<p>How competitive is it to get into Texas State?</p>
<p>I’m not asking how many people audition. If 6000 people auditioned, but none of them had any experience, it wouldn’t be very competitive to someone who did have experience.</p>
<p>What I want to know is what they expect you to have, what skill sets, what training.</p>
<p>I’m trying to improve my chances for this school. Do they focus your audition on acting? Singing? Dancing? Do they require the best dancers, or do they have a history of accepting beginners?</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure this school goes in the very competitive category because it’s a very small class and due to the very low cost not many turn them down. They definitely take a lot of students from private coaches who have nice resumes and training background. I don’t know if they ever take beginners exactly but there’s really no telling, ever. Sometimes it happens everywhere but experience and training is always a good thing. I think you have to be really strong at something. Singing is usually first, but not always. Amazing dancers can also do well.</p>
<p>My son is a really good actor, a very good singer and a beginning dancer. He has been taking dance for 3 years, show choir, and of course show dance experience for quite a few years. He is also a boy which improves his chances over girls. He is attending Texas State this fall as a freshman.</p>
<p>I think you need to have strengths in at least two of the three to get in. I am not certain that singer/dancers who are not strong actors will get in unless they have acting potential. </p>
<p>My belief, and only my opinion, is that acting and one other skill has to be pretty strong. Kaitlin and Jim’s coaching is always about acting first even when working with a song. </p>
<p>If you want to improve your chances you might want to check out coaching with Mary Anna Dennard. Disclaimer: my child did not use her. There is quite a bit of controversy about this. However, facts are facts. Half of the class of 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 worked with her. Texas State was not on our radar due to location, vibe and lack of graduates but a lot of people audition. It is really inexpensive for a decent program and that, in my opinion, is the big draw.</p>
<p>I also wanted to add that you should be sure you have a pop/Rock song ready to go in addition to your regular audition songs.
Apparently, They asked most kids to sing a song off their Ipod on the spot.</p>
<p>Texas State is more competitive than one would think. I know quite a few youth in Musical Theater, two who graduated last year and started college. Both very talented, one girl and one boy. The girl was not accepted into Texas State but was accepted into University of Oklahoma (from what I understand, less than 1% accepted there). The boy was accepted to Tx State, NYU, Pepperdine, and a few others. He chose Tx State. His strength is acting and voice, but he worked on classical dance in earnest his last few years of high school. The girl stated that there was another girl at the auditions at Tx State that was similar in looks, height, etc. It all depends on what they need to round out their casting mix for whatever programs they plan to produce. Auditions for MT seem to be similar to auditions for a show… it just depends on what they’re looking for and whether or not you have that unique quality. If they’ve already got girls in the program that look or sound just like you I believe that counts against. Good luck.</p>
<p>My experience, and other parents who were at callbacks would probably agree that the school wants the kids to be themselves. Be expressive in your craft and if anything (like being able to play guitar) makes you stand out, be sure they know it. Texas State does a fantastic job of seeing people as people. I know someone mentioned Mary Anna as a coach, but, I want to reccomend Dave Clemmons as a coach, too. He is Wonderful! He is also a Guest Artist at Texas State. I think having Dave as a coach was the smartest choice we made all year!</p>
<p>Agreed, Dave Clemmons is amazing!! My D responds so well with him. We have been using him since the beginning of her junior year. Regardless of her college acceptance outcome (she is current senior) hiring him has been the best decision we made as a family.</p>
<p>I have to echo the praise of Dave Clemmons. My D and I attended Moonifidies this weekend, and Dave did a prep session with her. He recommended switching one of the songs she planned to sing, with another selection. The feedback on the song Dave chose was fantastic. In talking to one of the colleges, they mentioned that 3 other girls had done the song that Dave recommended she NOT do. Great recommendation and great coach.</p>
<p>I’d like an opinion about the elephant in the room. It seems that there is a very close relationship between Texas State and Mary Anna Dennard & Dave Clemmons. There are many stories on CC that talk of half - or more - of the Tx State accepted students having worked with either of these coaches. The question becomes this: Is the relationship a bit too close? If your kid is extremely talented but does not use either Mary Anna or Dave, does he or she really have a shot? Do they provide Tx State with a scouting report ahead of time that is more closely tied to the level of investment than the level of talent? I hate to be a cynic about this, but the process is so competitive that I’d hate to think that kids could buy an advantage.</p>
<p>I have a feeling that the disproportionate number of Mary Anna students accepted at Texas State has more to do with the fact that she is friends with Robin Lewis. He helped develop the MT program at TxSt before moving on to Rider. So she was recommending the program to her students before it was on the radar for many other MT hopefuls. The same happened at Rider in recent years. Not that her students had some kind of advantage, just that they ALL audition there.
Just a thought.</p>
<p>My D is a sophomore at TSU. She did not use an audition coach. We never even heard of Mary Anna or Dave (much less prepared than other parents). That being said, I met dave clemmons when my D participated in TPAP this past summer. If you have the financial means to work with him, I would recommend it highy. My D said it was “a life changing experience”.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at TSU and used Mary Anna. I felt she gave us an opportunity to meet Kaitlin Hopkins a little earlier than we would have. I did not feel like we were looked at any differently during the actual audition process or had an advantage. Mary Anna prepared my son very well to audition and guided us throughout the process, but he was on his own once he went through that door. Mary Anna has 3 freshman MT boys there, no MT girls. There are kids from all over the US. Program directors are starting to learn a lesson from sports programs- start scouting early and meet the ones you want as soon as you can. Her auditions let you meet people early. The schools get the edge from this and you may get to be done early, like we were. Mary Anna’s kids are very well prepared to show who they are and find a program that is a good fit for them. Kaitlin Hopkins was the best choice for my son. I don’t care who graduated from there or who is on Broadway from other schools. Are the kids who accepted TSU last year talented? Yes, very. Mary Anna is worth it because she brings the best out in your child, not because she gets them in where they don’t belong. She does the same thing for 18 other schools and shows up at the Unifieds to support you!!</p>
<p>If there is disproportionate number of Mary Anna’s students at Texas State, I would say it’s statistics. She’s based in TX and it seems that quite a number of her students also live in TX. Texas State is a state university and has an MT program that is quickly on the rise. I like theatremomma’s comparison to the sports arena. Also very true. But, believe me, no one is buying their child into any program.</p>
<p>In reference to your question ^:
“The question becomes this: Is the relationship a bit too close? If your kid is extremely talented but does not use either Mary Anna or Dave, does he or she really have a shot?” </p>
<p>Although D has not ever worked with Mary Anna or with Dave Clemmons, she was accepted into Texas State’s MT program in last year’s audition cycle. I hope that brings you some reassurance. :)</p>
<p>OK, I want to thank everybody for their reassurance. I’ve felt a bit uneasy about my last post since I sent it off, but you can’t un-ring a bell…</p>
<p>When we started this process a few months ago we had no idea how competitive it was. It has become a full time job (read: obsession) for my wife and I, especially since D is so busy with school, lessons, and performances. She wants this so badly, and we want it for her, so it’s natural that a certain amount of paranoia might creep in, especially when we are all so sleep-deprived.</p>
<p>TX State is on our top 5 list for the same reasons as everybody else. Not only is it a top-tier program, it is the most affordable. I can’t imagine the level of talent that Kaitlin Hopkins has to choose from. We know that our D is good, and everyone says that she’s good, but so are all of your kids.</p>
<p>We’ll keep working hard, trying to stay organized, and hope for the best.</p>
<p>Good luck to all!</p>
<p>We have used Mary Anna’s book and on-line materials, and they are excellent for audition prep.</p>
<p>Cheeseheadmike - Hang in there! We were also was unaware of how competitive it is and it worked out for our D. It will for your D also. You are doing all of the right things.</p>