High School Parents/Students - Class of 2008

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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<p>My D auditioned at SU in October and was not ED. Our goal was to get at least four auditions in before the holidays. Almost all of D's auditions happened on Friday or Sat. We were always able to get a flight that left after school on Thurs., and she only missed a total of six school days for auditions. She "published" her audition schedule in the fall and all of her teachers were very happy to give her work ahead of time so that there was not a big problem.
We found that the day AFTER the audition was usually a very pleasant time to visit. All of the MT departments at the schools we visited were happy to schedule tours, but again we scheduled them very early in the fall.</p>

<p>You REALLY NEED TO SEE A PERFORMANCE!!! How else can you get a feel for the quality of the "product" your investing in? I also think that it is perfectly reasonable to ask what the budget was for the school's last musical. If your child attends a school that puts on very professional musicals you might be disappointed to find that a university has less of a budget than her hs did! Knowing the KINDS of musicals the school has done is also important. It says a lot about the department.</p>

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<p>I know this is probably not the right thread for this question, but I couldn't find the one I wanted. Does anyone know a website where you can find out what musical plays have released the rights for High Schools to perform them? Thanks.</p>

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<p>I don't know if this is what you are looking for....If you are trying to find out if someone officially got the rights for their shows, I don't know of anywhere. If you are just trying to find out what shows are available, browse through the lists of these websites.</p>

<p>Rodgers and Hammerstein (They own the rights to shows in addition to their own)
<a href="http://www.rnh.com/theatricals/index.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.rnh.com/theatricals/index.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Music Theatre International
<a href="http://www.mtishows.com/default_HOME.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.mtishows.com/default_HOME.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Tams Witmark
<a href="http://www.tamswitmark.com/musical.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.tamswitmark.com/musical.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Samuel French
<a href="http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/index.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/index.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>One thing you can do at the MTI site is if you look up a particular show to which they hold the license, they will list upcoming productions of that show. So, for instance, if you look up Aida, it shows several high schools, colleges, community, and professional productions in the near future who secured the rights to put on Aida. Of course, this only shows upcoming productions and conceivably, you could look up a show that has had high schools perform it in the past but there are not any upcoming productions of that particular musical. Hope that helps.</p>

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<p>Thank you. The information was very helpful.</p>

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<p>NotMamaRose -- wasn't Urinetown terrific? I saw the original Broadway production and thought the Syracuse version was comparable. I'm going to SU tomorrow to see "My One & Only". My D is working costume crew -- as a freshman she wasn't allowed to audition. </p>

<p>By the way -- some people find that a negative policy, but in retrospect I think it's a great idea. It allows freshmen to get their bearings without the added distraction of competition. The MT program here is very demanding and overwhelming. In addition, it allows the kids to make strong friendships before they start competing for roles. At the end of spring semester, the department holds "general auditions" in which freshmen, sophomores and juniors audition for next fall's production. (My D landed a nice role in "Lucky Stuff", slated for October.)</p>

<p>Anyway, after her first year, I am very impressed with the MT department at Syracuse, and would highly recommend it to prospective students.</p>

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<p>onstage,
Congratulations to your daughter regarding her casting for next fall at Syracuse! That's wonderful news.</p>

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<p>onstage, "terrific" is an understatement when it comes to describing SU's production of Urinetown. At intermission, my D turned to me with glowing eyes and said "I wonder what it feels like to be in a show where <em>everyone</em> is amazing!!!" We were just so impressed. She loved everything about Syracuse U, despite the fact that her mom was shivering in the late October weather, which included sleet!! In fact, we drove up from where we live (which is officially the South) and the moment we crossed the Onondaga County line, it began to rain and never stopped until the day we were leaving. I grew up in a 'burb of Syracuse, so it didn't surprise me. I thought my D might be dissuaded by that, but no way. She loved the school.</p>

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<p>Spotlight Mom Answer to Q 140: if your D has the grades and SATs, I would recommend Northwestern. They have a fabuloue theatre program, MT doesn't happen to Jr. year, but she can double major and have a broad education. Also, I understand there are many student performances, so many oppotunities to audition and act as a social/hobby. Its my first choice for my D (I like the broad degree idea) but of course it is very competitive.</p>

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<p>thanks to the person who redirected me to this thread (?)- this is all new to me and i am not very good at tech navigation... i hope someone can help point us in the right direction. my d will graduate in 2008 and plans to study mt--- she has contacted several schools and rec'd info from them, and has visited fsu... we are trying to figure out the unified auditions- dates, how to's, etc. we are 2 hours from the nearest airport so travel will be an all-day event... do we start in ny and go over to chicago to cast a wider net? do we set up auditions through the schools or through national unifieds? HOW do we set them up? how many per day? and we keep hearing about auditions in atlanta--- can anyone tell us details, which schools participate, and what the auditions are? we also heard about college fest, and cant find any info in it... do we wait til feb after auditions, or try to set up some visits in advance (and if we do that, can she also audition while she is there?) also, are any of you familiar with the mt program at the university of alabama?</p>

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<p>You can read about the Unified Auditions at this link: <a href="http://www.unifiedauditions.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.unifiedauditions.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The information for 2008 is not up yet, however, one of our college theatre administrator buddies, Doctorjohn from Otterbein College, says that the dates for 2008 should be pretty similar to the dates posted for 2007.</p>

<p>Students apply directly to the schools in which they are interested. You can find a list of schools that attended the Unified Auditions last year at the link above. Florida State does NOT attend the Unifieds. </p>

<p>Generally, the schools that attend the Unifieds send representatives to all of the locations. It would not be necessary to go to NYC first, then Chicago. The only reason to go to more than one location would be if your D decides to audition for so many schools she could not get to all of them in one weekend or if she became ill before she was able to finish her scheduled auditions. Most students here at CC choose to audition for around 7 or 8 schools.</p>

<p>There has been much discussion here at CC about the Unifieds. Go to the search function at the top of the screen and click on advanced search. Type in the words Unified Auditions and ask the search engine to look in the Musical Theatre forum. It will display several threads that discuss the ins and outs of the Unified auditions.</p>

<p>I am not sure about the auditions in Atlanta that you refer to. I think that FSU and other schools do look at kids at a state theatre conference in Texas. I think that they also see kids at the Southeastern Theatre Conference, which was in Atlanta this year. The best person to ask about those auditions is All4FSU. All4FSU is the Director of Student Services for the School of Theatre at FSU. She posts and reads regularly here at CC. If you go to the Florida State thread at the top of the Musical Theatre page you will find many posts by her. Click on her screen name and you can send her either a private message (PM) or an e-mail.</p>

<p>Sorry to tell you that I have never heard of College Fest. Maybe someone else here can help you with that.</p>

<p>I don't know if there are any posters here who know a lot about the U. of Alabama. The program is brand new. I believe that last year or the year before was the first year they offered a MT program. </p>

<p>Re: Visits. I do not know of any school that will allow a student to audition during a campus visit. Students are expected to audition during the scheduled audition dates on campus or at the Unifieds. The only exception might be if a student had been ill or had a death in the family at the time of a scheduled audition and could not reschedule at any other regular audiiton time.</p>

<p>Some families do visit schools to sit in on classes, talk to students and teachers, do a campus tour, and see a production before auditions. Some families have been able to spend an extra day on campus after an audition weekend to visit. In my family's case, we visited some schools during our D's junior year of H.S. All other visits were done after she had received acceptances and she was ready to make her final decision. We did not do any thorough visits during audition weekends. My D did do all of her auditions on campus, so we were able to see a little bit of the physical plant of each school she auditioned for. We did not have time to see any classes, productions, or do much talking to students during audition weekends. Some families go to great pains to visit every school under consideration before audition season begins. However, I suspect that most families do a combination of pre-audition and post-audition visits like we did.</p>

<p>I'm sure that you still have many questions. This forum is a great source of information. There are lots of helpful people. I hope you'll stick around and keep reading :).</p>

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<p>thanks for the info--- i do have lots of questions and have been trying to soak up the info on this site...i am still not quite certain how i found it but thank goodness i did!... how did your d decide on the schools she wanted to audition for? and did she apply to the college over the summer, then wait to be accepted to apply to the mt program? we loved fsu when we visited, and we were able to see urinetown- we were both absolutely blown away! plus we got to talk with several of the students and their parents, and they were all very helpful--- who knows, we might have met you and your d--- thanks for your response here--- i will keep reading and trying to figure this out--- and it is comforting to know i am not the only mom out there doing this!</p>

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<p>Many colleges do hold auditions in Atlanta, but they are not part of the Unified auditions, so they are not all on the same day or in the same location. If an Atlanta audition is held, the date is listed on the school's website along with all the other audition dates. Some schools which have held Atlanta auditions in the past few years are: Webster, CCM, CMU, NYU, DePaul, Point Park, BOCO, U Miami. I believe there are others as well, you would need to check the websites of the schools you're interested in. </p>

<p>These Atlanta auditions I'm referring to are actual specific audition dates, not the group auditions held at Georgia Thespian Conference and SETC. Those "festival type" events are only attended by high school troupes which have registered memberships with the group.</p>

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<p>Mesmom,
Re: How to decide which schools to audition for. My D and I used a combination of things, like most people do. We live in an area with a very active arts scene. My D started compiling her college list by talking to her arts teachers and older student friends and acquaintances. She got an idea which schools were highly thought of by her teachers and which schools her friends were applying to. </p>

<p>I did a lot of research for my D. I spent hours in the local library and bookstores trying to find out which schools offered MT. I found CC in January of my D's junior year of H.S. The forum was brand new at that time. I found that I could have saved myself hours of time by simply reading what other MT parents and students had learned. A good starting place for you would be looking at The Big List at the top of the MT home page. All of the schools I had learned about on my own were discussed plus a couple that I had not seriously considered. My D ended up matriculating at FSU, a school that we had initially marked off our list as being too far from home and NYC! I spent a lot of time looking at school websites. Something I consider very important to do is to learn exactly what courses MT students will be taking at each school under consideration. I printed the curriculum guides for every school we were considering. My D wanted a BFA program that had a heavy concentration of courses in the major and that had a good balance of drama, music, and dance courses. Since my D is a very strong dancer, the caliber of the dance courses was very important to her. We also used geography as a factor in making our list. We elected not to consider any school in the western U.S. I looked at the price tags for all of the schools my D was considering and tried to find out about the liklihood of getting need based aid. By the end of D's junior year, we had come up with a list of 17 schools. We decided that the list had to be narrowed to 6 to 8 schools by mid-summer. The main factor in culling my D's list was curriculum.</p>

<p>Re: applying. The summer before my D's senior year was spent choosing audition songs and monologues. She looked at the applications for all of the schools on her list. She did not actually fill out any of her applications during the summer. We were unsure as to whether or not the essay questions on the applications would be the same for her application year. D elected to wait until the forms for her application year were available before beginning to do any of her paperwork. I know that many students here at CC have done their applications during the summer. Many times the essay questions do not change from one year to the next. D began (with my help) putting together her repertoire list and fine-tooling her resume during the summer. As soon as the applications for the school year for which she was applying became available, I started filling them out. I had agreed that I would be her secretary so that she could concentrate on school, lessons, and audition prep. Of ocurse, she had to write her own essays! D and I set a goal of having all applications finished by November 1. Only two of the schools on her list had audition dates before Christmas. D had applications in to those schools by October 1. (There are many schools that offer fall auditions. It just so happened that only 2 of my D's schools were in that category.) It is very important to know the application deadlines for every school you are considering. I'd say that the majority of schools want applications in by December 1.</p>

<p>You asked if my D applied to schools and then waited to see if she were accepted before applying to the MT programs. In short, the answer is no. In all cases, my D applied to the schools, listed MT as her desired major, filled out supplemental arts information, and requested an audition. I think what you are thinking of is the pre-screening process that some schools, such as the U. of Michigan use. U.M. does an academic pre-screening process before allowing MT majors to audition. Students must pass university muster before the School of Music can authorize a student to audition. Even so, students interested in U.M.'s MT program send in their resumes, repertoire list, and recommendation letters along with their applications. One does not apply to the university, get accepted, and THEN fill out an application for the MT program.</p>

<p>There were several cases in which my D received academic acceptances from schools before she had stepped into the audition room. She could have attended those schools even if she had not been accepted as an MT major. In other cases, acceptance to the MT program and the school itself were tied together. Getting to attend the school was contingent on getting accepted by the MT program. In some cases, a school will allow a student to apply to both to the MT program and to another program such as liberal studies or English. A student rejected by the MT program could still be admitted as a liberal studies or English major. </p>

<p>You do need to have an idea of how your D's academics compare to each school's admission criteria. Some schools, such as Michigan, NYU, and Northwestern, expect MT students to be very strong academically. Students with low GPAs and SAT scores are not good candidates for those programs. Other schools, particularly conservatories, are much more liberal with regard to academic qualifications. We were fortunate in not having to worry about D's academics. Both her GPA and her SAT scores were very high.</p>

<p>I'm glad you enjoyed your visit to FSU this past fall. I too heard that Urinetown was excellent. I did not see the production. My D spent the fall semester attending FSU's London Theatre Experience, so she was not in the show. My husband and I elected not to make the 800 mile trip to Tallahassee since our D was out of the country. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about the school. Good luck as you make this exciting journey with your D!</p>

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<p>dancersmom, I keep hearing great things about FSU but don't know much about it. My D is currently a high school junior, so she is still in the process of honing her own list of schools where she wishes to apply and audition. If you would be willing to share what made your D decide on FSU -- in other words, what she thinks made it the most desirable program of all for her -- I would greatly appreciate it. Of course, my D and I will do research on our own. But hearing from parents of kids (and the kids themselves) who chose various programs is really, really helpful. Thanks in advance. :)</p>

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<p>boy am i glad i found this site! i feel as if i have been thrown a life preserver at sea! i am relieved to know i am not the only mom that is doing all this digging- being secretary is a good way to put it! and i am also relieved that i think she is on the right track--- has developed a list of schools based on many of the factors you named... and like you, we have sort of steered away from schools in the western u.s.... she has good grades- 4.25 gpa in honors program, #2 out of almost 400, but she doenst test well (24 act)--- she will test again in june... but she is not going to be able to attend a summer mt program due to prior committments- is that going to hurt her chances of getting accepted to a program? what exactly is a repertoire? you said you were working on it with her--- we have bought a stack of books about auditioning, etc.... how did your d decide on her audition pieces?</p>

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<p>mesmom, don't worry about your D's not attending a summer program. It won't hurt her chances for college in any way, shape or form!! What will count, in the end, is how your D does in her audition and her transcripts, recommendations and test scores, and how much each of those elements count differs from school to school. A repertoire is the list of monologues and songs that your D will perform at her auditions for college. Different college programs require different things. The best way to learn about what each requires is to check the individual school's web sites. Deciding on that repertoire is a time consuming and often difficult process. What is right for one student actor/performer may be wrong for another. Welcome to the list and good luck!</p>

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<p>The repertoire list to which I referred earlier is a compilation of the songs that a performer has learned. U.M. requires that students submit this list. My D divided her list into classical repertoire, i.e., art songs by composers such as Handel,Mozart, and Puccini, and MT repertoire. Her list was alphabetized by composers' last names.</p>

<p>NMR, it is true that one could refer to the songs selected to perform at an audition as one's repertoire, but I was referring to repertoire in the broader context I described above.</p>

<p>There were many factors that led my D to choose Florida State. We learned from visiting several schools that our D gravitated toward MT programs housed in large universities. She did not feel comfortable on small campuses. She wanted a school that felt much larger than H.S. Small schools did not fit the bill for her. </p>

<p>D wanted an MT program that incorporated a fair percentage of liberal arts courses. She liked schools that required around 25% of the coursework to be in liberal arts. She felt that was a good balance. D believes that the best actors are well-educated actors, so she wanted a school that would allow her to take a range of courses outside the MT major. FSU also has an honors program that offers students many classes to choose from. D liked the idea of being able to take her liberal arts classes with top notch students. </p>

<p>D liked FSU's MTcurriculum. She felt that the program had a triple threat emphasis. As you may know, FSU MT students can choose between earning a B.M. or a B.F.A. If you take a look at the Florida State thread, I have discussed the differences between the two tracks in detail. D is a BFA student. She felt that the curriculum in that program best fit what she wanted. The degree offers a strong acting based curriculum, but at the same time gives students a firm musical foundation. The dance component of the curriculum was a big factor for my D. She wanted a school that values dance skill and has a strong dance department supporting the MT program. FSU has one of the top dance departments in the nation. The School of Theatre MT program co-chair is a dancer/choreographer. She demands a high degree of dance skill from all of her MT students. Dance is seen as a very important part of the curriculum.</p>

<p>Another factor that played into my D's choice was the size of the MT program. FSU has one of the smallest MT programs in the country. No more than 12 freshmen are accepted each year. My D and I liked the idea of a small, familial atmosphere as opposed to a very large program with 50 or more students in each freshman class. (Lest anyone protest, I know that bigger MT programs offer small classes. Students in large MT programs are divided into small groups for classes. At FSU, all freshman MT majors can be in the same acting class. At a big school like NYU, the freshman class might be broken into 4 different acting classes.)</p>

<p>Price is another plus at FSU. It is one of the lower cost programs. Since FSU is a state school, in-state students pay less than out-of-state (OOS)students. If you are a Florida resident, tuition is a real bargain. We are OOS, but even the OOS tuition is lower than the tuition at most other schools. </p>

<p>FSU has one of the older MT programs in the country. It is housed in both the School of Theatre and the School of Music. Both schools are among the top-ranked in the nation. FSU has been doing a New York showcase for the BFA actors and the MT students for many years. The school has an excellent reputation in NYC. This year, FSU is taking students to both Los Angeles and NYC to showcase. I'm looking forward to hearing how things go in L.A.</p>

<p>Another thing my D liked about the school was the possibility of spending a semester studying in London. MT students can apply to go to London for the fall semester of their junior year. The London Theatre Experience is designed for BA drama majors and BFA actors, not MT students, but D knew that occasionally MT students are allowed to participate. She was one of the lucky MT kids who was able to get her ducks in order. D studied acting with London theatre professionals, took voice lessons at the Royal College of Music, saw dozens of theatrical productions, and visited much of Great Britain, Paris, Florence, and Rome.</p>

<p>One final factor that made D choose FSU was the ability to pursue her interest in stage combat. FSU has a faculty member who teaches stage fight and students are able to test with the Society of American Fight Directors. The SAFD recognizes actor-combatants in 8 different areas of stage combat. D has tested successfully in 7 of the 8 areas and hopes to complete her 8th area before graduation next year. Attending a school with a stage combat instructor was not a top priority for D - aspiring actor-combatants can attend workshops to learn their stuff - but it was another plus for FSU in her book.</p>

<p>I hope this helps a bit. Choosing a school is very much an individual process. Every student goes into the process with different skills, likes, and dislikes. The best school for my child is not necessarily the best school for someone else's child.</p>

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<p>NotMamaRose -- You're right about the weather in Syracuse -- it does seem to rain all the time. But the winter this year wasn't too bad compared to recent years. And the spring and fall are gorgeous.</p>

<p>The production of "My One & Only" was very good. Not my favorite show -- the script is minimal -- but great Gershwin songs and the tap dancing was excellent. I continue to be impressed by the Syracuse productions.</p>

<p>Good luck to your D in her auditions. Syracuse expects girls to have very solid dance skills, so make sure she keeps up with dance classes, especially ballet. If you have any more specific questions, let me know. In addition to having been through this with my D, I'm a vocal coach and have worked with quite a few MT candidates on their audition materials.</p>

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<p>My daughter has opted to do a gap year before reapplying for the BFA MT progams. She was accepted into 6 schools academically but not into the MT programs. She is taking the next few months to study like crazy and, hopefully, be offered her dream next time around. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!</p>