I just looked at photos of Montclair, and it looks like it belongs in Southern California! All that stucco and red tile in NJ…very unexpected! 
@boatmom you get the award for best story of the day
@theaterwork, thanks but the day is young – who knows what other stories may appear in this thread?
@boatmom, love it! The conquest of MT as a legitimate choice of major, with Montclair beating out NW, MSM, and even the Ivies. Yeah for the underdog. Your son must be a young man who knows himself well–will look forward to hearing great things about him in the future! Congrats!
What is ONU and UAB? Thanks!
@Mel2421 ONU is Ohio Northern University and UAB is University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Ok Thanks! @Idunk99
@boatmom- my d concurs - rider couldn’t pay her to attend- she felt they were rude and disorganized!
@sleepymom, I overheard a lot of kids at Unifieds saying similar things. But we probably shouldn’t judge the program based on that. I have heard that it’s a great program. Certainly my son’s coach had nothing bad to say about it, particularly the vocal training.
@boatmom , I love seeing your son’s final decision story here. It’s been a pleasure sharing a part of his and your journey with you this past year (actually, more, I think–that is unbelievable!) I wish your son all of the success in the world–by his own definition, of course!
Thanks, @myloves – you were one of my earliest CC “advisers”!
Adviser–ha! Just sharing our experiences, supporting each other, and rooting for each other’s kids, in the truest MT CC style!
@MTMom98 Our FSU story is similar…our D fell in love with it early on. The odds there are exceedingly tough (like all BFA in MT programs) so we were beyond thrilled for her when this came through. Really, it was a deliriously happy moment-- and a huge relief. Looking forward to meeting you when we’re there to see our kids in a show. We know students now in the program and they have been beyond enthusiastic.
By the way, we’ll post the full story of our D’s journey eventually-- we just haven’t had the time. Suffice it to say, everything I’ve read from CC’s Musical Theatre threads was true…the good and the challenging. This MT world is absolutely different from the rest of the college world (our older D went ED to a school in the Northeast… Very different experience!)
Congrats to your son @boatmom! Welcome to Montclair. I’m sure your son will have a wonderful experience there!! :D/
@myloves @WTXMom @MTMom98 @sbc @Reckless @deesthree and everyone else. Thanks for the support. My D really is a strong one but is still struggling with the aftermath of losing her friend. So much has changed for her and all the other kids in her tight knit theatre family. Suicide is so hard on everyone left behind especially when it is so unexpected and unexplained. It’s easy to think " but he had everything " yet no one knows what was truely going on even though we all thought we knew him so well. His poor mom has been devastated. I just keep thinking back to the beginning of this college journey… We were together at Columbia for open house/tour of the theatre department with both of them just a little more than a year ago. My D and the boy had so many plans for school, getting an apartment together and living in Chicago. They seemed so young but so dedicated to pursuing thier dreams. ( he wanted direct and was also interested in Columbia’s comedy writer program.) When he died my daughter really struggled with feeling like “nothing matters anymore” especially it being finals week when it happened and being two weeks out from opening night of thier show, three weeks from unifieds etc etc. I really give thanks for her theatre director who knew how this would affect Taykor and all the other kids and took so much time and effort to make sure that our kids were taken care of in what ever way they needed emotionally and getting them through the funeral, the next shows and thier planned trip to the National performing arts festival at Disney right after all that. She let them know it was ok to feel sad and lost but it was ok to move forward with life and plans and that it was even ok to laugh and eventually be happy again.
We all know theater kids we know the bonds they make and how strong they feel things. Theater friends quickly become like family. And these kids were no different. They have held to each other for love and support though this and have grown so much. I am so proud of each and every one of them for the love and support they show each other at a time when kids can so easily tear each other apart.
We got together one night after a rehearsal ( before his funeral) and the kids made a scrapbook for his mom and we put together a memorial video to the music “for good” with them all showing how knowing him had changed them “because I knew you…I have been changed for good”. It’s on YouTube Tyler McCray Memorial and its beautiful. There is also footage of them doing thier Titania and Oberon scene that is priceless to us now that he is gone. He mother was so happy that I had captured that moment
Instead of going on with the production of The Pajama Game ( my D and the boy were the leads ) the director wisely chose another show… Godspell. The ensemble feel and the message was what these kids needed. The parents in the audience cried every night during the goodbye scene knowing it was really thier friend these kids were saying goodbye to each night.
Taylor is moving on. She says a new city and new shool and making lots of new friends will be good for her. Our trip to New York/Broadway really reinforced that this is truely what she wants to do with her life and she feels “so close” to being on those stages and living that life. But she knows ( and I know too) that she will never forget her first true love especially since they were tied together through so much of her high school theatre experience.
Wow. Sorry that was long and sad. I started typing and it kinda just poured out. Sigh
I guess Theatre Kids are not the only ones who feel things strongly. They do come from Theatre Moms after all… Lol
@TaylorsmomWI, thank you for sharing your story. It is so sad and absolutely heartbreaking, but also inspiring how these kids came together to support each other and make the tribute for his mom. How hard it must have been for your daughter, not JUST to lose a beloved friend to suicide, but on top of that, to have it happen right at the busiest and most stressful time when she needed to be on her A-game! My heart goes out to her, and to the boy’s other friends and family. And also, my deepest admiration to your daughter for getting through it all with strength and courage, and landing at the college that is perfect for her. After this, she is certainly ready to face any challenges life throws at her!
Best of luck to all the kids in the class of 2020! And thank you all for sharing your stories and all the advice tricks and tips along the the way. I know there is no way I would have been able to help my D navigate all this and come out successfully on the other end with out everything I learned on this site! ( I did lurk and read a lot before actually having courage to post! ) the story of how two nights before leaving for unifieds in Chicago I found out by reading on this site that there was not accompanists at every audition and daughter needed cut tracks to bring along with a Bluetooth speaker just shows that you guys have changed lives! Lol. If I hadn’t known… She would have gone down with her little book of sheet music and sang for the three that had pianists. Instead she confidently went down with cuts of every song in her book on her Iphone and her cute little Bluetooth speaker and rocked out 12 additional walk in auditions … Including the UAB one which will no doubt change her life! Thank you all!!
Thank you, @taylorsmomWI. You remind us of how fragile our kids are, no matter how strong and grown up they seem to be on stage. I think your words will help many of us hold on to the precious moments we have with our theatre kids before they leave for college. I’m so sorry for your loss.
Such heartbreak and such resilience!! Best of luck to your daughter!!!