Otterbein College

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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<p>MidgetMom, our school does not even HAVE a theater department. None of my child's lessons were at school. Our school does put on productions but does not have classes. We have chorus and band. There is a dance class for kids with no dance experience. So, here, all the lessons and so on were also outside of school. </p>

<p>Also, these wonderful sounding thespian events such as in Florida where my D has many friends who go with their schools, sound very interesting but there is nothing like that here. </p>

<p>We also do not have performing arts high schools in our state. While it is true that many going onto college in this field come from such high schools where there is training and where theater is big and there are many theater state events, there are also kids who get into college theater programs who went to just a typical ordinary high school with no theater classes.</p>

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<p>YUP to soozie. Out of my most talented theater friends, I'd say 90% go to regular 'ol public schools. They are getting into top programs. I wouldn't say they "missed out" by not going to performing arts high schools. They're choosing to specialize in college. My school has 0 drama classes, 0 dance classes, 0 vocal classes. And some of us are doing just fine. We've got one going to Strasberg next year and one going to Hartt. Thats outta a class of less than 100 at a small public school...</p>

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<p>It's true that not every school has big fine arts departments and that so many successful kids come from "ordinary schools". But, this goes back to some of my original posts (for which I was chided), with regard to kids having a lot of opportunity. Your own child is a perfect example. Her natural talent has been nurtured with opportunities like Stagedoor Manor for several summers to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. Not all of us are fortunate enough to be able to send our children to these programs. Also, you've been the source of a lot of information on this forum and other forums. You must be "in the know" somehow. That, coupled with your dd's talent and drive is the key to her success.</p>

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<p>MidgetMom- I have trouble accepting the idea that there is a "key" to each person's success. There are so many roads to this same goal. It seems that there is a belief that the kids who succeed are the ones who have been singing and dancing from the womb and have spent mom and dad's every paycheck on their 'training'. Perhaps this makes up a percentage. But there are many others who would accomplish this same thing with or without parent support, with or without a performing arts high school in the area, with or without starting from a young age. I know many who have worked for scholarships at dance studios, have taken private lessons with teachers in exchange for cleaning the teacher's house, who have devoured hundreds upon hundreds of plays and "acting" books and have saved up for occasional lessons to turn all this study into practice. Kids who want this bad enough find a way to do it. I work 5 days a week to help pay for dance classes, and I'm not even a dancer! And how are you so sure that Susie's D hasn't gotten scholarships to Stagedoor, after being recognized as a talent who was dedicated to the program? This is not to say she has or hasn't, that's none of our business, but to assume that she has only gotten where she is because she has been "fortunate enough" in the money department is a very bold. I've seen the girl perform- and whether or not she'd been going to SDM for 8 or however many years- she'd still have a powerhouse voice and a killer presence and energy. That's not something you learn at summer camp. There are SO MANY ways to get there. If you want it bad enough, you'll find it. Even if you go to public school, and don't attend a performing arts summer camp. :)</p>

<p>Dani</p>

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<p>I agree with Dani's message....there are many roads to one's goals and there is not one "ticket" to get there. I think an assumption is being made that if only a kid had X or Y opportunity or X or Y amount of money, he or she could get into Z. I don't look at it that way. If I did, I could say, if only my child had gone to performing arts high school. If only my child could have had acting classes. If only our state had all these various theater events for high schoolers. If only we lived in a bigger area where there were more theater opportunities. I just would not think in those terms. Someone could turn around and say your child went to private school and it even had a few drama classes. Your child has a mom who is a music/voice teacher. Your child lives where there are dinner theaters and professional opportunities and various auditions (often I know of maybe one show per season in my region to even try out for). I have NO reason to think this way, however. I know kids from ALL walks of life going into this field!!</p>

<p>Is a summer program like the one my child went to a guarantee of success?
Not from what I can tell. I know someone who has played a lead every session she has ever gone there and she only got into ONE of her BFA programs out of many auditions. Does everyone have to have a LOT of money to go far with this? I know someone who went there on full scholarship and has now gotten into several BFA programs and is going to go to one of the top ones in the country. My child's classmate at my rural public high school, who is a refugee from another country, who lives in a subsidized apartment, who has only been in school productions, and has done one summer of a program, is going to one of the known BFA programs in MT. My child is on financial aid as is the girl she is going to room with at NYU who is from VT as well and who also went to Stagedoor a few times. By the way, Stagedoor does not prepare kids for college auditions. If I made some logical step of X program gets you to Y...I could assume that if only my child went to a precollege MT program and got training in college audition prep (none of that happened at my child's program). Her summer program, in part, was an opportunity to be in many theatrical productions amongst other talented kids who shared her passion. However, if she lived in a state maybe like yours, there would possibly be local opportunities all summer to do that very thing, as your D has done many local productions. We live in an area where many kids do not even go to college. Many who dance at our studio do not have much. Our studio does not have these expensive costumes I hear about in other regions of the country....rather they charge a modest fee and then mothers help sew costumes too. </p>

<p>Some kids have had voice training since they were young. Again, I would not assume THAT is an advantage. My child began lessons in seventh grade. These are just examples. I read the list of award winners for NFAA...many went to well known performing arts high schools.....and then there are some like my child who went to some unknown high school, a school that never has even heard of the NFAA awards and does not even know she won one, nor likely cares. </p>

<p>Kids come from a variety of backgrounds who go into this field. While I would agree that some training is needed as well as stage experiences, there is a wide variety of backgrounds in this regard who then go onto college for a MT program. I think it is Theatermom's D (who goes to UM) who had only been in a few shows before she got into college. </p>

<p>As well, one can't assume everybody else's finances from a little bit of information. For one to assume that someone went to a summer program so they are well to do, is just that, an assumption. That would be like me assuming someone who went to private school was rich. There is more to it than on the surface. </p>

<p>So, I would shy away from analyzing that if someone had only done one particular experience, then it was a ticket in. I know kids, even VERY VERY wealthy ones, who went to SD, who did NOT get in their favored BFA programs. And then I know kids from modest means in my very own community who have gotten in. It still comes down to talent and what happens in an audition room, as well as some luck no doubt. A kid could enroll in X summer program, be it SDM or CMU, or what not, and still not get into any college program. The program my child attended was not a stepping stone to anything, nor did we ever send her there with any goal of that sort in mind. She picked it one summer (as a gift in fact from someone else, not us) cause she wanted to go to camp and do theater with other kids. That was the reason at age nine and still the reason now and she is already IN at college. </p>

<p>So, in closing, just like your family has pieced together various lessons and theater opportunities and schooling, so have families like us, but perhaps it contained different pieces, but pieces yet the same. </p>

<p>By the way, I have NO expertise in this field whatsoever. I am not a music or voice teacher as I think you mentioned you are. As my kids have participated in various activities over the years, we followed along and just learned along the way and supported their interests. I do not know that much more about this than soccer, ski racing, or a myriad of other things my kids have been doing over the years. I just read, connect with others like on here, and go with the flow. It is not like we live among others who are going for this either so we are on our own to learn about it. I'm simply a mom who sometimes wears a theater hat, a band hat, a tennis hat or a soccer mom hat, or sometimes a very warm ski hat (LOL). If you had told me when I had kids that one of mine would go into theater, I would have never have guessed. As they tried out various activities, one of mine just kept going and going with this one and pushed us into getting more and more opportunities. It never was our goal. She has driven us (though I drive her literally all over in the car, lol). Definitely had no clue when this really got going but like any parent, ya learn along the way. I am sure you would agree on that one being a supportive mom yourself! </p>

<p>I happen to think your own daughter has been quite successful both before college and now even with her college quest. She tried for one school and is going there! That is great odds. Had my D ONLY tried for the first school she had auditioned for, she would not be going! My feeling is had your own child auditioned for more schools, given the tough odds, she'd have gotten into more too but does it matter? You can only attend one and luckily it appears she has some great programs to look forward to next year at her selective college. In my view, she has done great!
Susan</p>

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<p>I'm not going to start in all over again. This is ridiculous and the thread is entitled "Otterbein College". But, I will say one thing.......summer programs and training like Stagedoor Manor and/or private training doesn't GUARANTEE success in this field, of couse, but it doesn't hurt.</p>

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<p>midgetmom, I'm posting this with all due respect, which I try to extend to everyone on these boards. I really recommend that you try to focus now on the decision your D has to make for September and look forward, instead of focussing on what might have/could have/should have been. It doesn't matter now what's happened in the past, what type of school your D attended, what private lessons she did or did not have, whether she made a mistake in listening to people who told her she'd easily get into a particular program, whether she very certainly should have applied to more than one school. The fact is that she has a very nice result from her one application and she needs to make the decision for next year. She's, in many ways, in a fortunate situation at this point. To continue to detail what's happened up until this point is, in a word, pointless. :) Look ahead, be excited for her, help her get ready for college, and accept whatever her decision may be.</p>

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<p>It amazes me that no matter where I seem to go, no matter what I seem to say, people are defensive. This thread is entitled "Otterbein College" and was started by Doctorjohn who was kind enough to give all of us a lot of information. There's no reason to turn it into another argument. My response was to his post on Florida Thespians. How it ended up this way, I have NO idea.</p>

<p>Let's stay on topic, please.</p>

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<p>doctorjohn:</p>

<p>I believe you are referring to the Florida Theatre Conference auditions in Lakeland.
<a href="http://www.miami.edu/florida-theatre-conference/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.miami.edu/florida-theatre-conference/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>there are always exception to any rule. but, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the more preparation you have, the more prepared you will be for success of any kind in any field. does that guarantee it? no. will there be those who have infinite training and preparation and still fail? yes. but, that doesn't change the basic premise. preparation and training are always a good thing and they always give a person a "leg up." and i'm not complaining. my daughter goes to a school with an excellent theatre department and she's had voice training for 6 years. and believe me, i know that that is a good thing. and was it costly, yes. j</p>

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<p>I am sorry to be discussing this on the Otterbein thread, I agree. I was responding to a post and like many discussions go, one thing then leads to another and the conversation often strays from the original topic and for that, I'm sorry. Perhaps I should have posted a response, but when I keep reading the "only if there was this school or this program, than that", wanted to point out the variations of backgrounds that exist with kids who go into this field and that no one thing led to the other. I agree with Mrs.Ark in that training like voice lessons, etc. is indeed helpful and in fact necessary to get into a college program. But I think every kid on this thread had that. I don't think you can pinpoint one program or opportunity as having been better than the next one, that's all. </p>

<p>I happen to believe that MidgetMom's daughter was VERY successful in her college bid because she applied to one competitive program and got into a related one in the same field at that college and on scholarship. That result in a selective admissions process is very very good. As I said, if my child had only applied to her first audition school, she only got into the college, not the BFA program there and then would have not had anything. She increased the odds by applying to several schools because the odds are so slim in this field. I feel confident had this other child done that, she might also be sitting with some acceptances and a choice. I feel for MidgetMom in the sense that she went with the advice from others that her daughter would definitely get in if she applied, because I have heard that kind of feedback from well meaning friends who would say, of course, she'll get in. But I always explained to them, from my own research into the programs and armed with knowledge from sites like this, that when we are talking 5% admit rates, we will never ever count on getting in and in fact, prayed she would get at least one acceptance of the 8 tries. We felt she was in the ballpark as much as anyone to try for this, but the odds are what they are and talented kids do not always get accepted. We know kids who got into the very top programs in the country this spring and rejected at other fine programs that are not as competitive. It is something you have to go into the process knowing and not expect to get in but increase the odds by applying to several places. Luckily for some, like in FL, NYC, Chicago, LA, there is an option of unifieds where one might accomplish this in one location. Not the case here in my neck of the woods. </p>

<p>I just think that there are a lot of assumptions floating around as to which "piece" one must have to get in, or how much money, or having a parent in the "know". There are parents like myself who just have learned about their kids' interests along the way but have no experience in the field of performing arts. </p>

<p>I don't think it is helpful to make comparisons and get into what ifs. I think, from reading of everyone's kids on here, that most of them sound like very talented kids with bright futures. There is more than one way to make it on stage. No one thing is the key. If it was, then you could say a BFA is the way into a role on Broadway and we all know that ain't so. A kid with no college, a kid in a BA program, can all have a shot at that stage and the kid with a BFA might never get there.</p>

<p>I would second what AlwaysAMom said in suggesting to rejoice at the good fortune of each of your kids and that they all seem to have something to go to next year that will fuel their passion and training in musical theater. Move forward. There will always be someone who got to do x, y, or z that you did not do but that person might not go any further than the next person. I know I certainly don't start thinking about what if my kid had the performing arts high school or the private school with drama classes or a parent in the field and so forth. It just is not productive. From what I can tell, every kid on here had some form of lessons/classes and theater experiences. They all varied but they all seem successful in one way or another. Lots to rejoice about!</p>

<p>Susan</p>

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<p>st8gemom:</p>

<p>You are right. I hadn't realized that the Florida Theatre Conference was different than Thespians. (I'm getting addled in my old age.) But in any case, it's been a very useful place for us to recruit good students. Thanks for posting the link.</p>

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<p>Soozievt - We all appreciate your infinite wisdom in this process and are feeling for you in your daughter's recovery. So happy that good things are coming her way. We are in a smaller state, like you, and probably don't have the state-wide theatre competitions / festivals similar to your situation. My son also has done almost all of his theatre, dance, and voice outside of school, although he is in a great choir at school. We are just appreciative of the opportunities he has had and are so hopeful to get into one of these very competitive college programs. Everyone who is in one should count all your blessings for whatever happened at that audition that caused them to take your child.</p>

<p>MidgetMom - I continue to hear good things about UCF and think you have much to be thankful for. I'd vote for that BM and scholarship for your daughter combined with the dance minor.</p>

<p>Doctorjohn - you continue to be our angel - thanks for everything and for allowing us the conversations on your Otterbein board!</p>

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<p>Soozievt - I forgot to tell you, I'm also like you in that I have no theatre experience except for a couple of high school plays. I play piano and was an oboe player in band, but I've only gotten interested and learned about all of this because of Eric's interest. I am also just as much the all-around sports mom with my older son (how different can 2 sons be?!). I feel inadequate sometimes sharing info. around all of you wonderfully talented moms who really know something about performing arts. I'm an accountant at work. The only encouragement I gave Eric was to get him interested in and playing piano at a very young age. His piano teacher took it from there and helped him with singing as he got older and is now his voice teacher. The other influence was a wonderful local children's theatre that the elementary schools go to on field trips. It sparked his theatre interest at a very young age. It is hard to predict what your kids will want to do! We've just tried to give them opportunities and let them gravitate to what they want to choose to do.</p>

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<p>I don't think it really matters where anybody's background comes from. Being a music teacher doesn't give me the kind of "inside" information I wish I had. If that were the case, I certainly wouldn't have allowed my dd to audition for only one school because I would have known the fierceness of the competition in these programs.</p>

<p>Don't underestimate yourself for being a mom who is learning through her son. Believe me, experience is the best education in some cases. I've learned a lot through this forum and will not make the same mistakes with my younger dd when it's her turn. In the meantime, my older dd is happy as a clam and will most probably take the BM and dance minor. She's learned a lot, too, and regrets only auditioning for one school. I will say, however, that in response to an e-mail she sent to one of the MT profs at UCF she received this answer: "Congratulations on your acceptance in the BM Music Performance and BA Theater programs. Clearly your talents and interests are going to ensure an artistic future". She felt a LOT better after that. She was called back, so they must have seen something. We can only assume that UCF felt the "fit" wasn't there for MT.</p>

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<p>CNN today:</p>

<p>"The off-Broadway sleeper hit that made it to Broadway -- "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" -- vies with "Monty Python's Spamalot," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and "The Light in The Piazza" as best musical."</p>

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<p>Thanks, chrism. We're pretty excited. Two weeks ago, "Spelling Bee" won the Lucille Lortel Award as Best Off-Broadway Musical of the season. Here's the link:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.playbill.com/news/article/92714.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.playbill.com/news/article/92714.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Dan Knechtges was nominated for best choreography; he didn't win, but he was happy for the nomination. The show also got that rarest of all things, a nice review in The Times: </p>

<p><a href="http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9B05E3DA1F31F930A35756C0A9639C8B63%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9B05E3DA1F31F930A35756C0A9639C8B63&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>We're just very, very happy for Dan.</p>

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<p>Good news: we're opening the almost-completely-renovated Cowan Hall, our proscenium theatre, with a production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR tonight. There's a nice article in the Columbus Dispatch, which gave us the cover of the Weekender. Unfortunately, they didn't put the cover picture of Jesus, Judas, and Mary Magdalene in the electronic edition. (But there is a picture of our VP for Development and me; I'm the short one on the right.) The story discusses the changes in the theatre, and also the production. Some nice quotes from Johnny Hawkins, our guest artist. Here's the link:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dispatch.com/weekender/weekender.php?story=dispatch/2005/05/19/20050519-W2-00.html&chck=t%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dispatch.com/weekender/weekender.php?story=dispatch/2005/05/19/20050519-W2-00.html&chck=t&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I'm hoping you don't have to jump through hoops to get to the story...</p>

<p>And some bittersweet news: LITTLE WOMEN is closing on Sunday. So if you're anywhere close to the city, and want to see Sutton Foster as Jo and our Amy McAlexander as Amy, call today!</p>

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<p>I could not get the article and I think one must pay a fee to use the online edition. In any case, I want to congratulate your program and say break a leg to the cast and faculty with this production. Hope it is a great run and that many deserving accolades follow for your program. I'd have thought that many colleges would be letting out by now and it seems late but maybe yours goes later. My college daughter is on her way home from college as I write. Bravo to the cast.
Susan</p>

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<p>I couldn't open the article either. Congrats to Otterbein on their opening weekend!!!</p>

<p>It's so sad about Little Women - I thought it was a WONDERFUL production - I'm so sorry it's closing so soon. I heard it's going to tour so maybe Sutton and Amy will continue with it.</p>