Congratulations @NYYFanNowMTdad !! I am so happy for you guys! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your story and can relate to so much of it. Definitely a must read for future classes. Best of luck to your D at BW!
@NYYFanNowMTdad Wow…So happy for and proud of you and your daughter. You made this theater dad cry.
@NYYFanNowMTdad - WOW…what a story, from start to finish! Thank you for the shout-out also - you are so right; this process is brutal. No one knows that better than I do; my D was one of those who suffered rejection after rejection, but ultimately landed where Fate intended her to be all along - and it worked out better than our wildest dreams. Congrats and break a leg to your D! And to those still out there waiting for the miracle: hang in there. It will happen; you just don’t know when or how.
@NYYFanNowMTdad good point about grit. And parental support. S had one program ask in the interview about extent of his parental support. Reflecting on my family’s journey I can say S had grit, family support, some luck, and some talent. He had some warm rooms, some cold rooms and 4 clerical errors (or perhaps changed minds by auditors). But this process is a glimpse into their future careers. If we parents can survive this process we can survive our kiddos’ careers, right?
Congrats to your D and to you @NYYFanNowMTdad , I really appreciate your post(s) and thank you for paying it forward with details, heart and perspective. Being emotionally prepared for the unknown is just a great piece of advice for life! Glad your Bell’s Palsy has recovered- that can be a real bear.
@NYYFanNowMTDAD Congratulations to your D and you! Next beer in the Cleveland suburbs is on me. Make sure we get her performance schedule too.
As to never wanting to go through it again, how old did you say your youngest is?
I want to echo for future parents a lot of what NYYFanNowMTDAD says as my D (Class of 2023) had a very similar experience. Fall auditions (and hopefully acceptance) are huge for the mental and physical grind. Also, as suggested, cast a wide net. My D did 40+ prescreens and auditions for 10 acceptances and a final 3 she really liked - and the winner was the final audition in early March which she almost cancelled. The journey is hard but they will always find their place.
Thank you so much, @modanbsmt001, @EastchesterMom, @rickle1, and @BoogieMa!
We are super-excited for her.
@NYYFanNowMTdad Your journal brought back a great many memories - most good. I’m so happy that your D got into BW. I would regularly tell muggles that my kid went to arguably a Top 5 theater school and inarguably a Top 10 theater school (i.e., Ithaca College). I very much feel like BW can make that claim too. Congratulations!
Baby Magic is happy and healthy soon to return to NYC. He graduated from IC as expected, though there were two “normal” classes that he had to shove in his last semester to graduate, and I wasn’t 100%-convinced he was graduating when I got on the plane to go to Ithaca that week. Later I learned it was not unusual for a kid to walk on graduation weekend and still come back over the summer to finish that last class (or I guess now to do it online).
He’s done some Off-off-Broadway work (shows that run for a couple of weekends). Still trying to get that first gig Off-Broadway (show that would run for, say, six weeks, but, well, off-Broadway) or a regional theater gig or a national tour (that would be sweet).
This is thin ice I’m walking on, but the kids of color get work pretty readily. With that written his “big” or senior-mentor from IC is “of color” and it’s not like the-powers-that-be are paving a path from her front stoop in Brooklyn directly to Broadway. When everything went on lock-down she was doing regional theater in San Diego, and I’m so proud of the work she is doing.
I suspect if I were to read this update three years ago I might have been disappointed. I am not. Not in the least bit. He’s got a good survival job, he’s auditioning (the real job - acting is the cherry-on-top). He’s almost financially independent, and he’s fighting the good fight as a struggling-actor in NYC. Hell, he even went one summer w/o A/C until his mother staying with him one weekend and said, “No mas!”
He has one theater colleague who has a four year head-start on him in the business who is also an IC grad, and by all accounts has had a great career to-date. This fall she’ll be on Broadway!!! She’ll be 29 years old. It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s not an over-night sensation…7 years in the making. Or maybe 10 years. Who knows.
I’ve slowly learned to let go and let him walk his own path and let him define for himself what success is and ultimately grow into his own man.
His theater classmates are still as thick-as-thieves. All that are in the business are supportive of each other. When his cousin graduated at the same time with a business degree, my advice to him was “don’t forget those people you work with…you are also competing against.” For theater I don’t think that advice applies.
I could ramble forever. Thanks for the kind words, NYYFan (go 'stros!). Best to all of you!
Future readers of this thread: This comment “I also think flying through pre-screens relatively unscathed as some do gives people a false sense of confidence- Did I mention respecting the process?” by @NYYFanNowMTdad is truth. Accept ahead of time that things will happen that will not make sense to you and whatever you do, don’t get cocky. My D passed every prescreen, but passing prescreens isn’t even half the battle. Don’t forget that. It was a long wait and lots of work between those prescreen passes and the first yes.
But conversely, don’t assume the worst if you pass fewer prescreens than you expected. There’s many a story on these boards to back me up. I believe a prescreen rejection from a school that wasn’t a fit can be a gift. I can think of three schools where, in retrospect, I wished she hadn’t passed the prescreen.
@NYYFanNowMTdad – truly epic. As you hopefully know by now, your family has my heart forever, and you have a loyal friend for life. This truly couldn’t have happened to better people, or to a more deserving and wonderful young woman. I can’t wait to hear about your one-of-a-kind D’s adventures and successes in Berea, and to see her on Broadway (and beyond!) someday!!!
You did it!!! And now, as we say where I come from, “Laissez les bons temps rouler!” You’ve earned it!!!
LEGEND RETURNS!! # stroscheat :wink: @MyPennyX2
Congratulations to you and your D, @NYYFanNowMTdad! It’s so fun to see when the dream comes true!
@muttsandMT back at you- yes let the good times role, LOVE me some Bourboun street and French quarter
Congratulations @NYYFanNowMTdad so happy for you and your girl!
Wow, @NYYFanNowMTdad, “roller coaster” doesn’t even begin to cover it!! Your movie clips, though - awesome additions all along the way. Rocky for sure! I am so excited that your D ended up exactly where she wanted to be, and I know she will ROCK the next four years and beyond.
This right here, though, sums up this ENTIRE insane experience for me as well – “Me: something I will cherish my entire life! Love you & so so proud of you!”
Cheers and Congratulations to you, my friend! WE MADE IT!!! 
@NYYFanNowMTdad surpassed even my high expectations for providing an entertaining and helpful write-up. It’ll go down in CC MT Major lore as must read. So glad he’s recovered from Bell’s Palsy (and didn’t know he suffered all this time). Moreover, so glad his D got into the program she sought! Good karma repaid.
Congratulations @NYYFanNowMTdad ! Wow, so very happy for your D and you. This process is so difficult but it’s awesome to read a happy ending like this!
Congratulations, @ElizaDoolittle – great story!! How cool that your D just knew it was Pace.
@NYYFanNowMTdad - wow great story! Congratulations to your D!!
@ElizaDoolittle - Congrats to your daughter!!
@Peterpan8th - Congratulations to your son!
Congratulations to you and your S @PeterPan8th !