<p>Hi, my son's a junior who plans to apply/audition for acting programs for fall 2013. We're researching pre-college programs for summer 2012, looking for a focus on all aspects of acting and also audition preparation. In the past he's attended YCTC (Blackfriars Theater in Staunton, VA) and the University of Minnesota summer theater intensive. The preliminary list for next summer includes CMU, BU, and TheatreBridge at Brown--other possibilities are Syracuse, Ithaca, UNCSA, and UArts. He wants to work a serious, focused group of actors in a true conservatory atmosphere (not summer camp for "theater kids," if that makes sense), and he also hopes to have a little time in his day to work out, as he's an athlete in a fall sport. He loved the Minnesota program and would like something with a longer time span. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated--thanks!</p>
<p>[Drama:</a> Tisch School of the Arts at NYU](<a href=“Special Programs”>Special Programs)</p>
<p>Thanks, Northdad–that program probably won’t make our list because of the incredible expense (last year it cost $9K for a 4-week program–waaaaay higher than other places), but it helps to have the link. I’d be interested to hear about any experience you had with the program as a parent. I know there are old threads about this topic, but I haven’t found anything particularly recent on CC. Thanks again!</p>
<p>My daughter attended the UArts program in the summer of 2006 and worked as a T/A there (albeit for MT) for the last 2 summers (2010 and 2011). The UArts summer program was restructured a year or so ago to make it much more like an audition based 4 week mini experience of its BFA program. My daughter advises that it is a rigorous summer experience for high school students.</p>
<p>BU might be just right for him, TimesDad-- very intensive, they’re working hard 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. It’s the first quarter of a BU BFA condensed into 5 weeks, with lots of different training methods and an academic component (Dramatic Lit, a text-based Shakespeare course). They give college credit which I doubt she’ll use in college, but it augmented her HS GPA, something I hadn’t thought of when she applied.</p>
<p>We’re in a similar position. The ones we are looking at primarly are CMU, Rutgers and NCSA. Of these, CMU is the one we have looked at the most and it looks like it meets all our criteria although its in on the pricey side. Not NYU pricey but still pretty high.</p>
<p>My D did the CMU program between her sophomore and junior years, then the NYU one the summer between her junior and senior years. Both programs were great, and she made great friends at both and learned a lot. It also helped her go into the college process very knowledgeable about what a college conservatory program was like. I think the NYU was slightly more intense, and maybe not in a good way. (She got sick, as did a lot of the kids, maybe not enough downtime in the program?) Most programs do NOT have time for athletics. If you have any particular questions feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>My D went to CMU but in Techn, not acting. However, Northwestern Univ. Cherubs was a big hit with one of her acting friends.
[NHSI</a> THEATRE ARTS](<a href=“http://www.northwestern.edu/nhsi/theatre_arts/index.html]NHSI”>http://www.northwestern.edu/nhsi/theatre_arts/index.html)</p>
<p>My D went to Cherubs at Northwestern…Loved it… Fantastic program. Not a lot of free time but you can squeeze in workouts here and there. My D was into exercise as well but they get a lot of physical work in the classes… </p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>My son did UNCSA the summer before senior year. Reasonably priced and excellent training. Voice and speech, movement, acting, circus acts. Faculty and current UNCSA students also hold workshops in the evening working on audition do’s and don’ts, selection of material, mock auditions.</p>
<p>This is all such helpful information–plenty to digest over Thanksgiving break, which is the time we’ve slated for making application plans. Northwestern is a no-go for my son as his academics aren’t strong enough; based on the Cherubs website, they’re looking for kids in the top 30% of their h.s. class, and at our fairly competitive independent school, he’s hovering around the middle. CMU and Boston look the most like what he’s after, especially in terms of specific help in preparing for college auditions, but UNCSA and UArts are also distinct possibilities. Would be curious to know if anyone has experience with the pre-college programs at Rutgers/Mason Gross, Emerson, Syracuse, or Ithaca…?</p>
<p>The UArts program includes audition training and at the end of the 4 weeks students receive written evaluations on specific criteria that among other things assess strengths and weaknesses as well as competitiveness for a college audition based program. The acting and MT programs mirror the structure of the BFA programs. Both groups of students have core acting studio classes and then differentiate with specialty classes appropriate for each program. All of the classes are taught by regular BFA program faculty and both programs offer 3 college credits.</p>
<p>My daughter also attended Syracuse’s summer program during the summer of 2007. At that time it was a 6 week 6 college credit program. The entire summer college program was discontinued in 2008 but resumed in 2009 and the theatre program was restructured in its present form as a 4 week non-credit program. With that caveat, my daughter found the Syracuse program to be to be strong on acting, very strong on dance and weak to non-existent on voice. The latter may have changed under the restructured program but if voice is a priority, that’s a question to pursue with the program office. There is no separate acting program. It is a combined acting/MT program. When my daughter attended, some of the faculty were regular college BFA faculty and some were outside instructors brought in for the summer. This is also something to check out to determine if this has changed.</p>
<p>One other contrast between the two is the nature of their locations. UArts is located in the heart of the theatre district of Philadelphia and there are a load of main stage and studio professional venues as well as symphonic venues within 5-15 minutes walking distance from the buildings and dorms summer students occupy. Virtually everything that would be of interest to students (restaurants, cafes, shopping, museums) is within walking distance. Syracuse’s campus is more distant and separated from the parts of the city that would interest students and are not accessible except by vehicular transportation (private or public). Depending on your perspective, either scenario could be viewed as a benefit or detriment for a parent of a high school student ;).</p>
<p>Thanks, MichaelNKat–all of this info puts the UArts program on our short list! Your posts have always been incredibly helpful as I’ve read my way through the theater and MT boards. The information about Syracuse is also crucial, as my son wants straight acting and we’d like the college credits! Looks like a lot of folks are starting this particular search…I hope to hear more about where current juniors are looking for summer 2012.</p>
<p>Quickly bumping this thread to see if other current juniors have made summer-program plans. My son decided to apply for the Boston University program and just received his acceptance–very excited, and we’re hoping it’ll help him get ready for auditions next year. Would love to hear from anyone else heading to BUSTI this summer or considering one of the other great programs out there!</p>
<p>Times3: Congratulations on your son’s acceptance to BUSTI! My daughter was likewise admitted a few days ago. We considered other summer programs, but BUSTI was by far her first choice. We are very excited for her! We hope to travel to Boston a week early to visit various colleges in the area. My daughter has yet to be inspired to research college programs. This summer experience is likely to change that attitude…I hope!</p>
<p>Oh good, glad to hear from another BUSTI parent (great acronym, btw). My son’s very psyched, and we also plan to make it into a bit of a college-tour road trip on the way up. Is your daughter a junior? I’m sure she’ll get even more into the process while in Boston. My S attended a shorter program at UMinn last summer, and it really helped him focus on college preparation–he was already motivated, but it made a huge difference to talk to faculty and students from a conservatory program. The BU program should be even more helpful!</p>
<p>My daughter attended BUSTI last summer and loved every minute. The kids were all focused and worked hard – definitely not a “summer camp.” A tip: have your son arrive with his monologues chosen – or with the final few. My D had not selected a monologue and it was hard for her to find time to do the research to find the right one. I’m not sure how much time they spent on audition work.If you want to know more specifics, PM me and I’ll ask my D. At the end of the program, students do (or may do?) their audition piece in one of two ways: as their audition piece for acceptance (in which case they don’t receive feedback), or as a practice run and they receive feedback (very helpful for my D). </p>
<p>As far as I can tell, one of the main differences between Cherubs (at Northwestern) and BUSTI is that the Cherubs program winds up with full productions of plays, while BUSTI kids put on a show that is the result of their collaboration over the previous weeks. The kids are divided into groups for this process piece. The results were fabulous and each group’s piece was unique.</p>
<p>Emerson College also has a summer program. We toured Emerson and were impressed with the facilities.</p>
<p>Many thanks, MomtoC–this is really valuable information. My son is thinking about monologues but has maybe chosen one or two, so your comments will be a motivator. I also found some posts from you and GwenFairfax from last spring about BUSTI, so that provided additional help. I was actually pleased to see that they do a collaborative, self-devised piece for the final performance–it’s what I’d guessed and hoped for. S went to the UMinn summer intensive last year, which is run by both the BA and BFA programs–the BA program was much more experimental and student-created, and although his goal is BFA acting and he loves Shakespeare, he actually enjoyed the BA program work more at Minnesota. Sounds like BUSTI will give him more of that experience and a better chance to figure out what kind of program would be a good fit for him. Thanks so much for your post! I may get in touch via PM as the time draws near if we have questions.</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about the US Performing Arts Camps? I requested a catalog and I’d like to send my S to UCLA for their Acting for the Camera camp. Thank you in advance.</p>
<p>Any good summer programs that haven’t passed the application deadline?? UNCSA and Rutgers I think are still taking applications. Any info on these or other programs?</p>