<p>My guess is "The Powers That Be" :)</p>
<p>Ah-ha.....thanks. Learn something new every day!</p>
<p>LOL I didn't know what most of those initials meant!!!!</p>
<p>At MUNY they told us they would let us know in 2 weeks.</p>
<p>MUNY is calling as of today.</p>
<p>My D just excitedly called me to say that two freshmen at Montclair State U., one girl and one guy, were just cast in the Broadway production of Bye Bye Birdie! Go Montclair! I believe that it opens in September. It makes her even more determined to audition as much as possible this summer while she is in NYC taking acting, singing and dance classes. It’s exciting!</p>
<p>dancermom, congrats to your D’s friends. I’ve heard of several offers going out today. The casting process for this show has really been something! Your D’s friends will have a great experience and what a treat to be able to work with Bill Irwin. I’m guessing they’re taking a leave of absence for the fall semester? How will that impact them getting back into classes when the show closes in January? I know at some schools when kids miss one semester they either have to wait til the following year to ‘catch up’ or they take an academic semester.</p>
<p>alwaysamom - I am not certain how it will be handled, I will ask my D. She did say that they say that they are coming back, and they just found out about this so they may not know what the process is at Montclair. My D was in Miami doing a show during auditions for Bye Bye Birdie, but she said that she will not take a break from checking Backstage etc. for audition possibilities again! That is one advantage of going to school in the NYC area! I will ask her what Montclair does in this situation.</p>
<p>Marin Ireland from The Hartt School class of '00 just got nominated for a Tony for best featured actress for Neil Labute’s “Reasons to Be Pretty”</p>
<p>We are more than thrilled!</p>
<p>aceof_spades, Marin is a talented young woman. I saw her in a Willy Holtzman show several years ago off-Broadway. You might want to add her Tony nomination to the thread I started in the theatre forum. Most of the posts here are about recent grads or current students. Marin’s been out of school for a while now. :)</p>
<p>alwaysamom - My D said that the two students cast in Bye Bye Birdie will have to take an entire school year off. She said that she guessed that MAYBE they could come back to Montclair in January and take academic courses as you suggested, but definitely not theatre related courses. Makes sense! Downside of taking an opportunity like that, so I can see why some students elect not to audition except for summer stock.</p>
<p>dancermom, thank you for asking her. I suspected that they’d have to do that. I know that that was an issue with some kids at other schools who left to do a show. There is much to consider when an opportunity like this comes along. It’s true that it’s exciting but there can be residual issues like the college program aspect of it, which can present the additional potential for an issue with health insurance if they’re no longer registered as a student.</p>
<p>Alwaysamom,</p>
<p>You are so right both with regard to classes and health insurance. Last winter break right before school started back up my daughter decided to take a leave from her MT program, and will be returning in January of 2010, joining the class a year below her. She could not go back to the MT program this fall as a junior because she has not had second semester sophomore MT year yet and does not need to go for the academics since after fall of last year she was already a junior in standing from her AP classes and the fact that she had semesters of 19.5, 23.5, and 24.5 credits, so her gen eds are done but for 2 classes. So she is now in a forced gap year due to the sequencing of courses at PSU. Thankfully my husband’s federal insurance does not care if she is a student or not so she did not have to get new health insurance- whew! But, taking a whole year off is not easy; she is doing a great job of keeping up her training privately but it is not the same as having peers around. So it is a definite consideration when kids go out and audition and get lucky and get cast, because it is difficult to stop school and start back up again. I am watching that process now. She did not leave because she was cast somewhere at the time, although some opportunities have come her way since she has been gone from school ;') </p>
<p>Happy Mother’s day to all the wonderful moms on this board.</p>
<p>I have a friend who left a MT program the middle of Freshman year for a show, was nominated for a Tony, and never looked back. She wouldn’t recommend taking that route though, even if it did work for her.</p>
<p>Yes, my D said that another student left Montclair I think last year for an opportunity in a show, was supposed to return, and never did. She doesn’t know exactly what happened, but assumes that performance opportunities came along for him. We have always wanted her to have her degree, but any chance to audition for anything is great experience, so that is really how she looks at it. We really never know what will happen though, do we?</p>
<p>It would be interesting to track the number of kids who leave BFA in MT programs part way through because they are cast in something to see how many actually come back to the same school or <em>any</em> school and how many never finish school. I recognize that young performers are eager as can be to get out there and do what they love, but it seems to me that unless the opportunity is a really good one, it might not be worth interrupting one’s education. I remember discussing this with Ms,. Strozeski at University of Michigan a few years ago when my D was visiting. Ms. S said that Michigan encourages the kids to audition but also hopes that if they are offered something, they will come to the faculty and discuss if the role is worth it. I recall her saying (paraphrasing here) “If it’s the chance to originate a wonderful role on Broadway or something like that, yes, we would probably advise it is worth it. But if it is a role in the ensemble of a touring company, we might advise them to think twice.”</p>
<p>I think it would be really hard to follow how many kids leave and return to BFAs, or return to get their degrees for several reasons. They do not like to admit, let alone publish, the fact that kids leave, for whatever reason. I would think schools are not going to readily relinquish the numbers of kids that leave for a myriad of reasons; some return to the program, some return to the school with a different major, and some choose to go elsewhere to get that degree. And then there are some that do not go back. In my daughter’s case she will DEFINITELY be getting her degree, so her “gap year” came in the middle of the process instead of before her college education.</p>
<p>I agree with the philosophy at Michigan; Sometimes kids take a break for reasons other than eagerness to get out there or casting opportunities. I personally know of half a dozen very successful adult professionals, in fields from medicine to law to science, who for whatever reason took a year off during their college educations; obviously they all returned. Then there are the contingent that go straight to LA or NYC or wherever without the benefit of the degree. Different folks, different strokes. I do agree with NMR that it would be an interesting statistic to track but I think it is not possible to accurately do. JMHO</p>
<p>I think everything you said was spot on, ttmom! It’s probably impossible to find out, though.</p>
<p>ttmom, I think you’re right that schools are not likely to volunteer this information too willingly. It’s valuable to hear about cases, though, even anecdotally, which is why I asked the question of dancermom. 
I think it’s important for kids to think through these issues, preferably armed with some information prior to even contemplating auditioning while still in school. It’s easy to get caught up in the prospect of leaving school for a professional job and once the audition is over and you’re involved in callbacks, it’s far more difficult to look at the situation with a calm, reasoned brain.</p>
<p>It may very well be that the opportunity is not one that anyone would be able to say no to, but, as with most things, going into the situation in an informed manner (as informed as is possible) is best. We’ve known of many kids who have taken a leave of absence before graduating. Some have gone back and finished, probably more haven’t. One girl we know left before her final semester to go out on a national tour and her college ended up granting her degree based on her semester of ‘experience’. Not many schools are going to do that. I don’t know if there’s any significance to this but all of the kids we know who have returned and ended up getting their degree had a couple of common denominators, they were very good academic students and their families insisted on the degree. :)</p>
<p>One other possible issue is that if the student gets their Equity card early, as these two Montclair freshmen will do, that could present not only the usual concerns of Equity vs. non, but also future summer stock casting opportunities. Much to think about.</p>
<p>I agree with everything you say, awaysamom. It goes back to being a good girl scout: be prepared! Kids are foolish in my estimation to make a move of any kind especially leaving school, without being informed. At my house we make pro and con lists, sleep on it, have round tables where anyone who has a vested interest in the decision [read parents ;')] is required to voice EVERY though, positive and negative, prior to the decision. For us it is unacceptable for an opposing opinon to be voiced AFTER the fact because that is so unfair to the party making the decision and can harbor deep resentment between the parties involved. Becomes a painful process but well worth it for us.</p>
<p>I understand the Equity point only too well; my own daughter took her card the summer after her freshman year at college. HUGE decision where she involved her mentor faculty and head of her Mt program as well as mentors at home, and peers who took it early, and those who did not. Such a personal choice, when one has the choice. These kids will not.</p>
<p>I also agree with the profile of those who usually return. Thankfully my daughter fits those protocols. Not only is she in the Honors college at her school, she just got elected to and joined Phi Beta Kappa. Education is very important in our family, and she knows it. It is to her as well, thankfully.</p>
<p>It is very valuable to hear about these cases and what the kids do… My daughter knows of quite a few, all with varying outcomes, including the school letting the person get credit for the tour or Broadway show and graduating with the class, but she , thus I , am not a liberty to just share these other examples without the kids’ permission. So bring on the anecdotal stories. It is great for those contemplating options to hear how it has gone for those before.</p>
<p>Needless to say, this time of year is an awful time to make a move , what with all the new BFA and BA graduates flooding the city. Not to mention the horrific situation of very little work, even auditions, in this dreadful economic climate.</p>