<p>The Hartt thread is looking a little lonely these days. Some feedback from the new students and parents would be interesting. </p>
<p>My son is first year MT major at Hartt and loving the school so far. He has been very impressed with the level of talent in the other students, especially the freshman, but he may be little biased as he spends most of his time with that group. He has found the acting class very demanding emotionally but is learning lots and getting to know his fellow actors. Even though most of his friends are in the arts, he has also made friends of outside of his major. His suite mates are a little noisy but he has his dorm room to himself on the weekends as his roommate is from Hartford and goes home most of the time. The Handel Center is incredible. This freshman class is lucky to have started their college career in such a fantastic facility. Hope they don’t get spoiled.</p>
<p>He hasn't mentioned anything to me about the other students going home. His roommate is the only one in his suite from Hartford. I noticed that you are from NJ. My son went home one weekend with a MT girl from NJ and thoroughly enjoyed the homey feel of a real house and great family. If that was your family, thank you. Afterward he went into the city to see a show and sight see. I was surprised by how many of the student body are from within a few hours drive of the school. I wish that we could see him more often but we are considerably farther than a few hours.</p>
<p>Thanks for letting other parents know what your son's experience has been so far. My D and I visited Hartt in the summer when we were back east on vacation. She met with a really nice woman in admissions for Hartt and toured the campus but did not get to see the new facility as it was not open. </p>
<p>We are from So. CA and my brother lives near New Haven. My D fell in love with Hartt and it is at the top of her list right now to apply to next year (she is a hs junior). I would love to get her to talk to your son on Facebook or on here maybe in a few months so she can ask him some specific questions about the program.</p>
<p>I'm glad that you and your daughter are excited about Hartt . It is a great school with great scholarships and a very friendly staff. With your brother being so close to the school, it would be a big bonus during holiday and vacation times. The new Handel Center is probably the best physical training facility that students will ever have, professional or not. They will definitely get spoiled by it. </p>
<p>There is a facebook heading under Hartt MT, The Hartt School MT or something similar that has lots of information and contacts from the students. Unfortunately my son does not use facebook much so I don't know if he takes part in the discussion but lots of the other students do, so maybe she can make a contact there. The students that I met the short time I was there were very friendly and open with a sincere desire to help the new kids feel a part of the troupe. The whole group is busy putting on Carousel in the next week and various other projects coming up but give them a few weeks to respond and I'm sure she will get her questions answered.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at Hartt and is going to apply to the Strawhat and NETC auditions in March, 2009. Luckily it falls just perfectly with his spring break. Are any other Students applying? We would like to look into splitting costs of travel and hotel rooms. No guarantee that he will get a spot at the auditions but it can't hurt to plan ahead.</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman MT at Hartt and is very, very happy. She loves all her classes. She’s done costumes, makeup, lights and is assistant stage manager for a show right now. Her only negative is that she doesn’t really like living on campus and is hoping to move off-campus next year, as many of the theatre kids do. There’s quite a bit of partying in her dorm and she had some clothes stolen from the laundry room, so she’s a little unhappy with all that, but she is absolutely positive she made the right choice in coming to Hartt. All of the theatre majors from all 4 years are a really close group and have a lot of fun together. Most importantly, she really feels she’s learning so much and growing as an actress. I’m so happy to be on this side of all the stress of last year, and I wish this year’s students and parents good luck in their decisions.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. We don’t know much about Hartt and it is a LONG way from home, so we are trying to get as much information as possible to help in making a decision. I have heard that there are about 15 actors and 25 MTs in the freshman class – is that accurate? I have also heard that they had yielded more than that recently? I understand that the new performing arts center is great, but it how hard is it on the students to have it off campus – at least for the freshmen? And do the older kids live hear the center or near campus when they move out of the dorms?</p>
<p>My son, who is freshman this year, is also moving off campus for his sophomore year. He and 2 other students from the MT division already found a place for next year that they will share. the apartment complex is only a 10 minute drive from the main campus and less than that to the Handel center where they take most of their arts classes. There is a free U of Hartford shuttle bus that runs between all of the off campus class sites. It runs to shopping malls and entertainment areas. It will also make pickups at apartment complexes along its route, which covers a large area of western Hartford. My sons 2 roommates are planning on bringing their cars to school next year but according to him would be a luxury that he do without. The commute in the shuttle hasn’t bothered him at all this year and very often he can catch rides from other students heading that way. Hartford seems like a big city but in reality is only a short drive from one side to the other and it has a great public transit system. I am originally from California where one would never think of commuting without a car if at all possible. Things are so spread out and the bus system is maze.</p>
<p>I also heard that the yield last year was much more than they expected. Wonder what that will mean for the incoming class size.</p>
<p>I saw a post on another thread that indicated that acting students cannot audition/be in any of the musical productions? Can anyone confirm that? And can acting students take any voice/dance classes? It looks from their curriculum that there is not much, if any, time for that, but am just curious. Thanks</p>
<p>The Actor Trainers are not allowed to audition for the musicals. Actor Trainers however are allowed to audit dance classes if they can fit it in their schedules and they are more than welcome to sign up for a voice teacher. We actually have a few students doing just that.</p>