@calmom Thank you! She is so excited to be attending CCM. i hope we all get this COVID under control so that all the students can spread their wings and go off to college and soar! (I have two handles as I got locked Out in my laoptop)
I actually remember thinking that you both had such a great attitude about the injury and that it was awesome that you could just be lighthearted about it and let it roll right off of you…because in that situation, what else can you do?!? So happy it all worked out so well in the end!!! 
My D is still deciding. She has narrowed it down to one school she would be extremely happy to commit to amongst her current acceptances, but she also has a couple of very interesting WLs that would be tempting if they turned into offers. Given that we had planned to visit D’s acceptances during spring break, she is in the unfortunate (yet typical this year) experience of having never visited any of her top choices, which complicates things further. So to be completely honest, we are putting off making any decisions for as long as we possibly can…and we may indeed be in for a long wait, since so many schools have bumped out decision day to June 1. We are also very concerned about the possibility of “online only” school in the fall, which has led us to wonder how much cost should play a factor in the final decision. Anyway…didn’t mean to thread hijack…will update as soon as I can!
@muttsandMT Not at all!! I am so glad to hear your story as well!! This is truly an extraordinary year and is so hard to navigate!! We were fortunate enough to have done quite a few on campus visits and tours so if any of her schools are on my daughters list I am very happy to share what ever I may know DM me!! This will truly make them all stronger in the end! What a fierce group of young adults they will be!!!
@bfamt424 Congratulations to your D, and I’m sorry she hurt her foot.
Out of curiosity, does Pace / other universities not have anywhere for applicants to warm up before the dance call other than a cramped bathroom? What do you recommend applicants do to warm up so they don’t hurt themselves?
Also, how low is that machine or how high can your daughter kick?!
@Twelfthman hahah They were in a large holding room at Pace and there were so many parents and students in there(NYC-ya know) It was indeed possible to find a piece of floor to stretch out on. She was waiting for a stall to open in the bathroom and was releasing nervous energy and Bam!!!
The Tampon machine did survive!! Lol Pretty sure one of the 4 toes was fractured based on the bump(Callous formation) on the bone that developed weeks after. The other three were just sprained or badly bruised! Why our family finds this story hysterically funny I don’t know!!
@hbdaughter I really don’t remember what shows they did. I recall D being too young (for us) to stay overnight with the college kids (I think she was 7th or 8th grade). We live 10 minutes from USF so it was easy to shuttle her back and forth.
Chaz was doing a workshop and asked for a volunteer. D raised her hand and they did a scene. He got right up in her face and let the F Bombs fly (I assume mainly character but who knows). At first she was intimidated as he was very aggressive, but then she kind of liked it. She liked his wife better.
Pretty funny.
@hbdaughter I can see why you find it funny. One of the crazy things that would only happen to a dancer. Fortunately it sounds like she handled extremely well given her injury. It reminds me of the time my dancer daughter kicked her leg up at recess and her shoe flew off and landed on the roof of the school.
(Part 1 of 2) Programs Applied to: Dean College, Providence College (BA with MT concentration), Emerson, Arcadia, Marymount Manhattan, Baldwin Wallace, Michigan, Ithaca, Boston Conservatory, Syracuse, American University (BA), Muhlenberg (BA), Rider, Temple, NYU, Point Park,
Carnegie Mellon, Montclair State, Penn State, U Arts, Hartt, Western Connecticut, and Pace
Academically Accepted: All except Michigan, Ithaca, Syracuse, NYU, BoCo, Emerson (I think if you are not artistically accepted at these schools you are not considered for academic acceptance?)
Passed prescreens: All that required it, except for Michigan, Ithaca and BoCo. Emerson redirected to Theatre and Performance, Carnegie Mellon redirected to BFA Acting.
Auditions: Chicago Unifieds–Temple, Rider, NYU, Syracuse, Point Park, Penn State, U Arts, Carnegie Mellon, and Montclair. No walk-ins.
On Campus—Providence, Dean, Emerson, Arcadia, Marymount, Baldwin Wallace, Hartt, West Conn, and Pace.
Accepted to: Temple, Rider, Muhlenberg (BA), Dean, Providence, Arcadia, Marymount, U Arts, Hartt, and West Conn.
Withdrew: American- once D got into some BFA schools that were closer to home, she decided to withdraw
Rejected from: Emerson, Baldwin Wallace, Syracuse, NYU, Point Park, Carnegie Mellon, Montclair State and Penn State.
Wait-listed at: Pace
Coach: Children’s choirs since elementary age, 3 voice teachers intermittently since 9th grade , 4 different dance studios since age 4, more circus coaches than we can count, and 1 acting coach. My College Audition (MCA) for the past year- wonderful coaches and top notch guidance!!
Summer Programs: Not traditional theatre, but for the past three summers D toured as a performer with Circus Smirkus, doing approximately 70 shows each summer. It’s kind of like summer stock (performers also clean the tent after each show, sell concessions, pack up the big top tent, etc).
Background:
We are from Massachusetts and were fortunate enough to have access to lots of performing arts groups for our D to participate in and watch from a very young age. She is primarily a dancer and her first big show (where strangers paid money to see the performance) was at age 7, in the Urban Nutcracker. Her father and I sat in the front row and had the same experience when she came onstage: she was utterly transformed with joy, so much so that neither of us recognized her at first. She was clearly there right in front of us but her stage presence literally dazzled and disoriented us both. This wasn’t our first hint that she was a natural performer, but that experience (which she loved) kicked her performing life into a new gear.
She continued performing in regional/professional productions as a dancer until her first musical, in our local community theater in 8th grade. She played 10 yo Tommy in The Who’s Tommy- a really dark show but she had a great experience both onstage and backstage. At this point she’d been going to circus summer camp for years and did circus training at home. Later in her 8th grade year a regional theatre held auditions for the musical Barnum, so D brought her unicycle and juggling gear and gave it her best shot. She was the youngest cast member and thoroughly enjoyed her first paying gig. That is when we got more serious about voice and working on her audition “book”.
After another great regional theatre experience she decided to focus on school theatre. Her academically rigorous public HS does not have a well-funded theatre program, but that really requires the theatre students to be super creative. D has learned a lot about production through her HS experiences, getting the opportunity to choreograph and direct as well as perform. She loved it all and decided somewhere along the way that MT was her college goal.
Throughout HS she has been touring with Circus Smirkus, which is a whole other story! CS is the only professional touring youth big top circus in North America. We cannot say enough good things about that experience. Truly character building, community building, and top notch performance training. D is primarily a clown but has also juggled, unicycled, and done aerial trapeze routines. Our proudest moment came when she had to step in as understudy, on very short notice, for a sick performer in an aerial routine while continuing her regular track in the show.
Because her summers were completely taken up with the circus, we started early in her junior year with MCA. Chelsea Diehl has assembled a talented, savvy and warm group of coaches who work beautifully with students and parents. She really showed us the ropes and helped match D with amazing vocal coaches and an acting coach. Material was chosen and prescreens were recorded before D left for her circus summer.
(Part 2 of 2)
All applications and prescreens for college were submitted by late September or early October. Her school counselor couldn’t believe the number of schools D applied to, but to their credit she and D’s teachers did their part and everything was in on time. In early fall MCA hosted a great weekend of master classes and mock auditions, which really got D pumped up for auditions. She did early auditions at schools Chelsea felt were within reach, and sure enough, D got a couple of acceptances by the end of October…a huge confidence booster. We kept up with coaching, especially voice and acting. D directed a play at school and somehow kept up with her academic workload too.
We began traveling for auditions in Novemberand kept traveling every weekend until winter break, then revved back up in January. D had Circus Smirkus auditions MLK weekend (which of course required its own new audition act) so we couldn’t do NYC Unifieds. The following weekend she auditioned at Pace and we were super impressed with the students and the program. The students had an incredible energy….they couldn’t stop talking about all of the opportunities they had, and all of the things they were doing. We went to BroadwayCon for the first time and took in a show- it was a really fun weekend.
Chicago Unifieds exceeded our expectations. The weather was surprisingly benign, and although D sometimes had three auditions scheduled in a day we never felt rushed or panicked. She had a great time, got a good vibe in most (but not all) rooms and stayed healthy. Again, thanks to MCA for guiding us through that schedule and providing on-site support! After Unifieds, D ruled out a couple of schools where the fit just wasn’t right. Having those early BFA acceptances in her pocket allowed her to truly listen to her gut.
Acceptances and rejections (and one WL- not priority WL- at Pace) began to roll in gradually and by the end of February D knew she wanted a second look at Hartt. They very kindly arranged for D to shadow a student on a Friday and we went to see their production of Chess that night. It was a great production and the folks are all very lovely, but D realized after her shadow day that it wasn’t the right place for her. We planned to go visit Temple and Rider at upcoming accepted student day events, then……the pandemic struck.
D had never even been to Philly or New Jersey! So we, like so many folks here on CC, began researching online as best we could. Both Temple and Rider provided lots of opportunities to chat with students and faculty, sit in on a Zoom class, etc. We even took a Google Earth “drive” around the campuses (highly recommend). We still had hope for Pace but we knew it was a long shot, so we kept our focus on choosing between Temple and Rider- a really tough choice. Both programs are terrific, D could see herself being happy on either campus, both are close to great theatre in Philly and NYC, fun students she felt comfortable with at both, honors program acceptances to both, good scholarship $ to both… Then today she got the call from Pace.
We knew that if she were to be offered acceptance, D would attend Pace. She wants to be part of this exciting program, with all of the creative opportunities afforded by its location in NYC. Her academics earned her a great scholarship to Pace and admission to the honors program as well. It is just the right fit, no question.
She has now committed to Pace University BFA MT. What a relief! Best of luck to all of the MT 2024 students and families and thanks to everyone who has reached out with information and support.
Congrats @BoogieMa What a great journey. So happy for her that Pace called. Great school, great program great city . Bravo
Congratulations @BoogieMa! Great story with such a great ending with her getting into her #1 choice. Best of luck to your D at Pace!
@BoogieMa congrats!! I didn’t see that Pace WL coming. as I was reading… fantastic outcome.
@BoogieMa Great ending! Bravo to your D! I’ve known lotsa kids who have done Smirkus over the years. Pace is a great program!
Woo-hooo @BoogieMa ! It ain’t over till it’s over! Congratulations to your D and to you - fantastic program with scholarship $ is truly a dream come true!
@BoogieMa congratulations to you and your girl!! What a happy day!!
@BoogieMa Congrats! What a great story and outcome.
@7Heartsong3 Great story! Holy Crap! To accomplish that from where he did is definitely a story of triumph. Congrats!
Congrats @BoogieMa ! So glad your D got that call from Pace and she has found her home! What a fantastic story. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, all. This community has been such a helpful resource and support. It was indeed a very happy day. I hope everyone here gets one too, if you haven’t had one already! Our families all deserve it for sure.
Congratulations @BoogieMa from a fellow MCA mom! So exciting for your D and for you too!