My daughter is currently a Junior and we have been thinking a lot about college this year. She has known that she wanted to apply for MT programs for many years (She started doing shows at age 7). She does not have a lot of school show experience, mostly community and professional theatre in the area. After spending the last summer at Interlochen, she realized how important it was to get more intensive training. She has been taking voice lessons since she was 8, but dance lessons only sporadically (time/financial constraints). Since she has been home, she has committed to a pretty rigorous schedule of dance classes. We found a studio that offered an affordable lump sum if you took so many classes per week and she has taken advantage of that! She has now prioritized training (with an occasional show thrown in there) and made some difficult choices around that decision. When it comes down to it, you definitely need a balance of training and performing to be good well rounded professional. In my daughters case, she has already built up her resume, now is the time to refocus and TRAIN!
I agree @MomCares and @deelight. And, that was my D’s situation @theatremom16.
So much depends on your student and what opportunities are available where you live, within your budget, and within your time constraints. Also much depends on what is important to your student. My D flourished in middle school choir. She enjoyed it immensely. But she didn’t think what she would learn in the HS choir and the musicals would warrant the amount of time she would have to devote to them. In her school, choir and the musicals are very demanding on your time. My D loved dance. Honestly, I thought she would dance in a company someday but then the MT bug bit her in 6th grade and that changed her course a bit. She then spent much of her free time in middle school performing in community theatre shows and kept having to miss dance because of it. When she got to HS, she decided she knew her way around a theatre well enough that she could focus on dance again. Competitive dance for her has been an incredible experience. We’re not talking dance moms here – but we sometimes go to the same competitions as Abby Lee. Ha-ha! We’re talking difficult choreography, serious technique, and a focus on performance – more than 20 hours/week. Again, this level of dance is NOT NECESSARY to get into an MT program. But for our D, she LOVES TO DANCE so it made sense. We didn’t push her into this. She chose it. We were there to support her when she struggled a bit socially because she was out of the mix at times. We always let her know that we would support her if she wanted to quit dance and do the school choir and shows. In fact, we would have loved to have seen her up there on her HS stage! She always refused. But, let me also be clear that she didn’t “check out” of high school in the least. She made her way serving in a lot of other capacities – student council, NHS, language clubs, etc. She has been true to herself all along and I think that will serve her well. There are a lot of different paths you can take. That’s the point. Listening to and supporting your student as well as educating yourself about what’s available in terms of training and about what the field demands are probably the most important things you can do.
Finally, if I can put a plug in for community theatre – Our D did all community theatre shows where she was surrounded by adults. I don’t mean youth theatre. This experience was absolutely invaluable. Being surrounded by incredible talent in our hometown and learning everything she could from them just couldn’t be matched anywhere. We don’t live near the coasts so we don’t have access to Hollywood or Broadway but we found wonderful theatre experiences right where we live. I’ll never forget the time my D came home from a rehearsal from a show she was doing and said “Mom, listen to this Broadway recording of this song. The person playing this role in our show is BETTER! Just wait until you hear her!” Yep, and so it goes. So many people have taught her so much. We are grateful!
I just realized I should have added that in my exprience the professional MT world is, like most industries, heavily relationship-driven. While training probably pays more dividends than doing shows in terms of college admissions, many valuable connections can be formed by doing community and school shows if you are interacting with working professionals. Assuming the ultimate goal is to earn a steady living as an actor, those connections may prove even more important than college admissions in the long run, so a balance between training and doing high quality shows is ideal.
Also, I’ve heard of kids graduating from college and landing their first “real” MT job, only to realize they really didn’t enjoy doing 50 performances of the same show, so it may be smart to try to experience at least one longer-running show before going too far down the path.
There is a lot of misguided advice in this thread. I can’t stress this enough.
The reality is that you need a mix of HS/Community production and training. The best training IS production (good and bad ones). You learn more on stage than you ever will in a classroom.
You NEED dance training. You NEED vocal training. But most importantly, YOU NEED STAGE OPPORTUNITIES.
The thought of only needing training is ludicrous. How many great athletes develop their skills without REGULARLY stepping foot onto the playing field?
And, I speak having taught High School theatre, there are schools that have major power players travel in to see their shows. Having certain High Schools on your resume speaks volumes to college auditors.
Look at the number of students from Pebblebrook in Atlanta who have also enrolled at UMich? Michigan actively scouts those kids.
I have been at conferences where college reps LEAVE their recruiting booths to watch certain High School shows.
Students at High Schools have opportunities to attend the NHMTA - an invaluable opportunity.
SETC and State Conferences, Thespians, etc. Connections are made all the time…
I think if your child is at a school with a weak theatre program, you have to balance it out with solid studio training. I would encourage you to send them to a school with a BETTER program if you can’t find a balance. It isn’t different than a kid who plays sports…
I have read through this thread quietly agreeing with @TheaterHiringCo that being in shows is fantastic training. But, I think it depends on where the shows are produced. Training via lessons, of course, is critical, and my D did keep up with regular voice lessons and, to a much lesser, more sporadic extent, dance. D wishes she could have danced even more than she did just because she loves it, but she did dance a good amount (ballet, pointe, jazz, a bit of tap); however, she loved being in shows even more, and those shows often interfered with classes. So, there were large periods of time that she “only” danced in shows, but she did what she could. She didn’t take many acting lessons at all, aside from a few camps (a great local pre-professional conservatory) and just a few master classes. She says she learned an incredible amount in shows–and perhaps actually learned the most through them. But, the ones she was in were mostly regional/professional (a few community, and no school shows because she was homeschooled), and she, from a young age, discerned, observed and soaked in “lessons” from the professional adults with whom she worked, and she learned a ton “hands-on.” Plus, she was in numberous shows with long runs, and she had a number of times when she wasn’t feeling well or had received bad news before a show and had “the show must go on” experiences. What a fantastic training ground, and what better way to know that this is what one wants to do and develop the professionalism one needs in this field!
I’m not saying that everyone’s experiences should be like my D’s. One of my strongest beliefs is to let the child/teen guide what he/she would like to do. This is what my D chose; it’s what worked well for her, and what she liked to do. I’m just saying that choosing performance-heavy training versus lesson-heavy training is a valid, valuable option.
@theaterHiringCo - I agree with many things you say- but I think it REALLY depends on the HS/performance opportunities in question. The school where I teach has a large theater program, and the kids really enjoy it… but the shows, while fun, are not high quality. The kids get no training as part of the production. I have seen similar things in community theater (adults are there as a social activity etc) In that sort of case- forgoing performance in order to train could be advantageous.
Also- (and I can only speak for myself) but I don’t think the people who advocate training are saying NEVER perform… but if your choices are between targeted lessons each week (dance, voice, etc) vs hanging around with friends while you occasionally wait to go on a stage - it’s a no brainer.
@TheaterHiringCo, I think we were assuming (at least, I was assuming) that the OP was talking about the year - or at most, two years - before college auditions. Maybe I assumed incorrectly. But the OP said his/her HS age child’s time is limited (again, I assumed the child is in the last two years of HS). While some HS juniors and seniors are able to juggle school productions (or community theatre productions) together with getting ready for auditions, AP classes, etc., others can’t. And b/c college auditions really come down to what you can do in that 3 minutes in the room, or in that 10 minute dance audition, training is critical.
I know my D was lucky in that her public HS had a great music/theatre program that put on wonderful shows. She did her HS shows both junior and senior years, AND she took lessons/trained. But, neighboring towns to ours have not so great school programs, with pretty pathetic shows…and the nearest decent community theatre is almost an hour away. There are a lot of people out there who don’t have the luxury to send their kids to a performing arts HSs, or move to change public school systems. And a lot of people who live in rural areas without easy access to decent community theatre, let alone professional theatre.
So, I agree with you 100% that all kids need stage opportunities. It would be crazy for a child to go down the path of majoring in MT without having had stage opportunities (and knowing what they are getting into). But as you reach that age of junior/senior in high school, and those college auditions are just months away…if there is limited time, training will probably help more than MOST (not all) community/HS theatre opportunities. I know that, for example, my D’s final HS performance (Les Mis) did not help one iota with dance training/getting ready for dance auditions. She was lucky enough to be able to do the show AND continue her training, but if she had to pick just one b/c of limits to her time/logistics, I would have urged her to pick training over the show in that final few months.
I guess the bottom line is that the devil is in the details, and people have to assess things like how much time your child has before auditions (what year are they in); how good are your school’s/community’s shows; how much stage experience does your child have; how good are the training opportunities near you; how prepared is your child for auditions; does your child’s HS participate in NHMTA (ours doesn’t…and there are only about 1,000 high schools around the country that qualify, out of 22,000+ public HSs, so a LOT don’t have that opportunity), etc.
So, you were right, we should not have been so quick to say “training,” b/c there are certainly instances where that is the wrong answer…there are too many factors that should go into the decision.
I think it needs to be both. A combo of school / community theater performances AND lessons. I am that person that did move for my D to attend an arts high school. Call me crazy but her local high school did not have a strong theatre dept. She would have not gotten a lot from it although she would’ve still participated in it. We had the opportunity to move for the school and we did it. I don’t have other kids to consider. I would not have done this if my D wasn’t firmly entrenched in theatre for awhile however.
My D had done lots of community theatre before. She learned a lot from it. It is definitely important to perform. You learn to work w/ adults and not just youth in summer theatre which she has done every summer for 7 yrs. You learn to be organized & if you are involved in a strong community theatre you learn from those around you & how to perform through sickness etc. There are things in performing live that cannot be replicated through training. Working w/ different directors in shows is critical. My D had one once that was awful and really mean to the kids & she had to deal w/ it . It’s a lesson for you as a parent too lol. How to NOT be a stage parent and how to deal with the theatre community which can be a crazy one let’s face it. If we had been close to a regional theatre I would have had my D audition for shows there in a minute. That would’ve been a great opportunity. If you live near a regional theatre you’re lucky!
Now she has a crazy performing schedule at school w/ shows, one acts/showcases. She gets her training at school but is it as intense as numerous dance classes a week after school? No. She has two a week and they only stay in one genre for a short period.
I am hoping that attending an arts high school will benefit her in college applications. Not because of just having went there , but hoping they recognize the organizational skills and dedication she had to have to attend while maintaining an honors academic schedule. She is literally there all the time.She often says it already feels like she is in a BFA program because of the things she is already doing. We were just at a college visit and the MT speaker said " you’ll be here all the time and have little time for anything else" and my D said " that sounds familiar".
It really is all about taking advantage of your community though and piece mealing a plan together. If we couldn’t have moved we would have made it work another way. I do agree with @TheaterHiringCo that performing in real time is necessary. It doesn’t have to be tons of shows but at least a few.
I think it needs to be both. A combo of school / community theater performances AND lessons. I am that person that did move for my D to attend an arts high school. Call me crazy but her local high school did not have a strong theatre dept. it still isn’t. She would have not gotten a lot from it really. We had the opportunity to move for the school and we did it. I don’t have other kids to consider. I would not have done this if my D wasn’t firmly entrenched in theatre for awhile however.
My D had done lots of community theatre before. She learned a lot from it. It is definitely important to perform. You learn to work w/ adults and not just youth in summer theatre which she has done every summer for 7 yrs. You learn to be organized & if you are involved in a strong community theatre you learn from those around you & how to perform through sickness etc. There are things in performing live that cannot be replicated through training. Working w/ different directors in shows is critical. My D had one once that was awful and really mean to the kids & she had to deal w/ it . It’s a lesson for you as a parent too lol. How to NOT be a stage parent and how to deal with the theatre community which can be a crazy one let’s face it. If we had been close to a regional theatre I would have had my D audition for shows there in a minute. That would’ve been a great opportunity.
Now she has a crazy performing schedule at school w/ shows, one acts/showcases. She gets her training at school but is it as intense as numerous dance classes a week after school? No. She has two a week and they only stay in one genre for a short period.
I am hoping that attending an arts high school will benefit her in college applications. Not because of just having went there , but hoping they recognize the organizational skills and dedication she had to have to attend while maintaining an honors academic schedule. She is literally there all the time.She often says it already feels like she is in a BFA program because of the things she is already doing. We were just at a college visit and the MT speaker said " you’ll be here all the time and have little time for anything else" and my D said " that sounds familiar"
It really is all about taking advantage of your community though and piece mealing a plan together. If we couldn’t have moved we would have made it work another way. I do agree with @TheaterHiringCo that performing in real time is necessary.
@theaterwork - We moved so D could attend a PA HS as well - and it was the right choice for our family (also got both my husband and me closer to our jobs, and got me into the historic craftsman home I had always dreamed of) Respect 
I do think that an intense period of training - whether in a PA setting, a camp, or a college summer program, can be invaluable in helping to determine if theater (MT or Acting) is something that you really want to STUDY. After all, what happens in a BFA program does not bear a great deal of resemblance to being in your HS show- and I have known talented young people who have started BFA programs only to walk away b/c they had not anticipated the intensity of the work
While I said earlier that a balance between training and shows is optimal, I do remember a parent in D’s MPulse class asking Brent Wagner if he thought these high school kids should do shows or train and he said without any pause TRAINING… just to add another person’s (6 year old) perspective to the mix.
Our children attend school in one of the very top school districts in our state. It is too-notch. It has a very good choir and puts on good musicals. It isn’t a Pebblebrook or anywhere akin to a performing arts high school. There isn’t a performing arts school within driving distance and we decided against a boarding school. We have a large family and it would’ve been very expensive and crazy to uproot an entire family for one kid’s interests. So we did the next best thing… We cobbled together the best program we could for her given our location and resources. I gather from reading this board that nearly all the kids we are speaking of here have done a sizable number of shows. And no one is suggesting that it isn’t important. Surely it is. But you shouldn’t be fooled into thinking that the shows will give you the technical training needed to nail a college musical theatre audition. Again, you have to look hard at what your student needs and possibly make some difficult choices. It would be nice if we could all go to a Pebblebrook kind of school or an Interlochen. It just doesn’t work for everyone.
I have to add one more thing … I think a student/parent would know if they were attending a school that drew talent scouts to their shows. That’s not our HS and I assume the majority of us are not talking about such schools. If my D were in such a school, I would advise her to leverage her resources by auditioning for and participating in every show possible. Just had to get that out there…
You know what stories I love to hear the most? The ones where the kid got into a competitive MT program and they had just been in "some shows in high school " and maybe sang in their choir or danced a bit …whatever …but really had no impressive technical training to speak of or years of lessons etc and the auditors saw what you would refer to as “raw talent” I guess & said " well by golly we need that kid ". Those are the best scenarios . Love them. It’s the kids that you hear singing and you think “wowsa. That voice is God given”. No tech training needed lol
^That was my kid in many ways, and I bet there are others out there that may not show up on this forum. I wouldn’t go so far as to think auditors saw raw talent or heard a voice that was God given, lol, but the schools that offered admission saw something. If I had known earlier the path my child would take, I would have tried my best to get the training that would help. I guess the message I want to give is not all schools are looking for the perfectly polished performer.
I can see a kid like that being frustrating or maybe some of us are just jealous. A bunch of kids practice a lot at home and take some lessons and have been doing community/school theatre for many years. They get the same good offers as the kid who has only been into a couple years and got the lead in a high school show and did a play too. I suppose some of us are jealous of their raw natural talent putting them at the same level as those of us who weren’t as lucky.
@ParachuteBoy, there’s a lot about this that isn’t fair, but that’s the way the (theater) business is as well.
As someone who’s kid did more performances and less training I disagree that you cannot learn enough from performances to land at a good school, regardless of production quality. What I haven’t seen addressed in this thread (although I admit I haven’t read every word :)…is the AUDITION experience these kids receive by participating in HS/Community theatre. Let’s face it, whether it be college auditions or professional…it’s very important to show you know about the audition process, i.e. song and monologue selection and character type. Not to mention the value of experiencing disappointment when you don’t get the part and learning how to behave when you do. As @TheaterHiringCo mentioned, there’s no better learning experience than just “doing” it. I find this to especially be true in terms of auditioning.
@Bogeyw … I’ll just throw this in here because I think it’s funny.
My Ds high school music director told her that she could use “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” for every single audition she ever did - for college auditions, for shows, for everything!
=))
@Bogeyw I agree audition experience is invaluable but I never recall an audition for HS or community theatre that required those auditioning to bring their own monologues or songs. Instead, they were asked to learn songs and sides from the show. Choosing and bringing your own material is required for some professional theatre, straw hats, etc., but many auditioning for MT right out of HS have not had those audition opportunities. Your point is a valid one of course, another benefit of participating in shows. But many auditioning for MT need help choosing appropriate material for college auditions–another benefit of outside training. It’s obvious that both are needed – shows and training – and what one student needs can vary tremendously from another.