Congrats @stmama that is Wonderful!
@artsykidsmom I just saw a photo on FB of a friends daughter doing her “signing” for theatre. There were three students in the photo, one going to Ball State and my friends Daughter going to Eckard in FL. I was happy to see the school recognizing the hard work these kids put into it. (It was a Catholic HS not a PA)
For anyone going to Shenandoah in the fall, just saw they posted info on their new MT director.
Congratulations @stmama
Page 1 of the neverending journey
My son discovered theater as a fourth grader when he was dragged along to his brother’s rehearsals in junior high. He attended a public high school with a reasonably good theater department and an excellent choral program. S was involved in all aspects of performing from plays to comedy troupe to choir to madrigals to musicals. During his sophomore year, he began private voice lessons. Between his junior and senior years he auditioned for and was accepted into an actor’s training intensive that lasted for a week. S parlayed the conservatory experience into an internship that lasted his entire senior year. He had had a couple of years of dance training when he was in 4th and 5th grades until his senior year when he began formal jazz, tap and hip hop lessons.
Our odyssey actually begins during the 2014-15 school year. In the spring of his junior year, knowing how crazy his senior year would be and how hectic it looked like college auditions would be, I suggested that he consider a gap year. He considered it, but in the end, when his friends were applying to schools during the fall of his senior year, he got nervous and decided that the gap year was not what he wanted.
So, we furiously started applying to schools and scheduling auditions. Neither my son, his counsellors and teachers at school nor I knew much about the audition process. We didn’t know about how to choose an appropriate monologue or song. Fortunately, my son’s voice teacher was able to help him choose a song. One of his drama teachers from high school helped him choose a monologue.
Because he had originally considered a gap year, we only visited CCPA, Northwestern, Rockford University, DePaul and Columbia, which were all local since we live in suburban Chicago. When he decided that he wanted to go right away, we were already behind in the process. Since we weren’t sure exactly what he was looking for, he applied and auditioned for 19 programs. All except four were at the Chicago Unifieds. NYU, Rockford, CCPA, and DePaul were on campus. Because we weren’t quite sure of what we were doing, we applied a kind of shotgun approach to choosing schools for auditions.
Pre screens passed were: Otterbein and NYU-Steinhardt. Pre screens not passed: PACE.
Schools applied to:: Point Park, Montclair, Hartt, University of the Arts, Viterbo, Otterbein, NYU, University of Utah, Millikin, CCPA, Emerson, Columbia, Muhlenberg, Western Michigan, Rockford University, Julliard, Syracuse, DePaul, Webster
Schools auditioned for: Point Park, Montclair, Hartt, UArts, Viterbo, Otterbein, NYU, Utah, Millikin, CCPA, Emerson, Western Michigan, Rockford, Julliard, Syracuse, DePaul
Accepted academically to all.
Accepted artistically: Point Park: BFA MT
Viterbo: BFA Acting
NYU: BFA MT
Utah: BFA MT
Millikin: BFA Acting
Emerson: BA Theater Arts
Rockford: BFA MT
Western Michigan: BFA MT
Waitlisted: CCPA
Rejected: U Arts, Hartt, Montclair, Otterbein, Julliard, Syracuse, DePaul
Withdrawn: Webster
Non-audition: Muhlenberg, Columbia
Page 2 of the neverending journey
Of the schools S was accepted to, he felt the best about Viterbo (audition experience) and Point Park (reputation). Because his senior year was so swamped, we decided to commit to both of them and visit as soon as school got out. His heart was never in either school though and I couldn’t get him to visit. Early on, S had formed a strong connection with CCPA. He had visited several times and really liked what he saw. He also had several friends who attended the school and were very happy there and he had multiple Chicago connections due to his internship experience. Because of this he really wanted to go to CCPA and waited optimistically for the call that he was removed from the wait list and accepted. That call never came. By graduation, he knew he was going to either Point Park or Viterbo. In early July, S came to me and said that he thought that he would like to take a gap year. He felt that he really wanted to attend CCPA and wanted to take the year to get more dance training, voice training and audition (and hopefully be a part of) some local theater.
So now, panic sets in. Even though I am a guidance counselor, I have never planned a gap year and am only aware of companies that help you arrange a service learning or travel abroad experience. We also had to call both Point Park and Viterbo and withdraw. Shortly after his decision, Viterbo called and offered to move him to their MT program. He declined. That was a hard call as the Viterbo people are incredibly kind and caring. On the advice of a faculty member from CCPA, S decided to attend a pre college program (Broadway Breakthru) held at CCPA in July. While there, he met many people in the industry and some Roosevelt faculty.
S and I decided that he was going to make the most of this gap year. Knowing that our expertise about the college audition process was limited, we reached out to Chelsea Diehl and My College Audition. The goal was for Sam to be better prepared for auditions, find schools (including CCPA) that would be a match for him and work to improve his craft. Even though My College Audition is designed to prepare students for college auditions, I believe that S learned a lot about acting, acting for the song, song and monologue selection and dance through his experiences with them. He had wonderful coaches that he really enjoyed working with.
To further capitalize on the gap year, S auditioned for and received a scholarship into an excellent ballet academy. He was also promoted into advanced jazz and tap classes with a noted Chicago area choreographer and instructor from another school. In all, he took dance classes six times a week. His wonderful and ever so supportive voice teacher started working with him three times a week. I was concerned about S becoming lonely and disconnected from peers so we decided that he would take a creative writing class at the local community college. He was fortunate enough to to place out of Freshman English so this was a natural fit for him. He decided to join the college choir and audition further for their elite choir and their a Capella choir. He made both. I think being a part of a those regularly scheduled classes and activities helped keep him grounded and focused. As an aside, the choir participated in a Masterworks concert at Carnegie Hall this past April that S got to be a part of.
Lastly, he began auditioning for local theater in the Chicago area, both community and professional. By December, he had a complete schedule that would carry him until May 22nd or 2016. We were gratified to see that he got callbacks to several paid shows during the year. He landed one that opened this past month.
Now, for the audition experience this year. Chelsea and S created a list of 14 schools for S to audition for. They included reach, match and safety schools.
Reach Schools: Emerson, BOCO, Baldwin Wallace, CCPA
Match Schools: Oklahoma City University, Hartt, Point Park, LIU-Post, Marymount Manhattan, UArts, Viterbo, Montclair
Safety Schools: Muhlenberg, Columbia
Page 3 of the neverending journey
Chelsea is a gifted organizer and really worked with my S to prepare him not only for the auditions but to create a schedule of when and where he should audition. One of the best pieces of advice we got from her was to schedule some early auditions. To that end, S scheduled an early action with Emerson on campus on November 7th. While in Boston, S got to work with Chelsea and some of his other coaches in person. We toured Boston and Emerson, took in an improv show and really just enjoyed the experience. S was a bit stressed because he was beginning tech week for a show he was in and the audition in Boston would make him 2 hours late. We almost canceled because he was so worried about his tech. In the end, we decided that this was his future and we needed to proceed with the audition. Boy am I glad we did! The audition was a wonderful experience. He got terrific feedback on both his acting and vocal auditions. We left Boston feeling very positive about the experience. My S was rewarded a few weeks later when he was accepted into the BFA MT program on December 15th as and early action student.
S felt like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders and that all of his hard work had been validated with his Emerson admission. We returned to Boston right after S’s admission to Emerson for a master class at My College Audition and then later for early action admission day. The facilities are second to none and the faculty, staff and students could not have been more welcoming and Boston is an awesome city. Emerson went to the top of my S’s list.
S, Chelsea and I met right after Christmas and decided that S would now be able to cancel some of his auditions. The rationale was that if he got into no where else Emerson was an awesome choice and he would be very happy with it. Based on this, S contacted LIU Post, OCU, UArts, Montclair, Point Park, Marymount Manhattan, Columbia and Muhlenberg and withdrew his application.
Next up was CCPA (Roosevelt). S visited and shadowed a student for a day prior to auditions. He came home still very excited about CCPA. His audition was scheduled for the last weekend in January, which was CCPA’s first audition weekend. He was received warmly by faculty members he had worked with and visited. The faculty member that ran his audition interviewed him thoroughly about his gap year, what he had learned, etc. He left the auditions feeling great and very hopeful.
The following weekend we attended the Chicago Unifieds. The first day, S auditioned for BOCO. He felt that the audition went well, but didn’t get any kind of feedback from the panel. He loved the over two hour dance call. Sitting outside the room, it sounded like the kids were having a blast! He had a good feeling about he audition, but not as strong as Emerson and CCPA.
The next day, S auditioned for Hartt. Based on listening to Alan Rust speak last year, I already knew what a fine program. He did not disappoint and put on a wonderful presentation for parents and prospective students. S’s audition went extremely well, with Dean Rust speaking to S about his early theater experiences and how they were like his own. The dance call went well also and they knew S by name by the end of the experience.
On our last day, S auditioned for Viterbo. We were able to finally visit Viterbo the prior October and knew it to be an excellent program with top notch facilities, a great program and a reputable and caring faculty and students. My S’s only concern was location as he really wanted to be in a major city not a destination campus. While at Viterbo, we saw their production of Oklahoma. It was excellent and as good if not better than the production of A Man of No Importance we saw while visiting NYU the prior year. S had another wonderful audition experience.
Unifieds this year were a piece of cake compared to the grueling experience we subjected ourselves to in 2015. Thanks Chelsea!
Page 4 of the neverending journey
Our last audition was scheduled for February 14th at Baldwin Wallace. We arrived Friday night for an early audition on Saturday, February 13th. At 9 am, we were welcomed by an entire orchestra and orchestral performance and multiple presentations by the faculty at BW. Then the students were whisked away for their auditions and lunch. We were given a tour and served a hot lunch while we waited. Later during the dance call, the parents were treated to another question and answer session with the department head and parents of a student who also happened to be Broadway and television actors. That night, we say a university production of In the Heights. S met a performer in the show who offered to let him shadow him in his classes and voice lesson if we were interested in staying until Monday. S and I agreed and spent Sunday exploring Cleveland. It is a beautiful city that I had known very little about up until then. Baldwin Wallace is another school in a small town about 20 minutes outside of Cleveland. After his weekend at BW, S now had another school he really liked.
Finally, we attended the Emerson early action student admission day in Boston on the last weekend in February. At that time, we also toured BOCO. The day we toured BOCO was 60 degrees and sunny. Students from BOCO and Berklee were hanging out at the sidewalk cafes playing music and talking. S had a very personalize tour and was able to sit in on classes. After this weekend, he had six schools that he could see himself at and loved.
With auditions over and S waiting to begin rehearsals for his next show, the next few weeks we played the waiting game. BW was first…a rejection. This stung a little, but S took it in stride. Since there were so many good choices, I think he was relieve to have one taken out of his hands. Viterbo, Hartt and CCPA came within quick succession, all acceptance. We waited until near the end of March to hear from BOCO. We felt optimistic, but ended up being rejected. Again, S took this rejection in stride. (He is much better at this than I am!) Now he had four schools to choose from.
S was still leaning heavily toward CCPA, but felt very conflicted about he other schools. He had been told that Emerson was one of the top MT programs in the nation and he shouldn’t pass it up. When he was in New York, he saw that four Hartt grads were in Beautiful. He saw several Viterbo and CCPA grads performing in the Chicago area. All were impressive.
We decided to wait to see what the financial aid packages were like and to compare the curriculum of each school to see what was the best fit for S. Hartt and Viterbo were very generous. CCPA is more limited but ultimately made him the best offer they were capable of. Emerson, with a $65k price take was the most expensive prospect. After a lot of soul searching and talking to many people in the business who told him that if he could be successful no matter what school he choose and that the school choice really didn’t matter as much as what he did with what he was offered, S ultimately followed his heart and came full circle. It was difficult turning down three other wonderful programs, but not surprisingly, each followed his declination with support and well wishes. If only he could clone himself!
Choice: Chicago College of Performing Arts
Lessons learned: hire a coach and if you can’t afford it, at the very least get a hold of Chelsea Diehl’s book “Before the College Audition”. Start early. The first year, we started prepping in November for early February auditions. During S’s gap year, we were prepared by early October. Make sure the material you choose fits you. Do a few auditions early both to get over the jitters and to get an understanding of the experience. Make sure you get plenty of sleep and water. This is an exciting and stressful time, take care of yourself. Start visiting schools junior year or at the very least the summer before senior year. Sit in on classes where you can. Do not take any rejection personally. It is a part of the business you are choosing and does not mean you do not have talent. You may just not fit their needs at the time. Lastly, do not be afraid to take a gap year should you need it or want to. Above all, persevere! There is a place for everyone. This year has truly been a blessing for my S and my family. My S has grown as a performer and as a young man. He has met people at every school and every performance venue that he has stayed in touch with. The theater community is ultimately small and very supportive. We got to travel together and make some memories that his senior year did not give us time for. My son learned that with extra work and the generous support and encouragement of others that he could achieve what he was after. To all of you at CC that have shared your support and experiences so freely, both privately and publicly, I thank you. It has been a joy to see what each of you has experienced. Now that it’s over I’m excited of an so very proud of my S and his hard work. I’m also relieved for S and just experiencing a bit of let down myself. What a marvelous journey!
So excited about all the new CCPA kids. What a journey! Best of luck to your son.
I don’t know how to do the fancy quote box but I love and agree with this wholeheartedly
“After a lot of soul searching and talking to many people in the business who told him that if he could be successful no matter what school he choose and that the school choice really didn’t matter as much as what he did with what he was offered”
Me too @bisouu !!Congrats @martin247998 !!!
Congrats to all and welcome to the CCPA family @MontclairDiva @MVYMom and @martin247998 !
@theatrework My S had a great experience, His audition was at NY unifieds, He had a tour with the director of acting the next day and remained in contact until the end. He ultimately decided on another school to enroll but it was in the final running. I really enjoyed the people in the actual program…Admission was a little wonky but aside from that we didnt have any isues
@martin247998 congratulations on your decision. I’m curious and you don’t have to share if you don’t want to. What made the coach believe certain schools were reaches and others were matches?
@Jkellynh17 thanks for the support and advice!
@Ducky312, we had the same coach and that’s just how she has people think about it as they construct their list of schools. Based primarily on the school’s reputation and admit rates, I’d assume, but perhaps also taking into account things like academic stats of the applicant, for schools that care? I really never asked, to tell you truth.
But in the end, I’m not sure how useful the concept is when applied to auditioned schools. My son got into several schools on his “Reach” list, but turned down by one supposed “Match” and waitlisted by another. So I’d take those categories with a large grain of salt.
I think her goal is primarily just to keep kids from creating such a top-heavy list that they get rejected everywhere.
Glad I could help.
Congratulations @martin247998
A lot of coaches use similar terms when discussing schools - our coach used reach and “fit” rather than “Match”, but same premise.
It’s important to note, what may be a fit school for some may be a reach for others and vice verse, depending on the program. For example, if you know a program puts a lot of weight on dance skills, and you’ve had one year of dance- that school will probably be a reach for you. Or if you apply to a program that is a bachelor of music yet you’ve never played an instrument, sung in a school choir or been introduced to music theory, that program may be a reach for you. Fit schools are ones that you meet their academic criteria and you feel your MT skills are on par with accepted students in previous years. There is no guarantee you will be admitted to a school your coach considers a fit or match for you. It just means they feel that school meets what you are looking for and they feel your skills are on par with who they normally accept. It’s important to note even if a school is a fit for you, the odds of acceptance to any program are not high. So although it may be a fit for you, it may be a fit for many other applicants as well. And they can only take so many. So do not think because it is considered a match its a guarantee for acceptance. It is not. We see all the time people who don’t get in their fit school but get in one of their reaches. Outcomes are unpredictable to say the least.
A college coach can be very helpful in assessing your strengths and what you are looking for in a school and helping you come up with a list of reaches and matches that makes sense for you.
In general, a safety is considered a school whose academic requirements you fit within comfortably and for which there is no audition.
<:-P @martin247998. That was a journey, but I loved reading every second of if. Best of luck at CCPA. You are going to learn so much there!