<p>Why not try? More than likely the MT director made the decision. Have your SON/DAUGHTER call the director up and say you want to re-audition next year and would really appreciate any constructive criticism on the areas you fell short and need to work harder on. There is no harm in trying. As far as timing goes, I stick to my original suggestion. There is really no slow time in a director’s life but to the few I spoke to most seem to work through to then end of July, take a month off and start again.</p>
<p>do schools favor transfer students entering as freshman or students reauditioning over high school seniors?</p>
<p>travis- I’m not sure if I understand your questions right, but I would say from my own experience they would rather you take a ‘gap year’ and reaudition out of high school than come in already with credits. Because technically you are still auditioning as a freshman, since you haven’t been in college 
I auditioned as a legitimate transfer and it is not as easy and it depends on open slots at non-conservatory schools and the programs open feeling and opinions on transfer situations.</p>
<p>I would actually say that your chances as a transfer are the same for anyone who has taken a gap year or any high school senior, that is, if you are applying to a conservatory BFA program. Some programs like UArts will place you as either a freshman or sophomore based on how trained they perceive you to be, but you’ll most likely just be put in the audition pool with the high school seniors who audition. There are some exceptions, however. BU only takes a certain amount of transfers, and Emerson takes 2nd years transfers, but only to their BFA program. But most of the major conservatories, such as NCSA, CMU, or Purchase you will not be negatively or positively affected by being a transfer.</p>
<p>Yet, actually some schools tend to like transfers a lot. On UArts website they specifically state that they love taking transfers because of the maturity in their goals, or something like that.</p>
<p>If you take a ‘gap year’ you are not considered a transfer unless you have taken college courses. You will be considered in the same pool as the high school seniors, and they probably will not even ask you about it in your audition, unless you bring it up, or it is somewhere on their audition sheets. I had like 50 credits, mainly gen-ed classes with some theatre classes which made me a ‘real transfer’. If you haven’t attended college or you have less than 12 credit hours (at some schools) you would be considered a freshman applicant. </p>
<p>Son of Tranquil is very right when he says that most conservatory schools like transfers because of your maturity, etc. but you have to figure out for yourself if you want to spend another 4 years in school since ‘most’ conservatory schools will make you start as a freshman. But for you, since I’m assuming you are just reauditioning and are a senior now, this wouldn’t really be a big matter of ‘starting over’. Emerson does not let transfers audition for the BFA, you can only apply for their BA.</p>
<p>Oh, I’m sorry, I made a typo, I meant to say that Emerson only takes transfers to their BA program, haha.</p>
<p>Emerson also does not allow anyone to audition twice.</p>
<p>One thing to note is that recommendation letters will have to be redone after a gap year. Many schools ask if you have applied there before and many keep files for a year or two. Make sure to do something really productive in the field during the year- seek out and audition for every community theatre group or anything else that will keep you on stage. You’ll have to keep good records so that you can relay all of your new info to the people writing your letters the second time around and it’s never too early to work on great essays (no, you can’t use the same one again!).
I certainly don’t mean to be harsh, but, in some cases, it might be a wakeup call to step back and reevaluate your chances of making it in a business that already has an unemployment rate of over 50%. MT majors have become “cash cows” at colleges and new programs are being added all of the time, but take a long look at what is on Broadway. There are not enough productions to support anywhere near the numbers of performers which are going to be churned out of schools, even the best ones. Most schools will consider you for Drama/Acting if they didn’t take you for MT, and if you didn’t get into those programs, things get even more “iffy”. I know it’s hard, I’ve seen kids who were touted as “stars” in their high schools, the ones who have every lead and shows are planned around them, fall flat when faced with the competition that is out there. The best at school “X” may not even have been cast in the chorus at school “A”- it’s a crapshoot and it takes more than just talent to make it. The advice to ask schools who rejected you for their opinions is good- if you can get it- just be prepared as what you may hear may not be what you expected.</p>
<p>Snoggie- Emerson actually does allow you to audition twice, for I have auditioned for their BA program twice, still awaiting the results of the second. </p>
<p>Mezzo’sMama- I must respectfully disagree that “it might be a wakeup call to step back and reevaluate your chances…” I know I’ve said this before, but last year I was rejected from all 8 schools I auditioned for, and this year I’ve been accepted into some of the top programs in the country. All I needed was a year of focus and reflection on not only my acting skills, but myself as a person. I just don’t think that these college’s decisions should guide anyone’s choice into whether they still want to be an actor or not. Last year I almost let these schools make me feel like I didn’t have talent, I lost alot of confidence and became very self-critical of my own acting ability. But one day I woke up and I realized that I truly did believe in myself, and that I knew that if I worked diligently I could improve my monologue skills and give the whole process another go. Do all people who audition twice get in? Of course not, many people find themselves rejected from all major acting conservatories. But should that cause those actors to give up on acting? I don’t think so. I think we can choose our own destiny, our own path, and our own training, regardless of what these major programs say.</p>
<p>Son…</p>
<p>That’s interesting… when my D auditioned in 2006, the group was told that if not accepted, they couldn’t re audition, nor could they come to Emerson and get into the program at a later date. When was your first audition? (And good luck, fingers crossed!!!)</p>
<p>Son of Tranquil, it’s your right to disagree and I am so glad that everything worked out for you. But, are you the exception or the rule? I can cite the example of one young lady I know of who went to Unifieds this year, and was rejected by every school she auditioned for there and on her own. This girl had minimal experience, a couple of minor roles in school musicals (and she was truly terrible), but had taken part in several local programs which required payment in order to participate. THOSE are the bane of serious MT students, like yourself. Her family is extremely wealthy and paid her “way” in those and then proceeded to make large donations to the newly created “theatre” dept at the high school. Once again, as a result of the increase of MT programs in colleges, high schools are also expanding their activities and this school is no exception.Staffing these small high school depts are “teachers” who are graduates of those same MT programs at lower-tier colleges. See the circular connection? So this young lady was left, empty-handed while the teacher kept telling her that “the colleges were all wrong and that they didn’t know outstanding talent when they saw it”. Finally, said teacher called her own college, a state school who’s MT program has a very poor reputation, and Voila! the girl is in there for the fall and has dreams of Broadway dancing in her eyes again. It’s not just this girl, really it isn’t; the same thing happened with several others last year and the year before,etc, minus the influence of the new teacher. At the lower levels- small high schools where pushy parents can get a foothold for their youngster by kicking in cash and hours of help (whether the assistance is welcome or not!), there are many kids being encouraged to go into MT who simply don’t have the talent to make it even at the college level. This is really a sore point for me because I’ve seen this not only at my D’s school but at others as well. Just because a kid has a lead in Godspell in high school does not mean that they have the talent that anyone would pay $120 to see in NYC! I am concerned that this is going to create a whole lot of kids who will have paid a fortune to attend college and then will never be able to get a job in the field they love- all because of this vicious circle, driven by money and praying upon kids-and their families- who don’t know any better.
And I’m certainly not saying that this applies to anyone on CC, since CC’rs seem to be the ‘best and brightest’ and much more knowledgeable than the average bear, but its a tough world out there, despite best intentions. One is not always in charge of their own destiny, however much we’d wish it . You have a leg up on many people already “Sof T”, you know yourself, and that will serve you well.</p>
<p>Although, I agree with most of what Mezzo’sMomma has said there is a few things I want to point out just through my own experience as a transfer from a small BA Theatre program in FL, I only auditioned there, not knowing what I know now about ‘better’ programs and basically everything you wonderful people have taught me. It was a lot harder for me to get into many non-conservatory places due to the fact that they do not like to bring transfers in as freshman unless they only have minimal gen-ed classes which was not my case. I got into two very competitive BFA programs UCF and Webster both for BFA MT, each school auditions at least 650 students each year. Webster takes about 50-60 to yield a class of 25-30, this year we are the largest class because many chose Webster over other schools, etc. UCF auditions about the same amount and only takes the amount they want and then works off of a small waitlist. I agree that anyone can get a musical theatre degree, but when you are getting into a top program like myself, and S of T, and all of the wonderfully talented kids that are on here, it is saying that you are talented in that schools eyes. My other friend got rejected everywhere when she auditioned last year and this year auditioned for 14 schools and got into 8 or 9, she just regrouped and focused more spending a year in a BA program and is now going to a wonderful BFA. These things don’t happen for all, but if you do not try you will never know. Yes, you can get a degree in MT or Acting and never get a job performing, but there is also tons of people with degrees in business, psychology, and many other areas that are not getting jobs in their field of choice. I do not think there is any safe haven in any form of career. Yes, there are many untalented people in many MT programs across the country but if you look at the reputation of the school and how the program is set up, it can be pretty obvious that it is just a school that has a program to be more diversified. This is not to say that if you are not in a top program, you are untalented, but saying that many programs even though they ‘audition’ or ‘interview’ just need people to get more funding and try to gain attention and numbers so they will deal with have a lesser talented individual that they may accept and teach and help but may never cast in a show. It is sad that places will take people with little potential or that are in other words ‘untalented’ just to gain numbers but, I, too, know of schools like that and I was in one where the director said after one girl’s program audition, how she had horrible pitch, tone, and no character choices or character discovery in her audition and her monologue was horrendous, and I asked him, well are you accepting her and he says yeah we need the numbers for funding. And to make a long story short, I was gone, and am thrilled to be going somewhere else in the fall. But basically what I’m saying is I understand Mezzo’sMomma qualms and my mom has had the same feelings but knows this is what I love and am passionate about etc and you should be going to school for something you love, but nothing is guaranteed and the unknown is scary but it’s part of life, and if things do not work out later in the future there are other jobs out there and many still using some form of the arts.</p>
<p>I have been one to believe that the college experience is what you make of it…the again, certain things are for certain people. If given the right environment with the proper resources, there is no reason for why anyone cannot be succesful. Call me an otimistic hopeless. Like my friend, recently graduated from Columbia College of Chicago says (probably going to be working with Roundabout soon…gotta brag!), the college experience is what you make of it. (Look at Columbia Chicago. Your freshman experience is filled with a lot of people and can be extremely overwhelming and disappointing, but if you work hard amidst that crap that may fly at you…you stand out, and wonderful things may happen) </p>
<p>It is very strange how these acting things work out. I had a set list of colleges I was auditioning for. I ended up auditioning for twelve or so…and the college I am going to was one I found out in about October…I had never conceived that I would actually be going there…and I never realized how brilliant they are. </p>
<p>Will I audition again? Probably not. I am pretty happy with the staff at UNCSA…but if there is a change, and I am, for some reason, not able to work with the Dean in my third and fourth year…I will be most depressed and will probably try for Minnesota’s Guthrie or Juilliard…that is not likely, though.</p>
<p>Mezzo’sMama definitely brings up a topic of extreme interest. I have always thought that before you try to go into these BFA programs, you really have to consider your placement in performing on a world scale, the losing situation this audition process truly is, and where your interests and strengths really lie…</p>
<p>One more attack here…</p>
<p>…however…my drama director said (sort of the “don’t get your hope up speech”) to our class when some of them were considering professional training. “College only defines your life for the next four years…not your success in life or the business.”</p>