Woohoo! Congratulations to @ElizaDoolittle @PeterPan8th and @NYYFanNowMTdad ! Every story is truly unique and the process is a wild ride whoever you are! @NYYFanNowMTdad I think your story shows how even with the incredible amount of research, time and preparation you and your D had to give, it’s still really hard and the outcome is so unpredictable. I’m so happy for your D, she will thrive at BW!
And hello to @MyPennyX2 ! We are all indebted to your for your epic saga post.
@NYYFanNowMTdad wow, what a story. I wanted to scroll right to the bottom and cheat, but I actually read through the whole thing!
Before I read this, I was just chatting with my dd (who is in her apartment off campus, finishing up with her finals online), and was telling her about this years group, and the stories that ‘just don’t make sense’ to those on the outside looking in (or getting ready to begin this, as you were two years ago when you read mine and other stories). Only those on the other side can truly believe that these things happen for a reason. She said “I guess I just didn’t belong at one of those schools (the ‘big named’ ones she dreamed of, like yours, even though I thought I did then.”
Your girl is heading to a great place. I know this first hand through a good friend of mine, who I met during the process. I literally knew nothing about the program until I met her, and wish I did before we started this process.
Holy SMOKES… that was quite the story. Riveting.?? I just want to say THANKS for posting that quoted part. Just confirmed that I’m not the only parent who did that, though my stalking was for a different reason.? I needed to know who accepted elsewhere so that I could go back in for my financial appeal. Incidentally as soon as one of the parents on CC here posted that their kid accepted elsewhere, I went back and got an additional 2K. Pride notwithstanding… Whatever works !! Can’t wait to show this to my son, so he knows I’m not some crazy stalking Momma. HA. Parents gotta do what parents gotta do. And I’m not ashamed to have done it.
@ElizaDoolittle Quite the riveting story there too.
Like I keep saying… this is absolutely THE best thread/reading on CC !! And I don’t even know you folks . BUT, hope you drop back in for the class of 2025 to share your wisdom with that group. Thanks again for all your posts.
@NYYFanNowMTdad Congrats to you and your daughter. It was a thrill to ride along with you during this process and I think you gave great level-headed advice. We loved BW when we visited and were so impressed by the seniors who we watched in a class with a casting agent. Your daughter is sure to thrive and go great places!
@PeterPan8th thank you for sharing your story congrats on IU
Wow, @NYYFanNowMTdad , I am so glad you went for broke. Your saga really got to all the ups and downs of this journey and will benefit many who read these as they prepare for their own journeys in the coming years. Thank you for sharing. THRILLED AS HECK for your D that she got into her dream school right at the 11th hour! (And glad to hear you are finally on the mend from your Bells! What a subplot that was!)
@NYYFanNowMTdad, great story! Thank you so much for sharing!
Congrats @NYYFanNowMTdad Great Story, I am still trying to get my D to let me tell her whole story. Hoping I get clearance soon.
@Jasklo - Your d’s story should come with a disclaimer that her results do not reflect the average applicant of a BFA MT program :). The typical applicant does not apply and get accepted to every top school 
She must be an amazingly talented girl - she slayed it - congratulations again and I look forward to getting the details of your story if she agrees!
@NYYFanNowMTdad love it!!! Congrats to your D; she’s going to kill it!
@NYYFanNowMTdad congrats! I’ve been waiting for your story . What a journey you both had. As Drew Carey says Cleveland Rocks. BW is a great program . Congrats again
@NYYFanNowMTdad This is my first post, and I might not post again for a at least a years. My MT D is only in 9th grade. I discovered MT thread on CC working with my now sophomore environmental science son. I recall one of your first posts, introducing yourself, deliberately as a parent of a soon to be junior. I loved the idea of starting to engage for a whole season without the emotion of your own kid in the mix. I made a mental note that I plan to do that too! I feel as though I just watched a favorite TV show and saw the finale last night! You have been such a great contributor, cheer leader and all around fun personality to follow. Thank you so much for the great story with the fairytale ending we all hope for. Please stick around - I hope to see you here when I am going through this in 2 years!
@Semimama honored to be the one who provoked your first post…the earlier the better! Ill hang around…unless someone pisses me off LOL- even then I likely wont leave probably just " drop the gloves" to steal a hockey term
@DivaStageMom - my D and I got to see vids of Jasklo’s D performing. My D said, “if I see that girl at an audition, I’m just going home.” 
I said, for Pittsburgh Playhouse auditions, you most likely WILL run into her!
@Semimama Hi! This is my first post on an MT thread. My D is a 9th grader as well and I have been following these threads for about a month. I have read each and every 2024 post with bated breath, waiting for the first Covid post. I have been so amazed by all the stories of grit and determination!! To all the kids in the Class of 2024, BOL in college and beyond. I’ll be reading your inspirational stories over and over in the years to come. To all the parents of those talented kids, thank you so very much for sharing these stories with those of us waiting in the wings.
Prologue:
Before I begin, I would like to thank the entire CC MT community for helping my D, wife and I navigate what was for us uncharted waters and balance out all of the highs and lows that we experienced along the way. Even though I have not been a frequent poster (primarily since all of you were so much more “in the know” than I was), and you’re probably asking yourselves “who’s Daddily?”, I want each of you to know that your collective sage advice and guidance during our journey has been extremely helpful!
Since I think most of us would agree that the main benefit of these “final decision” posts is to “pay it forward” to others who come after us and hopefully help guide them through this incredibly crazy maze that is the MT college admission process, that’s what I hope to do here. So I’m writing this not only for the class of 2024, but for the class of 2025 and beyond. I hope the lessons that my D and I learned through this process (and the corresponding tips as noted below in ALL CAPS) will help others as they begin their own crazy, arduous journey towards acceptance into their “dream” MT college program.
So without further ado, here we go!
Overview:
MT Programs applied to: Marymount Manhattan, NYU Tisch, Baldwin Wallace, Ithaca College, Emerson College, Boston Conservatory (BoCo), Pace, Michigan, Texas State, CCM, Carnegie Mellon, University of Arizona, Rider University, Syracuse University, Penn State, USC, UCLA and Elon.
Theatre/Theatre Studies Programs applied to (our safety schools): UC San Diego, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine and Muhlenberg.
Prescreens submitted: Marymount Manhattan, Ithaca College, Emerson College, BoCo, Pace, Michigan, Texas State, CCM, Carnegie Mellon, Rider University, Penn State, USC and Elon.
Prescreens Passed: All. I can’t overemphasize the importance of the prescreen video in the age of the “common prescreen.” Not only does a positive outcome provide you with a “golden ticket” to live auditions, but what I learned while speaking to Kaitlin Hopkins from Texas State and others is that schools often view them multiple times as they are deciding your child’s fate so from my perspective it’s imperative that they are as close to perfect as possible. As the saying goes, “You only get one chance to make a first impression.” TIP NUMBER 1: Don’t be “penny wise, pound foolish” when it comes to shooting your prescreen videos. I think one of the reasons my D passed all of her prescreens has to do with MTCA’s professional videographer Matt Simpkins. He did an amazing job shooting her prescreens in a 1.5 hour session, with perfect lighting, great sound and outstanding production value. Bottom line, if you can afford it, I highly recommend using him (although you have to be a MTCA student to do so). TIP NUMBER 2: Make sure your child’s wildcard video helps him/her stand out. I think the other reason my D passed all of her prescreens has to do with her wildcard video which was her doing spot-on singing impressions of Cher, Celine Dion and Lady Gaga (with Matt pretending he was an audience member shouting out “random” suggestions). Not only was it funny, but it provided my D with a third opportunity to showcase her strongest talent – her singing voice.
Accepted Artistically to: Marymount Manhattan (MT), NYU Tisch (MT), Emerson College (MT), BoCo (MT), University of Arizona (MT), Rider University (MT), Syracuse University (MT), UCSD (theater), UC Berkeley (theater) and Muhlenberg (theater).
Rejected: Baldwin Wallace, CCM, Ithaca College, Pace, Michigan, Texas State, Carnegie Mellon, Penn State, USC, UCLA and Elon.
Waitlist: UC Irvine plus one other school whose name I decided to withhold for reasons that will become apparent below.
Coach: MTCA! I’m not sure what we would have done without them. One of my daughter’s vocal coaches introduced us to MTCA a couple of years ago. If she hadn’t, I’m not sure we would have found them given how naive we were about this process.
Training: Dance (Ballet, 7 years; Hip-Hop, 3 years; Tap, 4 years); Voice Lessons (6 years); Acting Classes (6 years).
Academics: Straight A student with a weighted GPA of 4.2. I mention this not to brag, but because some schools like Michigan, USC and UCLA do factor in academics as they make their prescreen decisions.
Pre-College Summer Programs: NYU Steinhardt Summer Study in Music Theatre (between sophomore and junior year); UCLA Musical Theatre Summer Institute (between junior and senior year).
To be continued . . .
Continued.
Background:
For as long as I can remember, my D has loved to perform. Even as a toddler, she would sing and dance in front of our family. My favorite home video from that time features my D in front of our TV belting “I Believe” along with Fantasia Barrino from American Idol (that’s probably why she has such a strong belt voice today – LOL!). Fortunately, my wife and I found more traditional opportunities for her to perform. When my D was five years old, we enrolled her in ballet classes where she studied for the next 7 years. During the last 3 years of her formal ballet training, she performed on stage in front of over 3000 people in dozens of performances of The Nutcracker as one of Mother Ginger’s clowns. After a boy just a few years younger than her asked her for an autograph after one of her performances and she beamed with pride, my wife and I knew that she was destined to pursue a career in the performing arts.
In third grade, my D had her first exposure to musical theatre when she played Munchkin No. 2 in her after-school program’s production of a parody of The Wizard of Oz. Even though her role was small, both literally and figuratively, she had fun playing make believe on stage with her friends. The next year, the after-school program announced that they would be holding auditions for their upcoming musical Bye Bye Birdie. Since the year earlier marked my D’s successful musical theatre debut, my wife and I just assumed that she would audition. But something about that title really bothered her. “Bye Bye Birdie?” “That name sounds silly” she proclaimed. “I don’t want to do it!” Nevertheless, after a heated discussion that ended with me simply saying, “you’re doing this!” she auditioned. And boy is she glad she did. And I do mean “boy” since she was cast as Randolph MacAfee which, being a featured role, required her to be much more engaged in every aspect of the production than the year earlier. To my D’s surprise, she loved all of it! From the sense of discovery during the first rehearsal, to the thrill of opening night, and to the melancholy of the final curtain call, she relished every moment of the journey and really begin to appreciate the joy of musical theatre!
From there, her passion for musical theatre grew with each new role. Fortunately, my D’s after-school program director also took an interest in her and encouraged her to find ways to hone her acting and singing skills. That led to my D attending a number of summer camps and programs in NYC each year including Camp Broadway, iTheatrics and Stagedoor Manor (even though we live on the West Coast, my job allows me to spend our summers in NYC which we’ve done the last 9 years). My D’s afterschool program director even encouraged her to audition for Matilda on Broadway, which led to a dance call back but nothing beyond that as a result of an untimely growth spurt that made her taller than the maximum 4’8”!
When it came to deciding which high school to attend, the choice was very clear. My D auditioned for, and was accepted into, the Musical Theater Department at our city’s performing arts high school. I wish I could say that this allowed her to flourish into the performer she is today, but I can’t. What we didn’t realize until she started at the school was that the director of the MT Department had his favorites and my D was not one of them. As a result, she struggled to find her place at the school and in the Department. The lack of opportunities to perform on stage was a real blow to her confidence, and the joy that she had previously found in musical theater began to wane. She began to question whether she was talented enough to pursue a career in musical theater. The last straw came when the director cast her in a part that she had told him in advance she wouldn’t accept since she viewed it as an unflattering, stereotypical role that belittled Asian Americans (my D is half Asian and is very passionate about eliminating stereotypes in the performing arts). When my D asked the director why he cast her in this role even though he knew that she would not accept it, he said “in the real world, you’re going to end up getting type-cast for your race, and you need to accept that.” Although there may be some truth to that, we were shocked that an educator would say that to her.
To stand by her beliefs, she declined the role even though she knew that would likely mean that she would never get cast in a show at her high school again. It also meant that she would not be able to rely on her director being a reference for her college applications. Rather than let that situation defeat her, that experience actually lit a fire in her and she became even more determined to follow her heart and fight for the career that she knew was destined to pursue. I firmly believe that in the saying “Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it”. Needless to say, my wife and I have never been so proud.
From that point forward, most of her free time was spent preparing for her college auditions. And with the help of her fantastic coaches at MTCA, she was more than ready. During the summer, her MTCA coaches helped my D prepare her list of schools, select her monologues and choose her songs so that process was done by the end of August. In September, my D focused on the college application process during which she wrote her various essays, completed numerous applications, got her letters of recommendation lined up, etc. In October, my D filmed her prescreen videos, and by Thanksgiving all of her applications had been submitted. Being ahead of the process allowed my D the luxury of being able to spend one weekend at a regional NATS singing competition where she finished in 1st place in her MT Category for the 2nd year in a row, and take a trip to LA to audition at the Dear Evan Hansen Open Call after which she was invited to submit a call-back video of her singing and performing “sides” for the role of Zoe, which provided her with much-need confidence!
To be continued (again) . . .
Continued.
Journey:
My D’s first audition was a regional one in California in early January with Marymount Manhattan. Since it was in our own backyard, my D was not very nervous (it helped that she knew some of the other students auditioning that day). Afterwards, in the car back home she told me that she thought it went pretty well, but as we all know you can never tell. Fortunately within a matter of days we heard back from MMC and my D received her first acceptance. Hooray! She was so relieved because she knew at that point she would definitely be going to college to pursue her dream. TIP NUMBER 3: If possible, schedule at least one audition before NYC Unifieds, since nothing takes pressure off more than having at least one offer in your pocket before audition season begins in earnest.
From there it was off to NYC for 2 straight weekends of auditions. The first weekend began with an on campus audition at NYU Tisch (which had been her “dream school” since we first toured the campus with an older cousin while my D was 11 years old). If you audition at Tisch, note that they will ask you more than once if you are only applying for the New Studio on Broadway (their only MT “studio”) or if you are willing to be placed in one of the other acting “studios”. In fact, they record your response on one of their iPads. Since it was “MT or bust” for my D, she didn’t waiver and emphatically told them “MT only.” She also took a risk in her interview – when her auditor asked her what her goal was in life, without hesitation she emphatically stated, “To win an EGOT!” which obviously could have been taken by her auditor as either being super confident (which is a good thing) or super cocky (which isn’t). The next day it was off to Ripley Grier Studios for an audition with Baldwin Wallace (the latter of which had been arranged by MTCA – another perk that comes with using this fantastic organization).
We flew back the following weekend for NYC Unifieds. We decided not to participate in the “combine” (she had already passed the Texas State pre-screen so we didn’t see the need), or do any walk-ins, as we felt that it was better to conserve her energy so we limited auditions to just 1 per day. Conversely, I remember overhearing one female telling her friend how her voice was “fried” during her last audition so she didn’t think it went very well. TIP NUMBER 4: This is a grueling process, so don’t over-extend yourself. It’s not a contest to see how many auditions you can do. Make each one count. With that strategy, my D auditioned with Ithaca College on Friday, Emerson College on Saturday, BoCo on Sunday and Pace University on Monday.
After a weekend off (during which my D received her first rejection from Ithaca - bummer), we were off to Chicago to participate in Chicago Unifieds. Once again, we decided not to do any walk-ins and instead focus all of her energy on the 4 big auditions already scheduled – Texas State, CCM, Michigan and CMU. With the exception of her Michigan audition (when her voice cracked on her high belt), she thought they went fairly well. In retrospect, we regret scheduling the CMU audition on the afternoon of the last full day of Chicago Unifieds as the head of the MT program had already returned to Pittsburgh so my D did not get a chance to audition for her. I can’t say for certain that hurt her chances, but it certainly didn’t help. TIP NUMBER 5: Avoid scheduling your big auditions on the last day of Chicago Unifieds. Also, for Texas State audition when asked by Kaitlin to sing a pop song my D played it safe and made a split-second decision to not do one of her singing impressions which I’m sure would have made her stand out more. TIP NUMBER 6: Don’t be afraid to take some risks if doing so will help you stand out!
From Chicago, it was off to Los Angeles for LA Unifieds. Once again, my D did not do any walk-ins and instead focused her energy on her 4 scheduled auditions – Penn State, Rider, University of Arizona and Syracuse University. Having now experienced all 3 Unifieds, I can safely say that LA Unifieds were the less stressful of the bunch and the easiest to navigate. TIP NUMBER 7: If possible, attend LA Unifieds. Things were definitely less chaotic, most likely their last auditions and the auditors seemed to be in a great mood having just left cold Chicago for sunny LA! I believe that this yielded better results (my D got offers from 3 out of her 4 auditions).
The next weekend, we were back in LA for the USC 2 day “Callback Weekend” followed by an on campus audition at UCLA on President’s Day. I really liked how USC handles this process. Rather than pass hundreds of prescreens, USC narrows their applicants down to approximately 50 students and invites them to attend the same 2-day event to see how they perform in classes and interact with the faculty and each other. Frankly, I think that makes much more sense than holding live auditions for 700 plus students. Even Texas State has the good sense to only pass around 200 or so prescreens! UCLA was also interesting as they spent the first ½ hour or so describing the differences between a BA program (that UCLA offers) and a BFA program (which they don’t), which in some respects is intended to discourage applicants that only want to focus on MT (and not focus 50% of their time on academic classes). Also, for what it’s worth, the Director of their MT summer program is not permitted to participate in the auditions involving applicants that participated in his program. So if you’re looking for an easy “in” to getting accepted into UCLA’s Theatre Program, participating in the UCLA summer program is not it.
Last but not least, we had one more audition trip to make – this time to Elon University for an on campus audition (after which we celebrated with milkshakes that evening and biscuits from Biscuitville the next morning!). What we learned from that trip (in addition to the fact that we were sick of being on the road) was that a small-town college setting was not going to be the right fit for my D. Instead, she decided after that trip that she wanted an urban environment and/or a larger university campus.
To be continued again (SORRY!) . . .
Continued.
Results:
With the auditions finally behind us, it was time to hear back from the schools. This was the hardest part of the process for my D. Being on the West Coast, we would hear through posts on CC and Crucible Cast Party that offers were being extended that day around noon our time which meant we had to wait until that afternoon or evening before finding out her results (often by not getting a phone call). And for some reason bad news would come in bunches. Fortunately, we finished the month of March with a streak of good news from UC Berkeley, NYU Tisch (NSB) and BoCo.
With her offers (and one wait list) in hand, it was now time to try to figure out which program was right for her. Interesting, her wait list school invited her to attend a prospective student open house weekend in early March. Since this school was one of her top choices, we decided to attend. In retrospect, I have to say that it was a strange experience. Although everyone was nice and welcoming, it was awkward to have the current students and faculty congratulate and recruit my D and 2 other wait list females (plus a handful of wait list males) in attendance since we didn’t have offers yet. At one point when a parent ask one of the faculty members how many students were on the wait list, he responded by confessing that he didn’t know and that everyone they had invited back was equally talented and that they all were worthy of offers. Huh? We also found it odd that prior to committing to attend the weekend current freshman students who had come off of the wait list last year texted my D offering her words of encouragement. Despite the bizarre dynamic, overall it was a fun weekend and we left the campus determined to do everything we could to get an actual offer.
By the time we returned home, Covid 19 started to take its grip on our country. Within a matter of days, my D’s school closed its doors, my office went to mandatory remote working and we were forced to stay at home under a “shelter in place” order. When we started this process, my D and I decided that to the extent possible we would ignore the “rankings” and instead try to figure out which program was the right “fit” for her. We planned on doing that by visiting the schools, meeting with the faculty and sitting in on classes. She would then make her decision based on how she felt after all of her observations and interactions. Given her experience at her performing arts high school, the last thing she wanted was a repeat of that in college. But as they saying goes, “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” In short order, scheduled Spring break trips to MMC and Rider had to be cancelled, as did any potential trips to Tucson, Syracuse, NYC and Boston to visit her other schools. That meant, like many of you, my D would have to evaluate most of her choices “sight unseen.”
This forced my D to have to find other ways to diligence each of her options, and she tried her best. Initially, she found ways to engage with current students and faculty at a number of schools through Zoom meetings. Each of those interactions was somewhat helpful, but unfortunately did not provide her with the clarity she needed to whittle down her list since after a while all of the programs started to sound the same. So, to her credit, she decided to take her due diligence to the next level. By mere happenstance, we are very fortunate to be acquainted with a Tony Award winning choreographer who is obviously super knowledgeable about the “Biz” (and when I say acquainted I mean close enough to reach out to him for advice but not acquainted well enough to invite him over for dinner!). So my D emailed him and asked the following question: “Which of the programs that I’m considering really stand out in your mind as being extraordinary in terms of training their students to be very well prepared to pursue a career in musical theatre.” In addition to sending along his thoughts regarding my D’s choices and acknowledging that “It’s really unfortunate that you’re not able to experience your options first hand since that personal experience is usually the real decision maker,” he offered a perspective on evaluating programs that my D and I had never considered. He explained that the training at certain schools tend to lead their students towards principal work (meaning that often they don’t dance well enough to be in an ensemble) so the transition from college to playing principal parts in Broadway shows can take a while. Conversely, other schools tend to lead their students more towards ensemble work which makes them more employable on Broadway earlier in their careers. He went on to say that you’re ability to dance can dictate where (and how much) you work during that transition. Finally, he offered the following words of wisdom: “Remember that wherever you go, YOU dictate how you develop. There’s no wrong path…look at me…it’s always your right to re-direct your path as you go.”
This last piece of advice really hit home with my D, and that took a huge amount of pressure off of her shoulders (and our entire family for that matter). So shortly after receiving his email response, my D was able to narrow down her choices – not by trying to compare one MT program against the others (you can drive yourself crazy doing that) but instead focusing on what type of college experience she wanted overall. There are lots of great programs out there, so you might as well choose one that will provide you with great training plus all of the other “college experiences” that you’ may be looking for. Ultimately, my D decided that she wanted a BFA program that was not in a conservatory setting but instead at a university so that she could enjoy the “full college experience.” She also wanted to be back East. So, by mid-April she narrowed her choices down to 3 schools – Syracuse, NYU Tisch and her lone wait list school.
I wish I could say that this is the point in the process when things became much easier, but it wasn’t. Remember our wait list school? Well, for whatever reason my D and I became singularly focused on that school to the point that she was closing monitoring on social media who had accepted and who hadn’t so she would know if and when a spot opened up. She also did everything she could to stay in touch with the director of the program and to let the director know her on-going interest in their program. Not surprisingly, she did not receive any responses back to any of her emails until the one she sent on April 23rd reminding the director that “decision day” for her other programs was only one week away and that if they could let her know one way or another as soon as possible that she would very much appreciate it. The next day, the director emailed my D the following response: “Hang in there a little bit longer. We hope to let you know something early next week.” Rightly or wrongly, my D and I took that as a very positive sign. When she found out the following week that 2 females had turned down their offers to attend other programs, we thought for certain that it was just a matter of time that the director would call or email her to congratulate my D on her acceptance. But finally, on the afternoon of April 30th, my D received a generic email from the school to “check her portal for a status update.” When she checked it, there was a form letter from the Admissions Department stating that she would not be coming off of their wait list. (We subsequently learned that the program decided to replace the 2 female spots with 2 males instead.)
To be continued (LAST TIME - I PROMISE!) . . .
Continued.
While the bad news was hard for my D to process in the moment, what really bothered me was how poorly the school – and in particular the director – handled it. To begin with, letting us know the day before we had to make our final decision – when presumably they had known for days that wait list females would not be offered any open spots – is frankly cold-hearted (one could even say chilly). But what’s even more upsetting is the fact that the director didn’t have the decency to communicate directly with my D (either by email or by phone) – particularly after (i) we had spent a significant amount of time and money attending their prospective student open house weekend, (ii) my D had been communicating with the director on a bi-weekly basis about her on-going interest in the program and (ii) the director had emailed my D to “Hang in there a little bit longer.” The director even failed to respond to an email that my D sent shortly after she received the bad news asking the director what had happened. I realize that nobody enjoys being the bearer of bad news, but I’m a firm believer of treating others how you want to be treated yourself. With that in mind, how hard is it to send a short email to a young person who you know will be very disappointed with the results stating something along the lines of “I’m so sorry that things didn’t work out, but you have a bright future and I hope our paths cross again someday?” Since “adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it,” from my perspective how this was handled by the director speaks volumes about their program. I have never been one of those people that believes “everything happens for a reason,” but I do believe in “blessings in disguise” (or as I often refer to it, “dodging a bullet”). Now that the dust has settled, we are so thankful that my D didn’t end up there. After all, if this is how the director of the program treats people – particular young people that are in the midst of a very stressful process – I do not want my D to be a part of it.
The Decision:
To say that the ensuing 24 hours was incredibly stressful would be an understatement! We now had to put that loss (and anger) behind us and choose between two great programs even though we had not spent a ton of time focusing on them. It didn’t help that I was leaning towards choosing one school and my wife was leaning towards choosing the other. After making lists and debating the pros and cons of each program until around 2 am but still having not made a decision, we decided to call it a night and hope for more clarity in the morning. But before I went to sleep, I decided to text the director of my D’s grade school theatre program (who had become a great friend and mentor to my D) to see if my D and I could speak with her in the morning. This ended up being the lifeline we so badly needed. Unbeknownst to us, she had a friend who had recently left our city to join the faculty at NYU Tisch. Not only that, her friend (who used to be in charge of a fantastic high school theatre program in our city) was now the Head of Acting at the New Studio on Broadway! (Our director friend only realized that when she looked up her friend on the NYU Tisch website.) What our friend also realized is that she is acquainted with the Head of Voice and Speech at the New Studio on Broadway (they had attended college together)! When our friend reassured us that both of these professors were kind, nurturing educators and experts in their respective crafts, and that my D would get the support and encouragement that was sorely lacking at her performing arts high school plus top notch training, the choice became clear and we submitted our deposit. Borrowing from the words of Lebron James, “My D is taking her talents to Greenwich Village to train with NYU Tisch – New Studio on Broadway” – and she couldn’t be happier!
Epilogue:
In hindsight, this should have been our decision all along. My D will get great training in a city she loves (and one that my wife and I can easily visit), be able to attend the occasional “open call” audition, improve her acting skills, explore opportunities to learn how to act in front of a camera given the strength of NYU’s film school, and graduate into an alumni network that (in my view) is second to none. And, ironically, It was my D’s top choice out of the gate (in fact last summer we had even considered skipping the audition season process and applying to NYU Tisch as an “early decision”).
Nevertheless I have no regrets living through all of this turmoil to ultimately end up back at “square one.” Like many of you, going through this process allowed me to spend quality time with my D (an only child) before she heads off to college in the fall (Covid 19 permitting) while in the process creating memories that will last a lifetime. This is a very special time in her life, one in which she is transitioning from a teenager to a young adult, and although we’ll be sad to see her go my wife and I couldn’t be prouder. So with that, I have ONE FINAL TIP: Try your best to cherish these moments with your child because you never know if you’ll them ever again!
Wishing everyone all the best!
Daddily