<p>Check out the article "Tryouts for the Rest of Your Life" in the EducationLife (pgs. 22-25) section of today's paper.<br>
This should give an insight to those upcoming class of 2009 students. ;-)</p>
<p>Here's the link;
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/education/edlife/theater.html?ref=edlife%5B/url%5D">http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/education/edlife/theater.html?ref=edlife</a></p>
<p>Thanks so much....really interesting article and first hand look into the actual audition at CMU & Marymount.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is at least one error in the article: they made it sound as if the boy who was featured, Adam, would need high SAT scores to be considered for CMU's actor training program, and that's just not true. They also mentioned that Adam had decided that some other programs (like Juilliard's) were not academic enough, yet he still auditioned for CMU's ATP, which is very light on academics. Other than that, it's a good portrait of the audition process.</p>
<p>I am in the class of 2009 and I feel a little bit more wise on the actual audition process. Great article.</p>
<p>Georgeanne and others - Please note that of the 8 auditions we did CMU was the ONLY one that wanted a classic monologue like Shakespeare. I think in the article they said this was normal - it is not. Most of the other schools in particular stated they did not want Shakespeare or classic or really discouraged it.</p>
<p>Thanks for that information, MomOfAPrincess. I'm a bit wary of this audition process. Guess you can't trust everyone, even the NY Times!</p>
<p>MomofPrincess, did you D audition for more MT or straight acting programs? I think the boy in the article was auditioning for acting only, not MT. Very few MT programs will ask for a classical monologue (although I think that CMU might? They did when I auditioned, albeit a LONG time ago)... there are probably more BFA acting programs that ask for one classical, one contemporary.. although, some probably also only ask for contemporary.</p>
<p>As a note to HS class of 2009 -- make sure that you read the specific audition requirements for each school. They all may be slightly different. </p>
<p>Best of luck to all.</p>
<p>MoP -- Congrats on your Ds plans for Fall '08 :)</p>
<p>Kat - sorry - good point. Yes my D only auditioned for MT BFA programs which very well could be different than BFA Acting program auditions. Do what Kat said - be sure to read the audition requirements at each school carefully.</p>
<p>No matter what, it's a great article and I am marching off to Starbucks to find the NYT Sunday edition so I can keep a copy with my memoirs of this crazy year.</p>
<p>I seem to recall Boco as asking for a classical (monologue) piece (for BFA M/T).<br>
I'm sure there are/were others - so please DO check, and do your homework (requirements may change yr. to yr.).</p>
<p>Glad you enjoyed the article as it was meant to be enjoyed lightly. ;)</p>
<p>:)... I was just wondering... each school can be so different in terms of what they ask for!</p>
<p>It was an interesting article... thnks for posting... I try to check the NYTimes online daily.... or go to get a paper copy.. especially on Sunday... but sometimes I miss it!</p>
<p>Kate</p>
<p>This article made the rounds on MT Facebook sites at light speed today. My D sent it to everyone she knows with the note "this was my life..."</p>
<p>My friend was the author of the article. Last year, as my D was a junior thinking about the upcoming year, I was telling her about the extra pressures felt by MT kids applying to colleges. In fact, I told her about CC, and she lurked on this site for awhile! She was fascinated by what she heard and read and talked to her editor at the NY Times. Originally they were going to feature my D, but when my D decided to apply to Northwestern ED, her editor asked her to follow some other kids in case My D got in (she did!) and did not complete the audition process. Even though my D's quotes ended up on the cutting room floor, I thought the article was fascinating!</p>
<p>Alliesmom - I wish your friend would write another article. It was great they quoted the numbers that audition and reflected that against the number that actually got accepted. And also wrote about the pressure and how grueling this path can be. </p>
<p>My only criticism is who they picked to highlight this article based on their results - and the appearance that could make to aspriing actors. Most people go into thsi process truly believing they will get in somewhere. They have success on some level and the faith of their voice teachers and others. It's like that star quarterback from high school whose been written up in the newspaper every week and then suddenly realizing at the college level he is one of a multitude of star quarterbacks across the country. </p>
<p>The young man in the article auditioned at 2 places - got into 1 and waitlisted at the other - CMU to boot. Those of us here at CC know the odds of that. I think a more useful article would have portrayed someone auditioning at 4 or even 8 places - getting in none of them - and being very thankful they had applied to non-audition backups.</p>
<p>I agree with MOAP on two counts: 1.) I wish the reporter had gone into more depth regarding the odds of students being accepted to these schools for both acting and musical theater, and particularly for girls, who make up an inordinate percentage of those students auditioning. If I had written the story, I would have broken down the odds by percentage (so it would say something such as "CMU accepts about 2% of the students who auditioned, compared to Harvard, which accepted 8% this year), and 2) it would have, in my opinion, been helpful to the reader to note that many students trying for BFA programs audition for 8 or more schools. Otherwise, I thought it was a good glimpse into the process. (I did feel a little sorry for the boy who was featured, as he had the added stress of a New York Times reporter at his audition!!)</p>
<p>I am getting "in" on this thread way late, but when I read the article I could not help but think "what, 2 auditions only, are they kidding?". </p>
<p>Also, no offense intended, but tying academic requirement and CMU, where the audition counts for more than 70% of the acceptance, and Marymount Manhattan, where the academic bar is not particularly high compared to some other programs, just seemed downright misleading to me.</p>
<p>MTgrlsmom, I made the same observation on the first page of this thread, so I am glad someone agreed with me! It shows that either not all reporters do their research or that not all students do their research before deciding which schools to audition for! :)</p>
<p>NMR - since apparently this reporter "has been lurking here" :D, I would have thought that she would have demonstrated a bit more insight, and could have better used all that information to her advantage. I do welcome any reporting on performing arts, but I just find it frustrating that, especially when you have an opportunity of that magnitude (we are talking NY Times here), it could have been filled with more "shocking facts". I recognize that this story was about acting rather than musical theatre, and so may be the facts I am thinking of (such as the 3% acceptance rate at CMU) don't necessarily apply.</p>
<p>Well, I still think that the addition of a short paragraph giving the average acceptance rates at highly selective BFA programs (and not just CMU, as wonderful as it is) would have helped put the rigor of the whole process in perspective for readers. You know and I know (and every other parent on this board knows!) that most people just cannot fathom how difficult and competitive the audition process is, and as well written as this story is/was (and it was/is!), it didn't do much to dispel that in the average reader. And while I am honestly happy for the young man who got waitlisted at one top school and accepted to another, I worry that parents and kids reading this may think that such an outcome is par for the course for most kids, when it is not.</p>