<p>I’m not particularly skilled with this whole message board thing but as you can tell by my user name I am a student at Point Park University. I am going to be a sophomore musical theater major this fall but I have close friends in both the theater and dance departments. If anyone has any questions about the audition process at Point Park, the curriculum, the Conservatory and Professional Theater companies attached to the school, or any other facet of Point Park life feel free <ask me="">. I remember how stressful and confusing the audition process can be and I’d be more than happy to do my best to help out any perspective students.</ask></p>
<p>Point Park,
Thank you for your generous offer. Why don't you get things started with a general overview of what you like best/least, and maybe "a day in the life" or "my audition with PP..."</p>
<p>LOL and you thought the days of essays were over...</p>
<p>I think this will lead readers and lurkers to think of questions.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Ok my essay skills are a little rusty so I'll try and give you a decent overview of Point Park. What I like most about Point Park is the attached theater companies. We have so many shows to showcase students. We have a Conservatory Company (This past year we did 2 big scale musicals that were" On the Town" and "Anything Goes", two small musicals LaChuisa's " First Lady Suite" and " Elliot and the Magic Bed" (written by ppu alumni Marcus Stevens). There were also 2 other childrens shows "The Velveteen Rabbit "and "Tales of a Fourth Grade nothing". The plays this past season were "dangerous liasons" and " A Flea in Her Ear") The professional company attached to Point Park is called The Rep and they use mostly professional actors and a few upperclassmen. There are also 2 one act festivals each year that are directed by seniors. There is so much theater to see and be a part of. Outside of school Pittsburgh is a huge theater city. ( For those of you who haven't ever been here it isn't just a city of steel and sports teams) We have 5 major theaters right in town which are only a few blocks from school and there are dozens of local companies. Pittsburgh is home to everything from small budget experimental theater to large scale musical theater. What I like least about Point Park is probably what every college students dislikes. I lived in a dorm room the size of a postage stamp with another person and ate cafeteria food 24/7. From what I can gather from friends at other schools dorms are supposed to be small and cafeteria food isn't supposed to taste like mom's home cooking. This year I'm moving into an apartment only a block from the Pittsburgh Playhouse which is Point Park's theater. Its an easy alternative to dorm living ( There is a shuttle that runs from school to the playhouse every 15 min and most of my buidling is Point Park Mt majors). Overall my experience has been positive and I look forward to what is to come. Let me know if there is anything else I can tell you about Point Park. </p>
<p>Caroline :-)</p>
<p>Do you feel that the MT major is equally weighted between acting, singing and dance? Have gotten the impression that dance was emphasized, but was wondering if that was erroneous? Thanks!</p>
<p>How was the dance audition?</p>
<p>Did they give any financial Aid?</p>
<p>In my personal experience the program is fairly evenly weighted but if I had to say what was the most prominent of the three I'd say it is an acting based program. This probably totally surprises anyone who has ever heard of Point Park because we have a repuatation of being all about dance. This is probably because the dance major program is so well known, however the mt expereince is totally different from that of a dance major. Point Park's mt dance faculty is exceptional though. I truly believe that they can teach any willing and able bodied person to hold their own in a dance call. The same goes for the acting and vocal departments. If you are willing to learn they can teach you to develop your weaknesses. The program is fairly flexible and allows students to take ownership for their education. The people who succeed at Point Park are the students who push themselvels. These are the weak dancers who opt to take an extra ballet class or the student who can't read music well who opts to take private piano lessons every week. Also, I think what makes Point Park such a strong school is that it is diverse. I have a lot of friends in other schools where so much emphasis is put on type and the program is really geared to one type of person. Point Park really focuses on the individual and helps them to develop into the performer they are capable of being without pushing an agenda or a cookie cutter type. I think that may be one of my favorite things about the school is that I always feel like I'm allowed to be myself.</p>
<p>Mtbigsis,
The dance audition is no biggie. It is only for placement purposes if you are accepted to the school it will affect whether you test out of Jazz or take ballet as a freshman. However, if you are a really strong dancer the choreographer of the dance portion will probably take that into consideration and let the other auditors know. Just know that it can't hurt your chances of getting in only help them. The class is a jazz based combination usually run by one of the mt dance faculty and a few students. This year a few of the auditions did a combination from Anything Goes (our spring musical). There is a whole variety of dance ability at Point Park so I wouldn't worry about that at all. Hope that is what you wanted to know.</p>
<p>Caroline :-)</p>
<p>Noccadad,
There is quite a bit of financial aid at Point Park. There are 2 types of Conservatory aid one is just a scholarship and the other is an apprentiship. The Apprentiship students have to work a few hours a week somewhere in the Conservatory (box office, ushering, personal assistants ect) to recieve their monthly paycheck. There are also students who have work studies and most students who have a good academic backround recieve some kind of academic scholarship from the University. </p>
<p>Caroline :-)</p>
<p>Thanks so much Caroline!! Your answers are GREAT and very helpful :-)...I'm sure we'll have many more as we continue the audition process...my sister is very excited to visit PPU!</p>
<p>Caroline - </p>
<p>Do you think that if you audition at one of the non Pittsburgh site that it is different - or not held in as high esteem?</p>
<p>Thanks
Susan</p>
<p>Caroline,
I have a question generally applying to PPU as a school and not necessarily the Musical Theatre program which I know is excellent. My concern is with the overall intellectual/social atmosphere of the school, which upon my visisting this summer seemed to be roughly equivalent to that of a community college. Maybe it was just because it was the summer and not that many people were around, but tell me what you think about the school in that respect. Thanks,</p>
<pre><code> -Mitch
</code></pre>
<p>Mitch,
The academic quality of Point Park depends on your major. Anything in the Conservatory, sports arts and entertaiment management, and PR are good. For the most part I would consider the other majors to be similar to a community college experience. I don't know too much about the academic majors but I wouldn't describe the academic classes I've had as particularly stimulating. The Gen Ed requirements for Conservatory students are different from the specialized major classes though. I have a few friends in the majors I mentioned above and they are all more than happy with the programs. I'm not the best person to ask about academic classes here since i've only had 3 so far and they were mostly with Conservatory students. However I would say that your impression of Point Park was probably pretty close to how we operate during the fall and spring terms as well. Hope that clears some stuff up for you.<br>
Caroline</p>
<p>Susan,
Applying in Pittsburgh vs applying at a regional audition really doesn't make much of a difference because the same admissions auditors will see you. What does make a difference is the time you audition. Auditions start in September in Pittsburgh and a lot of spots are filled up by the time they even get to the regional auditions in December or January. We having rolling admissions here and time is everything. I know that they are already scheduling auditions now and they have applications coming in every day. The sooner you can get your information to Point Park the more likely you'll be accepted. If you would be attending a regional audition before Nov I think you'll be fine but if it would be later than that I'd suggest making the trip to Pittsburgh. That's not to say that students aren't accepted at later auditions ( I didn't audition here until February) but it is more competitive then and there is less scholarship money to be given. I hope that is everything you wanted to know. Feel free to email me if you have any questions and especially if you are going to be at Point Park. </p>
<p>Caroline :-)</p>
<p>Thanks so much Caroline. Unfortunately, the fall is heavy with school performances, so the first break she really has is January. Maybe we can figure out how to rearrange...but otherwise we'll stay with January in Chicago, I guess.</p>
<p>If anyone has any information on Point Park University's auditions, I'd appreciate it. My daughter received her appointment for her 10/21 audition and it was set for 3:00 PM. Unfortunately, we must catch a plane out of Pittsburgh Airport that leaves at 6:35 PM because she has a mandatory rehearsal the next day at 8:00 AM. That is the latest flight available. Can anyone tell me if it's reasonable to assume we will be done by 4:00 to 4:30 PM (enough time to catch a cab to the airport)? I have emailed the conservatory at PPU to see if we can change the appointment but if we can't I'm not sure what my other options might be other than forfeiting our tickets and driving, Yikes!</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure you won't be done in time. There's a Point Park student who frequents this board (Caroline) who is very helpful. Find the other Point Park thread here and email her, perhaps?</p>
<p>According to the notes I have based on our experience and others who went the previous year, the audition day at PP can take up to 5-6 hrs. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>Uh oh, now we have two threads going for Point Park AND Elon! Help~!</p>
<p>Jordansmom, unfortunately I have to agree with chrism -- we were hanging out at PP for HOURS last year waiting for our D. We toured the school...had lunch...I went shopping...and there was still more waiting. Good luck!</p>
<p>We were told to plan to be there until 5:30. Maybe the dance audition is last; I'm not sure. We are catching a flight the next morning, but we're getting comp. tickets to a show that evening at the playhouse. Also, the appointment starts at 1:30 with a tour and info. session, followed by the auditions starting at 3.</p>