<p>sarahlsmom: I too have been considering West Virginia. On the 27th of this month they audition for those applying for scholarships. I contacted them and asked whether I could audition even if I did not need a scholarship. The person wrote back and said, sure, but that it was not necessary.
I have a number of my auditions scheduled, but am uncertain about which additional programs to apply to.
Dec. 8: Penn State (BA)
Early Jan. Syracuse
Chicago Unifieds: Guthrie, BU, Evansville, Utah (needs to update web site - not scheduled yet)
Rutgers:Will visit once they post dates</p>
<p>I am also considering Hartt, or Otterbein, or Oklahoma - can only do so much at unifieds, and DePaul (likely to take off list because of 50% cut with no BA/BS backup). I would love input about the quality of teaching and student life at Hartt, Otterbein, and Oklahoma.</p>
<p>My daughter is a very good student with an interest in theatre (directing/design) probably as a minor. She needs to find a strong academic school where she can cross-over to the theatre program without a separate admissions process. She is currently looking at Northwestern and Kenyon - two very different schools with strong academics and theatre. What other schools should she consider?</p>
<p>hktk- ive been looking at northwestern and they have a very good academic program</p>
<p>also i was wondering if anyone knows anything about webster university. it looks like they have a pretty good ba program with a strong emphasis on directing (wunderbar fuer mich!) if anyone has visited there or no someone who knows someone, please tell me anything. the only thing that concerns me is that i live right outside chicago and i dont know if i want to pass up schools in chicago (one of the biggest theatre cities in the us) and go to st. louis. any thoughts?</p>
<p>htk, if she’s a “very good student” looking for “strong academics”, what about Oberlin (also in Ohio)? Amherst College? I don’t think you need to audition to be in those theater departments, but they’re very respectable college departments in excellent academic settings.</p>
<p>If you’re auditioning for a BFA program for ACTING, do you also compete with students auditioning for MT? It seems as though some students who prefer MT have not been offered MT spots, but are considered for and maybe accepted into other spots in ACTING, VOICE, DANCE, etc., depending on what is offered at the school. Do (some) schools with BFA ACTING programs really look for the students who are “triple threats”?</p>
<p>Thanks for any insights you may have to offer.</p>
<p>Some schools will offer spots in the Acting BFA program to strong Actors who are also auditioning for the BFA MT program. This all depends on the school. Some allow you to indicate that if you are not accepted to the MT program you would like to be considered for the Acting program. Some will not allow this, you have to choose. </p>
<p>The BFA Acting program isn’t necessarily looking for “triple threats”, rather for strong actors. Many students who are auditioning for BFA MT are strong actors as well.</p>
<p>Thanks, KatMT! Your comments on CC are always very helpful!</p>
<p>Another question: When BFA ACTING programs require singing in an audition, what are they looking for in particular? It is interesting that the 3 programs that my s is applying to that ask for singing are the 3 that do NOT have MT programs on campus!</p>
<p>From what I can ascertain, the adjudicators are looking to hear more about the sound, timbre and quality of an auditioner’s voice through song. An actor’s quality of voice is very, very important; I think we all know people whose voices do not command attention and to which we do not like to listen! That’s why all reputable actor training programs include tons of voice training via Lessac, Linklater and other methods. So my guess is that they are not necessarily looking to find out if you are a great singer; they want to get an idea of your quality of voice. If you are a good singer, well, that’s a bonus.</p>
<p>The singing in the audition may also be because (since they do not have a MT major) they would like to have some students who sing so they can do musicals. Do the schools that require the singing audition do musicals occassionally?</p>
<p>I notice that some programs (i.e., Utah) have a more elaborate auditioning process on-campus, in contrast to auditioning at Unifieds. Rutgers is a two and a half hour drive for us each way, which is short drive for a BFA audtion. But their web site suggests that the only thing that they do at their on-campus audition, besides of course, auditioning and interviewing, is provide an oportunity to tour the facilities. If this is the case (I ask myself), why not do the audition at Unifieds? Does anyone know differently, as Rutgers, though a reach school, is high on our list, and we would take the time to visit if it was more than a tour - if it enhanced, even by a margin, acceptance. Rutgers also schedules only two days for on-campus interviews, which suggests to me that their schedule during those days will be as or almost as busy as their schedule during Unifieds (i.e., less personal touch). Any insight would be appreciated, as there are a number of other programs that also have the same dates (2/16, 17) for on-campus auditions.</p>
<p>When we visited schools last Spring, we asked at every opportunity whether there would be an edge to auditioning on-campus. It certainly would seem so! Every answer, however, was NO. We talked to students and to faculty. The only advantage, we were told, is that on-campus you would get a “feel” for the campus, the people, the program, and this would aid in decision-making once offers came in. As a result, we are scheduling by convenience–a few on-campus, more in Chicago. It is interesting that some auditions (regardless of location) seem to require a 4-hour block and some 10-minutes. Some seem to have an orientation, warm-up, etc., and some seem to have the student get right down to the monologues. Some seem to have a “call-back” situation, others do not. One school will let you know a few weeks after the audition whether you are “under consideration”–something that is very nice! For others, it’s still unclear to me just what happens!</p>
<p>letsfigureitout and others: there is some discussion among straight acting folks over on the MT thread re: scheduling at Unifieds. Your point is one that confuses me. We have already reserved some times for Chicago for a few schools. BU and Guthrie, for example, require (the process is automated) that you sign-up for an AM or PM block. Have you figured out whether it is possible to schedule another audition during these blocks of time? Do these prorams ask that you stick around for three hours? What happens if they call you and you are not there? Do these ‘block-of-time’ schools forward a more specific time at some point? It’s still kind of early, so we do not want to call the coordinators yet. But, on the one hand, I hear people say that they can audition at three-plus schools a day, assuming a person can handle the pressure. On the other hand, the scheduling process that I have seen thus far suggests a multiple hour commitment.
Some of the posters of years past (drjohn) sort of respond to these questions, but their response on CC is a bit vague.
letsfigureitout: I think you are right, and I think we would be better off investing in a day at NYC Unifieds on top of three days at Chicago, as opposed to packing the bags and driving to Rutgers, Hartt, which we were considering.</p>
<p>brian, Guthrie should contact you directly very soon with an exact time. They do not require you to hold a three or four hour block. My D, who is auditioning there, got an email last night giving her an exact time and asking if it is OK with her. The easiest thing is to phone the schools directly and ask them how much time kids need to set aside for auditions at Unifieds and how their scheduling works. (I made such a call to Guthrie/Minnesota earlier in the week, before my D applied for her time online. They explained the whole process to me then and there and were very, very nice about it!) Good luck.</p>
<p>Brian, my D did not attend Unifieds when she auditioned many moons ago but one thing that I always tell prospective students is that, if possible, it is always better to audition on campus. This is assuming that the student’s schedule and financial situation would allow this. It has been said time and time again that auditioning on campus does not give an advantage when it comes to admissions, and, from what I’ve seen over the years, this is true. However, there is a definite advantage in terms of what the student can learn about a particular program, and when four years of their time and, potentially $100,000-$200,000 is involved, I believe that a thorough investigation of each program is a good idea.</p>
<p>In addition to seeing the actual campus and becoming familiar with the intangible ‘feel’ of the program, they can talk to current students, arrange to sit in on classes, eat in the dining hall, often see dorms, ask questions at detailed information sessions (which, from all I’ve heard, are not the same at Unifieds), talk to someone at the financial aid office if that’s a concern, see a performance if the visit is timed right. These are not things that can be discerned or experienced by attending Unifieds. Many say that they’ll save the visits for April when the decisions come in, but realistically this is difficult. The student may not get his/her decision til sometime after April 1 (check the acceptances threads from the spring), or a week later, and the deposit check and acceptance of offer have to be in by May 1. Arranging even a couple of visits in that short period of time is very difficult, and if the student is in a spring production and in rehearsals, it may be impossible to get away.</p>
<p>As for the timing allowed for auditions, I know that when my D auditioned, a 3 or 4 hour block was required, and this was on campus. As it turned out, if I remember correctly, we were there even longer than that because she was one of the last to be called. An information session started the afternoon, then a Q & A for both parents and students. The ‘line-up’ of auditionees was announced, then we all exited the studio and the kids were called in one by one. They were asked to do their monologues then there was an interview portion to the audition, which lasted about 30 minutes for my D. I’m not sure that the interview time is as extensive at Unifieds but I might be mistaken about that. No one left. I think that would be a mistake. I don’t know what would happen if you were not there at your turn but I wouldn’t want to risk losing the opportunity to audition.</p>
<p>Thanks NotMamaRose: That’s good news. As I think I said to you before, people from the state Minnesota are the friendliest in the world. Perhaps its the weather. We knew our neighbors because we were always helping each other pushing our cars out of snow drifts. Also, when the weather is nice, everybody goes outside. I always told my wife. If ever again, heaven forbid, I should become single again, I would move to Minneapolis, buy a cute dog, and walk it around one of the lakes. During your three mile walk you would have a couple of good conversations. Definately not the neurotic northeast. I want to go back.</p>
<p>alwaysmom: I definately agree that we would never select a program without visiting, but it is impractical, even for someone with a private jet and unlimited funds, to visit Evansville, Utah, Rutgers, Oklahoma, and MN. and a few other schools to audition. Thank God for Unifieds. If my son was a 4.0 (honors/AP) with a 1600 SATs and a three page acting resume, we would, of course, apply only to a few programs and take the time to visit each. Alas, I have not been blessed with a son with such attributes. We were planning to visit Rutgers, but then we saw that they do not seem to do anything beyond a regular audition and tour - in contrast to other programs. We would audition there if there was evidence that a visit pre-acceptance is worthwhile. That is the crux of my question; a question that perhaps only Rutgers can clarify - though I would rather not ask it, as it is not what I would label a ‘friendly question’.</p>
<p>I don’t think the question, Brian, is what they do differently at on campus auditions, vs. at Unifieds as they may do similar things at both sites. The idea I think that AlwaysAMom was putting forth is that if you have not ALREADY done campus visits (such as in junior year as many do), the audition on campus is a great time to do the campus visit, as opposed to waiting until April with acceptances in hand and possibly having to make many trips in a short period of time on short notice. In order to truly decide between schools, it REALLY helps to have visited the school and not just do a tour and information session (which are good starting points) but to meet with faculty, meet with current students, sit in on a class if possible, see a performance, see the dorms and cafeteria, get a vibe for the place, see the surrounding community and all that. That need not be done at auditions and can be done in junior year or in April of senior year. But it really needs to happen at some point. </p>
<p>We did campus auditions for many reasons but one was to also combine it with a visit to campus. My D had 8 schools and had only seen 4 of them prior to auditions. So, for four schools, auditions were the first trip to campus and for the other four, it was a second visit to campus. We had to travel no matter what as we do not live near Unifieds. One drawback to Unifieds is a lot is riding on one weekend and if your kid is sick (particularly applies to singers), that would be a shame or if the winter weather affects travel, that would affect many auditions. However, Unifieds does mean less trips. We tried to group some auditions to create less trips. For instance, my D auditioned at Ithaca and Syracuse on one weekend and at CMU and PSU on one weekend, making two trips for four schools right there. </p>
<p>Since going to Utah or Oklahoma may be cost prohibitive for you unless your kid gets in and you visit in April, maybe you can do the far away schools at Unifieds. However, with Rutgers, it seems it is just as far as Unifieds in terms of distance to where you live and by doing a campus audition, he may get much more out of it. </p>
<p>The admissions chances are the same but the idea is to explore the school as deeply as possible and it is not about whether the school officially offers more at the campus audition than at Unifieds. It is what you choose to make of the trip and what you plan to include in it. For all college applicants, not just BFA theater kids, a campus visit should ideally include many elements that take a full day and ideally an overnight in the dorms if possible, and not just what the college “officially” offers for a visit day. Plan your visit to include elements you want to do to explore the school not just what “events” the school has planned. When both my kids visited colleges, they did way more things on campus than an info. session and a tour. Even if your kid never attends a particular school, the visits themselves help a student to discern which college criteria they truly care about as they are able to understand the differences that exist and see what is appealing about colleges and what is not.</p>
<p>My son received e-mail confirmation of an audition time at the Chicago Unifieds for Guthrie. He also called to double check. It is 15 minutes. Ithaca requires a 4-hour block of time (he called to check: orientation, warm up, and a scheduled monologue presentation sometime after that). NCSA gave him a start time, but did not indicate how long he would need to be there (I believe he got this time by calling the campus to schedule). BU’s scheduling program seems to require you to allow 3 hours (and he has not called to double check on how long he’d actually need to reserve).</p>
<p>It would be nice to audition at each school’s campus–but impossible in our case. It is clear to me that if my son has a choice, he’ll choose a school that he visited.</p>