<p>Thanks Bagel. Er realize it's a risk. His comedic one skirts the edge as well. It's one of Neil LaBute's pieces from 'Autobahn'; a pathetic, kynical character who is trying to get out of a bad scene with his young wife after calling her the 'c' word. The piece was recommended by a BU teacher, so we feel that its PC - he chose a more toned-down section. I supported the N. Wallace selection because the guy in LaBute's piece is about 4 years older than my S; Dalton is three years younger. It was between Edmund in O'Neil's 'Long Journey Into Night' and the Dalton piece. We'll see. His first two auditions require two minute monologues. He will have time to adjust if he gets an awkward response. Also, he may not want to use it for BU, as they staged it last year. Thanks again Bagel, KatMT, and NotMamaRose</p>
<p>What is the procedure when you needed to prepare a song. BFA Acting at Purchase requires a song, so do you sing it a capella or with accompaniment? Do you sing 16 bars or the whole song? I sure hope they do not put much weight on the singing for the BFA for Acting.</p>
<p>I asked this a few threads back and got mixed opinions. Most schools, if not all, allow (or are unable to do otherwise) capella. I would not worry about it. My S just made sure that his short piece is within his range and pieces he heard over and over again in his HS musicals. From what I've heard he is likely to be asked to sing by other programs. Better that than another perplexing interview question.
Oh, just sing any 16 bars - so pick bars that are not too high or too low. My son loves the song Margeritte (sp?) from the Scarlet Pimpernel, so he will do 16 bars from that song.</p>
<p>We have researched the singing question at Purchase. They want "a 16 bar song of any genre. . .(and) prefer that one sings a capella."</p>
<p>Not sure if this is true or not, but I have heard that the singing <em>can</em> count, for sure, at the Purchase auditions and elsewhere, for a simple reason: those conservatory programs often do like to stage a musical now and then (more and more seem to be doing musicals once a year, I have heard) and in order to stage a musical, the program needs people who can at least carry a tune. Of course, that's not to say that every actor needs to have a schooled/trained singing voice. But it will help to at least be able to demonstrate that one can carry a tune. ;)</p>
<p>Brian: I FINALLY remembered to ask my son how many are currently in his class at Depaul. He is in his third year - they started with 56 and now there are 23 (he thinks - that could be off a number). Basically it got narrowed down approx. as follows: one left before the cut and 27 (he thinks) were cut after the first year, leaving 28 - since that cut, 3 (maybe 4) others have left the program for various reasons (financial,change of heart, etc.), and tragically another young man was killed in an accident - leaving the 23 that now make up his class. Again, he may be off a number or two, as he was going out the door when I finally remembered to ask him so he didn't give it a lot of thought - but if he's off it's not but by probably 1 or so. Hope everyone had a wonderfuly holiday.</p>
<p>mamamia, wow, congrats to your son for surviving the cuts! That's very impressive. DePaul has such a fantastic program, but the idea of those cuts is very off putting to me as the parent of a kid about to embark on her BFA auditions. I would be interested to know if, in your son's view, most of the kids who were cut actually were not performing up to speed, were not attending classes, etc. or whether many were talented and hardworking and just could not reach the level of achievement the faculty was looking for. I know one extremely talented/gifted young actor there right now in her freshmen year, and am hoping so much she can continue through the entire four years.</p>
<p>I have a question that hopefully someone can answer about Juilliard. For the Shakespeare piece, would a sonnet be acceptable? Thanks for any help!</p>
<p>NotMamaRose: I remember the day he got his letter from DePaul "inviting him back" (translation: he didn't get cut) - he spent a considerable amount of time on the phone talking to his friends and determining who got cut, who didn't, etc. At that time, he said he was really surprised by some that were cut but not as surprised by others that did. They really don't have a problem with kids not going to classes - it's mandatory they go (unlike some of my college classes where I barely crossed the threshold - not something I'm proud of!), and these kids worked so hard to get there and usually love the theatre classes (unlike, say, Biology - ugh) that attendance is very, very high. That's not to say some kids don't try harder than others or have a better attitude, etc., I'm sure they do and that surely plays into the decision. They aren't in productions until their 3rd year, but they are required to work backstage on productions and I'm sure a lot of observation goes on to see who is willing to do anything asked and be a team player. I do remember him saying that he thinks they must try to keep a balance in ratio as to male/female as well as keep a fairly diversified look and talent base. That is to say, if you had several guys with about the same look and acting style and ability, they would probably opt not to keep all of them in favor of choosing an actor with a different look or style even if the "talent" was about the same. But that is just his guess - again, he was really surprised by some that got cut but not so much by others. It was a hard day for him the day that letter came - he was relieved for himself but heartbroken for others. Some of the ones that got cut took it very well, others took it harder. They don't get the letter until around the middle of June, so most are back home. Since they don't know until the year is over with, it makes it hard to have a game plan for the next year if they are cut. In my opinion that's the hardest thing to deal with. Knowing that there is a possibility they could get cut, a lot of students apply and audition all over again to other places during their freshman year at Depaul just like they did when they were seniors so that they will have a place to go should they get cut - because if they wait until they know they are cut it is too late to apply other places (unless there is a rolling admission - pretty unheard of in BFA programs.) My son didn't want to do that - he said if he got cut, he got cut, and he'd go to plan B. The students aren't cut from Depaul - just the BFA program, so they can always continue on at Depaul if they choose to. He probably would have done that. I hope your friend who is a freshman gets good news come June!</p>
<p>mamamia, thanks for that detailed explanation and once again, kudos to your son for being one of those that survived "the cut." He must be very proud of himself, and unless I am mistaken, once the kids get past that "cut," they can expect to stay for the remainder of the program, barring a failure to attend class, etc. That's quite an accomplishment.
I did not realize that the kids did not get their "you're staying" or "you're going" letters until June. Wow! The tension level must be incredible, and I imagine that more than a few kids prepare for the possibility of being cut by auditioning elsewhere each fall. But how the heck do they do that? I mean, auditioning takes time away from class, I would think. In addition, I wonder how current students at cut programs like DePaul explain themselves when they audition to transfer to other programs. Do they frankly say "I am a student at DePaul and am auditioning for School X just in case I am not kept?"
In any case, best wishes to your son, who must be very, very talented and hard working, and thanks for the insights. I, too, hope my young friend is able to survive the cuts and continue on. She is truly gifted and a very, very hard worker. It's hard to imagine any program not wanting her! :)</p>
<p>mamamia: we talked before. Thanks for being open; we need this kind of information. I am curious; I assume that if a student applies to another program and is accepted, that they will have to pay some reservation fee, perhaps losing it if the student finds out that they are not cut by DePaul. My S and I talked about the cutting system at DePaul, but I was assuming that students knew before MAy 1st, which is the conventional time that one must commit (or decline) to schools. I do not want to say anything else negative about cutting, but given the policy, it would seem more appropriate and ethical, might I also say christian (its a catholic institution), to consider the timing of the decision. It's sort of like laying off employees on Dec. 20.
Also, are there any options within the theatre program for kids cut from the acting program: i.e., shift to theatre arts program?
Thanks</p>
<p>Brian: I confess I am not positive but I do not believe Depaul has a theatre BA program that the students who are cut from the BFA program can go to. I do think Depaul has a Theatre Studies Miner so perhaps that is an option for a cut student, to major in something like Communications with a minor in Theatre Studies. I'd think that would at least help a little if a MFA in theatre was desired. As I said before, I too think not knowing until the middle of June is the hardest thing - but Depaul is on a trimester system (as opposed to the normal 2 semester system), and the spring semester does not end until the first of June. So the grades and evaluations aren't in until then, and then the decisions are made. An argument could be made that it wouldn't be fair to cut before the end of the semester, either, as all the grades and other criteria wouldn't be complete. It's kind of a catch 22 situation. As we discussed privately before, quite a few of the cut students end up at Chicago's Columbia College theatre BFA program (not to be confused with New York's Columbia U.) - not only is it also in Chicago but Columbia is very aware of Depaul's cut situation and I think is pretty accommodating and recognizes that even though the students were cut they are obviously talented to have been accepted to begin with. Some students lay out a year or go to a community college and get the basics out of the way while applying elsewhere. Another drawback is that no BFA conservatory program that I know of accepts another program's theatre courses as transferable, so if a cut student does go on to another BFA theatre program they will be entering as freshmen (although any basic curriculum courses are usually accepted). This is probably confusing as I don't always explain things as well as I think I do! My son went into all of it with eyes wide open and felt it was worth the possible risk - he's an adaptable sort and would have rolled with it whichever way it went. I probably would have been more upset than he had he been cut - mainly because it would have been a lot of money for courses that wouldn't have transferred, but he presented it as a year's worth of excellent training no matter which way it went, and that is of course true. Best of luck to everyone - boy I'm glad I'm not on that end of it again!</p>
<p>Ahhhh. That makes sense. As I recall from reading CC, Columbia College may not require an audition and accepts most applicants, so it would be an option. Perhaps there are rolling admissions, rolling into the summer, as well! Thank goodness for that!</p>
<p>DePaul has a BFA in Theatre Arts, which is kind of a self-designed program.</p>
<p>You're correct of course, Brian - when I looked at Depaul's website I only saw the BFA in acting and didn't see the BFA in theatre arts - if I'm reading it correctly the acting program is considered performance and requires an audition and the Theatre Arts BFA requires an interview but not an audition and isn't as structured in the curriculum. If a student got cut from the acting program I wonder if they could move over to the theatre arts program? Maybe some of the credits would transfer then??? Definitely a question for the theatre department at Depaul as that option could take a little bit of the worry out of the cut process. There's probably not as much emphasize on acting or opportunities for performance in the theatre arts program, but it's still probably a strong program and again would be of help if the ultimate goal is an MFA. Sorry I wasn't aware of that program and glad you clarified it.</p>
<p>West Virginia Univ has a BA to BFA program in theater. You audition into the BFA sometime during Sophmore year. My son graduated from there (engineering), and loved it. Does anyone have any info on the theater program? graduates? Voice lessons? Website doesn't offer enough info for me. But the school is very affordable, even for an out of stater.</p>
<p>My S applied to WVU. It's true, it is not a direct entry program. However, like a number of BFA programs at state universities (i.e., Wyoming), HS seniors can audition for scholarships (i.e., out of state waiver, or some portion of it). WVU is holding another scholarship audition day on 2/10 (I think - not on web, but S got something in the mail). Someone recommended the program to me, but I cannot recall who. However, like you, I do not know much about the status of BFA graduates. My sense is that it is geared much more to straight acting, though please correct if my sense is nonsensical.</p>
<p>Weirdly enough, I was in Mamamia's son's year at DePaul before transferring (not due to the cut, I just wanted to explore more interests, the programs are VERY structured). It is possible for cut actors to go the Theater Arts route as well as for designers who shift focus. I think most people even graduate on time. I know one actress in particular who ended up doing theater arts while taking classes at iO and Second City. That might be a route that I'd consider.</p>
<p>thanks wandergirl. Of the schools that we have looked at (many), those that cut - whether done on a quota basis or done because the student may not have the capacity or desire to continue in the intense BFA program - have a fallback position, typically a BA option. Even Arizona has a BA back-up, from what I can tell. By the way, nobody from Arizona has replied to requests by both me and Prof. H. for feedback (under MT) as to how well the cutting process was managed in the spring of 07. While there is nothing requiring a school to respond to CC, most do. Besides, Arizona personnel did respond (sort of a sheepish CYA) to the uproar on CC, spring, 06.</p>
<p>I wonder if mamamia's S or wandergirl can comment on whether many of those students who are cut from DePaul's BFA program actually decide to stay on at DePaul and pursue Theatre Arts. I cannot help but think that that might be a very difficult situation for most young people who are aspiring performers to handle emotionally. I mean, they have to be there on campus and around those who <em>were</em> allowed to stay in the program, and I cannot help but wonder if they feel like "second class citizens." Perhaps not. But I do remember a post (it may have even been on this thread ... I am frankly too lazy to look upthread! :)) from the parent of student who did not get into the Minnesota/Guthrie BFA program and enrolled in a BA (I think it was) in Theatre Arts there and (if I recall correctly) felt very much like a second-tier person there. Perhaps by the time the cuts are made some of the students cut had already concluded that the intensity/rigor/structure of the BFA was not for them, anyway. But still .... (Please forgive me if this seems negative. That's not my objective. I am just trying to work out how the kids handle it.)</p>