<p>Peggy, I just had to go back and find what you wrote about Stephanies dance parts. Thats so great! She must be ecstatic. My D would be. I'm so happy for her.</p>
<p>I appreciate your congrats.....I am so exited, and I strongly think UMICH is where I will end up. I do have CCM and CMU this weekand, and with my confidence is boosted from my Mich acceptance, I am ready to be fierce for the two incredibly challanging schools. I will make my decition once I hear back from those two. I pray I have the same fate I recieved at Mich. Please pray for me, Ic am so nervous! Good Luck to everyone---</p>
<p>is anyone at cmu or ccm unifieds this weekand in nyc?
mike-Mich 09' 99% sure!</p>
<p>Talked to my D last night who was very upset for a friend. This friend is in a new Broadway show and the reviews came out yesterday. As soon as I heard D's voice, I knew they were bad. Actually, they were the most scathing reviews I think I've ever read. She feels so badly for him. I feel badly for him. I can't imagine his poor mom today. She's his biggest fan and sees his shows at least once a week! He left another Broadway show to do this one. This is such a difficult business, even when you DO make it! All of us who are moms of these performers really have to steel ourselves for many years of this kind of thing. It doesn't end with successfully dealing with college rejections. I'm off to bake some of D's friend's favorite cookies to ship to them. She thinks they'll help. Thanks for listening.</p>
<p>Alwaysamom, it is such a difficult field. Being critiqued is hard and in the press and all. Have to be so tough skinned. Must be even harder for young ones and at the early stages of a career. </p>
<p>My D has a summer theater camp friend who is currently in a new off Broadway show and she is a freshman at Tisch but in Playwrights Horizons (I think), so your D may not know her, initials, H. W-G. I have read good reviews so far, which is exciting for her. </p>
<p>Hope your D's friend gets past this hurdle. I am sure even the most successful actors out there have not only been rejected for parts but have also suffered from a poor review. It goes with the territory and it is quite difficult but you have to have a healthy self confidence to plow ahead in this field. I'm sure he will make it and I am sorry for this tough time. If he is in his second Bdway show, he obviously has talent and potential to make it and so I hope he keeps that perspective open too and not just dwell on the negative review.
Susan</p>
<p>Alwaysamom, me again. I am guessing which musical this is and I just read two reviews and while the reviews of the musical itself were scathing, none of the actors in it were panned. I thought when reading your post that this friend might have gotten negative reviews but if it is the musical itself, which of course would still not be great and not feel good at all with the work he put into it, I don't think that is as bad for him or his career if the reviews are not knocking his individual work. I realize I am making an assumption based on reviews I read and I don't even know who this boy is but if I assumed correctly, then as bad as it must feel to have the show knocked down, I am grateful for him if his individual portrayal is not what is negative. If he has gotten into two shows now, I am sure he has a bright future. He certainly has a right to feel disappointed by these reviews but I thought when I read your first post, that he was the one who suffered scathing reviews for HIS portrayal, though I understand when you are part of a cast, that a scathing review of the actual show, also hurts. I am not diminishing his pain because when you are part of an ensemble working on something like a show, you feel ownership and are part of a team and so any knock down of the work, is a bad feeling.</p>
<p>I too read the review of the show you are all talking about. I think I said "Ouch" about five times while reading it. Ben Brantley tends to blow really hot or really cold in his reviews and when he doesn't like a show, he can be REALLY cruel. In this case, I also think he was taking out his dislike for this particular genre of show (i.e., pop music compilation) as well as for this show in particular. I think he goes equally overboard when he really likes something (Anyone remember his review of Donna Murphy in Wonderful Town? - I saw ther in that show and remember feeling Huh?) It has not been a strong year for musicals on Broadway and I think everyone is feeling the pain.</p>
<p>Anyway, sorry for the young man, but as has been said above, Brantley spared the individual performers, which he often does not do, so there is that to be grateful for...... Another example of why it helps so much to be young -have you noticed how much higher they bounce? ;-)</p>
<p>Thanks to both of you for empathizing here. :) It's true that the reviews were of the show itself and not the individual performers. I told my D the same thing (always trying to find that silver lining, you know!) I think that the cast, as a whole, is very disappointed because they were all so excited about the show and being in the OBC of a show. It's a first for many, if not all, of them so quite exciting. And I guess no matter how long you've been doing this, it's still difficult to read reviews like that of a show which you've put so much into. </p>
<p>Theatermom, it's funny you should mention Donna Murphy because I used that same example of Brantley's reviews! :) I also didn't see what the big deal was with her performance. I'm sure that they'll all survive and do just fine. It's just the initial sting that's the most painful. And the cookies may help!</p>
<p>Ive been biting my tongue about this for awhile and Im not talking to anybody in particular or about any necessarily recent posts, but some of you might want to think about being slightly more careful about how much information you give out about yourselves and/or your kids in here. The people who post here are a wonderful, supportive group and Id hate to make anybody paranoid or inhibit the conversation, but you never know who might be lurking. Actually, Im fairly sure there are people from some of the schools being discussed who read this board and Id hate to see anybody sabotage his/her own audition before even walking in the room. It would be even worse for a parent to do so. Theres a safety issue, too. Maybe Im overly paranoid, but I can tell you from a past bad experience that creepy stalker pervs are not fans you want to have and they do lurk in places like this. Just be careful. (stepping off soapbox)</p>
<p>On a lighter note GO PATS!!! My team didnt make the playoffs, but Tom Brady is just entirely too yummy to not get my support. Isnt he a Michigan alum? Obviously, Im not from Philly, but I must say I do kind of enjoy the idea of booing Santa Claus. ;)</p>
<p>Hey, Thesbo, I was glad to see a Pats fan flying bravely out there among all the Eagle-people here! I grew up in the Boston area (Needham) and -- even though I'm not a big football fan in general, and even though my H is a lilfelong Redskins fan, not to mention a lifelong Red Sox hater -- I'm still loyal to my hometown teams. So, yeah, go Pats!!</p>
<p>Thanks, also, Thesbo, for you very wise privacy-related cautions. Best to confine personal info to private messages/emails.</p>
<p>Well, OK, Thesbo, I read more closely and realized your allegiance to the Patriots is basically Brady-driven. You and a zillion other females! (and, no doubt, some males) Support for New England nonetheless appreciated!</p>
<p>Alwaysamom-
I'm right there with you feeling your pain. My oldest d's friend, a 3rd year at Tisch was also in the show. My d has performed with her and directed her last year in Seussical at Tisch. She is an excellant performer and left school this year to do that show. </p>
<p>After reading years of Ben Brantley reviews, I can't say I was surprised by it.
As noted, I was pleased that no cast members took a beating.
Did you hear about any other reviews in nyc? Fortunately there have been shows that have survived in spite of the Times review.</p>
<p>Best of luck to all auditioning this week-end.... Just Breathe!!!</p>
<p>Artsymom,
LOL Yeah. Once my Bucs are out of it, I go totally bandwagon. In this case, it's one HAWT bandwagon! Almost makes me wanna audition for BU. :)</p>
<p>Go Eagles! Small world, we live minutes from your childhood home. We also live in a recently converted barn. Judi</p>
<p>Here's a tough question for all you college-bound students and parents of college-bound students. Do you have any good advice for a talented boy who lives and breathes musical theatre only who might not be able to graduate high school because he's failed a lot of courses? Obviously, this question isn't for my D (who isn't a boy LOL), but I would really love some helpful information to pass along to someone else.</p>
<p>If he manages to graduate, he won't have the GPA for college admission. What would you advise he do? Are there places like AMDA that would take him? Would it be worth it? Taking performing arts only courses at a JC?</p>
<p>mtmommy,</p>
<p>We were at North Carolina School of the Arts a couple of weeks ago and they mentioned that they offer a diploma program for students who do not meet their admissions criteria academically but are talented. Students who successfully complete their academic courses can then move to the BFA program. It is not officially a MT program but seems to offer both dance and voice components each of the 4 years. I am a newbie at all this but perhaps there are similar programs out there. Good luck to this young man.</p>
<p>Yes there are certificate programs out there that might be an option. One such two year program is at Circle in the Square Theater Program in NYC. I don't know the academic qualifications needed to get in but they are not going to be the same as needed for a college program.</p>
<p>Follow up to my post for MTMommy.... I looked at the application for Circle in the Square Theater School, and there are no education requirements or transcripts. It does involve a resume. There is an audition and in fact, there is an audition date in LA so you might want to have this boy look at their website to learn more.
Susan</p>
<p>Susan and Caromom, thanks so much. Circle in the Square is a great idea. If anyone knows of any other programs like that which are good, please let me know. I'll have to check out the North Carolina School of the Arts program. I've never heard of an alternative program like that.</p>
<p>mtmommy- I'm sure there are many more straight-conservatories with no educational requirements in NYC- some that he should check out are: American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Neighborhood Playhouse (alum is Sherie Rene Scott- of The Last Five Years), and AMDA</p>
<p>Many of the studios associated with Tisch have a full program of courses that are available to anyone. I know Lee Strasberg offers a certificate. Also, when he gets his highschool diploma, there may be any number of schools with acting, MT type programs that are not selective for admissions. A letter requesting a term on probation may carry some weight.</p>