<p>^^Yep. My point exactly. Thought because I was on it early that I had all of the options to consider (and put into the spreadsheet.) But early is not always the complete picture we discovered. So ask. Then ask again. Things change. Wish I knew that last year.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help on Ithaca. D already submitted all of her applications, and called Ithaca, but hasnāt been able to talk with anyone yet about scheduling auditions. How about Michigan and CCM, anyone have information about them? Appreciate all of your info.</p>
<p>Anyone hear about the prescreenings for Indianaās MT program?</p>
<p>No. We are still waiting. My sons coach said they came pretty late last year.
Sometime around mid December. The email that came after he sent in the prescreen said he would hear in ālate fallā.
Hoping to hear soon. We added the school late for us and I really want to finalize travel plans soon. Thatās the last piece of the puzzle.</p>
<p>Great post Michael. I share the same viewpoint. I am the QB of this whole process and am loving the time I am spending with my free-spirited daughter. We jokingly refer to my services of that of a Butlerā¦but deep down I am just being her Dad.</p>
<p>Just FYiā¦ You can do the dance portion of the audition on a different day. Had a great talk with the two scheduling ladies I talked with. I love to leave 'em laughing :)</p>
<p>Hope everyone enjoyed happy holidays. Now back to college apps! Is anyone else dealing with rejections from schools due to prescreen videos? How are you dealing with it?</p>
<p>CaptainBoe- prescreens still out here. Have a couple to send tomorrow. Heading out on the audition circuit at the end of the month. Good thing we donāt have to worry about the spring musical since we have a new ādramaā teacher and my D isnāt participating. Long, sad story. Hoping to do a semi-pro gig in the spring instead.</p>
<p>CaptainBoe, I think prescreen rejections are like any other ānoā in this ābusiness,āānot a match, not meant to be, one personās opinion, etc etc. So much is subjective about all of this, it could be anything at all that leads to a no. I think the key is to try to minimize the rejection in the grand scheme and redirect attention to any past good news or future auditions, decisions, etc. Easier said than done, I know! I tell myself that whatever rejections happen along the way are just indicative of what this career path will look like and what they have to get used to. And that entrance into a particular program does not, in any way, guarantee success in the field, so whether or not they get a particular audition will probably have very little to do with their ultimate career path.</p>
<p>CaptionBoe- I have gotten two prescreen rejections and I just keep on telling myself a few things 1. I am not gonna get in all these places it frees up time 2. I am a bigger guy and am a type so I tell myself that they might not be looking for my type 3. I actually use it fuel one of my songs because I got the two rejections and then 3 prescreens callbacks the next week and two rejections were from schools that I sort of couldnāt see myself at.</p>
<p>Thanks you all, that actually helps a lot ^-^ And itās so true, I need to get used to rejection now since that is so much of the business.</p>
<p>On an entirely different topic: anyone doing unifieds in LA? Do any of you know about the ālimited special room rate for attendees of the National Unified Auditionsā?</p>
<p>Just a thought after reading some recent threads, for those auditioning now, prepare your questions well and make sure you ask them, if not when you are auditioning, on campus or off, then as an email or a message to a current student, etc. Do not let these slide. Press for complete truthful answers in a respectful diplomatic way. It also wouldnāt hurt to directly ask faculty to confirm what you receive as an answer from someone else. When our youngest was auditioning last year we asked about performance opportunities and crew commitments and we found out that a certain school didnāt allow them until junior year except for their student festival. Lots of the parents were surprised, thinking the answer was in sophomore year, and the info wasnāt volunteered by anyone at the school. Certainly this is an excellent program, but different factors weigh into a decision to attend or not. Find out if BFA actors are ever allowed to audition for musicals and vice versa. Find out if dance placements take place for freshmen before fall semester, etc. Find out about crew committments and how do they disburse the assignments, etc. Find out if BFA actors can truly receive voice lessons. And so on and so on. Finally, find out if current policies are possibly going to change. A student canāt assume certain things will remain the same and certain administrations and staffs do a better job of informing auditioning students truthfully and completely. Sometimes certain info is given that is incorrect and itās not a deliberate issue. The process to audition for these programs is grueling but can be very enlightening and exhilarating, and tons of research and data gathering must continue all the way until the final decision to attend is resolved. One thing is certain that all can take away from an audition season - in the end, every student who goes through it is much better prepared to advocate for themselves and embark on any college or post high school career than when they began.</p>
<p>And so begins the stress! My D was just diagnosed with bronchopneumonia, and her 2nd audition is this Saturday. I called the school, and even though all their other audition slots were full, they pushed her audition back another week. I donāt know what we would have done if they hadnāt been so understanding! </p>
<p>Any tips on staying healthy? We are taking vitamins, probiotics, Zicam, doing the neti pot, washing hands obsessively, Purell-ing everything in sight, humidifying, drinking tons of fluidsā¦I donāt know what else to do! Hopefully this will be the last illness until the end of Marchā¦but we are NOT off to a good start. I want to put her in a bubble!!! I cannot imagine what would have happened if this had been Unified weekend. AHHH!</p>
<p>monkey13, the only tip I can think of is to bring one of those portable humidifiers for the hotel room when you travel (you may already be doing this.) They are pretty nifty-- use a regular water bottle.</p>
<p>She needs lots of hugs, too!</p>
<p>These poor kids - the stress is bad enough, but to not have your body at 100%, that just adds more stress. And stress keeps the body from fighting off colds, etc. The old vicious circle!</p>
<p>Awww, monkey13, so sorryāI empathize! We picked up one of those water-bottle steamers when my S got the flu 3 days before a big December auditionāit did help. He also thought the āEmergen-Cā stuff made him feel better, and he took a very long, steamy bath at the hotel on the night beforeāloosened things up (muscles and sinuses!), and helped him sleep. Good luck, and let us know how things go!</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips. We do have a personalized steamer, but my D is afraid of brain eating amoeba (are you all laughing at me now? Please donātā¦itās hard enough as it isā¦), so she insists on using distilled water, which only seems to come in gallon jugs at drug stores. So I guess we could track down a drug store and buy the waterā¦itās cheap enough. Before 9/11, I would have transferred distilled water to a smaller bottle and brought it with me, but now thatās not allowed on planes. Someday, weāll all laugh at these times. Rightā¦?</p>
<p>I did just buy the Halo stuffā¦itās supposed to protect you on planes and trains, etc. Havenāt tried it yetā¦I figured we would wait until she beats back the pneumonia before preventing other viruses, b/c youāre not supposed to use it more than 7 days in a row. Not sure how thatās going to work, given that she has at least one audition EVERY weekend from January 12th through March 1stā¦butā¦Iāll figure it out. Sigh. I could just cry.</p>
<p>monkey13: My S has the same fear of using non-distilled water in his steamer or Neti pot. Heās headed to Youngarts this weekend and I think Iām going to pour some distilled water into a water bottle and tuck it into his checked bag. I currently have the worst cold of my life and, so far, he just has a tiny cough, but Iām terrified that heās going to get this cold! Btw: His ENT has nixed a room humidifier for his because of the risk of mold - he recommends just the personal steamer and hot showers. Also has nixed any decongestants, just nasal sprays.</p>
<p>The water-bottle humidifiers are great for dry hotel rooms! You can replace the bottle regularly and if you clean it with every use, mold will not be an issue. On this type of humidifier, the entire heating element is accessible for cleaning (similar to personal steamer), so it can be cleaned after each use (which for most auditions will be after 1-2 nights of use). You can replace the water bottle after each use - or wash and let air dry after each use. </p>
<p>Nasal saline really helps tooā¦</p>
<p>You may want to pick up a Vicks personal steamer (the one with the face shield) - itās great for loosening things up and it gets humidity directly to the vocal folds. </p>
<p>monkey13 - I will pm you a couple other suggestions that kept my daughter and me healthy thru her college auditions.</p>
<p>megpmom, Iām so glad someone elseās child has the same phobia! Now I donāt feel so strange. Hereās hoping he doesnāt get sick! You may want to put that bottle in several ziplock bags to prevent the pressure from making it burst en route. </p>
<p>We are not checking bags when we flyā¦too much lost/misdirected luggage in our past, and I canāt imagine losing my Dās stuff for an audition. Her doctor also said just nasal sprays. But ours said if you clean out the room humidifier once a week, you should be good to go. Who knows? Such conflicting advice from doctors these days. </p>
<p>Congrats of YoungArts and break a leg to him!</p>