<p>Hello there! I'm a current NYU freshman in the New Studio on Broadway for Acting. I figure that NYU auditions are coming up soon, and I'd be more than delighted to answer questions about auditions and about the brand new studio! So ask away!</p>
<p>Hi Operationgold, thanks for the offer! My D is going to NYU ‘artistic review’ on Jan 13. </p>
<p>So far, as “the mom,” I must admit I’ve been a bit put off by NYU’s impersonal approach. It’s left me feeling very cold…E.g., the renamed jpeg and resume with just a number on it, the refusal to accept any acting recommendations, and even the Info Session in October. </p>
<p>But your post is a 180 from my overall impression. So thank you! </p>
<p>Can you tell me, what should my D expect on the 13th? She’s kind of a serious kid, actor (not MT). Will there be mass numbers of people at the auditions? People barking orders, handing out papers with times and room numbers (which is what I’m expecting, after what I saw at the Info Session), lines forming for groups of kids waiting to go in? </p>
<p>As far as the audition itself, how many auditors will be in with her? Do they give any feedback? Do they request improvs or ask for re-do’s using their directions? Does NYU do callbacks, or is it over after the monologues? Do they conduct an interview afterward or just nod their thanks as she turns to leave? </p>
<p>As far as admissions is concerned, I assume it is 50/50 academics/artistic review.</p>
<p>Thanks again for any information!</p>
<p>Hi Nalajen!</p>
<p>I actually found my experience with the NYU admissions process to be rather straight-foward and pleasant, but cold feelings like yours are not too uncommon. The actual audition itself is well-organized and personable. There were only around 30 kids auditioning at my time slot. Once everyone had arrived and registered, we were given an introductory/informational speech from one of the admissions directors, then we were split into groups of around 10. We did a simple, short warm-up in our groups and then did one-on-one auditions. The order you do your auditions in is the order you schedule your review in, so I hope your daughter signed up early!</p>
<p>The actual audition itself is fairly relaxed. For me, I did both my monologues, after which my auditor gave me a note on one of them and had me do it again. Right after finishing monologues, there IS an interview. There are the usual questions, like Why do you want to go to NYU? and Why do you want to be an actor? etc., as well as questions to find out more about you as a person. I’ve heard of NYU auditions lasting as long as 20+ minutes, so you can be sure that the auditors really want to learn as much as possible about each applicant. And no, NYU has no call-backs. Overall, the audition is much simpler and quieter than you’d expect from a gigantic university.</p>
<p>For acceptance, you have to be both accepted by Tisch and pass NYU’s academic standards, so I don’t know if it’s “50/50” as much as it is “You have to be smart AND talented.”</p>
<p>I hope this helps, and feel free to ask any more questions!</p>
<p>I"m a parent,but I wanted to reassure nalajen that any apprehensions she may have about nyu being cold or impersonal are not reflected in the studio experience itself, which is intimate. The teachers in the studio really know and care about the students. Also, the professors in the academic classes at Tisch do as well (as a freshman, my daughter so far has only taken classes at Tisch, both acting and academic).</p>
<p>Tisch does not take acting recommendations because it wants to base its decisions on what it sees. It is not for being impersonal, but it is a philosophical decision on the school’s part on how it wants to evaluate its applicants. It makes that clear on the website.</p>
<p>I’m far removed from the Tisch admissions process at this point but I will echo SDonCC’s comment about the difference between the process and the actual school experience itself. It would be a mistake, in my opinion, to view the two as likely being similar. NYU is a large university and Tisch is a large school within it. The intimacy the drama students feel inside the school is very different, and I haven’t heard that that has changed in recent years. Tisch auditions thousands of students so if the format itself comes across as being impersonal, I think that’s largely a result of a necessary model of efficiency. I seem to recall here on CC seeing posts in the past few years from students and parents who felt that the Tisch audition experience was a positive one. </p>
<p>Back when my D auditioned, and for several years afterwards, Tisch did accept artistic references, even though it was not specified on the Admissions website. Applicants provided these along with an artistic resume and photograph/headshot when they attended the audition. It’s possible that applicants aren’t doing this anymore? Are they just handing over the photo and that’s it? My D enjoyed the interview portion of her audition day very much. She was interviewed by Arthur Bartow and Laura Levine and they had an interesting conversation which ranged from her acting experiences to her love of soccer. It’s not unusual during an audition for the student to be given notes and asked to do something further with their monologues, or to be asked if they have another monologue ‘in their book’. Students should always, in my opinion, have more than the requisite monologues ready to go. They should not, however, read into the request, in either direction because there’s no way of knowing what the reason is that the auditors may want to see something further.</p>
<p>The key is for your D to be well-prepared and as relaxed as possible on the day, to choose her audition material well, and to give her best audition. The rest is out of your hands. If her academics are in the NYU ballpark, which they must be for Tisch, and if her audition goes well, then she has a chance. Best of luck to her.</p>
<p>When my son auditioned in 2009, there were far more than 30 kids in his time slot. More like 75+, I’d say. However, a friendly and casual atmosphere prevailed because the young man who gave the introductory speech to the group of assembled students and parents was so very pleasant and bouncy and upbeat.</p>
<p>The only real frustration we encountered was that when my son was an accepted student trying to decide between Tisch and another BFA Acting program, he was not able either to meet faculty members or to shadow another student during classes in his assigned studio…as he was permitted to do at the other school. Tisch Drama has such huge numbers of applicants – and, relatively speaking, such large numbers of accepted students – that they cannot accommodate such requests.</p>
<p>My D auditioned for NYU’s BFA MT last year during Chicago Unifieds (offsite at Allegro Hotel) early February 2010…very similar experience to what NJTheatreMOM posted above, even though one full year later. Chris Anderson gave a very relaxed presentation about what to expect during the audition day and there probably were about 25 kids auditioning for both MT and Acting slots in that morning’s session. My daughter came out of the session afterwards feeling like it was her best audition to date (at that point it was her 10th of 11 live auditions) and she attributed a lot of that feeling to how relaxed all of the NYU personnel were.<br>
She was later accepted (early April notification) to NYU’s BFA MT New Studio on B’way program, and visited in mid-April as an accepted student before deciding between Tisch and another program…her experience during this visit was identical to NJTheatreMOM’s son’s above. Even though Kent Gash later emailed and called D personally—very impressed with him and his vision for the program—I think D did ever so slightly factor the “lack of intimacy” (for lack of a better phrase) of her accepted student visit into her decision to attend another program. It by no means was the deciding factor though! And she has a great friend who is now a Tisch Acting senior (started out in Atlantic) who consistently relayed how happy and more intimate her own studio was throughout her 3 years (now almost 4!). At the end of the process you hope your kid has a choice, and they need to go with what feels right for them since they have to live it. I’m glad my D at least had a current student’s perspective to help negate any perceived non-intimacy though from her on-campus visit.</p>
<p>My D auditioned six years ago and so this is outdated. First, she did indeed send two artistic references to admissions along with her academic ones. I have advised many applicants to NYU/Tisch, as a college counselor, who have been admitted, who also sent artistic references to NYU, as non-required recs, as they do to every college on their list in fact. This includes applicants in this year’s admissions cycle as well.</p>
<p>On my D’s audition day, there were 30 applicants. The presentation was by two faculty members. Each faculty member then went into two separate audition rooms and posted a list of the 15 applicants in the order they were to do their auditions, based on the order in which they had signed up originally. The audition involved performing the prepared materials, and being asked to work on a piece another way. It was followed by a very casual interview. I did not find the audition day to be impersonal. (as an aside, my D’s auditor became a teacher of hers in her upper years at Tisch, and advised her on an independent project and hired her last summer in a professional performance capacity involving a trip to Europe…talk about coming full circle!)</p>
<p>My D went on to attend Tisch and has graduated. Her experience was fabulous and she is so happy she picked Tisch and says the match was perfect for her. Agree with others that the attention in the studios is very personal (she attended two different studios while at Tisch). As well, even in her liberal arts courses, she got to know professors. She has networked a great deal at Tisch and has done professional work with several professors outside of Tisch. Currently, she even works at Tisch in several capacities (she is also working with Kent Gash). </p>
<p>At any college, try to look beyond the information sessions, admissions procedures, and audition day stuff and examine the program itself and talk to current students and faculty because what happens during the admissions process is not necessarily indicative of what it is like to actually attend the school itself.</p>
<p>alwaysamom, one thing that has changed since both our D’s applied is that a resume and head shot are submitted in advance online.</p>
<p>just a comment on the info session- we had a great one this summer. We went to the general info session which was jammed with people. We asked about MT and they directed us to the office which said they had an info session that started 20 minutes before across the street. We dashed across, they had started late and we had a nice small session with a male person. Since we came late, we stayed late and he answered our questions for another 20 minutes or so.
rule of thumb, every day and every session is different</p>
<p>Back when we first visited when my D was in 10th grade (she applied to college in 11th grade), we did the regular NYU tour and information session. We also lined up the Tisch information session which had about 15 families. Also, in advance of our visit, we asked if they could line up for us to speak to a current MT student (CAP21 studio at the time) and that was arranged and the student rep came to the place where the information session was an hour ahead of time to meet with us one to one. We were in a lounge area and other parents and kids were there waiting for the Tisch session and saw we were talking to a student rep (as we had this appt. lined up) and so they were obviously real interested too and maybe didn’t know you could request this and so I told them to join us in talking to this student. It was very helpful. As well, my D spent the night in the dorms with a Tisch student she knew. She also observed a couple of CAP classes as she had a friend in that studio who was able to secure permission for this. Our experiences were positive. </p>
<p>But again, based on going through college admissions with my two kids, I would pick a school for how it fit their selection criteria and not what the information session, tour, etc. were like. It often is not real indicative of the true experience in attending. It is just representative of the admissions office whom you never come in contact with once you attend.</p>
<p>Thank you for all this great information. D’s NYU audition is coming up soon and I think knowing what to expect will make it easier.</p>
<p>I agree with most of the former comments regarding the initimacy of the studio experience. My child only has positive things to say about studio teachers/fellow students/training etc… However, I think it’s really important to keep in mind that NYU as a whole is HUGE and you won’t get that experience if anything arises outside of studio. My child was having some serious health issues, as well as roommate issues, and we honestly could not get anyone to care or help. Very unsettling when you live far away!!</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for so many helpful comments. My D is relaxed about the NYU audition, perhaps because she doesn’t expect that she meets the academic criteria. But who knows? Anything can happen…</p>
<p>It’s the last weekend in Jan (3 auditions) and first weekend in Feb (4 auditions) when the proverbial brown stuff hits the fan. After that, she’ll only have 2 auditions left…whew!</p>
<p>operationgold - thanks for the post
two questions: 1) is the New Studio only for students who want to study both MT and theatre? - - that’s what it looks like in their description. And, 2) we have heard from a teacher who went through the Tisch Theatre program as a grad student that it’s not a great place for undergrad students - too big, not a lot of attention or opportunity and too stuck in one acting method for long stretches…any insights?</p>
<p>1) The New Studio is NOT for people studying both MT and straight acting. I’m in the Acting part, and I take no MT classes at all. There are around 32 people in the Acting part of the studio and 64 in the MT part. The only classes we share are a core Acting class and a Movement Dynamics class. It’s essentially an MT studio and a straight Acting studio combined into one super-sized studio.</p>
<p>2) Tisch Undergrad IS big, but I feel like everyone gets a good amount of attention and opportunity. Because it’s so large, there are a loooooooot of teachers who only teach a handful of classes, so you’ll get personal attention. The largest class I’ve had so far had maybe 20 people in it. As for opportunities, just being in NYC gives birth to lots of opportunities that you wouldn’t get at other schools.</p>
<p>You’d only be “stuck” in a method for the first 2 years, which can be bad if you don’t like your studio. Fortunately, Tisch is pretty good about placing students in the studios they’ll be best in. You’ll hear from people that you’re not allowed to change into a different studio if you don’t like your primary studio, but that’s not necessarily true. I know a few people who were able to transfer, but it’s apparently difficult to do it.</p>
<p>Then again, I’m only a second semester freshman… But, overall, I think it’s a good place with many opportunities for undergrads!</p>
<p>For the audition, how strict is the time limit for monologues? They want less than two minutes in length, but I’ve tried cutting my monologue and it’s still 2 minutes 15 seconds or so. Will they be timing it?</p>
<p>I hate to put a negative spin on things, but I am from the midwest and now go to school in New York, and I was surprised at the perception that NYU has here. Where I’m from, people praise the school, but now that I’m in New York, there is certainly a negative stigma of these students in the theatre world. In all of the shows in the city that I have attended, I rarely if EVER see “NYU undergrad Acting Major” in the bios of the performers in the programs (I can’t think of one occasion for me personally, yet I’m not denying that the students from NYU’s undergrad work). I’m only writing this so that people from the midwest are not completely blindsided by the allure of going to “NYU”. </p>
<p>My observation? There are too many students in Tisch, which means that not all of them get the individual attention they deserve, which means that students graduate who are not fully trained. This puts a stigma on NYU acting students in NYC, where they do not have a good reputation. That is not to say that there aren’t talented students in NYU’s undergrad: there undoubtedly are. But there are so many that it clouds casting director’s perception of them and makes them less willing to call students in. The issue is that there are very talented kids, but there are also kids that aren’t so talented because there are so many.</p>
<p>Again, I’m not saying that NYU is not a good school, and I’m not saying that it doesn’t take a lot of talent to get in. I just want to give my honest read of the school’s reputation in the theatre world in the city RIGHT NOW. It’s personal opinion, and I don’t go to the school, although I do have friends that do, many of which are transferring or did transfer out. Their idea seems to be that the training is good but it’s not “enough” with only three days of Studio time a week, and the large classes.</p>
<p>My D had her NYU audition today. She doesn’t like to talk about or dwell on her auditions, so all I know is her auditor was a pleasant, older professor who was very interested in her summer conservatory work during the interview that immediately followed her audition. </p>
<p>From my perspective as the mom: It was exactly what I expected. A zoo. The waiting room was jam-packed, about 60-70 kids there, plus three times that amount for families. They started over 1/2 hour late. No warm-ups. The kids were divided into groups of about 12 for auditions. Each group had only one auditor. The kids went in the order they registered for the auditions. Fortunately we registered the day the NYU schedule opened up, so my D went in fairly quickly. Some people were doomed to be there for hours and hours.<br>
I felt it was very impersonal, consistent with my prior impressions. The few parents I spoke to told me their kids were more interested in BA programs, or part-conservatory part-academic educations. I think the latter is probably the appropriate Tisch type.</p>
<p>theatregal, I don’t mind reading negative opinions of a school. However, I take yours with a grain of salt as you are a student, not theater professional, and you do not even attend Tisch. Further, several things you state are not true. </p>
<p>First, as far as individual attention, that is not measured by size of program. Rather class size is more pertinent. The size of classes at Tisch are like most BFA programs…approximately 15 students in a class. They certainly get individualized attention. They simply have a several different professors over the course of their four years of training. My own kid went to Tisch and had tons of individual attention and mentors. She has even done professional work for and with many professors. </p>
<p>You mention that they only train on three days. This concept is rather silly because you have to examine the number of training hours. They train from 9-6 three days per week. Look at the credit hours of training at other programs and it is comparable. It is simply structured into three very full days of training with the academics on two days per week rather than mixed throughout the five days as some schools do. </p>
<p>As far as working actors…I can only tell you what I know as a parent of a Tisch alum. A large number of my D’s peers are working actors. A bunch are currently on Broadway, national tours, Off-Broadway, major regional theaters, and performing in other theater venues in NYC. While this may not be true of every graduate, there is a significant number who are working in the field. My own kid is working in theater and supporting herself.</p>
<p>Where do you go to school, theatregal?</p>