<p>Thank you, Gwen! I have another question, but will ask in another post to get to my 15 required posts more quickly! ; )</p>
<p>Gwen Fairfax, Did you think the Unifieds were worth it? As opposed to picking and choosing and auditioning at specific schools? Thanks.</p>
<p>Mimigrace, although you asked the question of Gwen Fairfax, I thought I’d pop in with an opinion. My daughter auditioned for MT programs 3 years ago, and is now in the BFA program at NYU Steinhardt. Although she did have to audition on campus for where she ended up, she also did Chicago Unifieds. Since she had 14 schools on her list, it was impossible to travel all the way to those individually from Oregon. Unifieds was a blessing! She ended up being admitted to 2 programs where she auditioned at Unifieds and NYU. Both Unified programs were some of the highly sought after ones. We also have 2 friends who auditioned for and ended up attending 2 of the programs that accept less than 10 girls each at Unifieds. So I would highly doubt any of the discussion that says that auditioning on campus is better than at Unifieds. In fact, one of the schools that touts their on campus audition as being way more personal than Unifieds spent far less time with my daughter than those at Unifieds! We thought Unifieds was a blast and both my daughter and I met wonderful parents and kids. I just read the new thread that warns everyone against talking with others at auditions, and I have to say, we experienced no negatives at all! In fact, I was highly impressed with the maturity of the kids and the warm wishes they would give each other in the elevators. My daughter thrived on the atmosphere and felt she got better with each audition. I would highly recommend Chicago Unifieds and staying in the executive tower of the Palmer House where it is held - lots of perks!</p>
<p>I think there’s every reason to do Unifieds, mimigrace. Like Christie, we had a good experience at Unifieds, but we also had mostly good experience at on-campus auditions. D did a mix, partly because she wanted to spread the auditions over time and partly so we could see some of the schools and get the ‘vibe’. But any combination works-- most people try to visit the programs they’re accepted to in April anyway.</p>
<p>I think on campus is great if you can do it, but most people can’t. And it doesn’t help your chances, it only helps you get a better feel for the school. But if you can afford it and can wangle it schedule-wise, go for it! But it’s most important to go back after you get acceptances and spend more time really eye-balling and getting a feel for your actual options.</p>
<p>Thanks, all. We’re going to do Unifieds in NYC - Pearl Studios, at the end of January. Anyone do their’s there and if so, any nearby hotel suggestions? Don’t get to NYC that often…</p>
<p>We are fortunate that of the 11 schools my S is applying to 2 are within 15 minutes from home, 3 within a 2.5HR drive, 5 right around 5HRs and just 1 in NYC so we’ll take the megabus should he get invited to the live audition. He requested this to get a feel for the schools as we weren’t able to visit very many of them prior to this. I didnt take a vacation this summer and I won’t be taking one next summer so he can attend all the on campus auditions. If it weren’t for these factors we would totally take advantage of unifieds.</p>
<p>mimigrace, the New Yorker Hotel, RIGHT across the street from Pearl, is the only way to go. We got a GREAT price there, also.</p>
<p>I second the New Yorker recommendation. It’s a great place, and so convenient to Pearl and Ripley-Grier.</p>
<p>Unifieds were our only real option too . . . my girl got into Otterbein (and other programs as well) via Chicago Unifieds, so don’t feel you MUST audition on-campus.</p>
<p>Unifides in NYC are the same weekend as the Super Bowl which is at Giants Stadium, book NOW cause hotels are going to get scarce.</p>
<p>Theatermom, the Unifieds in NYC were moved back to January 25-26 in order to avoid coinciding with the Superbowl. Still a good idea to reserve rooms, but less need to panic! :)</p>
<p>mimigrace - We went to Unifieds in NYC last year and stayed at The New Yorker. I think there is a Hilton Garden Inn within very easy walking distance too (I hope I remember the name correctly), but you can’t beat The New Yorker for location. We live 50 minutes away so could only justify a hotel room for one night but it was well worth it. People don’t mention the down time at Unifieds, but there were some auditions that were so far apart that it was great to be able to go back to the room to change clothes and put our feet up. I know many people fill in the gaps with walk-ins, but we had researched the schools that were attending in advance and my D had applied to all that interested her. I am pretty sure we fit in 5 (or 6?) auditions in just Saturday and Sunday, including 3 dance calls. Not bad! And her school is one of those. (As an aside, she thought she completely blew the interview portion of that audition. She came out of the room saying she was 100% sure she wouldn’t get in there).</p>
<p>D applied to a few schools within a 2-hour drive and felt that it would indicate interest if we attended on-campus although they attend Unifieds, but there were several schools D applied to that required on-campus auditions and airfare and hotels. Unifieds afforded us the opportunity to fit more schools in and allow my D to enjoy a few audition-free weekends during Senior year.</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice everyone! If anyone used MTCA coaching, did you participate in the mock auditions there, and if so, did you think it was worthwhile in terms of your child’s preparation as well as time and cost-wise??</p>
<p>Mimi, my daughter told me this summer (she’s a sophomore at Otterbein) that if she hadn’t had her cage rattled at her MTCA mock, she wouldn’t have gotten into any programs. I was so surprised she felt that way! Seriously. She thought she was prepared, but there were little things that happened during her mock that shook her up enough to make her realize she needed to prepare even more.</p>
<p>Mimi, everything we did with MTCA was valuable, including mock auditions. Mock auditions really give the feel of how things are going to go, which can feel very different from usual production auditions. My daughter did not have any early auditions in the fall for schools she was only a little interested in (which I would highly recommend) to get the jitters out of the way, and I think mock auditions really helped. Also, it gave her a feeling that she was part of a community, since we knew no one else going through this. We did meet some friends there that we were able to travel with during part of February and March auditions and that was so valuable! MTCA Moctober auditions are going on this weekend, but we attended the one right after Christmas.</p>
<p>We just met with MTCA for the first time, what great people</p>
<p>My D did the October mock and found it very worthwhile. Any time you get feedback is helpful since you don’t get much feedback at auditions and when you are working with just a few people it is always good to know how others are viewing your work. Based on input from the slew of coaches there, my D’s song selection coach decided to switch her ballad after the mock!</p>
<p>Yes, Mocks with MTCA were incredibly helpful. Although only 2 of my D’s 15 auditions asked for adjustments on her monologues, she was prepared because of Mocks. Do it.</p>
<p>Mocks don’t have to be with MTCA, there are all kinds of ways to have the same type of experience. My son’s equivalent was the Virginia Theater Association audition (as discussed elsewhere). I know other people who essentially auditioned for every possible community theater show, whether they were remotely suitable for the show or not, just to get more experience.</p>