<p>Hello!
So I was accepted into the NHSI theatre summer program and was waitlisted for musical theatre…does anyone know if I’ll be able to take voice lessons during the 5 week acting program? and can anyone tell me more about the program?? I will be attending so I’m curious to see what it is like. I sent in a second tape for musical theatre to see if I can convince them, so I hope that will work out! anyways…thanks!
–jessica</p>
<p>Jessica, you'll have the time of your life as a Northwestern Cherub. It was a life-changing experience for my son, and he met several people with whom he has stayed close friends. I know there are a few electives and master classes you can choose from, but I don't know what they are or whether any of them pertain to voice. I'll ask my son to respond to this -- he knows much more than I do. Congratulations! It's an amazing time to be involved with theatre in any way at NU!</p>
<p>hi jessica, this is matt (the son of the previous poster)</p>
<p>like my mom said, i went to cherubs last summer and it was probably one of, if not the greatest experience of my life. just to answer your first question, nope, there aren't voice lessons during the first 5 weeks (unless they decide to make it an elective or something, but i doubt they will). there are dance classes available as electives, and if you make it into MT, i'm pretty sure youre required to take at least one.</p>
<p>anyway, you wont miss voice, cause youll be too busy. you have two core classes in the morning, acting and voice/movement (nothing to do with singing) -- though these often blend together as far as content is concerned. you get to know the kids in your core classes extremely well as you're with them for the entire morning, every day for five weeks. maybe "getting to know them" isnt really the right phrase, since personally, as far as details are concerned i dont know a ton about them; however, i trust them with my life. core classes are emotionally and physically taxing, but also ridiculously awesome in ways i cant really describe.</p>
<p>in the afternoon you have text analysis/performance theory and crew (on alternating days), and electives. for my electives i took longform improvisation, basic jazz dance, and lazzi (a kind of slapstick charliechaplin-ish thing). a couple of others were directing, viewpoints, theatre for social change, clowning, MT dance, producing/management, and stuff like that. At the very beginning of the program you pick whether you want to be in lighting, costume, or set crew, and you spend every other day for a double period with your crew helping tech the 10 shows that go on at the end of the program, which brings me to....</p>
<p>rehearsal. after dinner, you have rehearsal for the show youre in for several hours. the members of your cast are decided randomly at the beginning of the program, and there are auditions for specific parts a few days later. generally the shows are ensemble based, so even if there is a lead with a couple more lines than everyone else, no one has an insignificant part. rehearsal can be grueling, but you bond with your cast almost as much, if not more than your core class. it's spectacular. </p>
<p>to give you a taste, we did the show kid simple. its about a girl (Moll) who invents a machine that can hear ultra quiet sounds, such as waterspiders on tiptoe, mouses running through grass etc. since the show was based on sound, there were a ton of sound effects, and each time a sound effect was played, the actual name of the effect was projected onto a screen. i.e. when moll was building her machine, you heard a saw and hammer, and you also saw the words "Sound of saw and hammer." projected in the background. eventually, the machine gets stolen, and sound rebels; moll has to destroy the machine in order to fix sound. when the machine is destroyed, all the sound effects disappear, but you still see the words "Sound of dust settling" or "Sound of an explosion" in the background. i had three different supporting roles in the show, and in addition, i got to operate the electronic soundboard. i was never at rest, and neither was the rest of the cast, who played the non-electric things like spring drums or shuffling cards or the aforementioned hammer and saw when they werent on stage.</p>
<p>in addition to all the scheduled stuff theres a ton of random trips and master classes. we saw three shows over the course of the summer: dave davinci saves the universe, uncle vanya, and NU's production of once upon a mattress. we also got to go to a master class taught by jerry herman, the composer of "Hello, Dolly," "Mame," and "La Cage aux Folles." We were rather stunned.</p>
<p>anyway. i wont even begin to get into the MT program, which was equally amazing, if different in many ways. for the record, you do take group voice lessons every day during that though. regardless of whether you get into the mt program or not, do yourself a favor and ATTEND. i dont capitalize words online very often, so know that i mean it. just do it. if you have any more questions i'd be happy to answer 'em.</p>
<p>-Matt</p>
<p>Matt--Now that my S has received admission to the MT extension, we'd love to hear you "get into" your experiences with that program in the same way you did to help Texmex (and us as lurkers) have a good feel for the acting 5-week program. Can you comment on the trade-off of being at NU for 7 weeks vs. getting a head start on thinking about your college apps? The summer is pretty well taken up by this program!
Thanks.</p>
<p>Thankyou for all the info matt! and i also have great news...i was accepted into the musical theatre extension! i am so excited
so i'll be there for 7 weeks plus 1 week in nebraska for thespians--i dont know how sane ill be at the end of the summer but o well!
im glad that ill be able to take dance--how many electives do we have? do they have ballet?
did you know anyone before you went, and if so, were yall in the same cast? i will be attending with 4 other people from my school and im wondering how they deal with us already being friends...i dunno i just wondered
and you said there are voice lessons too? i know theres voice and diction but actual repertoire training stuff...i think thats all the questions i have for now
thanks again
--jessica</p>
<p>Alright this is the matt of the future, the matt at the end of this letter. i was just looking back and this post is HUGE, so please forgive me. i promise its all mostly relevant information.</p>
<p>Heya folks,</p>
<p>its matt (edmondsg's son), i made my own username.</p>
<p>keds:
Unless you're applying early decision/action somewhere, college apps really shouldnt be a problem. I didnt start mine until well into the school year and i was fine. Even if you do apply early decision, since there should really only be one app for that, it's not that bad. As far as using up the summer goes, i had to give up a number of things including a summer camp i had gone to the past 2 years with all my friends, taking part in a 3-person show with two of my best friends, and just losing my summer in general. I don't regret a thing. Don't let apps get in the way of cherubs; you'll have plenty of time for that. and tell your son congratulations! he'll have an excellent summer if he chooses to go (which he should).</p>
<p>Jessica:
Congratulations as well!!
As far as electives go, you take four. they give you a big old list and you put them in the order from most interest to least. The list is about...15ish long? And generally you get your first choice, as well as two others from your 2nd to 6th or so choice. Then the last one is up to luck. I was lucky and got my first, 2nd, 4th, and 6th or something like that. But all of the classes are good, so even if you're not excited at first about a class you may get, you'll probably learn to like it. I don't think there was ballet offered? I'm guessing jazz is the closest thing, though theres always the chance that they added ballet to the list.</p>
<p>I did not know anyone before i went, though i quickly latched on to my roommate and a girl from his school (which just happened to be half an hour from my house), as well as a trio from iowa. by the end, the 6 of us were inseparable. As far as administrative stuff/class picking goes, they dont give people who are already friends any preference over anyone else i believe; if anything, they may put you with people you dont know just because they want to spread you all out. However, if you order your electives the same, theres a fairly good chance you'll have at least a couple of classes with one or two people you know. plus dont worry about not seeing them at all, meals and after-rehearsal time give you plenty of time to hang out with whomever you desire.</p>
<p>MT time! Group voice lessons (singing) are held every day. The groups are about 8 people, so it does stay pretty personal. You spend the first half of class doing technique, and the second half performing. Each student performs a piece of their choice (hint: bring some sheet music of showtunes you would like to sing in addition to the stuff they tell you to bring; i had to borrow from a friend) and then gets individually critiqued by the teacher. The teachers are pretty hardcore; the one i had just closed as Carmen, and another one i know teaches MT vocal students during the Northwestern school year (hopefully i'll get to study under her next year). You also discuss vocal health and things like that.</p>
<p>Other MT things. MT is a much smaller group; 30ish compared to the 135ish of the straight theatre group. at the beginning of the two weeks you are split into two core groups. I'm not sure if this is standard, ir may have been pure coincidence, but my group tended to have stronger voices, while the other group were stronger dancers. once again, NOT sure if that's standard or just coincidence. The two core classes held in the morning are acting-in-song, and dance, each 1.5 hrs long. Acting in song: at the beginning of the program you're also assigned a song by the instructors based on your diagnostic song that youre told to bring. Each class about 4 or 5 people get up and perform their specific song and get individually critiqued (mostly on acting, only occasionally on technique). You continue to rotate until the end of the two weeks when the two cores join together and watch a semiconcert of all the students perfected songs. Dance: pretty much self explanatory, you learn a few dances to several dance genres of showtunes. we did songs from 42nd street (yes, tap, but you didnt need shoes, though theyre good to bring if you already own them), hairspray, kiss me kate, and chicago.</p>
<p>In the afternoon you have voice lessons, music theatre history, and once every few days theres some sort of cool activity that goes on. I won't ruin them for you, but for example, we got to meet/have a q&a session with some cast members from the chicago Wicked production.</p>
<p>In the evening you have rehearsal for the revue you put on at the end of the two weeks. These songs are not the same as your core songs. if i recall theres two full ensemble songs, then two 15-person songs, then 4 octets, and then the rest are divided among quartets, trios, and duets. You're in the two main songs, and then 4 or 5 other songs in addition, one or two from the duet/trio/quartet group, one octet, and one of the half-ensemble pieces. this isnt a strict ratio for every student, but it usually ended up being something like that. the songs are usually from more contemporary shows; i had only heard of two of the songs when they were first announced.</p>
<p>anyway. the MT session is awesome; the fact that its smaller/more intimate leads to a completely different (not better or worse in my opinion) experience than the straight theatre one, though equally fun and educational. you'll have a blast. its kind of late and my writing skills were not at their peak during this post, so lemme know if any of y'all have any more questions on things i might have not been clear about.</p>
<p>matt--
umm i didnt receive anything that said what musical theatre students should bring...i guess i should call northwestern on monday and look though all my paperwork again! thanks for all the help
--jessica</p>
<p>im pretty sure its supposed to be in the paperwork. take another look. youre gonna have to get a portable recorder too, be it tape or digital or whatever.</p>
<p>Matt--How good does the sound quality need to be on the recorder? We have something very small that is more of a pocket tape recorder but the sound is definitely not great quality (pitches are fine but depth is tinny).</p>
<p>Texmex--I don't think anything specific has been sent (yet) to those accepted to MT so I think we're yet to receive some of the instructions for that portion of the program. S was accepted to acting and MT at the same time so I think we received everything.</p>
<p>oo thanks! i'll have to get a new recorder because my digital one doesnt hold enough so it runs out of space so quick</p>
<p>kedstuff, I can tell you the small digital recorder matt used wasn't the best quality, either -- it sounded tinny, like you said. It was good enough, though.</p>
<p>I think we paid about $39.99 for it at Best Buy.</p>
<p>Thanks! I also remembered we purchased a recorder accessory for his iPod, with which he can even connect a separate mic so I think we should be okay!</p>
<p>hey!
so now the program is over and i completely forgot to ask which one of the guy's parent had been on this website..there were only 10 in mt so it was either zach s, zach k, garett, gianmarco, bruce, darren, pat, justin, charlie, or nick..just curious!</p>
<p>How was it, texmex?! My son was there in '05.</p>
<p>gail</p>
<p>Texmex--S is Pat. Perhaps you and he could provide an update to Matt's excellent outline of last summer's program. Matt's was really helpful, I thought. The contact you and my S had with working professionals and talented college students from many programs sounded excellent, and with only 32 students in the MT program, that mentoring became pretty individualized. </p>
<p>I also think more people using CC should be thinking about the Cherubs program. Because it has very firm deadlines for application in the spring and has the audition requirement for the MT extension, I think some people end up missing the window of opportunity. From what I've heard and observed about the program, though, that is unfortunate. I know they have more than enough applicants each year but the people on this forum are very passionate and should at least consider the NHSI program in the summer before their senior year.</p>
<p>Kedstuff -- I agree about the NU summer program being somewhat under the radar. Actually, I think their whole theatre degree program is overlooked so often. Matt is now a freshman in Theatre and hopefully MT when they audition at the end of the year, and several of his Cherub friends are attending, also. If I can answer any questions about that, just holler.</p>
<p>My D is a junior and her first choice of school is Northwestern although she is also very interested in Tisch. She comes from a very competitive high school and takes all honors and AP classes. Her GPA is between 3.5 - 3.75 unweighted. We have not gotten PSAT scores back yet. She is quite talented in both singing, dancing and acting and frequently gets the leads in school and community theater shows. She wants to major in theater but would prefer a well-rounded education. If she attends Northwestern's summer program, will that give her a "leg up" for applying in the fall? Also, if she attends Northwestern's program and then for some reason, decides she prefers Tisch, will it have hurt her not to have gone to Tisch's summer program?</p>
<p>Alliesmom - I think any intense summer program enhances a college application -- to any school. As someone mentioned in another thread, although attending the NU summer program doesn't ensure admittance for college, it might tip the scales in her favor if she qualifies otherwise. Regarding whether it might hurt her chances if she attends a different summer program, it didn't in our case. My son attended the Northwestern summer program, and was admitted to Tisch (CAP21), as well as Northwestern. He chose Northwestern.</p>
<p>Alliesmom--please have her go to the Northwestern summer program..it is so unique and she will never for get it! I wen this past summer for the acting 5 week program and then the musical theatre extension for 2 more weeks and it was absolutely amazing!</p>
<p>o! and kedstuff i'm sorry i just saw your post..i will write about the program after i'm finished with all my applications this week..a bit hectic right now! but i'm sorry i didnt realize!</p>