<p>OK so this year I didnt get into the Boston Conservatory which is the only bfa program I tried out for. This coming fall I'm going to a community college, but I am already planning to audition for unifieds next winter. I'm auditioning for most of the schools there (U Arts, CCM, Cornish, Ithaca, U Miami, U Michigan, U Oklahoma, Otterbein, Point Park, and Roosevelt) as well as on campus auditions for Boston Conservatory, Hartt and NYU. I took the advice that many parents have given here to audition for as many schools that appeal to me in one form or another in order to increase my chances of getting in somewhere. But my question is: How do unifieds work? If I'm auditioning for 10 schools at unifieds, how on earth will I find the time to audition for each school within the weekend--- and if each school has a dance call, how will I fit that in as well?? Is it crazy to audition for all of these schools in one weekend? I feel like I'm physically up for it, but I just do not know if there is even enough time in the day. Will someone who attended unifieds please give me the low down on the unifieds and get back to me? If it turns out that I'm being a little over zealous with all of these auditions, I'm sure there's a couple I can cut out (schools like UMich could be one considering I doubt I'd get in anyway since I cant play the piano, which is a requirement.) Just thinking about it now, that means that I'd have 5 auditions per day. That doesn't seem too bad if I make sure that I'm well rested. I'm sure if I can have a lead in a show with several songs and scenes, I should be able to handle 5 auditions in a day. But I know that some schools like ccm require dance sections. Audition slots also tend to run for an hour, but sometimes they overlap and one may make me late for another.</p>
<p>Mtgeek,
My d auditioned at the unifieds in NYC. We decided to make it a getaway weekend, so she scheduled only one audition each day. My opinion is that two auditions are very do-able, and depending on the timing, three. My d was able to schedule the dance calls and auditions early in the year, maybe Sept./Oct. Her auditions were mid morning, and the schools were very prompt...absolutely no problems with the schools she auditioned for. She could have easlily done two more auditions with dance calls but since this was our first time, we felt it to be better safe than sorry. You just do not want to wear yourself thin! Although, I will say that it seems that in my d's case, she gets in a zone and would have no problem going from one to another!! (then she would collaspe after the last one!!) We enjoyed unifieds...and our weekend in the city. I really did not hear of any time problems...and some schools even took "walk-ins"!! As someone on this site said, it was like trick or treating musical theater!!! I loved that analogy!! Good luck!</p>
<p>Mtgeek--walk-ins are your best bet in a Unifieds situation. The schools are all in the same hotel, and usually even on the same floor (in S.F. and L.A. at least), and you literally go from room to room. Whenever the auditioners do not have someone scheduled for a certain time, they will allow you to audition. Take lots of extra resumes and head shots with you and also extra CD's of yourself singing your audition songs as a few colleges want to take those back with them. Some schools will have a sign posted "Walk-ins Welcome", but even if they don't, it can't hurt to ask. Some unified auditions do not include dance which makes an audition considerably shorter allowing you to audition at more schools in a day. My advice is to be the first one at the door so you can ask about a walk-in time before the scheduled auditions begin. Some schools have longer auditions than others. Emerson took about the whole 3 hours; Roosevelt took about 15 minutes. My daughter had a scheduled audition in chicago for Roosevelt but when we were at the S.F. auditions she went into the room and asked the auditioner if she could audition right then and there and save us the trip to Chicago. He was more than lovely about it, said he would be there until 12 and she could come down anytime. She got into both Emerson and Roosevelt. It is certainly possible to do more than 2 auditions in a day (I think my D had four in one day), but once again, it depends on the school. CMU took every bit of 4 hours. Most schools will tell you that their auditions will be about 3 hours. You will most likely have loads of time left over after most auditions to do walk-ins. Perhaps a good way to plan this is to call each school and ask if they will be having a dance component. If the answer is no, you will know that here is possibly a shorter audition and there might be time to do a walk-in afterwards. Please remember though that there are loads of other kids also planning to do walk-ins so schedule as many as you sanely can and plan on being the first at the doors to ask about a walk-in time slot.</p>
<p>Mtgeek--let me add that you should schedule your auditions for an early (if not the earliest) time slot, because as the day goes on, delays here and there will cause auditions to run later than they might early on. My D was scheduled for an audition at 9 am, but the kid before her was held in the room by the auditioner (he wanted to hear more songs, try the monologue out another way, you get the idea), for about 45 minutes into my d's time slot. Normally this would not make a difference if your next scheduled audition is 2 hours later, but when you want to race to a few walk-ins it can really eat into your day.</p>
<p>MTgeek,</p>
<p>I don't think you can schedule more than 3 a day because of all the variables described in the above posts. You need to make the appointments separately with your "top choice" programs. But--there's no guarantee you'll get your requested time slot. Very often, after you get your assigned appointment time, one has to call and re-schedule. It can be done. And yes, you can supplement with walk-ins. I'd just make sure you lock in your favorites so there's no surprises. Don't add extra stress to an already stressful situation.</p>
<p>oh yes! one last thing MTgeek--some schools will let you change your audition times, some will let you change them one time only and for some schools your time is written in stone-you should have a very clear plan all mapped out as to which schools you plan to schedule and when, (freelance's idea to schedule your top choices is a great one--also some schools are very popular so you want a definite time with them). you actually dont want to have to re-schedule because then as freelance says--you probably wont get the time slot you need as it will have already been filled. i know its "just" musical theatre, but at times like this it feels like rocket science!</p>
<p>The only school we observed that caused problems for some of the auditionees was Emerson. The audition times were out of whack due to the blizzard in Boston during the morning auditions in LA, and as a result some of the prospective students had to choose to leave and miss the dance call in order to meet their appt's with BOCO.</p>
<p>I know at LA some of the schools were at a site nearby, and not in the Hilton. Some stay an extra day, or come a day or so later. (NYU came the Monday and Tuesday to LA) I think if you plan really carefully, and leave time inbetween your auditions it can be done. Some schools, like Ithaca and Emerson gave a 4 hour window. (My D ended up with both of those scheduled at the same time. She was able to go back and forth between them, but it did cause some stress.)</p>
<p>One girl we spoke to had done both Chicago Unifieds and LA, and had managed to fit in 19 auditions! So if you are a superhero you can manage this!</p>
<p>If you go to NY, keep in mind there is more than one location. CMU, for example, does its auditions some place else from the others. And it requires the people to commit to a large block of time. </p>
<p>Also, some schools quietly audition some people on the Friday before. I know Emerson did. This can help fit in more.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I would say 4 a day is about max, apart from those done as walkins.</p>
<p>MTGeek,</p>
<p>I don't know why this "myth" refuses to die, but you do NOT have to play piano to be admitted to UM. They do a piano placement session as part of the audition day but it truly is for placement only. Many kids, my D included, don't play a prepared piece for them. She played some scales on request, which she knew from having had some music theory classes in high school, but that was really it. All freshmen, unless they place out of it because of previous training, do study paino for 2 semesters and my D loved it. It has been so helpful to her in learning rep to be able to pick out a melody and understand the rhythm of pieces she is working on. UM does want its students to be the best musicians they can be, but piano training is not a prerequisite. I've heard it said that instrumental skill may occasionally serve as a tie-breaker, all other things being equal, but have no hard evidence to prove this.</p>
<p>So if you are interested in UM, then why not give it a try? Best of luck to you next year!</p>
<p>The first time my daughter auditioned for MT programs she was a senior is high school (2001) and she traveled to each school (CMU, Michigan, Ithaca, and CCM). She was not accepted to any of them. The next year (2002) she auditioned at the Unifieds in Chicago as a transfer student for CMU, Michigan (Voice Performance and MT), Ithaca, CCM (Voice Performance and MT), BoCo (Voice Performance and MT), Webster, and Emerson.. She received six acceptances. She did three auditions each day for three days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) in February. She did not do any walk-ins. All her auditions were scheduled in advance. Even at that, it was difficult at times. The BoCo and CCM Voice Performance auditions were at locations away from the Palmer House where most all the other auditions were held.</p>
<p>Johanna worked out an audition schedule before she submitted her applications so that she could request the dates which fit together the best. Although the schools dont ask you for a preference, she wrote in the best time (a.m. or p.m.) next to her requested date. Most of those requests were honored.</p>
<p>Not all schools had dance auditions. Those that did were CMU, Michigan, and CCM. There was no piano playing for Michigan at the Unifieds. </p>
<p>You can run into unforeseen scheduling problems and sometimes have to make hard choices. CMU began the audition with a formal presentation for students and parents which lasted about 45 minutes. So when Johannas CMU dance audition ran into her CCM audition appointment, CMU was more than gracious and told her she could come to any dance audition over the next two days. But Ithaca presented more of a challenge. Although we had an appointment time for Ithaca, it was apparently more of a general time slot for many people. It turned out to be first come, first served. Johanna explained that she had to be 40 minutes north of Chicago for a CCM Voice Performance audition and asked if she could please go early, but no accommodations were made. Just be ready to make quick decisions while trying to stay calm!</p>
<p>We did not stay at the Palmer House. Johanna decided she wanted to be away from all the commotion, crowds, high energy etc. so she could remain focused and grounded. Apparently that worked for her!</p>
<p>How do you know which schools do walk ins? I would imagine the more competitive schools like CCM try to stick to an audition schedule.. and maybe a school like Cornish will allow a few more walk ins. I was planning on just applying to all of the schools that I want to audition for at Unifieds, wait to get an audition slot and once I have all of my audition times set I can call the school to rearrange times that intersect with eachother... but that would be a little bit tedious. At this point I'm thinking of just putting up the cash to drive down to PA for UArts and Penn State, and maybe driving down to Ithaca.</p>
<p>Some schools only give you a window- like my D had a window between 9-1 at both Emerson and Ithaca. She had to go back and forth between the two.</p>
<p>I did 6 in one day... it matters on which schools your applying to. All but two of my auditions were 1/2 hour time slots and they magically worked out so I could do them all easily. Be careful though, becuase (well in LA at least) some schools in different hotels are far apart (like the NYU audition being about 20 minutes away from the rest of the auditions).</p>
<p>I did Emerson in SF, then flew down to LA for scheduled auditions for Hartt and Ithaca, and did walk-ins for Otterbein and Penn State. </p>
<p>I easily could have done more in SF, and I probably could have fit in another walk-in at LA, but I had a plane to catch.</p>
<p>Some schools will consider MT auditioners for their straight acting program at the same audition (CMU), sometimes you need to check off a box on the form (Syracuse), some schools will not consider you for both unless you audition for each department separately (CCM). Something (else) ;) to consider when you set up your appointments! You'll need to check with each school next year as these kinds of rules can change.</p>
<p>Carole</p>
<p>Bump for Mizlin</p>
<p>Oy..this is making my stomach hurt. So..I'm a little confused about this whole deal. Is it preferable to audition AT the campus if it's one of your top choice schools, or does it not matter? Also, you have to have a taped recording for your accompaniment, right?</p>
<p>Our PERSONAL preference was to audition on campus. It allowed us to see the campus again, BUT I do not believe where you audition has any effect on acceptance...I may be wrong. Unifieds are nice because it allows you to audition to a number of schools...some even take walk ins! Yes, you will need a recorded accompaniment of your selections, which my d would much rather sing with live over recorded anyday.<br>
Wishing you a very good audition year. It goes by so very fast!</p>
<p>is the general audition process at unifieds and on campus auditions the same? are the same faculty there as well? does it make a difference other than seeing the college to audition on campus? Is it harder to get into a school at a unified audtion than it would be at an on campus audition? my mom and i are trying to decide if unifieds are right for me or not financially it seems like a good idea since it would knock out like 5 birds with one stone but i just i needmore info. i'm super stressed out about this whole audition situation and just need to know more differences</p>
<p>S audtioned at 2 campuses and did 7 auditions at NY unified. Even though the on-campus experiences felt better (good feedback, less of a mob scene), he was ultimately not accepted at those 2 schools - and he left feeling like he had a good chance of being accepted. At the NY unified, there was a bit of a cattle call feel to some of the schools' audition experiences. He did not attend a performing arts HS or a summer program to prep for auditions and it seemed like everyone else there had one or the other of these advantages. So...it was a great surprise when he was accepted at 4 of the 7 schools which he auditioned for during the unifieds and was wait-listed for 2 more (ultimately accepted at one of these as well). So I would highly recommend the unifieds. Our experience is that there is definitely no disadvantage to auditioning off-campus.</p>