<p>Just a quick note for those who've been accepted and perhaps are still mulling over their final decision.</p>
<p>One factor that seems to set some schools apart is performance opportunity. Otterbein is one of those schools where from day 1 the students know they will be auditioning and given the opportunity for stage performance even in the fall of freshman year. Even though the fall musical is cast the previous spring, as is the case at many schools, beginning with the fall term the students are considered for several student produced shows. Our son was cast along with several other freshman MT and Acting and Vocal Performance students in one production for the fall. I believe some were also cast in the winter term straight show as well as the dance show. Most recently, several MT, Vocal Performance, and Acting freshman were called back for roles in the spring musical, Hello Dolly! In fact, a few MT and Acting freshman landed substantial roles in the show (including MTAussie's Son) while almost all of the MT freshman were cast for the chorus. There is a ton for all of them to do in the show and I believe it will be a great way to round out their first year! I think back to a gentleman who sort of mentored our son during his school audition season. He had been a child and teen actor in NY on Broadway for many years. He said "your job as an actor is to audition - even if you get the roles, you don't stop auditioning for that next role." I'm not in the business, but if his beliefs are accurate, Otterbein is doing a great job preparing their students from the get go to learn, audition, and go for the role, every time possible. </p>
<p>Anyway, best wishes to all on whichever school you choose, whichever path you travel.</p>
<p>And, folks, if you're still mulling over your choices, please feel free to contact me to talk about O'bein (and maybe even Ithaca, Elon, and Baldwin-wallace, the other schools on my list). Good luck with the decision-making!</p>
<p>Questions about this came up on the Acceptances board, so I posted an answer there. But it belongs here as well, for people who will be doing research in the future.</p>
<p>Otterbein offers four BFA degrees: Acting, Musical Theatre, Musical Theatre with a Dance Concentration, and Design/Technology. We also have a BA in Theatre degree for students interested in stage management, directing, etc. All of these programs, including the MT degrees, live in the Department of Theatre and Dance. The MT degrees are jointly administered by the Department of Music.</p>
<p>We admit a freshman class of about 30-32 total. But the performers are limited to 16-18, the maximum number for one section of acting. It's usually a fairly balanced mix of MT and Acting majors, men and women. </p>
<p>These students become an ensemble. They take all their acting, voice and movement classes together, and they bond quite strongly from the beginning. The MTs take additional classes in music, including theory, keyboard, ear training, and choral ensembles. But the Acting majors are also required to take voice class and may take private voice lessons; they also take dance classes. Acting majors are required to audition for musicals and often are cast. </p>
<p>So you can see that the Acting and MT BFA's are highly integrated at Otterbein, which is not the case at some other schools, where the programs are administered separately, with separate admissions procedures and separate faculty. If you're admitted to the Acting BFA program at Otterbein, you've been admitted by the same committee that admits the MT's, and you're joining them in an ensemble which four years later will do a showcase in NYC.</p>
<p>Hi, I'm just finishing up my freshman year as a Musical Theatre Major at Otterbein, and i remember how scary/hectic it was during all those decisions and auditions, etc. If it'd help to have a student to ask about Otterbein/our department, I'm here!</p>
<p>my d will be a freshman music performance major next year and I'm sure she might have some more questions as we go along! I will send you a PM and give you her e-mail addy!</p>
<p>Just wanted to know if the info you posted about auditions in 2004 is still accurate. I am new to the entire process. My daughter is a going into senior year. We just started the campus visits (a little late) and will be setting up auditions soon. Any help we can get would be great.</p>
<p>I think you're referring to the description of our auditions at the beginning of this thread, in January of 2005. I've just read it over, and not much has changed for this year. On-campus, we won't be doing all of our auditions in the recital hall, but the schedule will be very much the same. The major change from 2005 is that we are now limiting the total audition to three minutes, rather than specifying the number of bars of each selection. At the Unifieds, the interview and audition will now be 15 minutes, instead of 20.</p>
<p>My son just auditioned at Otterbein on Friday, for ACTING. I was not there, as he travelled with my husband. However, I thought I'd post on CC in case there are other ACTING students who are reading this thread. The early post by doctorjohn regards MT auditions, and it is very helpful, too.</p>
<p>My son's experience, as he reported it, was great. Everything was very well-organized (perhaps the best so far!), with printed schedules for the day as well as literature about the curriculum in a packet for everyone. There were 5 acting applicants and about 23 MT applicants. After an orientation/information session, auditions began. At Otterbein, all of the actors were in the room and presented their monologues to the judges AND the other actors (a little different from the experience so far). This part was pretty clear cut, as you did your monologues, got a THANK YOU, and sat down.</p>
<p>After lunch, Interviews began. My son was near the top of the list, and once he finished the interview, he was allowed to leave campus (there were no shows that evening, as students were at home on a trimester break). The last interview scheduled was a little after 5PM. He enjoyed the interview, and felt like the judges were interested in him. I do not know right now what questions were asked, but he did perform a third monologue, and received helpful feedback on his performances of all his monologues.</p>
<p>He ran into several students he knew--from classes and from the CMU summer program. This has happened everywhere so far, and it really helps to make the kids and their families feel comfortable. The kids enjoyed having lunch together. What a small world!</p>
<p>Thanks, doctorjohn and Otterbein faculty/staff, for making the auditions comfortable AND educational.</p>
<p>You're very welcome. I'm glad your son had a good experience. We try to make everyone as comfortable as possible, in the belief that they will do better auditions if they're relaxed. Lots of credit goes to Debbie Byrne, our admissions liaison, and Harriet Hill, our auditions coordinator, for the organization of the auditions. And, for once, it was beautiful in Ohio on the last day of November :)</p>
<p>I just wanted to add that Debbie Byrne has been so incredibly helpful and nice during the application process. Because she has been so nurturing, it has made Otterbein that much more attractive to my daughter! She is both looking forward to and nervous about her upcoming audtion in January. We did get to see Urinetown in November and really loved the performance! Excellent show!</p>
<p>Dr. John, I'm hoping you can shed some light on this.
When my daughter is auditioining on campus for the MT program, will she also be considered for the acting BFA, or does that really require another audition date?
Thanks!</p>
<p>When students audition anywhere for Otterbein for Musical Theatre, they are automatically considered for the following programs:</p>
<p>BFA in Musical Theatre
BFA in Musical Theatre with a Dance Concentration
BFA in Acting
BA in Theatre
BA in Music
BME in Music Education
Dance Minor</p>
<p>We only require a separate audition if the student is interested in a BM in Vocal Performance. </p>
<p>Students interested in being considered for these other programs should say so at the interview.</p>
<p>That's a good idea, actually. We wouldn't hear it as part of the regular audition, but she could do it for us during the interview. 2 minutes would be fine.</p>
<p>I've never posted before, but I have been silently watching for over two years. My D and I have been visiting MT schools for two years and we are finally at the auditioning point. We are auditioning for Otterbein at the Chicago Unifieds. Do you have any advise for this type of audition since it appears they are very short? I have been trying to help my D preparing for this time for years, but now that we're here, we are both feeling very stressed. Thanks for any help you can offer.</p>
<p>Welcome to the CC MT board, SEATA! It sounds as if you guys have done a lot of research, which will (I promise you!) end up being very helpful as your D begins auditioning.
Re: auditioning for Otterbein at Unifieds. If your daughter has already been approved to audition, she should have received a very detailed sheet from the college. That sheet outlines what she will need to have prepared and what she will do there. I don't have first hand experience with Unifieds (my own kid has only just begun the audition process and will be auditioning for wonderful Otterbein in New York City), but I really don't think there is anything vastly different about how the auditions are conducted at Unifieds versus on campus. (For instance, I don't get the impression that the adjudicators spend more time with the kids on campus versus off, though doctorjohn can perhaps address this.)
If it helps, I have been told by other parents whose kids have gone through the process that doctorjohn and his team do all they can to set the kids at ease, insofar as that is possible in such a high stakes situation.
Best of luck to your daughter.</p>
<p>Our audition in Chicago is not as brief as one might think. It's true that we have the same time limit as at home, 3 minutes (see Otterbein</a> College Admission Office - Department of Theatre and Dance Auditions and Awards for details). But we schedule 15 minutes for every audition, and we spend every second of that time getting to know each student, seeing her audition pieces and working with her. No special preparation is required. As NotMamaRose has said, we do everything we can to help students have a good time during the audition, so that they can do their best.</p>
<p>We're still accepting appointments for some of our dates, so I don't have a final number yet. I would guess that we would see about as many this year as last:</p>