<p>Is this true? Is this a big deal or not? It seems like being in school productions would be an important part of getting a B.F.A, but i don’t know!</p>
<p>I’m not sure the policy at Webster and am sure someone will chime in with direct experience there. </p>
<p>However, I have to say that I see this issue come up EVERY year both on the forum here and with all the students whom I advise who are seeking BFA programs. Many will state that they don’t want to attend a college with production restrictions freshmen year. My opinion is that this outlook would limit so many really really good BFA programs and would be a silly reason to rule them out. I also believe that it is a shortsighted vision, though I understand why a high school student would feel this way. </p>
<p>Let me share from personal experience. I have a daughter who started performing in musicals at age 4 1/2 (her first show was a professional one) and since that time, she was constantly in a show or more than one show at any given time. Of course she loved to perform, in addition to training. </p>
<p>She went off to a BFA program in MT (NYU/Tisch). There, freshmen cannot audition for the productions. Did she mind??? NOT AT ALL!!! I’d like to explain since I see where someone who hasn’t “been there, done that” would think this was really not a good thing! </p>
<p>First, the summer before she entered college, she was in two musicals…one at a summer theater intensive and one was a local professional production…and so she was in shows through August leading up to college. During the 8 months of freshmen year, she performed a lot IN CLASS, as well as end of semester “demos” for all her classmates and faculty. Further, she was in an a capella group that performed many times both on campus and in competitions and venues in NYC. She also was a musical director for a college musical. As well, freshmen were required to work crew on two shows (as an aside, my D, who is now 21 and a year out of college is currently visiting and just remarked to me earlier today that she is so glad she had to work crew as a freshmen to really learn the other aspects of putting on a show and to fully understand it first hand, even though she has a career as a performer). Then, the summer following freshmen year, she performed in professional summer theater. So, it was ONLY 8 months (not a full year) that she was not in full scale musicals but she was training and performing in various other capacities. Further, she stated in her later college years that she was SO GLAD in retrospect that the college had not let her be in musicals the first year as she felt and understood now the importance of having some college training under her belt before being in the college shows. When she was a lead in her junior year of college in the mainstage musical, she even commented that there was no way she was ready for this when she was a college freshmen (despite having been leads numerous times prior to college). She said that her college training was necessary to perform the role. In addition to that, BFA programs are very intense and so it makes sense to get into a groove for a semester or two in the BFA program before adding rehearsals every night and weekend. Could she have realized all this before going to college? Probably not. Did she make this issue a part of her college selection criteria? Thankfully, no. (she loved Tisch and so I am glad she went there and didn’t rule the school out on the basis of this policy which many well regarded BFA programs have, by the way)</p>
<p>I’m sharing this because many MT teens I am in contact with can’t imagine 8 months not being in a show. But what I have shared is what someone on the other side would say about that. No, it did not matter. No, it was not a big deal at all! My D, in fact, is happy in retrospect that her college had this policy. </p>
<p>For what it is worth.</p>
<p>Yes, it is true that students are not allowed to audition for any productions their freshman year at Webster. My daughter will be a junior there in the fall. At first she was disappointed at the policy, but after experiencing it, she was glad it was in place. But you WILL be very involved in the productions your freshman year, behind the scenes (costumes, sets, stage management, lighting, etc.).</p>
<p>There are a number of programs that restrict first year (or sometimes first semester) students from auditioning for certain or all productions.</p>
<p>I went to a school where this was the case. We were so busy with performance classes and behind the scenes work that it was not an issue.</p>
<p>Often in high school the most significant creative performing outlet a student will have is in productions. In college productions become but a piece of the performing pie. Class work is another significant piece.</p>
<p>Many schools that do not allow first year students to audition do so in order to give students (1) the ability to spend a year focusing on training, (2) the opportunity to form an ensemble without the stress and competition of auditioning, (3) the chance to begin their college training without the discouragement of not being cast right off the bat.</p>
<p>You may ultimately decide to attend a school that allows first year students to audition, but would not eliminate schools that do not from your list for that reason alone. </p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Great! Thank y’all so much for your insight. I’m glad I asked and didn’t just blindly eliminate colleges based on that policy!</p>
<p>Just curious, is the policy at Webster still to not have freshman audition for any productions?</p>
<p>Yes. But the freshmen are VERY involved in the productions. They will work on the tech side and learn an enormous amount. They also do a lot of performing in class.</p>
<p>I agree with KatMT - One thing I like about freshman holding off to audition for roles is the camaraderie factor . . . they get a chance to know their classmates before they have to compete against them. After all, they have to live with those folks for four years so it’s obviously important to have a good relationship with them.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback!</p>
<p>Not being cast doesn’t help improve camaraderie…you spend the time you would/should be practicing for auditions & performance helping out on a crew. For comparison, tech students are only required to take one semester of one class of acting. If an actor is not cast, (and this can be up to and through senior year) they make up those hours in crew time, nearly every night of every semester. Laughable, especially considering tuition.</p>
<p>If you need to learn audition & performance skill, this is not the school for you. If you don’t need to learn audition & performance skills, this is not the school for you.</p>