Jitters

I meant the regret as something that would be hard for our high school students who might be doubting if they are good enough to pursue it in college. I think it would stink to let fear get in the way and always wonder what if! Your daughter has already been exposed to the BFA thing, been there/done that in college and got enough of a taste of this as a career path. This is exactly what she should be figuring out at her age! She has gained enough skills in college to hit the audition circuit either way at this point. And sounds like the best of both worlds to me, given that she’ll have a degree in something else.

My daughter felt the same exact way when taping her prescreens - multiple takes, never thought they were good enough, didn’t have confidence in the ability & talent she clearly had. All said and done she was accepted into 11 programs, and even though only a small handful were from “the dream school list”, she ended up at a very reputable program this year and is really thriving.

I think it’s natural to doubt yourself, but prescreens are the EASY part - it’s just her and the camera. No one watching her, no one making judgements. She can let loose and give it everything she’s got. Now, IF she gets past the process for some of the schools and needs to audition, she’ll see that there ARE people out there who see value in her talents and ability. That’s a built-in confidence booster right there.

The bottom line is this - if she doesn’t try, she’ll never know. If she tries and doesn’t get chosen, at least she can move forward with some clarity.

Best of everything to you & your daughter - tell her to go for it!

My D decided by the end of sophomore year that she would rather be interning in NYC than pursuing summer stock. The prior summer (end of freshman year) she was cast in two regional productions at Hofstra and interned during the day at Sony Music and as an assistant in a PR firm. So dropping theatre for the summer following Sophomore year was telling. When she returned to school for junior year she decided to continue in NYU as a MT major, but added two minors–one in English lit and the other in the Business of Entertainment, Media and Technology. She wanted the flexibility of pursuing her passion for performing, coupled with academic pursuits and more pre-professional training in the entertainment business world. By senior showcase, she knew she’d give Broadway a whirl if that ever came her way, but that realistically she didn’t see a career as a performer in her future since she did not want to go on tour, on a cruise or audition constantly. Instead she pursued the business side of entertainment. Between interning and post graduation jobs she has worked on a film documentary on Tony Bennet, for a theatrical producer, a talent manager, in casting, in marketing at Dreamworks Theatrical and at a top talent agency in their theatrical department. But low pay (this is something to really consider, unfortunately) and limited upward mobility lead her back to NYU once again to pursue her MBA. She is currently working as an associate brand manager for a vitamin brand in a fortune 500 company, finally in an exec position making decent money.

But even as she has taken this business track, MT has remained in her life. At NYU she started as Belle in Stern Follie’s spoof of Beauty and the Beast–working with some amazingly talented people at Stern in “Beauty and the B-school”–now on U-Tube (lol). She’s has money now to pay for voice and dance classes and has joined two different NYC choirs. She has amazing connections in the agency/ casting/ marketing side of entertainment and theatre and may still swing back to entertainment on a more exec level after she finishes her brand management rotational program. And down the road, who knows? Maybe Broadway can be in the future someday.