D thinking MT again!

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>Hello everyone!</p>

<p>My D is currently a sophomore in a public high school in the New Orleans metro area, where she is a member of the Talented Theatre program. She has performed in local community and school musicals since she was 10. Her most recent role was in January, she played Marcy Park in her school's production of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." </p>

<p>Sunday she decided once again to major in MT in college, after thinking for some time that she needed to major in teaching to "pay the bills" and just minor in theatre. </p>

<p>This change of heart resulted from participating in a Broadway Connection master class with two dancers in the West Side Story tour during its stop in NOLA. The instructors were Alexandra Frohlinger and Ryan Chotto, who were wonderful teachers and encouraged her to follow her dream. Once she got home after the class, she immediately started looking at MT schools online!! (If your child has a chance to do this, I highly recommend it!)</p>

<p>I noticed such a change in her .... she was so excited and thrilled, the way she is whenever she is doing a musical. I can see that it truly is her passion.</p>

<p>So as I mentioned in another thread, we have just a little over a year before its time for her to begin the audition/application process during her senior year. We are looking for schools in the south that won't break the bank!! My D also has fairly good academic stats (4.0 unweighted GPA, ACT=25 & PSAT=192 as freshman, all honors/gifted classes, total of 7 AP classes by the time she graduates), so we are also hopeful that will provide some merit scholarship money!!</p>

<p>She just took the SAT 3/12 and we are having her scores sent to Coastal Carolina, Alabama, Texas State, and Oklahoma. Also have considered Elon, UCF, Ole Miss, Southern Miss but the last two are more safeties.... </p>

<p>Any other schools we should consider?? Besides getting as much experience in auditioning, anything else you would recommend she work on in the next year???</p>

<p>Thanks in advance. I'm hoping to get to know you all a lot more over the next year or so!!</p>

2

<p>Hi- Go read “Preparing to Apply” above in MT “Hot Topics.” Good luck.</p>

3

<p>RUN. Run NOW.</p>

<p>J/K. No, once my daughter came out of the closet so to speak and quit pretending she was going to minor in business or any such thing and it was going to be theater, I was completely behind her. Their passion is their passion. My husband was against it at first but then he would come home every day hating his job and what he did and finally one day he was busy hating his job after work and he suddenly said - “you know what - let her do what she wants.”</p>

<p>So - good luck in the upcoming process to you and your D. It’s quite a ride. </p>

<p>One thing - make sure when you say “safeties”, and you DO need one (I would recommend at least two) on your list, that they are a true safety, which means, academically and financially as well as a non auditioned program. Those are the real gems in this process and not all that easy to find.</p>

4

<p>Running is good advice, SDF. I’d run but I’m too pooped. (Parents preparing for future audition season - get a personal gym coach to get in your own top physical shape, and include yoga, meditation, etc. I’m only kidding just a little.)</p>

5

<p>Y’all are too funny! But maybe you can start a consulting business…or become coaches for the parents, not the kids!!</p>

<p>When D told me about switching back to MT, my heart kinda sank…but just for a minute. I know that she LOVES it and it is her passion, but I KNEW that she would be in for a difficult time. As someone in another thread posted, I believe she’s great, but I don’t know how she would compete nationally AND I don’t particularly want her going cross country in a big city… (that’s my mamma nerves…)</p>

<p>She was going to go to the performing arts high school in New Orleans, but logistically it would have been very difficult since it is 30 miles one way and there’s no transportation!! She went to camps there for two summers and started on the weekly Saturday program but it got to be too much of a conflict with school activities!</p>

<p>sdf: The two Mississippi schools are definitely safeties…non-audition and good academically & financially. We do have one very small MT school in Louisiana, that’s non-audition but we’ve already visited and D doesn’t want to go there. It’s not even on the Big List…guess I should sent a note…</p>

<p>Anyway, thanks again…Looking forward to getting to know all of you!</p>

6

<p>I always think that people should not just be thinking of non-auditioned safeties, but matches as well, so that if no audition school works out, the student has a chance to go somewhere they won’t feel like they’re settling for.</p>

7

<p>Snapdragon, I can totally relate! My daughter thought all through Junior year that this would be an extra curricular in college. She’s a smart kid, great SAT’s, smart enough to get into many universities academically and smart enough to know its a tough business…</p>

<p>Then in a meeting with her guidance counselor, discussing some schools she had visited, and when the GC asked her if MT was playing into choice of major, schools she was visiting, her voice quavered as she answered and a tear slipped down her face. H and looked at each other, a bit uncertain of what we might be getting into. Wise GC (this is still jr year) told her to look at Ithaca. It’s close enough to Syracuse to visit both. Both have good reps in other areas so H was satisfied. Then at Ithaca, a choir was rehearsing, D stood in the doorway and held back some emotions. In one of the dining halls at Ithaca there was a piano and some kids were fooling around, singing, playing the piano etc. D just beamed. </p>

<p>Next thing we knew the old list was in the garbage, new list formed, more vocal lessons, 16 bar cuts, 32 bar cuts, timed monologues, more dance lessons, plane tickets, hotels, rental cars, unifieds, BFA, BA, audition, non audition and a senior year I never imagined! Mind you, she did not end up at Ithaca, but is happy and thriving where she ended up!</p>

8

<p>mom2them - Since you are starting the process now and are looking at southern schools, you may want to consider allowing your D to attend Southeastern Theatre Conference. My D attended and auditioned as a high school junior, mainly to get a feel for how college auditions might go for her as senior, and had a really fun and positive experience. In addition to the auditions, there are booths set up with reps from the various schools so you can go and pick up information and talk to someone from schools that might interest you. And there are some really good workshops as well. </p>

<p>There is a fee to attend but we found it well worth it - plus we had a fun weekend together. It is first come first served once the 2012 auditions open up so I suggest checking back in about September if you decide you are interested:
[Undergraduate</a> School Auditions and Interviews - Southeastern Theatre Conference, Inc.](<a href=“http://www.setc.org/auditions/undergraduate.php]Undergraduate”>http://www.setc.org/auditions/undergraduate.php)</p>

<p>Best of luck!!</p>