<p>Take care of yourself Big Shoes. I think we’re all so stressed out about the complexity of this maze and wanting to maximize the results for our kids. I have to keep reminding myself that the goal for my D is to provide support for her to receive a good education. There are many roads to that education. Ultimately what she makes of herself is her responsibility. </p>
<p>We just started MTCA coaching. Feel like we’re late in the game, but she’s going for straight acting programs, even though she can sing. She’s not a dancer though. Are any of you contemplating going to more than one Unified audition? We’re thinking about attending Chicago and LA, as we’re close to LA but learned that more schools attend the Chicago Unifieds (thank you Christie!)</p>
<p>We are also near LA but going to Chicago. It will save us going to campuses for auditions. I think we will see how the scheduling goes and if it makes Chicago too hectic, we will drive up to the LA Unifieds for the remaining. I think we will be able to do them all in Chicago and be done.</p>
<p>Just want to take a minute to share my own thoughts on college audition coaching. To be completely honest, it makes me sort of nervous that I’m not using MTCA or Mary Anna Dennard (given the amount of success they have) as I go into this whole college audition process. I did investigate those options, but it’s money that my parents aren’t willing to spend. That’s completely understandable, considering this is an endeavour that may end up costing my parents tens of thousands of dollars more in tuition fees than they had planned for, should I end up pursuing a degree in the US. On the other hand, I consider myself very lucky that I live in such a culture-rich city like Toronto. I’ve been able to find my own network of people who are doing the jobs that a formal college audition coach would do - solidifying my type, picking my rep, helping me with prescreens, etc. Since these are people that I’ve known for a number of years, I feel that who I am as a person and as a performer is really going to shine through come audition season. I think what’s been said about college audition coaches in the past on this forum is really true about any type of performing arts coach: You really need to find someone who connects with you and feels like the right fit to you to get results. Just my two cents.</p>
<p>CanadianMTGirl, you are not at a disadvantage and are going about things in a very good way. My D and most of the kids I know have done what you are doing in terms of prep with local voice and monologue coaches. Nothing against the other coaching services you named as they are good too. There are many ways to prep for college auditions.</p>
<p>Agree with soozie. My daughter is working with a wonderful local coach who has a great track record in placing kids into MT programs, as well as her voice teacher she’s had for several years. We’re thrilled to have both. </p>
<p>Now, I’m curious. Does any one else out there have a million different play books strewn throughout their house? My daughter is reading tons of plays, etc to find her monologues.</p>
<p>Jeffandann - I spent some time reading plays myself to find those that have great characters that my son can work with. I sent a fair amount off with him to BU summer program, since he really didn’t have monologues prepared. He is auditioning this week for BU - and I have a feeling that he has been working with his instructors and TAs on plays also, because he said he has been “reading plays all night long”. Since they finish up for the day at 10pm, he’s gotta be exhausted! So I think they have given him suggestions as well. </p>
<p>My son has always been a last minute type of kid, which causes me stomach pains most of the time, but in a way, I think it’s good that he doesn’t panic about things. And he always does well as far as getting leads in shows. His high school drama teacher has offered to work with him a bit on his monologues (well, for other schools since he’s going ahead with the BU audition on his own), and that will only cost me a banana bread and a Dunkin’ Donuts gift card! LOL! </p>
<p>My son feels that what he wants to show people at the auditions is his natural ability, and his willingness to improve and learn from them. Not sure if that’s the correct approach, but if that’s what he believes then that is what should come across. He feels, since he hasn’t gone to a PA high school, or spent the last few years working with coaches, etc., it doesn’t make sense to spend the money to try to cram it all in now (and for that my pocketbook and I are grateful!).</p>
<p>Your thoughts match exactly what I have heard and read. In auditions the folks want to see who you are, not someone overacting and overemoting totry and impress people. I think the point of reading the plays is so you pick something where you know you can be yourself in performing the piece. One thing that was emphasized is to pick something that is age appropriate, for my daughter they said something from 16-24 years old. They get a lot of kids tryng to act over their age, from what I gather. </p>
<p>I think you’re getting off easy with the teacher. If it were me I’d be demanding clam chowder.</p>
<p>^^MH, sounds like you and I have been living parallel lives…I did a lot of digging for plays this year too, and S brought some with him to BU. But his TA there suggested a new dramatic monologue, which has worked out quite well, apparently–and yes, he read the play! </p>
<p>Re: coaching, he wants to see how he feels after BUSTI–we hope not to use a coach unless he really doesn’t feel ready. He is only doing a mock audition for BUSTI, as it turns out, as he wants more time to work on his pieces. My own position is to avoid pushing the coaching idea; for my S, the last thing he needs is any implication that he can’t do this without special help. And J&A, I think you have hit the nail on the head with your comments about being yourself and about kids trying to “act over their age.” I’ve heard a LOT that the biggest pitfall for many applicants is that they simply haven’t done the research and don’t know what they’re getting into or understand the audition expectations. </p>
<p>All of that said, I do think it’s crucial for kids to get some kind of help in preparing, and if they don’t have access to a drama teacher, local theater director, or summer program, then coaching is certainly a great option–especially for MT, where the skill set is so big. But that sense of individual voice is crucial, as you guys both point out. I teach high-school photography and often help kids put together their portfolios for art-school applications. Never, ever do I start by picking out their portfolio pieces myself. I always insist that they make a first run at it, and then we look through it all together. There’s a lot of back-and-forth, and while sometimes it’s helpful to suggest that a student omit or include a specific piece, the top priority is that they discover, through the portfolio-creation process, what is distinctive about their work and how best to communicate that “voice.” Hopefully that’s what the acting/MT programs are looking for too!</p>
<p>Jeffandann - you would not even believe what my room looks like at this moment. I’ve always been a speedy, voracious reader (I think it comes from the fact that both my parents are journalists), so I’m reading plays to the tune of a play a day. And never mind the plays I have at HOME…after my vocal lessons I go to the reference library (which has a huge performing arts floor - it’s a thing of beauty) with a huge list of plays to speedread through, just to see if there’s anything I connect to and can return to at a later date.</p>
<p>I like to keep a look out for job listings on backstage.com, playbill.com, etc for “breakdowns” which describe characters in my D’s category. It’s sort of a quick and easy way to find suitable material (avoiding anything playing currently on B’way). Another quickie way to find a monologue is to see if a favorite book with a suitable character has been made into a play. Then use that play. (If it’s a modern play based on an old story, for dating purposes, one goes with the publication date of the play, not the book. You may want to confirm this but that worked for us at my D’s auditions.) Remember you can cut and paste all you want to make up the monologue, which is especially useful with contemporary plays because they seem to avoid using monologues. Try to find a one sided conversation - eliminate the other person’s responses - and you’ve got a monologue. Make sure it still makes sense without the other person’s lines, of course. Have fun, ya’ll.</p>
<p>Oof. Just another anecdote I thought was worth sharing. During the year I take jazz, tap and ballet, but over the summer my studio offers weekly drop-ins for really cheap. I do conditioning twice a week and usually a jazz class and a technique class. I’m at the studio normally around 6 or 7 hours a week. As someone who only started dancing sophomore year, this is more dance per week than I’ve ever done before in my life. Happily enough, I can see (and feel!) this paying off. During oversplit work today in conditioning, our studio owner told us to close our eyes and picture ourselves in the most beautiful square split possible. The positive visualization really helped, and I can’t help thinking that that’s totally applicable to this whole university application process, too. To go into it with a clear head and optimism can only be helpful, right?</p>
<p>Hi everyone,
I am new to posting but not new to the site. My D and I are in full force college search mode and I can tell you it is truely frightening. We visited SMU, TCU, OU, OCU and TSU last week and needless to say mid week she was crying. Most of her friends already know were they want to go and either have the grades to get in or don’t. Few people understand the process it takes to get into a MT program. She has been singing for years and has been in countless productions. She is also a fantastic actress and a pretty good dancer. We do have a private voice teacher that has helped place many of her students in top programs. We also bought the I GOT IN book and will go to a few master classes. But that being said, it is all very daunting. Her grades are great and she got a 1850 on her SAT the first time. We are scheduled to take the ACT and the SAT again. We are thinking of going to unifieds in Chicago but funding the trip is going to be hard. I guess I’m wondering is it worth going to unifieds? Is it better to get packaged deal with priceline or a site like that or call the hotel? How fast does the hotel fill up and when do colleges start opening up spaces? Sorry I am rambling just so much on my mind. Just started a spread sheet tonight and have papers all over the floor. I am so glad that I found this site. It comforts me to know that I am not the only parent dreaming of the not overdone song.:)</p>
<p>First off, I want to change my name to “scaredstiffmom2”, because I feel your fear. That is why I am up having tea at 2am! Are you saying that your D was crying because her non-theatre friends already have their college plans made? It does seem about a thousand times worse for our theatre kids to get into a program - other kids send in the app, essay, and grade/scores and hope for the best. Not so for theatre kids - they have to really put themselves out there. Daunting is a good word for that!</p>
<p>I can’t give you knowledgable advice because this is new to us, too, but we aren’t planning on doing Unifieds. Our list is not too complex and we have a few non-audition schools, so our plan is to apply then get an audition date (trying not to worry about auditioning later rather than sooner) on campus. This might change of course, but this is how we are approaching senior year.</p>
<p>I tell you, I am freaked out about everything - especially the number of talented kids that are out there vying for such a small number of slots. I really don’t know how I will be the supportive mom, since for every “no” I will be heartbroken for my S. </p>
<p>Pick up all the papers on the floor before you slip and crack something!</p>
<p>Scaredstiffmom: My daughter is just entering the process like yours is, and our friend the marble head’s is. All I can tell you about unifieds is what the department chair of a major MT program said at a seminar I attended last week: go to unifieds. There are a lot of schools there, your daughter will be able to audition at a lot of school at once, and it shouldn’t hurt her chances vs. attending auditions on campus. Your daughter should be thinking about what she’s looking for in a program (my daughter for example wants to focus on schools that will offer good dance training as well as singing/acting), what kind of college experience she wants (big campus vs small, urban vs non-urban, conservatory vs not); that will help her decide on schools. As far as scheduling visits with each program and when they allow you to do that, you’ll have to just go to each website for each school and make a master list of such things. For unifieds some schools simply want you to call to schedule an appointment, some have a separate application. And of course some indicate you can try and schedule a drop in appointment when at unifieds. Sounds like you have a wonderful, smart, and talented daughter, so I am sure in the end all will work out.</p>
<p>We are also new to this process and it is truly overwhelming! We live in the Pacific Northwest so travelling to all the schools individually would be too expensive. So we are doing Unifieds. We already booked our room at the Palmer House Hilton, and at the suggestion of someone else on this site, we booked an Executive room (not that much more expensive) because you get breakfast, snacks, and h’ors d’oevres served in the evening included in the price. And according to others on this site, the evening h’ors d’oevres can be a meal! </p>
<p>But here’s my question and it probably doesn’t have an answer but…why can’t all the schools have the same requirements as far as number of monologues required, length of audition song (16-bar vs. 32-bar), etc.??? That would be an easy way to streamline this whole process for the kids. Just sayin’…</p>
<p>Standardizing the process would just make things too easy. After all, aren’t performers supposed to suffer for their craft?</p>
<p>I would point out one interesting thing I learned at the seminar last week. The department chair that spoke suggested you have a backup for each song/monologue you are asked to do (so for example have two up tempo songs available). Here’s why he suggested that: they had a girl waiting to audition, and the girl right in front of her did the same monologue she was going to do. So rather than try and do the same one and directly compete, she switched to another she had ready. And she got offered a spot. Had never thought of that before last week.</p>
<p>Our coach says to have 4-6 monologues and 4-6 songs (full length, not just your cut) ready for auditions. Better to be over prepared than under prepared, right?</p>
<p>How many auditions is everyone trying to schedule a day at Unifieds? I’ve heard 3-4 is plenty in a day. I was about to make reservations in Chicago the other day but chickened out :). I will do it soon but my D and I were very anxious that day for some reason. Valium, please!!!</p>