talent...

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>As we are quickly approaching our D's first audition (Jan 18) I can't help but think about how ridiculously competitive this is & how the schools are able to choose such a small group of students from thousands (or more!) of kids!! I'm not looking for encouragement or anything like that, just looking to "chat" w/others that have been there & are there & just hear others thoughts.</p>

<p>For us, our D is passionate about MT, but this passion hasn't really taken hold until freshman year of HS, when she received a small part in the HS production of FAME, she loved it & her director seemed to love her! She then went on to try out for the fall drama & spring musical each year. She has had good parts, but not the leads necessarily. She started voice lessons & has a limited dance background, again wasn't really interested in this earlier. I know many of the kids she is up against have a bigger resume than her & much more training, but we are giving it a shot anyway! She has received great feedback from those she has worked with & her HS director says she has raw acting talent. I hope someone sees that & wants to work with her!</p>

<p>Anyway, how do these colleges choose? There must be a "gazillion" more like my D, those w/similar talent, those more talented & those w/less… how do they choose?! It just boggles my mind!!</p>

<p>Thanks for sharing your thoughts… I think my D & hubby are tired of talking w/me about this, so I thought I'd come bug you guys! LOL!</p>

2

<p>I feel your pain but try not to fret. At this point, you can only control the final details of your preparation. The rest is out of your hands.</p>

<p>A friend of mine recently asked me to look over the prescreen video of her friend’s daughter. After seeing the video, I can honestly say the girl has potential, but clearly is untrained in comparison to many of the other girls she’ll be competing with. The vocals were rough and the song choice in one case not age appropriate and overdone. Both songs were awfully tough to sing for someone that hasn’t been trained and did not show her voice in the best light. The monologue was straight off of internet monologue website. I couldn’t help but think that the girl was putting herself at a disadvantage by virtue of her material choices, and sadly just didn’t know it.</p>

<p>Colleges must see a lot of this. I’d like to think there is still a place for someone who isn’t very good yet, but shows potential even if the material choices are all wrong. (Perhaps KatMT could comment?) But with limited seats at every school and many talented students (and an abundance of girls) wanting a spot, it can’t be easy. There isn’t time for this “gal with potential” to match the training of many of the other young women that she’ll be competing against, but what is still under her control is her material selection. Regretfully she doesn’t know what it is she doesn’t know and it may be too late for that as well. Hopefully preklbt since you’ve been reading this forum and asking good questions, you’ve got that part in the bag. All the best. I’m sure your daughter will shine!</p>

3

<p>I pulled up a couple of old threads that might interest you:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1253689-looking-input-college-reps.html#post13577445[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1253689-looking-input-college-reps.html#post13577445&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1361784-schools-really-train-undeveloped-mt-talent.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1361784-schools-really-train-undeveloped-mt-talent.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/15582827-post34.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/15582827-post34.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>I will share what a faculty member told us at an open house we attended last year. He said that they don’t expect every student to have a perfect audition. They aren’t looking for perfection, but are thrilled if they see 10 seconds of brilliance during the audition. If your D has raw talent, maybe it will come across as that 10 seconds of brilliance for her!</p>

<p>Best of luck throughout the audition season!</p>

5

<p>This whole process is incredibly difficult and my biggest fear was that my d would go for her dream and have her heartbroken. She didn’t start really being involved with theatre until her Junior year of high school (she is a senior now). I think mostly because she was afraid that my husband and I would be against it. My D has never made it into a school choir (when an audition was required) and has only had ensemble parts in her school musicals. But she was adamant that this is her passion and has devoted every spare moment for the last 18 months to getting ready for college auditions. She found a voice teacher last January that really focuses on musical theatre techniques and she has taken dance for 14 months. She has done some community theatre but has only had straight acting parts, no MT to put on her resume. Her Dad and I have lost many hours of sleep wondering how she would be able to compete with so many that have had years of training. No one was more shocked than my daughter (and her parents) when she found out last week that she was accepted into the MT program at Marymount Manhattan! She has 8 more auditions scheduled and maybe this will be her only acceptance-but it doesn’t matter because she has one! She knows that she is a “diamond in the rough” and I am just thankful that someone else saw that too! Hang in there preklbt!</p>

6

<p>Congratulations to your D, mommat!</p>

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<p>I think halflokum has this part exactly right.</p>

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<p>For the sake of conversation, here are some thoughts on the subject of talent.</p>

<p>1) Parents can not objectively assess our children’s talent. I realized years ago, while watching parents fawn over painful American Idol auditions, that I will absolutely never have any real notion of the talent level of my own children.</p>

<p>2) Casting success in school – or lack of – is not a sure indicator of talent. Watching many kids move through MT programs, including several who had only mediocre casting in college yet went on to great professional success (one of D’s close friends from high school is our most recent example), has only reinforced that notion. Also, every top school has rejected kids who went on to phenomenal success, and admitted students who went on to meh careers. </p>

<p>3) Occasionally jaw-dropping performances happen. We’ve all experienced them, and I’m guessing on those rare occasions that one happens in the audition room auditors notice. We’ve all also seen an actor deliver an amazing performance, followed by years of mediocrity. </p>

<p>4) Fame and success do not always require talent, and talent does not guarantee either success or fame. </p>

<p>Aside from the few kids every year who perform at a level far above the norm, or descend from theatre royalty, I have no real idea how MT schools sort through auditions. I’ve heard that panels of auditors are rarely unanimous when their process ensures truly independent opinions, but often a dominant personality drives an auditing team. </p>

<p>I know that at least some schools have their eye on some students before official audition season ever begins (through summer programs, trusted teachers, coaches, competitions, regional auditions, etc.), but I’ll bet every school is THRILLED when they find a diamond in the rough.</p>

<p>Best of luck to all!</p>

7

<p>MomCares, so well said. I couldn’t agree more.
Best of luck to all, and now is the time to concentrate only on what you are in control of, which is the audition and interview.
The only thing I would add is that the student should be prepared for the interview as well as the audition–this is something my D didn’t prepare well for in the beginning and she was sort of tongue-tied. Make sure you know why you’re applying for that particular school, what you hope to learn, and what you can contribute to the program. Ask intelligent, specific questions that you are genuinely curious about. And besides knowing your monologues and songs cold, know their context cold–why the character is saying or singing what they’re saying or singing, where it stands in the context of the entire play or show, what is motivating them. This will help your performance stand out.</p>

8

<p>I felt the same anxiety at the beginning of this process for my daughter this year. She too was a late starter, having very little acting and musical theatre experience compared to others. She has danced and taken voice lessons, but her resume was weak and she never had a lead role. When she was 16, I mentioned to a friend who is in the theatre business that she wanted to study MT. Her response was “Oh at 16? That’s almost too late. All of the kids who do this have been triple threats since they were little.” Lol. I don’t think there is any one formula, but I read a quote from and admissions officer that said “Are you someone we want to spend the next four years with?” I think a good approach in the audition and interview is to be honest and genuine, so they can get to know you a little in 15 minutes. I don’t think it’s about every detail being perfect. In my daughter’s first audition at Tisch, she sprained her ankle 5 minutes into the dance call and sat out while icing it. Next, she proceeded into the vocal audition in high heels barely able to walk, and the auditioner asked her to sing the song a second time, while moving around more. (Not knowing she was in severe pain) She told him what happened and he got her a chair and asked her to sing again more expressively from the chair. Next… the interview… she was dumbfounded when the he asked her “What Is Theatre?” and she responded with “Excuse me??” Lol. She thought she blew it at that point, but took a deep breath and rambled something ridiculous, according to her. I think being prepared and relaxed is the most important factor, aside from talent, in the audition. The good news…she was accepted ED. I agree with the raw talent theory. I don’t think they only want perfect, professionally trained kids with no room to grow. I know the idea of rejection is heartbreaking for us, but I would point out to your daughter that auditions are like casting calls, so if there are 10 brunette sopranos, and they only have a total of 15 spots open for everyone auditioning, they are not going to need all of them, or if 5 boys are auditioning for 1 spot, 4 are not getting in. It doesn’t mean they aren’t amazingly talented and gifted performers.</p>

9

<p>Don’t panic over high school resume. My D went to a huge HS and never had a musical lead but got three acceptances to programs.</p>

10

<p>This is totally a concern from the other side as well…it can be so intimidating to see people naturally be able to do things that it took you years to learn!</p>

11

<p>mammat!!! I am so very excited for you and your daughter, no matter how many years my daughter has “put into it” because the most important things for any child (and I have three “normal/non performing artist” prior college grad kids…) are to 1) pursue any passion at all that they have, 2) have the love, devotion and support of parents, and 3) for Gods sake - if you have a talent or a passion (which only two of mind had - one was the voice, and the other was football) USE IT to get you anywhere you want to be in life!!! (My son - a fairly confirmed “bum” albeit hs football captain - got himself recruited to a hoity toity private university that ended up creating a serious intellectual man out of him - and a year out of college - he was out of the house, successful, and (stupidly) bought himself a bmw - he had become that successful that fast. And he didn’t even have the level of talent that his sister - the “performing artist” has.) So the best parents are those who can just support their kid through these younger years while they pursue what they think they want to do (in college). There is no risk to that- it’s their life to live - why shouldn’t they try their own hand first!</p>

<p>And your daughter obviously has a natural talent (and a passion) in SPADES - as evidenced by her acceptance at Marymount Manhattan!!! The greatest news EVER! Could not be happier than when I read your/her story. One of the most heartwarming I have heard. Keep up the great work though what a bummer that we have to go up against your talented daughter in some of those 8 upcoming auditions you mentioned. hahahah! BTW - I hope you updated the acceptances thread with your D’s accept!!! Congrats!</p>

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<p>What an amazing thread. And what an amazing group of caring parents and clearly outstanding kids. Thanks theater family. Good people with sound advise and heartwarming words. Go Class of 2018! :-)</p>

13

<p>I would like to add, as both a mom of a D auditioning this season and a studio owner, remind your kids that they are already enough… they have been created with their unique set of gifts and talents. We have 10 students at our studio that are in the “audition pool” this year alone and we have watched each year the stress and strain that the kids and parents go through and every year the kids end up in the right program. There are a few here and there who choose to take a GAP year after the first go 'round and all have done even better the next year. One of our teachers always tells the kids to remember that nerves are just the body’s way of telling you that you have something to say…I agree. All of these kids are my heroes because I could never do what they do. It is nice to see all the supportive parents here, and I encourage all our students parents to come on and take a few minutes to read and see that they are not alone in what they are experiencing and what they are feeling.</p>

14

<p>D is just past the halfway point for her auditions (4 on campus and 1 video audition done, 3 on campus auditions to go!) and I marvel from the sidelines at both the audition process and the growth I’ve seen in these kids as a whole. I have also questioned how the auditors are able to choose 16 kids from 400 applicants, 60 from 2000, or any of the other crazy statistics I’ve seen. But aside from the amazing talent I’ve heard and seen, I’ve also realized that these schools are not just looking for talent, but for students who have the drive to complete 4 years of grueling training. At every BFA/BM program D has auditioned for, the current students emphasize the long hours and the lack of an outside social life. The auditors might only spend a few minutes interviewing each student, but they have enough experience to make good guesses on who will make it through their individual programs. Someone said in an old post that a good rule of thumb is that students should only go the BFA/BM route if they can’t picture themselves doing anything else. If a student goes into an audition with reservations regarding the intensity, that can come through in the interview. So raw talent and shear desire can sometimes make up for the lack of extensive training. BAL to everyone in this last month or so of the audition season!</p>

15

<p>My DD is not a MT major but a dance major. She is doing exceptionally well in her program at this point, she is a 1st semester senior. However, I worry that she has very little acting experience or vocal for that matter. Her entire focus has been on dance. She has done very well at auditions for theme parks for summer jobs, waiting to hear back but so far no offers yet. She makes it to the final round of the advanced dancers so she is at least making it that far. I keep encouraging her to get some vocal training but she never has the time, she is taking 20 credits a semester so she can graduate early. I keep watching the MT thread to get ideas and tips to pass on to her. It is hard to be a triple threat, there are only so many hours in a day.</p>