<p>Hello. I'm new to this forum but I have a budding broadway bound daughter(at least that's her dream) and we would appreciate it if anyone can tell us of a good summer program close to the orange county/los angeles area. </p>
<p>She's currently a sophomore but has her sights on the "on the bright lights of the big apple." She wants to do an AA Theatre probably fr Fullerton College then hopefully transfer to a school which offers a BFA. </p>
<p>On a separate note she auditioned and got called back for AMTC (AMTC</a> - Actors, Models & Talent Competition).
Does anyone on this forum have any experience/info/comments/suggestions about attending this program. In my opinion it's a lot of money(6K plus) but is it useful experience for my D.</p>
<p>Please please help thank you for your time!</p>
<p>I do not have personal experience with AMTC. However, I would never do it. In my opinion, it is just a money making operation preying on people who think this is going to help them make it in the industry. The money would be FAR better spent on voice, dance, and acting training lessons/classes and/or a summer musical theater intensive program. </p>
<p>While you did not ask, I’ll also mention that doing an AA in Theater and transferring to a BFA is not something I would recommend either. At most BFA programs, you would have to start over as a freshman. A few may allow you to start as a sophomore. Therefore, you will be paying for MORE years of college. Further, getting into a BFA is already very chancy odds for freshmen applicants. But for transfer applicants, it is very very very very slim odds. Some schools don’t take BFA transfers and for those that do, they may take one or two. The upshot is your daughter is going to spend more years in college, more tuition money, and lessen her odds of getting into a BFA in MT if she takes the route you mention. </p>
<p>As far as a summer program in your area, I have a student who did US Performing Camp, Musical Theater Conservatory at UCLA last summer. I don’t know if you can attend as a day student. She was a boarder. Also, in your area is Idyllwild Arts which runs summer programs (I’ve had a student do that one). There is also Cal Arts InnerSpark.</p>
<p>Welcome to College Confidential and the Musical Theater Forum. You may want to read a lot of threads here to get a handle on this field, the admissions process for musical theater majors, summer programs, and so on.</p>
<p>azurcpga - Welcome! Soozie is a great resource on all things musical theatre! And this forum is a really great place to learn about schools and programs.</p>
<p>I know nothing about AMTC but wow that is a lot of money. Just FYI, ActorFest will be in LA in November. You can attend for free or pay a small fee to attend a workshop or two ($28 per workshop I think.) There is a chance to do the casting director meet and greet there, plus attend some open calls. It might be a fun and informative way to spend the day.
[Actorfest</a> LA 2010 – casting calls and acting workshops, sponsored by Back Stage](<a href=“http://www.backstage.com/bso/actorfest/la/index.jsp]Actorfest”>http://www.backstage.com/bso/actorfest/la/index.jsp)</p>
<p>I did a search for you on AMTC and here are two articles that you may wish to read:</p>
<p>[Modeling</a> Scams - Modeling Conventions](<a href=“modelingscams.org”>modelingscams.org)</p>
<p>[AMTC</a> Auditions - a mega scam for Christ! Beware of and avoid this scam! | Report Your Complaint.com](<a href=“http://reportyourcomplaint.com/amtc-auditions-a-mega-scam-for-christ-beware-of-and-avoid-this-scam/]AMTC”>http://reportyourcomplaint.com/amtc-auditions-a-mega-scam-for-christ-beware-of-and-avoid-this-scam/)</p>
<p>I am in Ventura County and know a little about AMTC- all I can say is stay away from it. Soozie is right in that it is a money-making operation that makes no guarantees of anything. Basically, everyone who auditions is accepted- that is how they make their money. That is a lot for any program but this is a rip-off!!!</p>
<p>You might look at Musical Theater University that does a summer camp out of Laguna. We are not personally familiar with this one but know people who have done it. I do not know the price. Other than that, Soozie mentions the Innerspark program which is a state funded summer program that is done at CalArts in Valencia- great program!!! Also UCLA’s summer program… You might check with Orange County Performing Arts to see if they do anything. Idyllwild is supposed to be wonderful, and USC also has a summer MT program. </p>
<p>My daughter has never done any of the summer programs as she usually either spent the summer brushing up on her dancing, or was cast in a show. That is another option- you might look around to see what theaters in the area are doing this summer and have her audition- even if she is not cast she will get wonderful experience auditioning. Good luck!</p>
<p>My D never did a MT program here in CA, but many of her friends did.</p>
<p>We heard good things from people we know about UCLA’s summer program, Idyllwild Arts summer program, Cal Arts InnerSpark and the La Jolla Playhouse Summer Conservatory. There are also many good programs all around the country that will cost you less than the $6K you mention for AMTC.</p>
<p>Like Soozie I note that you talk about her doing her AA at Fullerton and then transferring to a BFA program. There are very few BFA programs that will take anyone as a true transfer. Some of the classes may count toward units in the BFA program, but for the most part a “transfer” would have to start over as a freshman or possibly a sophomore. My daughter was able to transfer into Penn State this year and was lucky to go in as a sophomore (she has enough units to be a junior). Transferring was not in her original plan, but she left her original BFA program after one semester and then attended a CC for 3 semesters. While she was accepted into all of the schools to which she applied this time around, it is not clear at what level she would have gone in; I suspect as a freshman at most of them. She was accepted into UCLA as a junior, but be aware that they only accepted one transfer student out of all of their applicants so the chances are very slim! I believe that some years, they don’t accept any transfers. One of her friends did a year at Fullerton, then came back to our CC for a year. He then transferred to BoCo last year but had to go in as a freshman. </p>
<p>Most of the BFA programs have a very set progression and their students often are moved up to each level as an entire class. They have all taken the exact same classes and had the same instructors, Therefore, it is difficult to accept a new student part way thru the program and to compare the classes they have taken elsewhere to those that their students have taken. </p>
<p>Just be aware of this when looking at your options. It might be easier to transfer into some BA programs, but again, you would have to research to find the best programs for transfers.</p>
<p>I know it’s a little late to answer your question, but I go to a great summer camp every year. It’s at the Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura, Ca which is about an hour and a half away from Los Angeles. It’s a professional theatre that offers 2 summer camps every year, one for ages 9-13 and another from ages 14-22. They usually announce what shows they are doing the spring before summer, and rehearsals are usually everyday except Sundays for a several weeks, with shows at the end. I’ve been attending their camps for 4 years and acting and performing with them for 5 years. It’s a great opportunity to intensively work on musical theatre and be with other kids who want to be there as well. It is expensive but they have full and partial scholarships available, and all camps and classes are directed by real professional actors who have been in the business themselves. Just google search Rubicon Theatre Company Ventura and the website will come up.</p>
<p>Jasminepostada is right-Rubicon does offer a great program, but for the most part is made up of kids from the area. There are really no resident programs available unless you were to get a hotel in the area and stay with your daughter. I would probably not recommend it for someone from out of the area.</p>