<p>My D is a junior in high scool and wants to apply to a MT program. She has a voice coach(Steinhardt grad) for 2 years, is in her school chorus, musicals and local summer stock chorus parts along with dance lessons as a kid. Her voice coach is encouraging her to apply to Steinhardt, but quite frankly, after reading the threads on this site, I don't know if she would be accepted there or anywhere since she doesn't have the stellar CVs that most applicants have. She really really wants to do this! My entire family is in medicine and I have no idea where to begin. Is a summer program appropriate? Does anyone know of anything in NYC this summer since it's in commuting distance?</p>
<p>Hi Novice mom....I understand, my d is a jr, too. Her dad and I are both dentists!!! How on earth will we navigate this new world! I'll look forward to reading your posts through the next year. Just know there is at least one person out there who is as lost as you are and just as committed helping her d find her way!</p>
<p>Trust me, it wasn't long ago that we were all exactly where you are. And most of us had absolutely no idea where to even start! </p>
<p>Summer intensives are a good experience, if you can afford them. My daughter went to the Carnegie Mellon Pre-College program. Not cheap, but well worth every penny!</p>
<p>There is a thread discussing summer programs. One thing you might check is some of the deadlines may be fast approaching.</p>
<p>My only other suggestion, at this point, is to grab yourself a huge cup of coffee/whatever, take your shoes off, and start reading these threads at the very beginning. And, of course, if you get clear through them, there are 36 others in the archives!</p>
<p>Welcome aboard,</p>
<p>Peg</p>
<p>Peggy, is ever so right. I stayed up nearly all night when I found this site just reading post after post. Of course the archives were not as full then! </p>
<p>When you look at the risk factors which really involve the abysmal acceptance rate to the mainline MT schools, my suggestion is to procede as though your kids are applying to Harvard and company. Which means, start looking at a group of safeties. There are those who say there are none in MT, but that is not quite true. There are a number of programs that have no audition component, or you can cobble together a program out of the drama and music offerings of a non MT program. If you have a few safeties like that, then pick whatever else you like with wild abandon, and let the auditions begin! What you get, is what you get. Doctorjohn just printed a list of the schools that hold auditions at Unifieds where you can get a bunch of them in, and if Steinhardt is the dream school, by all means apply early there. You'll know in December. In fact, apply to a handfull early or rolling so you can shift gears if things are not going so well. There is a big list of schools on the thread to get you started.
Good luck and welcome.</p>
<p>mommd, many of us who sound like pros were exactly where you are now a year ago. Be sure to check out the FAQs that are linked somewhere here and has all kind of information on auditioning, discusses Steinhardt v. Tisch and has a list by state of schools that offer MT programs. I'm a believer in summer programs, especially ones that give a taste of what studying MT in college is like. the Carnegie program is expensive, but a lot cheaper than a year of college. And it teaches the kids about auditioning, which is very useful, especially if your kid hasn't been attending an arts high school and performing since age 5.
Educate yourself, and suggest to your D that she start reading plays in order to look for monologues. That is something she has to do herself because she has to find a monologue that is age appropriate and that she believes in.
You mention that you are in medicine and all of this is new. So here's what I've told others: Most artists (visual, music, performance, writers, etc.) would agree that they pursue a career in their respective medium because they have to. We like what we do, but doing this kind of work is too damn hard to do just because you enjoy it. YOu do it because you have to, because it makes you whole or balanced or because you would be completely clueless what to do if you couldn't act or sing or paint or write, etc. So if your daughter has expressed anything of that sort than support her. And to keep this college thing in perspective, if she is determined to do MT no matter what, studying MT in college straight out of high school is not the only way to achieve that goal. That may sound very defeatest, but the odds of getting in are so bad that I think it's important to think about what other options there are. And if your background is upper middle class, since your child was born, you have taken it for granted that your child will go to college. I write this realizing that I go back and forth between being absolutely sure that my D will be accepted somewhere to being terrified that she will not get in anywhere. As parents, I think we should prepare ourselves for that possibility so that we can support our kids no matter what the path they take. Also be aware that studying theatre is a wonderful way for your child to learn life skills. She'll learn how to cooperate, discipline, how to deal with disappointment, how to cooperate, think creatively, and a host of other skills.</p>
<p>One last bit of information. If you live in a major metropolitan area, there may be a college night in the fall that is devote to schools with programs in visual and performing arts.
Good luck.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for the information. I've learned an amazing amount about MT programs in the past 24 hours. I'm now looking into summer programs for my D in NYC. I want her to really be sure this is what she wants before we dive in head first in the fall. I have a feeling she may really want the M part and not the T part or maybe that's really what I want. We'll see. I'll keep reading the threads. They're great!</p>
<p>Mommd,
I know you are looking for stuff for your D in the NYC area for this summer but have you heard of The Broadway Theater Project? It was founded by Deb McWaters and Ann Reinking et al about 15 years ago and is a 3 week residential program for 16 - 24? year olds that is held at the University of South Florida in Tampa. My S, who is a junior, went last year and absolutely loved it. Last week-end he auditioned again for this summer. The program aims to encourage young performers by giving them the opportunity to study with working artists from the theater, TV and film. According to what I know apprentices have to excel in at least one of the music theater discilpines and be willing to work on the other 2. I mention this because they will be holding auditions in NYC on Feb. 26. I highly recommend this program. I suggest also that you look at the discussion about summer programs on another thread of this site. If you need more details about The Broadway Theater Project I'b be happy to help.</p>
<p>Just thought I'd give anyone who's interested the URL for the Broadway Theater Project. I have looked for the website in the past and had difficulty finding it, so I thought I would share the info.
<a href="http://www.broadwaytp.org%5B/url%5D">www.broadwaytp.org</a></p>
<p>I am joining you today...also a novice mom but have been reading all night to catch myself up...my d is only a sophomore but is just like newmtmom described to you. She couldn't function w/o being able to dance sing or act. It's the only thing she has known and loved since she was 10 (besides writing songs on her guitar)...I do worry about all of this...what if she will never get into any of these schools. She already has a list of 10 schools all of which are highly competitive with no safety schools. What can I do to help encourage her. That broadway theater project sounds wonderful but we missed the dealine for this year already. She is already signed up for the Broadway dance theater summer program in Ny which she also did last year. I just appreciate being able to see what we are up for in the next couple of years and wish all of you the most success possible!</p>
<p>Welcome, mommd,</p>
<p>Since I also live in CT and my daughter travels quite a bit to NYC (she is a Senior near the end of the MT college selection process) I might be able to help. There are so many summer programs out there. It all depends on what you're looking for. In Fairfield county, I know of several summer Shakespeare/acting programs. You might also want to scope out Westchester County in NY. But it sounds like you're looking for something that will prepare your D for the college auditions. Have you looked in Camp Broadway in NYC? I hear goods things about it. Is too late to apply for the for the Tisch (Cap 21 ) program? If it turns out to be a little late for structured programs, you might be able to get her into some intensive acting workshops, find a good basic ballet class and continue with voice coaching.<br>
Relax. Most of the parents on this site started out with zero knowledge, so don't worry. You are already one step ahead (having a Steinhardt connection). Your coice coach must have access to information, right?</p>