<p>My D is a Junior in HS and we are trying to figure out how to manage all the auditions next year. It just isn’t feasible to visit all the schools, due to time and money limitations. For those who know about CCU’s selection process, is there a preference given to those who come to campus? What do you feel are the advantages/disadvantages to each, specifically for CCU?</p>
<p>While Coastal does hold auditions at Unifieds, there are several real advantages for your daughter to go to campus including that she will be seen by and work with all of the faculty. It is well worth the trip since the audition process lasts the better part of the day and is organized so you will both get a real feel for the program and the school - unlike some programs where you are in and out after a 3 minute audition or where you are there all day, but sit for hours on end. Auditionees and parents take a tour and attend a very candid Q&A with a panel of current students from the the theatre dept. During the lunch which is provided in the courtyard, you can mix and mingle with everyone including faculty members. After lunch, there are workshop classes which parents can observe. And, finally, if there is a performance that evening, you can request comp tickets to attend.</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman MT who auditioned on campus last year. For us, it was one of the most organized, informative, open and friendly campus auditions we attended (right up there with Texas State).</p>
<p>Hopefully, other parents and kjgc will also give their perspectives. I am sure AlexaMT will have more to add, since she is kjgc’s Girl Friday for auditions, but she is opening in The Laramie Project tonight. BAL!!!</p>
<p>PS Since November-March is “off season” for the beach, hotels and flights are relatively inexpensive and you can easily stay near the beach where hotels are even cheaper and drive the ~20 minutes to campus.</p>
<p>I just have a couple of things to add. I’m not sure I would use the word “preference.” But I would say that a student has a longer opportunity to impress the faculty. The audition is important, but what happens in those workshops is what convinces the faculty that a student is right or wrong for our training. When you come to campus we have a full day to get to know you, and you have a full day to get to know us. We work very hard to create an ensemble of actors, singers, designers and technicians. Since we only take in a few students, and expect to graduate each of them, we do our best to determine if the fit is good. The longer we spend with the student, the better our chances.</p>
<p>We do cast from the unifieds. I don’t know what the percentages are. But the pressure in that situation is squarely on the 3 minutes of audition. We do call students back at the unifieds and try to spend at least 20-25 minutes with those students. It isn’t quite the same as having everyone together on campus. </p>
<p>I hope that helps. Let me know if there is something I can clarify.</p>
<p>Thanks so much to both of you for your thorough remarks. KJGC, do you think there is any disadvantage to being seen in the Fall as opposed to later on in your audition process?</p>
<p>No. None whatsoever. We have a pretty strong idea of what and who we are looking for in each class. If anything there is a small advantage to being the first, but I would say infinitesimal amount overall.</p>
<p>Great - thanks. If she’s ready by then, we will try to make it work for an on-campus audition in the Fall!</p>
<p>I want to add another consideration: If you go to CCU, you get to see not only how gorgeous the campus is, but you get to meet with the wonderful faculty, meet with current students and really get a sense of who and what CCU is. As CCU says, you get to see if the program is a match for you just as much as the panel gets to see if you are a match for them. </p>
<p>Both my D and I believe it is an exceptional program and we wouldn’t have known that had we not visited. We drove over 10 hours, and stayed in a hotel, so it wasn’t inexpensive (although the hotel was a great deal, on the beach, and only $49/night!). But it was worth every penny. No other school I know of offers this unique auditioning opportunity. I would take advantage of it if you at all can.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for your responses. It’s so hard to figure out how to get to all of the schools for auditions, but it seems like a must-do for CCU. I look forward to all the 2012-2013 dates going up so we can figure out how to make it happen.</p>