<p>I hope they all say the same thing. “We get zero kids into college”. You should hear the same thing from every summer program, summer camp, MTCA or any other coaching organzation.</p>
<p>The kids get themselves into college and meanwhile some (not all) of these summer programs include units about the college process and other do not. College coaches like MTCA exist for the purpose of preparing students for the college quest. But they don’t get kids into college and I don’t think they claim to do so (and if they do, they shouldn’t). If you want to spend this summer in a program that includes college preparation , absolutely ask the question of whether or not there is college audition related training included in any program you are considering. For many summer programs, that is not included as you have been well advised. There are lots of reasons to choose a summer program. College prep is but one of them.</p>
<p>My D just applied for the summer and we’re looking for feedback on the program. I have read through all the threads and there is quite a bit of information but nothing recent. It seems the program has changed over the years. Would love to hear from someone who attended last year! </p>
<p>I have to say that I’m so glad I found this site. There is so much great information!!</p>
<p>Seems there are more question than answer posts lately. Sorry to add to the questions, but here goes: </p>
<p>We are considering ArtsBridge Boston (Last year I think it was called ArtsEdge and it was in New York.) It is a TWO week program and cost is $2900 plus $1100 room&board. (That’s – gulp – $300/day. (And for us, a lot of airfare.)</p>
<p>It bills itself as a college app prep program – which is exactly what we want. We have PLENTY (frankly too much) opportunity in our larger community for “quality” theatre as is provided by Stagedoor and OCU. So we have zero interest in a performance based program. We want an intense, work till you drop program where we leave with 3 monologues and 6 songs/cuts for college auditions. I have heard both good things and bad, but most of it is old. </p>
<p>Did anyone go to this program last year (summer 2012) in New York? I like that they use actual faculty from CMU and BoCo, but wonder if these people do ALL the teaching? Or do they just give input at the end? One poster said they got little feedback - rec’d weeks later in the mail. </p>
<p>ALSO, if anyone knows exactly how many kids they take. What is the ratio? (For that kind of money I am thinking it should be 15/1 at most.) </p>
<p>Any info that can be offered is great. If it is a “wonderful” program, please explain what you liked. Pm if you prefer! Thanks so very much!</p>
<p>I’m a high school junior looking at MT summer programs for this summer and it’s come down to CMU’s MT program or Cherubs with the MT extension. They both look amazing and I can’t decide! Can anyone give me some opinions on which would be the better program?</p>
<p>Being a well-rounded student is just as important in the college admissions and scholarship game. Working summer jobs that don’t necessarily involve theatre, volunteering and practicing writing college essays are good things to do on summer break. Also taking those extra dance classes are beneficial if you haven’t been dancing since you were four :).</p>
<p>I’m going to apologise in advance if I missed this information somewhere lurking in the depths of this thread or elsewhere on the site:</p>
<p>I have a student who was accepted this morning into OCU’s 3 week summer program (yay!). They want an answer by Monday though, which both for financial reasons as well as wanting to see what else she might get offered, she doesn’t want to commit quite that quickly. I advised her parents contact the school and see what their options are. OCU is probably her first choice, but it’s also super expensive and she missed the financial aid deadline. Does anyone have any experience with this situation? Can she accept and then rescind if necessary? Her first tuition payment isn’t due until 4/1 so I assume she could, but I know that OCU will be one of her top choices for programs when she goes to apply for college programs next year…so we don’t want her to look flaky either!</p>
<p>Any input would be greatly appreciated! I’ve got some research to do on summer program ins-and-outs haha :)</p>
<p>Hi, I know nothing about your program and have never heard of it before. However, I think you could talk about your own program without discussing another one, Stagedoor Manor, as you have. </p>
<p>For your information, Stagedoor Manor does offer training and is not merely a “camp.” It is also taught by professionals. </p>
<p>I have never heard of a stigma surrounding alumni from Stagedoor in the industry. </p>
<p>Further, to say that the kids are talented at Stagedoor because it is made up of families who can pay to send their kids, etc., that is odd reasoning as you could say the same of your program, many expensive college programs, and the like. Many SDM alum have attended the top MT and Acting college programs and are successful professionals in this field, and I don’t think it is just because their parents could pay to send them there. </p>
<p>Your post would come across better if you just discussed your own program.</p>
<p>I really don’t wish to argue about this. I think you’d come across better to describe what you offer, rather than comparing it to other programs with which you have no first hand experience. </p>
<p>Stagedoor’s faculty are all professionals. It is a mix of training classes and production experience. It is not all performance based. Students enroll in eight classes per session. </p>
<p>Yes, Stagedoor is not cheap. Not everyone who attends is wealthy, however. For example, while we are no poor, my kid qualified for need based aid when she went to her BFA college. We are in debt to pay it all off. She went to Stagedoor for eight summers. That kind of training is not readily available where we live. </p>
<p>Frankly, my kid’s experience in the professional world (she is a professional Equity actor in NYC) has been met with many positive remarks by those in the industry familiar with Stagedoor. Stagedoor enjoys an excellent reputation. </p>
<p>Why not discuss what you offer for its own merits rather than compare it to other, but different, programs?</p>
<p>What you offer is cheaper because it is not room/board based. It is a day program. I see on your site that you compare the price of your program to others like Stagedoor and French Woods and it is not an apples to apples comparison.</p>
<p>PS, you say that Stagdoor doesn’t have guest artists/teachers, but indeed many well known professional actors and casting people come in to give master classes and such at the program.</p>
<p>I agree that the comments are based on hearsay and not on personal experiences, therefore passing along negative generalizations that could be damaging to our kids! If you want to give a specific example of someone who you met and felt had an “attitude” then fine, do it, but don’t lump a bunch of kids together and spread negative perceptions about them, just because you “heard” those perceptions were true. Just because a few people you knew in college thought there was a “stigma” doesn’t mean there was one, but there sure as hell will be if you keep repeating it!</p>
<p>Soosievt I find it necessary to respond, even though I have not done so in some time because of the negative response I received awhile ago. I am a parent and a Theater teacher, vocal and acting coach. I posted about NYCinLI and NYCinMA because my son attended the program last year. Several parents immediately began insinuating negative things about the program and in fact brought up Stagedoor as a comparison. I repeatedly tried to steer the conversation away from a comparison and more about what our program offered. This did not happen and in fact it was insinuated that my background as a theater professional made me no better qualified to talk about our program strengths then any other parent of a child attending these camps. Somehow my actual experiences as a theater professional who actually attended classes and lectures at this program was equal to the here say of someone’s child who attended a different summer program or that parent going to watch a production. I am not asking for any responses to this post and am indeed hoping there are none because I am not looking for an argument, I just wanted to set some facts straight. There were several posts from parents of kids who attended NYCinMA and most of them were attacked by other parents whose kids went to other programs. Theater is not a competition sport. There are many good summer programs out there, as I have said many times. People should check out the programs, ask questions on forums like this and find one that fits their needs.</p>
<p>The sad thing is that I was reading MJVStudio’s post avidly at first, as serious insider advice. Then came the promotion. I agree with Soozie and others–if the purpose is to give professional advice, there is zero need to give links to the program you are running and badmouth other programs. It’s really offputting and it undercuts anything you say, even if it is true. </p>
<p>TheatreMom18, I’m sorry you had that experience but I’m not sure what that has to do with MJVStudio’s post, which was essentially a commercial for her/his own program, with an ad hoc attack on another program. I do agree that there are many fine programs and many fine options out there. By the way, I have nothing personal at stake with Stagedoor or any other camp, as we were not well off enough to go. Of course, wealth matters and parents with means can afford to help their children more–is that what MJVStudio was saying? Who would disagree? Nothing new under the sun. But MJVStudio’s program also requires money and wealth. College also requires money. The world requires money. Sigh. :-)</p>
<p>One of the things that struck me doing the audition rounds this summer was that EVERY school except one said they have an “[insert name of school here] mafia.” They all said they had a strong network of alum that helped recent grads get work. And frankly, I don’t doubt that this is true. Stagedoor also has a “Stagedoor mafia.” (I’m sure Frenchwoods and some of the other camps and training centers do as well). I know that some schools that saw Stagedoor on my D’s resume during auditions mentioned it, in a complementary way. There was no stigma, at least not among the BFA programs that were auditioning her. And, when you look at the acceptance threads, and see the many, many fine acceptances that Stagedoor and Frenchwoods kids are receiving this year, you would be hard pressed to say that there is a stigma attached to them. MJVStudio, you say “there definitely is a feeling in BFA programs that Stagedoor and Frenchwoods kids come in with a bit of an attitude.” I am not sure which BFA programs you are referring to, or who within these BFA programs, but I can tell you with 100% certainty that is not the professors, directors or administrators of these college programs that have “this feeling.”</p>
<p>This hasn’t been mentioned in this summer program thread since way back, but I would also recommend CSSSA, the California State Summer School for the Arts. It is a theatre program, not MT, but incredibly creative and it promotes collaboration with the other artistic disciplines represented in the program. It is a real bargain for Californians, but costs the usual amount for out-of-staters. My son attended the summer between sophomore and junior years. It’s harder to get admitted from out-of-state, but a terrific experience. His year it was held at the CalArts campus, so a nice way to start getting some college living experience too.</p>
<p>I want to respond to your recent post, #1319, because for one thing, I agree with you. But also I have felt badly that in an earlier post on the thread, #1299, I realized that I was misunderstood by you in my post #1298. I was going to respond at the time and then let it go and have only returned to the thread to respond to the post by MJVStudio. But back in my post #1298, I later realized that you assumed my post was directed at you because you posted right before me in post #1297. But my post was not a reply to your post and in fact, I had cross posted with you and had not even read your post #1297 when I had written my post #1298. I realize this is a common thing on message boards that there is an assumption that the next post is responding to the one before it but that was not the case that time as I had yet to even read your post. My post #1298 was responding to previous posters who had commented about Stagedoor Manor (before your post #1297 went up). I realize I confused things further, because AFTER I posted #1298, I read your post #1297 that went up around the same time. Then, I added a PS to my post and that PS WAS in response to your post #1297. But that was the only part of my post that was in response to you specifically. I now realize it comes across that my entire post was in response to you but that is definitely NOT the case. My PS was just saying that, like you, people are purely speaking of their children’s experiences. You also work in the field, I understand! It’s all good. I felt badly that you thought the rest of my post was directed at you, but it surely was not whatsoever! But I can see the mix up! You have NEVER disparaged Stagedoor Manor or any other program!!! Please know that I agree with that! Likewise, I have not done so either because I have no first hand knowledge about other programs. </p>
<p>And that is why I think that some students on here, as well as MJVStudio, should stick with sharing about their own program, without putting down other programs. Let one’s program speak for itself. Like you, I have tried to set the record straight about the programs my kids attended, as you have done about the program your kid attended. I am sure it is a fine program and I have no negative thoughts about it as I had never even heard of it until this thread. And I have no problem with someone from the program posting here to clarify information. Promotion is a whole 'nother thing, however. I also agree that theater is not a competition, and am surprised that a program would compare itself to other programs both on its website and here. I think each program should highlight their own merits and let others decide what they are seeking.</p>
<p>This is another way of using competitive comparisons that just doesn’t fly well here. Besides comparing your summer program to other programs in a competitive fashion, you are saying that your BFA program, Ithaca, is #2 in the country. I have never seen a ranking of college BFA in MT programs. Ithaca is an amazing program and well respected MT program. Don’t get me wrong. In fact, my own daughter was admitted there and so we thought well enough of it! But I have never heard it called #2 in the country, and I don’t think that kind of ranking even exists. </p>
<p>I think it is much better to post the information or merits of one own’s summer or college program without comparing it in a competitive manner with other ones.</p>
<p>There was a certain amount of undermining pre-college summer programs based at universities/conservatories as well in these posts. Again, plenty of us have sent kids to these and seen the benefits, so there’s no reason to insinuate that they’re inferior. I suspect there are plenty of potential customers (i.e., parents and kids) out there to fill up another program without trash-talking–subtly or otherwise–the established ones.</p>
<p>^^^Agreed. I did not understand the undermining of the established summer pre-college programs at various BFA schools. While my kid did not choose to attend any of these, I have worked with and know many who did who gained a great deal from these programs. Many of these programs enjoy wonderful reputations in fact.</p>
<p>tramsmom, did anyone answer your question about ArtsBridge? I just noticed it and would be happy to discuss it with you. My daughter did that program in NYC last year and the year before and just loved it. I know it is in Boston this year but Halley (who is great) still runs it, and this year Gary Klein from Carnegie Mellon is going to be the Artistic Director. Yes those college faculty really do teach the classes, and it is a terrific experience. Working with faculty from different schools REALLY helped shape my daughter’s college list. She hadn’t planned on applying to CMU, but fell in love with Gary and Ingrid. She had planned on applying to UMich, but took a class at ArtsBridge with Brent Wagner and changed her mind. My daughter loved loved loved dancing with Michelle Chasse from BOCO, not so much with Robin Lewis from Rider. We all talk about FIT, and ArtsBridge saved us trips to Michigan and NJ, lol. Other ArtsBridge kids have had opposite experiences: taking classes with Brent Wagner and Robin Lewis CONFIRMED that they wanted to apply to those schools. Fit, fit, fit. I could go on and on but all in all it was wonderful. Feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>Has anyone heard from OCU regarding acceptances this week? My s sent in his audition via dvd about 10 days ago and I was wondering if we would hear before April.</p>