My daughter auditioned yesterday. It wasn’t the first school she thought of, but she has a couple of friends who are in the program in different years, and they are very talented, so she went and auditioned. The facilities were nice, the faculty were very friendly, knowledgeable, and interested in the students, and the students are talented. We will see what happens, but it is worth considering for sure. Apparently there are only 14 kids in the freshman class this year.
@4Kids4Me What was the audition like? Was the dance part difficult? Was it just jazz or ballet? Thanks!!
My daughter said it wasn’t that difficult but it was FAST. I think they did basic ballet things like plies, but as far as I know the combo was jazz. I heard one girl say that it was fun and made her happy. 
Thanks!!!
@littlebean37 how did it go??
@theatremom16 It went well! I completely forgot to make a detailed post about it last night-- I was super tired! But I’m back in my home state now (and reunited with the suitcase!), so I have time to write that post now
The first thing we did was the singing/acting portion of the audition. We checked in at the lobby, and then a student took me and a couple other people up to the practice rooms to warm up for a few minutes. Then they took us to one of the theatres (Kent has three- one mainstage, one black box, and one that I’m not really sure how to describe-- it was fairly small and had very steep seating. That’s the one we went to.) You audition in small groups–mine had four-- and while the first person does their monologue, the second is talking to the accompanist, and so on. There were six or seven faculty watching and a student timing. I think you have four and a half minutes total, but nobody in our group went over time. You perform your songs, then your monologue, and then you do a quick pitch matching excercise (the accompanist plays a few notes, you sing them back. It’s really easy). They didn’t ask any of us questions. After we auditioned, one of the students showed us around the theatre building and then talked to us for a bit when we were done.
After the singing/acting, there was a q&a session with some of the faculty from 4-5pm and then when that was done, we went to the dance audition.
I agree with @4Kids4Me’s D about the dancing–it was quite fast, especially for someone like me who is not a very skilled dancer. One of the current freshman even warned us about the dance beforehand, and she was right! The first thing we did was a sort of warm-up type thing with plies and stretching and stuff like that. Then we did an across-the-floor thing that had kicks and a jump in it. The actual routine itself was sort of a jazz combo (though I’ve never actually taken jazz, so I might be wrong). One of the current students told us that they do a lot of modern dance, so it might have been more similar to that style. It was quick, but very fun. We performed the routine and the across-the-floor in groups of four or five. Like all dance calls, I think the main thing to focus on (especially if you’re not a dancer) was to have fun and show them your personality.
We didn’t get to see Thoroughly Modern Millie because it was sold out for Saturday and Sunday and we forgot to call them about tickets earlier.
Overall, I really liked the school and it seems to be a great program. One of the very first things I noticed was how kind the students were-- they were all SO friendly and helpful and willing to answer questions. They all seem to be very close and family-like, so that was cool. The head of the program said that they try to limit their classes to 16 now. My dad actually took notes during the q&a, so once we’re home (driving back from airport right now) I can also make a post with more specific info on the program itself.
I didn’t get much of a chance to see the campus, as I auditioned in the afternoon and my morning was spent sleeping in after the traveling nightmare, but what I saw was very nice. They had a lot of open spaces and trees, which I liked. What we saw of the surrounding area was also pretty nice (again, we didn’t have much of a chance to explore). There were some fast-food places and restaurants down the road from the theatre area, and a bit further away in one of the nearby towns (short driving distance) was a supermarket and a Target and stuff like that. It’s definitely not in the middle of nowhere, so there’s probably stuff to do outside of school. A very random thing we discovered was that the McDonalds near the Target has a table that lights up and changes colors when you wave your hand over it. I don’t think I will ever see a cooler table in my life, lol.
Anyway, it was a nice place and a nice program! (I could see myself going there, but it’s not my top choice. Definitely not my least favorite though.) Most of the students in the program and the people auditioning seemed to be from the Ohio area, so it’s definitely a more regional program. They were all really surprised that I came to audition all the way from the West Coast :))
I hope I didn’t forget anything major (besides the specific info about the program), but if I did feel free to ask questions! I’ll try to answer them as best as I can!
Thanks @littlebean37 !!! We live two hours away and I grew up 45 minutes away, so I spent a lot of time there in my 20’s. It has probably changed quite a bit! Good to hear details though!
Anecdotal but I thought worth sharing - the summer before my MT daughter’s senior year in high school we were at an event where the cast of Hair performed and mingled with the crowd. I asked a group of three or four actors where they went to school and what they thought about the program, etc. The response was a bit surprising to me - one went to Carnegie Mellon, one to NYU, and one to Kent State, can’t remember the others. The Kent State boy was an Ohio resident and that was what his family could afford. Three to four years out of college and all the kids I was speaking with landed on Broadway within the same number of years regardless of the college they attended (and debt they incurred). This says a few things about a persons education and the acting profession but still, it put things in perspective for me so I thought it might do the same for others.
Thank you, @amtc. That is very helpful, especially as we sit here anxiously waiting!
Daughter got her acceptance email today. Happy.