<p>What colleges are good for performing arts???</p>
<p>Lexasmomkbj...
Relief! Sooooo glad your daughter received her letter to confirm her acceptance for MT. It's nice to see it in print! Now you can relax...and continue the celebration!</p>
<p>wct - thanks for the NFAA info!! Guess we need to go shopping! I will be certain to post his experiences here - it sounds like such a wonderful week. Congrats to everyone getting acceptances.........my son is doing all his auditions in Chicago, so we have a way to go...this process is exhuasting - and that's just the parent speaking - I can only imagine what the kids are going through. Hope everyone can relax just a bit over the holidays - have a happy!</p>
<p>Thanks for the congrats! Congratulations to your D as well...it certainly makes for a nicer holiday.</p>
<p>It depends on what you are looking for. If you are interested in MT, then this thread has a wealth of helpful info. Also this website, started by one our the CC posters, <a href="http://www.geocities.com/musicaltheatercolleges/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.geocities.com/musicaltheatercolleges/index.html</a>, has good info about MT. The November 5 issue of Backstage magazine has a comprehensive college guide for Performing Arts colleges. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>In regards to that Backstage issue on performing arts colleges, was it specific and helpful to musical theatre? I am interested in ordering a back copy, but I am unsure as to how I should go about that.</p>
<p>-Nick</p>
<p>Try going to <a href="http://www.backstage.com%5B/url%5D">www.backstage.com</a>. In the magazine itself there is an order form for back issues so I imagine you can request them online or at least get a phone number to call. The back issues are $5.00. The guide has a few articles, but mostly a comprehensive listing of all colleges/universities, their contact info, and the performing arts majors they offer. There are also a lot of display ads from various schools. If it's specifically MT info you want, though, I can tell you that reading this board will give you a wealth of information (of course, you will have to go back to the old forum and read from the beginning, but it's worth it.) And there is "The Big List" on the website I listed above as well. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Inkyblb- great pic and bio of your S at the NFAA site. Your S may want to bring clothes to dance/move in comfortably for classes/workshops during his week in Miami.</p>
<p>You will be able to purchase a video tape of the theatre performance at the web site after ArtsWeek. It is nice to have.</p>
<p>I am curious as to why your S is doing his auditions in Chicago instead of Los Angeles in February. What colleges is he going to audition for?</p>
<p>wct - Idyllwild takes the entire senior class theater/MT majors to Chicago - more schools are represented there than LA I guess, and I believe there are logistical issues that work better at the set-up in Chicago for them. He's applying to quite a few, same ones as everyone else! U of M, CMU, CCM, BoCo, Cap 21, and several others. Does your son do MT also or just T? How does he like CMU? As far as stuff for Miami, I think he's set on clothes for dance/workshops, etc., it was the SUIT or TUX that threw us. Thanks again for the heads up on all that - very helpful!</p>
<p>Is there anyone here who has done unifieds and on-campus auditions? how do they differ? Is there anything we should know that is specific to unifieds? thanks</p>
<p>chrism--</p>
<p>I did the LA unifieds, and they were held in meeting rooms. You are in very close proximity to the adjudicators, and you dance on carpet. Also, you can hear everyone else singing. My on-campus auditions were held in actual classrooms, dance rooms or performance areas and there was certainly no carpet dancing. :-)</p>
<p>Shauna</p>
<p>Thanks Shauna, yes, my D was warned by one school about dancing on carpet. Hmmm...I bet that is a challenge. </p>
<p>Here is a tip about Marymount Manhattan for anyone interested - at this school one auditions in a group and receives feedback in front of the group! that can be good or bad depending on the feedback - encouraging if you think you sing in the upper 10% of the group and get postive feedback, discouraging if the opposite. Just FYI. I heard a lot of the kids auditioning were surprised to find out they were to sing in front of the entire group.</p>
<p>Chrism -
My S did unifieds in Chicago last year. They were held in a huge hotel so I recommend you find the audition rooms (meeting rooms as Shauna mentioned) the night before if possible. Have ballet and jazz shoes and do be prepared to dance on carpet. There is a less personal feel to unifieds than on-campus auditions but they are still fun and exciting. CCM and CMU took 1/2 day each (day 1 for us) and Ithaca and Emerson booked on top of each other (1 hr apart) the next morning. My S managed it only because we had everything (music, clothes, forms, shoes) organized and thankfully Ithaca didn't have a dance audition. Still he was running up and down the halls between sections of each audition. Crazy! Good luck to your D & happy holidays!
TX Mom</p>
<p>Happy holidays to all! We're stuck in the house due to winter weather, and I've been following this forum daily in anticipation for those of you waiting to hear from OCU. Congrat's to those who are in, and extra congrat's on scholarships! Most schools don't notify about scholarships until later, maybe March. Those of you who didn't get in, I'm thinking and hoping that all of us will be led in the direction that is right for our child. I firmly believe that something will work out to be perfect for each student and that being rejected is good because it helps narrow down the choices. We are a year away from auditioning for college.</p>
<p>Has anyone been accepted to Elon or Baldwin-Wallace? I think I read about one reject and one wait listed.</p>
<p>OCU question - musicalthtrmom - I'm pretty sure you are the one whose daughter went to the summer program and now has been accepted to MT at OCU. We are seriously considering their summer program. Do you think going to that helps a student's chances for college? Any further info. about the program from your perspective would be great. Seems like I read awhile back that the summer program at Michigan does not necessarily help a student get in there, but hopefully OCU is different. For summer, we're thinking about this one compared to Broadway Theatre Project in Tampa and looking at our Arkansas governor's school in drama (free program). Tampa is much more expensive. We are leaning toward OCU because of the vocal performance focus.</p>
<p>On another note, the casting agent and another parent wrote about height. My 17 year old son is 5' 4 1/2" tall, so I really hope being short doesn't keep him out of a good program. Your 5'8" son sounds tall to us! We know our son will never play Prince Charming, but hopefully there are plenty of other roles, and the size won't keep him out of roles. It has actually helped him in our city playing the part of a boy in several adult productions because he is so small.</p>
<p>Ericsmom</p>
<p>Ericsmom,</p>
<p>I don't know who said that participating in the UM summer program can't help with admission to the college program. Here's what I think. In broad terms, if the talent isn't there, no summer program will help gain admission to a competitive BFA MT program. However, I believe that if there are two students with equal talent/tools/credentials, the one who has demonstrated that ability and shown a strong work ethic over a longer period of time, i.e., a multiple week summer program as opposed to a 4 minute audition, is more likely to gain admission. Back to UMich, I believe that there are at least four students in my D's freshman class this year who had already worked with Brent Wagner (the MT Dept Chair) at the UMich/Interlochen/All States summer program in previous years. I don't think that is a coincidence.</p>
<p>Theatermom,</p>
<p>Thanks for your thoughts on the U Mich summer program. I don't remember where I read it, but it was probably way back. Someone said that students who went to the summer program and didn't get into the Mich MT were very disappointed, but that Brent Wagner may not have seen them progressing over the summer. I think you are right that much depends on the talent combined with the work ethic. We were very impressed with Michigan's MT program. We haven't looked into their summer program, but maybe we will consider it. Thanks, Ericsmom</p>
<p>Inkyblb-</p>
<p>That is very cool that Idyllwild takes the whole senior class to Chicago. I think that is just wonderful!</p>
<p>My S could have gone the MT route but decided his HS senior year that he wanted to concentrate on acting and the curriculum that was geared for the actor, including directing, stage combat, etc. He LOVES CMU. It is a very good fit for him. As an actor he still has had the opportunity to dance. The actors have ballet both semesters this year, (something new) and he also took a modern dance class as an elective this semester. He will have a voice (singing) class next year. The MT's do not get to chose an elective each semester because they are considered a double major and all the classes are within the College of Fine Arts. My S wanted to be able to have an elective of his own choosing every semester because there are many things that he is interested in. The elective can not be in his major.</p>
<p>Two quick items then I doubt I will have time to check this site again. </p>
<p>One when I said angry parents I never said you were angry at your kids, but some of your posts exude anger. This is a tough business I see nothing in the reported context of the letters you have received that is unkind. </p>
<p>"At this time, we did not feel that your vocal audition demonstrated the necessary level of ability to be admitted into the Bachelor of Music in Musical Theatre degree.</p>
<p>Please focus on the, At this time they are letting you in and saying with work it could happen.</p>
<p>Two please dont get all jived up over height. My apologies for the non-Christians for this analogy. But look at your Christmas tree do you eyes focus on the BIG presents first? We all know good things can come in small packages as well. It is just a male with height, looks and talent might have it easier. It is true in the business world as well. Its no secret; everyone can not be the leading man or the ingénue. And quite frankly many of the current musicals leads are not the stereotypical pretty people. So relax talent and hard work with a little bit of luck combined with total utter joy in what you are doing make for a successful life</p>
<p>Regarding height: my 17 year old d is only 4'11" tall, and while I know it's not as bad for girls, she got a callback for a new Broadway musical, and one of the boys trying out for the male lead (who was AMAZING!!) was around 6'2". So obviously her height was a detriment then. She was, however, accepted into CAP21, so they didn't think it was going to be a problem. I think it depends on the other cast members; she has gotten parts because of her size (shorter leading men) and lost parts because of it. Two of her best friends are about 5'5 (boys) and they are the most talented male singers I have ever heard.They, as far as I can remember, have not been denied a part due to their height except one tried out for Jack in Into the Woods and didn't get it because the director wanted a tall, lanky Jack. So just go for anything - talent will take you a long way, but there are some things beyond our control! Congrats to all those who got acceptances, and good luck to those who haven't heard yet - hang in there! Happy holidays to everyone! :)</p>
<p>Ericsmom,
My son attended OCU's summer program in 2003 and was just accepted there. At the completion of the summer program, the kids know Dr. Herendeen and a couple of other faculty members well. One happened to be the vocal accompanist he had for his audition. Dr. Herendeen also knows them well - both their talent and what they are like to work with. So it seems like it could work either way, but as long as the talent is there and the camp has gone well for them, it seems like it could help. David was certainly comfortable there when we went for audition.</p>