<p>Just wanted to reiterate that despite a friendly emailer's concern that I might be feeling "ganged up" on about this issue, nothing could be further from the truth! I so appreciate everyone's insights and information, especially the first hand stories of those who have had to make this decision before us. Keep it coming!</p>
<p>We will be in Ann Arbor for performances again this weekend and next (the airlines LOVE us!) so we will have lots of time, hopefully, to discuss the implications of this choice (probably ad nauseum, my D will think).</p>
<p>"Please don't take the above as a criticism of any of the information that has been shared about this issue. I so value and appreciate everyone's knowledge and input - that's why I share this kind of information. We just have to trust those closest to my D and trust her. She is a thoughtful, intelligent young woman and is the last one anyone would accuse of being blinded by stars in her eyes. I know that she will continue to solicit advice and information, as will we, and then, I trust, make an informed decision and live with it."</p>
<p>I don't think anybody on this board would consider anything you've said as criticism. The decision or not to go equity at a young age has to be thought out carefully and only personal situations could dictate whether or not your d decides to go one way or another. If your d could make an "educated" decision, than she's good to go one way or the other. The problem comes with people who get very excited very fast and don't really know the positives and/or negatives of early Equity membership. There are a lot of people out there who are very "starry eyed" and get carried away with their first offer. As long as you know both sides of membership, you could make an intelligent decision and be happy for it in the long run.</p>
<p>God bless to you and your d. I'm sure the right decision for HER will be made and things will work out great in the end.</p>
<p>I'm not going to answer for BdwayMom and will leave it to her if she wishes to answer, but will say that it was rather cute and fun that my daughter spent time with her daughter (and mom) at the PSU audition and LOVED her (big factor in wanting to go there after being with her!) and my D recalls years ago getting BdwayMom's D's autograph at the stagedoor when her grandparents took her to see the show. So, years later, here we are! ;-)</p>
<p>One of my son's considered auditioning for the MUNY...but other things materialized for the summer. </p>
<p>I was curious about lodging because we are contemplating renting an off campus apartment under a 12 month lease...would be nice to sublease it next summer when they are out and about on theatre performances.</p>
<p>She should only be so lucky as to be cast there next year as well!! At this point......well, I think it's clear what we're going through this year......</p>
<p>With regard to the sublet issue, there is a possibility that we may be interested in finding our own housing because we've been told the MUNY does use Webster university apartment style housing but that it is at least 20 min from the theater. If your boys know anyone with a decent 2 month sublet closer to the MUNY (or near any safe public transit) please let me know. Several UM kids are working at the MUNY and maybe they'd like to share a place.</p>
<p>I haven't been on this site for very long and didn't know your daughter had been on broadway but I think we saw her! I looked back through my d's playbills from a show she saw in 1997...I hate to say the name of the show in case this is info you wouldn't want to give out but there was a girl in the cast named Casey....would this have been the year your daughter was performing? I believe my d has her autograph as well! Even though we are from NC we venture to NJ 3x a year to visit family and always take the opportunity to go into the city to see a show. That particular show was the first broadway play for my younger daughter who would have been 4 at the time! How neat!</p>
<p>My D, Casey (yes, that's her!) was cast as "July" in the 20th anniversary production of Annie. It was a wonderful year and a half for her ( B'way and tour) and we loved all of it. Hopefully, she'll have the NY theater experience again, but even if it were to never happen, I know that she has the most wonderful memories to cherish. So cool that some of you saw her. I hope we get to see all of your talented kids there someday as well (and that, God willing, mine will be right there with them).
Michele</p>
<p>How great your d was July in "Annie". My younger dd has played July in two separate professional theaters down here...one regional and the other dinner theater. She loved July!!!! And the little solo in "Never Fully Dressed" gives all the July's out there a chance to shine!!</p>
<p>Yep that's it! How awesome for you daughter! What incredible memories to cherish! We saw her in July of that year and of course the play was fabulous! Hope to see her back on broadway as an adult!! (i'm sure the autograph may have changed some!)</p>
<p>Congratulations on your daughter's awesome achievement. As I have mentioned on this thread we live in West Central Illinois, just a few hours from St. Louis. My d who is a freshman at Tisch presently, will be home this summer and maybe I can get her to go down for a performance with me. It's quite fun to get to hear of everyone's audition successes. I have to say that there are times where I wish my d was more into the auditioning process. She feels strongly that she wants to wait until next summer before auditioning for any summer theater opportunities. She will be living in New York City next summer, rather than coming home. She has also expressed an interest in doing an upaid internship with a theater in the city if she can land one next summer. She has never been one to be shy about auditioning, but I think this year at school, where they counsel Tisch students not to audition while in school, has made her decide to take it one step at a time. I gently tried to send her several auditioning opportunities for summer auditions and she politely e-mailed me back and said, "Not this summer." So, I guess I'll have to sit back and enjoy everybody else's excitement and I must thank you for sharing yours with all of the parents on this website.</p>
<p>I have learned this year that sometimes as a parent when we want to push our children, we have to stand back. My d has always seemed to make the right choices with regard to her craft so I am doing my darndest to stay in the back seat, along for the ride. She loves her studio and is doing great, so I have to trust that the maturity that I have seen her gain this year is only growing and she knows what she is doing with regard to her theater career. </p>
<p>Once again, though, congratulations. We go to St. Louis usually two to three times a summer, so if you can post the dates of your daughter's performance I will see what we can do about getting a chance to see someone who will surely have her name up on Broadway one day.</p>
<p>Wow!! That was the sweetest post! I can't tell you how much I needed that. I so agree with trying to let he kids manage their lives. This is just the start of their independence and what kind of message am I sending if I try to micro-manage her life. Fortunately, we have the kind of relationship where she does seek advice from her parents, but we are, of course, just two of many (with maybe a small leg up after 18 years of loving her.....)</p>
<p>I'm posting the link to the MUNY so you can see the dates of the shows she will be in (Beauty and the Beast, Jesus Christ Superstar and Mame) </p>
<p>Thanks for the MUNY link. I will definitely keep checking until single tickets are available. The shows your d is in are really great. In fact, way back when I was still in junior high school (circa 1972) I went to see Jesus Christ Superstar at the Auditorium in Chicago. It was my first live theater show and it was awesome. I still remember it vividly until this day. I went out and bought the soundtrack (probably on eight-track at the time) and really loved the whole experience. I know my d has Jesus Christ Superstar on DVD also. However, she also is a Disney fan, too. We may have to go see more than just one show. :)</p>
<p>Gkoukla,</p>
<p>I went back in the thread and one of your responses caught my eye, evidently I missed it when skimming earlier. It made me feel so much better to see that your daughter, much like mine, knows when she wants to audition and when she would rather veg and/or work for the summer. She must be awesome to have managed a second time to be chosen for such an impressive event. I know my d will be interested to hear about your d's experience as when our d lived at home her voice lessons were always with an opera voice professor at our state university. Now my twelve year old is studying with the same professor. I can't believe it but it would appear that little sister is following her oldest sister's path, too. I used to love listen to all my oldest daughter's songs as she sang them in German, Italian and other beautiful languages when she practiced. </p>
<p>Anyhow, from one parent to another, thanks for sharing and making me even more sure that these kids know what they are doing.</p>
<p>Maybe Gkoukla's D turned down an Italy opportunity last summer as well, but I think mine was the post you read recently. Gkoukla's D and mine often do seem to be living parallel lives (lol) but my D definitely turned down opera in Italy in order to veg at home before starting UM last year. Surprised you couldn't hear her voice teacher and me crying all the way to the Midwest.......</p>
<p>She's certainly making up for it this year ;-) !!!!!</p>
<p>theatredivasmom: SO funny..........theatermom is right. She reported that her D turned Italy down last summer to veg! The post was so nice! But my D is going to Tuscany this summer to sing her heart out for those Italians, and yes, she is the one who was accepted to two Italy programs for this summer. I have to admit, I LOVE the Italian language, especially when it is sung, and German and French are beautiful as well. What control it takes to make beautiful music in that genre. My D also didn't audition for the other equity opportunities UM had come to the school this year, as she already had her sights on Italy for this summer. All in due time, right? It's nerve racking for us parents, that is for sure. Thanks for your great post!<br>
theatermom: Have another good trip this weekend to Ann Arbor. (The weather is supposed to be grand) Your D seems like a beautiful dancer!</p>
<p>Evidently yesterday was a very difficult day at work and my brain must have been overworked as I managed to totally mix your lovely daughters up when reading the posts. I'm truly glad that I could at least put a smile on everyone's face as they read the previous three posts on this thread. Please let me apologize and tell you both that I still love hearing about your daughers experiences and hopefully in the future I will be able to keep them straight. I'm a court reporter and I'm going to have to tell the judges I work for that it is possible I am being overworked after the post I put up here yesterday. </p>
<p>Thanks for your patience, and once again, congratulations to both of you for having such talented daughters at UM.</p>
<p>Theatredivasmom: No need to apologize for anything! I can barely keep anyone straight on here. I don't get to read these boards all too often, and they can get away from you, so many people post in a days time. Plus I don't think I can get my point across as well as many on here, so I hesitate in writing sometimes. I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. </p>
<p>gkoukla - Don't you dare feel you can't get your point across. Please share everything you know!!! I have now realized that your daughter is with theatermom's daughter at Michigan. Omigosh - Michigan! Anyone who can get into that program ranks extremely high in my opinion. We had the most wonderful visit there in the fall and LOVED the MT class taught by Brent Wagner and seeing A Chorus Line. Many of us want to know about both of your girls' secret to success there. I haven't decided whether there were more rejects from Michigan or from CMU this year, but they are both sooooo competitive. Congrat's to your daughter!</p>
<p>I've been away for awhile. I went to England with my family for a short family vacation and to see our son who has been studying at The University of Bristol this semester. We enjoyed time in London and Bristol and then all came home together. It was fun to catch up on all the news from CC.</p>
<p>We got home this past Sunday afternoon and I forced myself to stay up and watch the Tony's which meant I was up for almost 24 hours straight, but it was worth it. Then I had two days to help my D unpack, repack and get everything together to fly to St Louis to start her job at the Muny. What an exciting time! Her final decision was to accept her Equity Card. I can't tell you how many people she sought advice from and given their support, she now feels totally comfortable with her decision. She is really going to experience what life is like as a professional actor. I can't tell you how unbelievable it feels to "say" that - a professional actor! She arrived in St Louis around 4:30 yesterday and will start rehearsals at 10 am this morning. And they will get this production of "Beauty and the Beast" on it's feet and open in 11 days!!! No grass grows under their feet obviously.......Oh to be a fly on the wall in St Louis today.</p>
<p>I also wanted to add my belated congratulations to all those whose children have or will be graduating this year. I can't believe it has been only a year since my D finished highschool. So much has happened this year. I have seen such changes, such growth in my D, that graduation seems a lifetime ago. You won't believe how the collge experience changes your children. It really is a wonder to watch and experience.</p>
<p>Lastly I want to send out a major "Woot Woot" to Thesbo. Ophelia?? at 18? Of course that is the age the actress SHOULD be, but how often does an 18 year old have the chops to really tackle the role and how many directors can see that and make that choice. You go girl! Wish we could all see you. Something tells me that you are going to be amazing! Break a leg.</p>
<p>Lastly, if anyone who posts (or lurks!) here finds themselves in St Louis this summer and gets a chance to see Beauty and the Beast, JCS or Mame, I hope you'll post your impressions. I will make my way there to see each performance once. They'd have to beat me off with a stick!!</p>
<p>Theatermom,
Thanks! :) Turns out the grad student they initially had in mind ended up going to a bigger pond for the summer and my voice coach stuck her neck way out for me. She was the one who called me to audition but led me to believe it was just for an ensemble role. I've already been working with her and readings start this weekend. If the chemistry I felt in the auditions continues, this is gonna be fuuuuuuuuuun! My teachers are going to get the biggest hugs when I get up to see them!</p>
<p>Big congrats on your D and the Equity gig! It's a big step while you're in school, but it definitely has it's advantages. Hope you had fun in Merry Ol' England! :)</p>