<p>My D will be a High School junior next year and intends to major in theatre/musical theatre. She has been very active in theatre the past 5 years (25 shows and counting), with the majority of those shows being at the community level (children's) or college summer stock level. Her question is this: What other things can she do her junior and senior year to round out her resume for a chance to audition at places such as NYU etc? Her grades are very good-not top notch, which she is working on. Her pre-ACT scores have been above average. She is active in some school clubs and does community service work. Most of her roles have been leads or supporting for community theatre and mostly ensemble for the college summer stock...but she has landed a few roles there and might do more as she continues. Any suggestions on other things she needs to focus on? (sorry so long!)</p>
<p>Keep nurturing her talent. Audition for as MANY schools as possible (I did twelve or so). Take advantage of walk-ins. Have a back-up (I think you already know this)–apply to a solid BA school, like Northwestern or Minnesota (whatever can’t be accomplished next year could be accomplished in two years, remember! Plus, a lot of these schools feed off of transfers). The more auditions, the better. These programs have an acceptance rating of less than 2%. NOTE: NYU does NOT give any scholarship money to undergraduates…the most anyone I have heard of who has gotten money was about $2,000 a year for talent (and at $60K a year, that is merely a drop in the bucket).</p>
<p>You are a phenomenal person for helping your child out. I went through unifieds this year…still waiting for letters…I have been accepted AND rejected. However, I did not do musical theatre…perhaps someone more appropriate can answer your questions. I did experience the audition scene, though.</p>
<p>NOTE: MT Programs are extremely hard. They look for triple threats: singers, dancers, actors (and even instumentalists). As I walked the halls of the Palmer House, I literally heard numerous fantastic voices, belting notes. A lot of them sounded EXACTLY same…I do not know how those auditors do it. </p>
<p>If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer.</p>
<p>-Keep grades up…make her stay motivated in her senior year (Carnegie Mellon and University of Michigan are notorious schools for cutting admitted students who had falling grades their last semester).</p>
<p>-2 Letters of Recommendation: 1 from a director who knows your daughter professionally. 1 from a teacher who knows your daughter well academically. Do not, under any circumstances, send a letter without reading it…a little dishinest, but EVERYONE does it.</p>
<p>Your daughter will be able to audition for these schools no problem from the sound of it.</p>
<p>Most importantly, this is something that she must want! She has to make the decision to go forward with it. Admittance into these universities does not make or break her future, however. Rejection is horrible (I, for one, was devestated to have not been called back for the Guthrie at University of Minnesota), but it might happen. Make her understand that this does not determine her future…just the next year or four.</p>
<p>She should be educating herself on the programs these schools offer. The staff, the faculty, the courses, the techniques. In an audition, if (key word, IF) they will ask you “Why this school? Why BFA here?” She can answer with something SPECIFICLY intriguing about the program. (For instance: “Why Carnegie Mellon, TimThom?” “Well, I find that their ‘Acting Option’ was a curriculum that made the most sense to me. Also, I understand that select students may have the opportunity to work in an exlcusive Australian conservatory–one where my favorite actress, Cate Blanchett learned–and Carnegie Mellon is the only American university that has access to this Australian program. I would very much like that opportunity. And, your one of the best in the nation!”)</p>
<p>-There are lots of numerous, brilliant musical theatre programs in the nation. DO NOT BE FOOLED OR TAKEN IN BY PRESTIGE (even though there programs are brilliant and have neames attached to their institution)! The decision she makes is a university that has a curriculum that best fits her and can nurture her into a great artist and professional. Research any and all MT programs that come her way.</p>
<p>Sorry–one more thing…</p>
<p>Do you want conservatory style or liberal arts integrated BFA programs…that is another important decision and one worth consideration. NYU is known for integrating their theatre training with liberal arts, whereas a school like Purchase or Julliard is known for STRICTLY THEATRE. Both work well. I have friends who are involved in both and have opportunities up the wazoo, but again…matter of preference and fitting…</p>
<p>Thanks Tim Thom for some great advice. Yes…she is very motiviated and at this point feels this is her destiny. We all know what 4 years of college can do though!! She is already looking at 4-5 schools but NYU is her “dream school”-but she is also a pragmatist and understands the ratios.</p>
<p>Please keep posting with any other ideas!</p>
<p>OH! She’s doing great, then!</p>
<p>Well, when I was a sophomore-to-be-junior (isn’t that what you said she was?) I was really focusing on the universities themselves…researching and finding out more about them. At that time, I was not preparing for the audition itself. I was told that, as a high school student, my personality changes with the semester…you know? I did not look for audition materials until the summer of my junior year…that was the perfect time for me, because I was comfortable with the choices…my performance preferences did change within that year. I am not saying I am an expert, though. That just worked for me.</p>
<p>I do believe there are some threads where current college students spill their guts on the first two years of university acting. I also have friends who attend Marymount, CalArts, Syracuse, and SUNY Purchase. Hearing what they had to say help me put things into perspective–how badly I wanted this, was this something for me, what did I want from these universities. It sounds like she has a good head on her shoulders, and she should communicate with university people.</p>
<p>…however, I feel like you already know this…I don’t know if it helps.</p>
<p>Sorry, one more thing!</p>
<p>Does your daughter get “Dramatics” magazine? She should if she is a Thespian at her high school. They publish an issue that lists EVERY SINGLE BFA THEATRE PROGRAM (Acting AND MT) in the United States, level of difficulty, tuition rates, retention rates, GPA requirements, test score averages, etc. If she does, than you have what you need!!!</p>
<p>Here is a link to the website where you can order that edition, if you’d like. I recently loaned my college directory edition out to a teacher, so I can’t scan and send it to you…sorry…</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.edta.org/thespian_resources/college_prep/directory.aspx[/url]”>https://www.edta.org/thespian_resources/college_prep/directory.aspx</a></p>
<p>It also contains helpful tips to prepare for college.</p>
<p>mthopefulmom,
Don’t worry so much about the resume. It’s the audition itself that will be the deciding factor at most BFAs and the resume will be more or less window dressing. One thing she could do is maybe sacrifice some summer performance time to go somewhere like the CMU precollege program to train a bit with some different teachers. I think they do some college audition specific work there, too, but I never went and can’t say for sure. There’s all kinds of info on MT summer programs over on the MT forum, so you might want to check there.</p>
<p>I second fishbowlfreshman on that on both the resume and MT program.</p>
<p>I did not have an impressive resume when I auditioned, and I got into NCSA and Marymount.</p>
<p>Wow. TimThom and others have given some really great advice about MT colleges/auditions/preparation … etc.</p>
<p>I COMPLETELY SECOND THE NOTION TO SUBSCRIBING TO “DRAMATICS” MAGAZINE. It seriously saved my life when the time came to audition for NYU this year.</p>
<p>I would also like to add that since NYU is her dream school, your daughter should really go for it with all of her heart, but still apply to others of course…
Remind her to definitely keep her grades up, even if that involves getting a tutor for the SATs/ACT. NYU cares about academics. In fact, the admissions process is 50% academic and 50% the talent your child exhibited at the artistic review. </p>
<p>When it comes time for the audition, it would be good to tell her to be calm and to be herself. Relax and the world relaxes with you. I say that all the time, but it’s true. And it worked for me.</p>