My 10th grade DD applied to a bunch of SMTI programs (mPulse, STATE, ArtsBridge, Interlochen) and so far she has not been accepted anywhere. Should this be a reality check for us?
Not necessarily. Sometimes they like kids that going into there senior year. Maybe do BAA or Broadway Dreams. Perhaps Harrt too.
Broadway Breakthru College Program may still have openings. It is in Chicago Slightly newer program than they have had in the past
@wjm526 MPulse usually only takes rising seniors. Don’t worry about it.
If you are still looking for a program - I just got a flyer at my school from Indiana University for theirs - called midsummer
https://theatre.indiana.edu/about/high-school-summer-programs/midsummer-theatre.html
Thanks…another rejection rolled in today (TPAP) so we are getting a little worried. She is in at BAA for Vocal though. Since that’s’ just a week she wanted to combine it with another program.
You might consider spending the money you were going to spend on a summer intensive on having an assessment done by a qualified coach who specializes in the college audition process for musical theater. Find one who will give you an honest assessment of her abilities. They may be able to identify any areas that need strengthening between now and the time she will want to apply to programs. This way you have a couple of years to really work on the skills that may need improvement before her college audition season. Make sure to use someone who is an expert in college auditions. I see here time and again where other actors, directors and teachers think students are well qualified and possess plenty of talent, but they don’t understand what is needed to be successful in the college audition process. Often times I think it is a lack of understanding of the process, not a lack of talent, that can effect how many acceptances you get. So choose who will do your assessment wisely.
@wjm526 take a look at Catholic University of America’s summer program in DC or Rider’s program. And I would not be discouraged- I think a lot of the programs you were talking about prefer rising juniors.
I agree with @vvnstar. I think it is important to have an outside assessment completed by someone who understands the process and what is involved. The ones who tell my kid (or anyone’s kid for that matter) - “you’re sure to get in everywhere” are clearly not in tune with what is happening on this front.
Stagedoor Manor had a limited number of openings for Sessions 1 and 3 last year that didn’t close until very late. It might be worth looking at to see if that is the case again this year. French Woods nearby may have openings as well.
No audition required to get into the camp, but there are a lot of talented kids there. You might want to check into it. My daughter had a lot of fun there last summer, but we felt it was a bit pricey for only 3 weeks. And, for visiting parents coming to see the shows the final weekend, the area is VERY rural and a complete 180 from NYC.
^^^and the hotels are a challenge in Liberty for sure!
Oklahoma City University’s summer program accepts younger high school students. My S who is a Freshman will be attending this summer. It has a great reputation and the next deadline is March 20. Check out this thread from last year: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/oklahoma-city-university-mt/1959901-ocu-summer-program-2017-p1.html
French Woods accepts anyone as long as there is space in the session for lodging. Anyone can participate in MT productions once they get to camp. There’s no audition to enroll at the camp, but the MT castings are done based on auditions at the start of camp sessions (as another poster mentioned, there a lot of talented kids, so it can be quite competitive – but to my knowledge no kid is shut out of a production – they’ll at least end up in the ensemble). FW is unique in that campers can explore other areas of performing arts (music, dance, circus, visual art) and can decide what they want to do once they get settled in at the camp.
Getting back to @wjm526’s original question, the SMTI programs that your DD applied to are competitive, but far less competitive than college BFA MT programs. Her results this summer show that she is not rising to the top of the summer MT program applicants. Yes, she is only in 10th grade, and some programs have a preference for 11th graders, but that is probably not the sole reason for her lack of acceptances this summer. For example, while MPulse says they prefer Juniors, and will only consider Sophomores of exceptional talent and ability, the MPulse summer 2017 class had 4 rising Juniors out of 37 students in the program. The rest were rising Seniors. Artsbridge has a program specifically for Freshman and Sophomores (Artsbridge 2) that she could still be accepted to. If she applied for the regular Musical Theater program, she can still apply to Artsbridge 2. Applications are due 3/8/2018. TPAP does not have a stated preference for older students. Having not been accepted to the most competitive summer MT programs gives your daughter a chance to figure out what she needs to do to become competitive in this pool before next summer and before the college admissions cycle. While Frenchwoods and Stagedoor Manor are great programs, and a lot of fun, they are summer camps, and they will not help your daughter identify her weaknesses and work to strengthen them. I agree with @vvnstar that individual coaching may be the best way to improve the weaknesses that summer program admissions staff are seeing. A year of additional training can make a world of difference! Good luck.
@madgemini4 Yes, if your child auditions for a musical at either FW or Stagedoor, they’re guaranteed to get into one. Yes, it might be ensemble, but they’ll have a part. I know Stagedoor has a group of musicals they choose from for each session and it can change based upon who they cast in each show and who each director selects to be a part of each cast. Last year, in Session 3, they did Jesus Christ Superstar, Pippin, 13, Little Women, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and a few others that I’m forgetting.