better for her as it goes on. Many say not to make your first audition be at your first choice school because of the kind of feeling that your D had. It likely is common. It is tough for the kids because so much has led up to this moment. And it takes guts to put yourself out there in a short period of time and know that a lot is riding on the line during that time slot. It is what it is. And it is part of what this field is about. I surely could not do what they do! </p>
<p>NewMTMom, you are right that the dance routine was not considered difficult. My D said that someone could have done it without dance training, in terms of technique. Perhaps someone with dance training might be able to perform it well but their training was not needed in terms of the technique. It did not involve moves learned in years of dance training. </p>
<p>See some of you at winter auditions.
Susan</p>
<p>I am currently in my second year at a major university in the mid west. I am looking to transfer in the fall into a school with a musical theatre major. Right now my major is Theatre & Voice, BFA, which is a classical voice degree with a few theatre classes thrown in for good measure. I want to go to a school that will prepare me to perform, not just try and teach the academic side of music/theatre. I want to graduate feeling as though I can immediately start to audition, not sit around and wonder why in the world I took so much theory if it isn't going to help me get a job. What are some schools you would suggest, and how realistic is it to expect a program to accept a transfer?</p>
<p>It was wonderful to meet so many CC parents at Emerson this past weekend. In the past, as I read many of the helpfull entries, I never really felt that I had anything more to add to this crazy MT audition experience. But because of what happened with my daughter (re:Emerson), I feel COMPELLED to share my tale. Many of the parents in the AM Emerson group already know what I'm alluding to, but for other parents and students out there, please read on:</p>
<p>Like so many other MT kids, my daughter is always involved running around to lessons, school and rehearsals. She is almost always rehearsing or performing in something. Sometimes, she has so much going on, it is overwhelming. As it so happens, the night before the Emerson audition, she had a rehearsal for a Opera that opens in two weeks. She usually drives there herself (a 50 minute drive along some mountainous roads), which in itself gives me headaches, This time, were were together, because we preparing to drive to Boston as soon as the rehearsal ended. So, in addition to packing all her music, resume info, dance clothes, audition clothes and paraphenalia for Emerson, she had to bring a different head shot, resume, costume and music for her opera rehearsal.</p>
<p>As soon as she got to the Opera rehearsal, she took out what she needed from her trusty backpack. I stayed and watched part of the rehearsal, then went out to get our dinner that we would have to wolf down in the car to help sustain us on our 3 1/2 hour journey to Boston. Before rehearsal ended, I gathered her backpack, pocketbook and some costume/prop materials all together. I made sure we had EVERYTHING. (or so I thought.......)</p>
<p>We made it to Boston, and my D got to reunite with her best friend who was also auditioning. Her BF was in the AM group, my D was in the PM. Since they were on different schedules, and the girls live so far apart, we (myself and the BF 's parent, a friend of mine), let them have maximum face time.</p>
<p>In the morning, as my daughter was getting together all her audition stuff, she realized with complete HORROR that she had left ALL OF HER AUDITION MUSIC back at her Opera Rehearsal (3 1/2 hours away!!!) I was also in complete shock--and I must say in a much bigger state of panic than my D. I was also angry--at her for being careless, and at myself for not being more organized.</p>
<p>She realized that she never put her audition music back in her backpack at her rehearsal. I knew that I SHOULD HAVE CHECKED INDSIDE her backpack before we left to make sure that everything was together. I just assumed that everything that came out was put back in. Normally, re-checking her stuff was something I would do, but my mind was on the long nightime drive and weekend ahead.</p>
<p>What happened next? As it turns out, my daughter has a good friend already attending Emerson. The girls spent many summers toghether at a pre-professional theatre program (SDM). My D, called the girl, who truly saved the day. The girl had one of my D's audition songs (a pretty obscure song, at that). Song #2 they found at the Emerson Library. Everthing was quickly photocopied, laminated and went into a binder that my D borrowed from the Emerson friend. Whew!! I couldn't thank that friend enough.</p>
<p>The audition went very well, and I was thrilled. I have to say that through all this, my D was pretty calm. In addition, the wonderful CC folks in the AM session who were following my tale of woe were willing to come to the rescue by loaning, faxing or helping me to gather new audtion music. Thank you to one and all!!</p>
<p>The moral of this tale: In this hectic time, parents must check, check and re-check to make sure everything is in place for these auditions. As we travel around with so much important material, have a back-up system in place in case of the worst. Stress can result in disorganization and create more stress. Double, triple and quadruple check everything. Don't assume that your kids are on top of things. A little gentle nagging could go a long way. </p>
<p>One more note--my daughter's BF's mom came back up to the Walker Blg. to drop me off at the parents room. The PM group were all so quiet and absorbed in their own little projects. It looked and sounded like a library. Well, just to let everyone know, that after a while, things began to loosen up. The parents started to chat, trade stories, etc. As it turned out, they were quite a nice bunch of folks. I think the fact that most were facing 3-7 hour drives AFTER the audition had something to do with thier initially quiet behavior.</p>
<p>Once again, good luck to all the kids and parents out there. It's going to be quite a journey.</p>
<p>Official welcome to all our lurkers! Hopefully the others who were at Emerson will join, too!</p>
<p>Wow, freelance, that sounds like quite a harrowing experience! I'm glad everything turned out well. I was in the PM Emerson group yesterday, in Group Z1 (dance --> monologue --> voice) and I, too, had a very positive experience. Stephen Yakutis, the audition coordinator, administrated the monologue section and was SO nice. Everyone was so welcoming; I met so many great people and had a fabulous time. This was a great way to start my audition process (the rest of mine are spread out through Jan-March). Of course then we had to wake up at about 5:30 this morning to fly back to Virginia, but no matter! I'm glad to hear everything went so well for everyone!</p>
<p>Freelance,
yay you finally posted!
Just so you can get with the program, most people seem to use "BF" to connotate a boyfriend and my D is your daughter's "best friend" not to be confused with boyfriend who is ALSO auditioning for all these programs. LOL. </p>
<p>You guys, heed her tale of woe. It was a nervewracking morning but her D handled it well. I realized later that thankfully she was not in the AM group and she had time to solve the dilemma in the AM. </p>
<p>My D belongs to the group of kids who need to be "checked" to see if they have everything. As we were leaving the audition, I asked if she had everything and as usual, she said she did and was not that pleased that I asked her to check her bag. Indeed, her BRAND new jazz shoes were not in it but left on the floor of the room the kids had all their stuff in. Typical. However, does not match Freelance's story!!</p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>Air1985,</p>
<p>My daughter transferred from Indiana University to University of the Arts. U Arts seems to take a lot of transfer students.</p>
<p>Dramamama--Can you share why your D left IU? Is it a reason that would be helpful to posters here?</p>