High School Prep for Prospective MT Majors (HS Class of 2013, 2014, 2015 and beyond)

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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<p>I have a question for some of the parents/coaches/students who are applying to the top MT programs. This question may even apply to some of the college officials here. </p>

<p>What are your High Schools doing to ensure that you are accepted into the top programs? As a teacher at a well-regarded Boarding High School with an insanely active theater program, I am always interested in stealing some of the best ideas. We already have a large season - a play, two musicals, a dance concert, and the nation's oldest high school cirque program. We take our students to SETC and Unifieds (if deemed appropriate). We have a MT Audition Prep class where we pick and work all of our students audition materials. We bring in college reps from across the East Coast to work one-on-one with our students.</p>

<p>Students - What stuff would you want from a HS program, if you were looking to put yourself in the best situation possible?
Parents - if you were looking at HS program for your child, what other things would you look for?</p>

<p>Just as college programs are getting more competitive, so are HS programs. My school's facilities and budget and training are excellent, but we can't overcome the "names" of Interlochen (with good reason) and/or Idyllwild. </p>

<p>Anyway - I appreciate your input!</p>

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<p>This is a great question, and I hope you’ll get responses from people on this board as well as the theater-drama forum. I’m a parent of a rising senior who’ll be applying for straight acting programs in the fall, and I also teach in the visual arts at the independent (pre-12) school that my son attends, so I have a couple of different perspectives on your question. First–I’d heard of your school but hadn’t looked at the website in years–very impressive, and I can’t believe you sustain such a high volume of performing arts programming with such a relatively small student body! I’m curious if your school is something of a “magnet school” for kids who want a strong theater program within a great overall academic one. Second–if I were a parent or a colleague in your department, I’d be elated with what you are offering to kids. My biggest question would probably be whether they have opportunities to study individually (voice, movement, monologues, etc.) either with a faculty member or someone in the community. </p>

<p>At our school, we have a relatively small and overloaded faculty; my son has had the same drama teacher (with the exception of one year) since THIRD GRADE. This is both a strength and a weakness. Obviously, she knows him well, and he trusts her so is willing to take risks, but he has needed new voices and new perspectives. We encourage our arts students to take private lessons (voice and dance in particular) and to attend summer intensive/precollege programs, and I think that’s crucial for any school no matter how big. If I were looking for another high school program, though, I would consider the number of faculty members. Our school has a minimal (almost nonexistent) dance program and equally minimal opportunity for private study in vocal or instrumental music. Since we are primarily, though not exclusively, a day school, and are neighbors with a superb public university, most students are able to find excellent private teachers in the community.</p>

<p>I do feel that as a parent I’ve been more invested in exploring opportunities for my own kid than my colleagues in the performing arts program have been–that’s something I’d say would be important to me as a parent, would be more help with identifying appropriate summer and undergraduate options. We don’t have a ton of kids from here who go on in theater, but we do have a couple each year who audition, and they don’t get a lot of structured help. Our already over-worked drama teacher works with them individually on monologues, but her experience until recently was more with younger kids and she is still very much on the “learning curve” when it comes to appropriate monologue material, not to mention the widely different audition requirements of various BA and BFA programs. More faculty expertise in the college audition process would be a godsend. We have relied on books, CC, and summer programs (my son’s attending his third, at Boston University this time, in July) for information and help. If your school is offering an audition-prep class PLUS trips to Unifieds, then you’re way ahead of us! </p>

<p>I have to say that the few kids from our school who DO go on in the arts do extremely well. Perhaps because it’s a small and relatively noncompetitive program, they are not afraid to take risks, and whether their field is painting, photography, film, voice, strings, or acting, they tend to have interesting ideas, a strong sense of direction, and a distinctive individual “voice.” As a parent and a teacher, those are qualities I value highly and would place at the top of my priority list when looking for a high-school program. Our theater students do not attend or even apply to a wide range of programs (NYU is the biggie); my son is breaking barriers here, as he will apply to between 10-14 schools, many of which nobody here has ever heard of until now. I hope that helps…and I’m grateful that you posted, as there’s a lot to be learned from your program at Rabun Gap!</p>

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<p>Wow! I won’t be surprised if most parents out there have the same response as me: Nothing!!! My D went to a public high school of 2500, in a fairly affluent suburban area of Los Angeles. Her high school did 1 musical and 1 play per year (Staff directed- also 1 or 2 very small student directed shows). They also have an IB Dance Program, and a fairly competitive dance team, as well as a Competition Choir (not show choir). Outside of those programs, there is nothing offered to help students prepare for college auditions. As far as I know, my D was the only one in her class to go on, or even apply, to an MT program. Our guidance counselors are not in any way familiar with the MT audition process. We do have an assistant in the College and Career Center who has a D who happens to be on Broadway right now, so she has a little insight, however her D majored in Engineering in College and did the MT thing on her own outside of school.</p>

<p>We did everything to prepare for the audition process on our own. Fortunately, my D had great results, but we also live in an area with a very active regional theater from which we got some resources. As far as I know, none of the high schools anywhere around here are any different. My D’s best friend went to high school about 15 miles away even more toward LA, and I know it was the same there. I guess unless kids are at a performing arts high school, there is not usually enough interest to have a program such as you describe. What I am describing seems to be the norm from what I read on this site. YOur students are very lucky!</p>

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<p>My daughter goes to a large public high school. When you have 4500 kids at the high school, and there are hundreds of girls trying out for limited roles in their productions, the competition is high, and it teaches you to learn how to audition, how to present yourself, etc. They have many drama/theater classes the kids can take, they have 13 choirs including two natioanlly ranked show choirs, and they have a multitude of performing opportunities including student directed plays, two dramatic/comedy plays a year, and one large muscial (this year was Les Mis, which was amazing). The directors for the performing arts all have a lot of experience, do a great job, and are always willing to provide individual advice to kids. Plus many kids do private voice lessons and do things like Summer Stock productions. </p>

<p>I suppose it’s a personal preference thing, but the reason we moved to where we live is because the school system overall is very highly rated and the high school prepares students for whatever they will take on in college from an academic perspective. Just me, but given the quality of our school system I couldn’t justify sending my child to a private, much more expensive high school. Where she is has allowed her not only to blossom as a performer but also to excel academically, which in the long run I see as a major plus for her future.</p>

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<p>ALL AUDITION (and many non-audition) college programs are very competitive, so whether you consider it a “top” program or not, it will require the same preparation. Like many college programs, even though your school isn’t as widely known as the big “names”, it may still be a better fit for many students. </p>

<p>My suggestion for your HS: offer and require ballet classes for all MT/theatre/cirque students. It will help MTs with dance calls and it will help everyone with flexibility, balance, core strength, and placement.</p>

<p>PS I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a couple of your alumni do silk work - they are amazing!!!</p>

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<p>I think you’ll find a variety of answers here about what schools do to prepare and what students and parents would like to see happen. All of it should be helpful. Our boro high school is rather small - they produce one musical a year, have one chorus class (sometimes girls/boys must be in compbined class if numbers are low), have a select choir, and one intro to theatre class. We have much less training than most schools but we do have more than some. There are no plays, no dance, no one act or improv events, etc. What we do have is the opportunity now and then for elementary/junior high kids to participate in the high school show which grooms the younger students towards theatre in general and some of those kids seek out private instruction for acting, dance and voice on their own. That factor builds confidence so they also seek out opportunities in community and professional regional theatre. Our area has a strong quality community theatre presence. By the time these kids reach the high school there is a core group of them who work well together and perform very well. If you were to ask my kids about what they would like to see occur it would probably be more acting/theatre classes covering the fundamentals, more straight performance opportunities including one acts and master classes. We are in a rich arts area near Philadelphia. Some of the community theatre performers are actually professionals also working in the city and I believe they would love to do master classes in the schools if possible. With budget cuts times get tougher. Our school literally needs a couple more teachers to cover additional music or theatre classes.</p>

<p>For a small town area, we actually have a fair amount of kids who go into the performing arts and succeed in varying levels, some on national tours and Broadway, releasing albums, etc. Many attended/attend top BFA or arts programs. I think their success has more to do with networking and support from the community/regional theatre world more than anything. And with the current climate of cutting arts in schools, we will probably depend on it even more.</p>

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<p>As a parent who has been through this process (acting, not MT), and as a school board member who looks at how HS programs are funded - I’d say (generally) that the biggest area of improvement that schools can make for their HS students to prep for theater/MT/performing arts college auditions is in their guidance departments. At many (most?) high schools, the guidance departments are woefully understaffed and/or inadequately knowledgeable about post secondary programs, and how to prepare for them. I’ve had discussions with HS guidance councillors who are unaware, for example, of the BFA / BA differences, or the fact that auditions may require time away from school to complete. When looking for differences between performing arts programs at the college level, many rely on outside sources (thank goodness for CC!) to get information. It shouldn’t be that way.</p>

<p>This is NOT a slam on HS guidance councillors; they have a lot of responsibility, and attend to MANY student’s needs. It sure would be nice, however, to have a subject matter expert regarding audition / portfolio programs for HS students and parents to use at their secondary school.</p>

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<p>^^JBehlend, I completely agree–it’s a big problem for our school too, and we have the luxury of having a dedicated college counseling office (each counselor has fewer than 30 advisees). I’ve put together an info session on arts and admissions for our school, and we’re hoping gradually that the word will get out about starting the process early. Each fall, our college counselors have a “deans’ night” where 4-5 admissions directors from a range of colleges give a presentation–never once has it included anyone from a visual or performing arts school, so we’re hoping to provide that next year too. In a bigger school there probably should be a guidance or college-counseling staff member who’s dedicated specifically to the “arts kids” (the way we already have one for kids with testing accommodations, or somebody who works with D1 athletes). </p>

<p>It’s very interesting to how much schools vary in terms of depth of curriculum. At ours, kids can study a particular visual art or any form of music for all four years, but the drama curriculum is more limited, although we do finally have more than one year. The teacher is generous enough to work on an independent-study basis with any kid who wants more. Right now we have a first-year and second-year class (both emphasizing acting) and a senior “seminar” that gives kids experience with set design, sound, costuming, etc. The same teacher directs a mainstage in the fall, a musical in the winter, and supervises senior-directed short productions in the spring. She usually has several independent-study kids as well (and teaches a section of English, and has an advisory…). We have no dance program to speak of. An additional hurdle we face is the scheduling conflict between theater and athletics. Between the timing of the practices and the academic workload our kids carry, it’s simply not an option for students to be in a theater production while playing a varsity sport. We have an athletics requirement, as well as kids who just love both aspects of school life, so some (including my own son) are very limited in terms of how many shows they can do each year. More small productions could be a possible solution; I’d love to hear from any schools that have conquered this problem.</p>

<p>Thanks again, RabunGapDrama, for getting this thread going–sorry I’ve made two lengthy posts-obviously it pushed a button for me!!</p>

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<p>Aside from what somebody might want in training at a high school, I agree also that the guidance end should be better. But I don’t think that will change any time soon which is why I didn’t mention it in my first post. These folks are overwhelmed and, although technology and the common app is supposed to make things easier, it actually seems more complicated for students, teachers, and guidance counselors these days. In our school, 99% of staff, teachers, and students don’t know you can major in any kind of theatre, let alone a BFA. Many don’t understand why you would. Combine those mindsets with budget cuts and I think it will be a while before things change. However, just as a coach or a strong athletic director can guide athletes, I do think a plus would be having music/drama/dance teachers educate themselves more on the process. In this way, I also think master classes can serve a school well. When they attend a master class, the kids get to be mentored by someone in the business, someone who might have gotten their training through college, and will know the process even a little more than the guidance department. An adult like this could be a liaison for the college audition process which can help tremendously when parents feel out of the loop.</p>

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<p>RabunGapDrama, your question really depressed me, because I am with takeitallin–my S’s public high school does nothing to prepare kids for college auditions! His school has one drama teacher who directs a play in the fall, a musical in the spring, and teaches all the drama classes. She does nothing to help kids get ready for college auditions, because that would take time away from her productions. Most of the classwork in the drama classes is centered around getting ready for the two yearly productions, and if you are cast in one of the shows, you are not allowed to miss rehearsal (generally held from 4-10 or later, and you are almost always called since you MIGHT be needed) to go to dance classes, voice lessons or any other extra-curriculars. This means if you do the high school show it is even harder to prepare for college auditions on your own! Your program sounds like heaven in comparison!</p>

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<p>At our HS (private Catholic) there is a large and successful drama program within an excellent fine arts department. Other than private requests to the teacher during office hours to request song rep or monologue suggestions, very little attention is paid to preparing students for college auditions. She’s happy to help; she just doesn’t have enough students auditioning for college theatre programs to justify making it part of her class time. Despite the fact that our school has had a handful of students each year get accepted to auditioned programs, I think the general sense is that there are too few kids really applying for BFA programs to make it a part of the curriculum. I think it is great that you do mock auditions for your students. We took part in many mocks via our coach and it was the most valuable thing in terms of preparing them for the process.</p>

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<p>Nothing is done at our school. The drama teacher flat out told one kid this year who asked for help that wasn’t his job. Only a few students do auditions though so it probably doesn’t make sense to expect much attention to be paid to it.</p>

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<p>Thanks goodness for CC!!! since most of our kids are in the same boat if they don’t attend a performing arts high school…</p>

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<p>Our public HS has a great music department that puts on one musical a year - that’s it. The director thinks the kids get everything they need from her, and resents it when they go outside the school for regional or community theater. The school therefore does the kids a disservice…many kids think that b/c they get leads in her one (admittedly fabulous) production a year, they can become a Broadway star. They apply to MT programs with NO guidance from anyone, and very few get in anywhere. To my knowledge, we have had one girl get into a good MT program, and one boy get into a good acting program, both BFAs. Many, many students get in nowhere. The few kids who go to summer programs (mine goes to Stagedoor Manor) have more of a sense of where they fit in the bigger pool, and learn so much about college coaches, schools, etc. If I had relied solely on my D’s high school, I am afraid we would have been in for some rude awakenings next year! (Although we still might…who knows? But at least we are going in with our eyes open…)</p>

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<p>In answer to the OP… the answer for my D’s high school (Catholic 1200 kids) - absolutely nothing. </p>

<p>They did a fall play, a spring musical and a late spring drama/comedy. They offered 3 levels of dance classes in the fall (with a recital in January). They had an auditioned chorus and a non auditioned chorus. The shows actually had very high production value. Unfortunately, the performing arts faculty was one music teacher and two English teachers. None of them had a clue about the college BFA application/audition process and could not provide any help. The guidance department was even more clueless. (My D’s guidance counselor INSISTED she take Physics and Calculus if she intended to apply to Carnegie Mellon because that’s what was required of anyone who applied to their engineering programs. He had absolutely no idea at all what the MT process entailed. And when we tried to explain it… he just went deer in the headlights on us.) Lucky the kids who’s schools do anything to help them with the MT process. Even just understanding the differences in the application processes between MT programs and “typical” academic programs would have gone a LONG way.</p>

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<p>Hahaha… Help from GC? Fat chance here. They don’t know squat about any programs outside of the state unis and know even less about arts programs. The drama teacher we have is good (went to CCM), but is too busy to really help with audition info. We have a straight play in the fall (rotates Shakespeare and whatever) and a spring musical. We have a variety of choral music groups but the director of that is totally disinterested in MT. We have no advisement. We are figuring this out as we go. There is a performing arts HS in the next county but I do not like asking a kid at 14 to decide their path in life. Academics are just as, if not more important than the MT opportunities. </p>

<p>@zebra: that teacher sounds like a complete ass. HS is still a time for exploration!</p>