<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>My daughter (a current 9th grader) is considering the California State Summer School for the Arts in Theater. Does anyone know if it is better to apply as a rising Junior or a rising Senior? Can you attend two years in a row? If you attended, how was it? Any info would be appreciated!</p>
<p>Hi astute!</p>
<p>My S applied last year as a 9th grader for theatre and went. He LOVED it!! One of the best experiences of his life… literally had to peel him away from all his crying friends when it was time to go home. The amount of talent they are exposed to in that month is extraordinary. The thing that I really liked about is that all of the different art genres hang out together when they are not in classes and each night there is some sort of activity or show from all of the different genres. So one night you might see a dance performance, the next a visual art show etc… the faculty is amazing and my son learned A LOT!!. It is amazing how cheap it is for what you get. My S applied to Tisch’s summer theatre program this year, got in, but can’t go because it is just too expensive… so he is going to Canada to study Shakespeare with Stratford Shakespeare CO. </p>
<p>Anyway, I know that it is VERY hard to get into… and I guess it is too late for this year, so just have her apply and see what happens… I think technically you can do the program twice, but I heard it is very hard, as they have so many applicants and they want to give priority to kids who have never done it before.</p>
<p>Good Luck!!</p>
<p>Thanks so much – it really does look like an amazing program. The price is great too! Did your son have any issues being with older kids (drugs, etc.) that you know of? Was there adult oversight of the kids when they weren’t in class? This would be the first time that my daughter would be gone for such a long time. We are planning for next summer, not this one, so she would be in 10th grade going into 11th. The summer Shakespeare program sounds good too! Thanks for all your help.</p>
<p>I just looked at the Tisch Program cost…holy cow, there is now way we could do that!</p>
<p>astute… I know… that Tisch program is crazy… he applied for a scholarship, as they advertise that they have them available, but he didn’t get it… he knew going in that if he didn’t get the scholarship he couldn’t go. I think his first choice was the Shakespeare thing anyway… so all id good.</p>
<p>You know, I don’t know about the supervision… I guess I wasn’t that worried about that. I know there are a lot of faculty and adults around, so I would ask someone in admissions. They are VERY strict about the drug and alcohol thing…my S didn’t report anyone doing anything… but he was one of the younger ones and they are housed segregated by age. The campus is GORGEOUS and the facilities amazing… i live somewhat close and had no idea it was that pretty. Overall I would highly recommend it.</p>
<p>We also live nearby, so that is also a reason I like the program – can you tell that this is my eldest child?!? ;)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info, she is really excited about apply, so I think we are going to do it. This summer she is doing a local Shakespeare theater class and then a week at an acting studio in Hollywood.</p>