<p>Carnegie Mellon faculty has slated just over 1600 will audition this year. Yes, that is a lot, but someone does have to get in. It isn’t always about being the best, either- last year faculty had said that they were having trouble deciding a class out of 100 people that they wanted equally. Sometimes, in the end, factors other than talent will push someone over the edge and fall into their MT class.</p>
<p>Wow. I’m new to this website, and these answers are really nice and awesome. I had no one who can tell me about these things, and now I am finally getting real answers. Thank you everyone. </p>
<p>So… They Dance,Acting,Voice lessons starting from freshman year? That’s mind-blowing… I thought school productions would be enough for my acting skills. :(</p>
<p>It certainly may be enough…my D found that the 3 productions the HS did a year was not enough for her. So she enrolled in acting classes and auditioned for community theater. It all depends on what you have time for…</p>
<p>I posted this on another thread several months ago but thought I’d also post it here since it’s applicable to this discussion too (especially for Attraction21):
Just want to add our perspective so that those who aren’t able to access coaching or summer intensive/pre-college programs for whatever reason don’t feel “left out”. As we were starting our journey and I began reading posts on CC regarding the use of coaches and expensive summer/pre-college intensive programs, my heart fell. I started to worry that my D wouldn’t be prepared enough, so I looked at a few of the coach’s websites, but quickly realized that the cost and geographical location of the coaching and workshops were not going to work for us (I know you can access coaching sessions through skype but again there was a cost) and was shocked at the astronomical cost of the summer programs. My D wasn’t the one who was worried—she felt that her excellent voice teacher, high school drama teacher, choir teacher, etc. all had enough experience with the process that she would be fine, and she has been lucky to be involved in some excellent regional theatre summer shows. So we plowed through the audition season, she passed all her pre-screen auditions, did all auditions at Chicago Unifieds and no campus visits or auditions due to distance/cost/lack of free time, and I held my breath the whole time hoping that we hadn’t made a mistake in not using our last penny for “coaching” and attending summer intensives at the various schools. My D was accepted or waitlisted and received scholarships at some excellent schools: Boston Conservatory, Point Park, Ithaca, Texas State, Ball State, and Carnegie Mellon (they accepted 5 girls last year out of close to 2000 applicants and my D was first on the priority waitlist) . She is currently a Freshman at Ithaca College and loves it. So please------those who are worried about coaching or summer intensives-----it’s not a do or die thing. I am not negating the use of coaches or summer college programs----I am sure they are extremely helpful. But if that isn’t something you can do, then all is not lost. Go for it, get lots of input from those around you who are experienced in voice/drama/acting, and enjoy the process!!! Show them your passion ------You can do it :)</p>
<p>Marbleheader - I LOVE that quote!!!</p>
<p>Marbleheader-- We got to spend the day with a character actress of-a-certain-age who grew up in my H’s hometown. She told lots of stories about being in the acting “biz” and gave our D lots of advice and encouragement. She left her with one sentence to remember as D went on to audition for college and beyond:</p>
<p>You are enough!</p>
<p>Wonder if she heard it from the same teacher?</p>
<p>Depending on availability where you live, I would say to start auditioning for productions outside of school to see how you do. If you have a local community or regional theater, audition whenever possible. The more experience you have auditioning, the more comfortable you will be with the process. In high school auditions, you tend to know the Staff and they know you. It is quite different walking into an audition where they have never seen you before. It also may give you a better idea of your talent in the overall pool.</p>
<p>^^I agree about auditioning outside of school. It will be great practice.</p>
<p>austinMT - That quote came to S from an acting teacher at a summer program. S thought so highly of this guy (kinda younger) and loved the quote. It sounds like it is a common quote among theatre types, and that’s good, because it is something to pull out when you feel overwhelmed while auditioning!</p>
<p>If you have only ever had one director (for example, only been in your high school shows) you are at a disadvantage. Make a point to branch out so you get different types of experience.</p>