<p>I'm thinking of working with our local drama boosters to organize a Theatre College Night for our rising juniors & seniors. Specifically so they can hear the stories/lessons learned/advice from the students a couple years ahead of them.</p>
<p>Has anyone done this before? How did you organize it? As I think it through I can see this potentially having alot of utility, but there needs to be a focus...is this for the parents or students, what is the focus, etc. </p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Here are some things I was thinking...</p>
<p>First, cover both acting & non-acting sides of the theatre.
Organize a panel with HS seniors (who JUST went through this), college students, and perhaps a young working professional in the area.
Start with intros.
Start with common questions for all acting & non-acting panel members (maybe their thoughts on BA versus BFA; performing arts school versus traditional 4 year university setting, etc.)
Have some common questions for acting panel members (audition recommendations?)
Common questions for non-acting panel members (what are the degree options?)
Then, Q&A to specific members.</p>
<p>I guess it’s that time of year; We’re considering organizing the same thing at our high school…</p>
<p>I think you should have a parent panel to answer parents’ questions about travel, cost, scheduling and planning. The parents don’t really need any time to speak – let the kids do most of that – but since I’m guessing this is something parents would want to attend, it would be ideal to have parents who’ve just gone through it available to answer parents’ concerns.</p>
<p>I’m a mom too and we really learned alot from college day at NCTC last November. Do you have a Theatre Conference in your state? They had a college fair and also had workshops for both the kids and parents. One of the workshops was current students from theatre schools answering questions like…what a typical day looks like, what else can you do with theatre, how do you balance school & shows, how competitive is it to get in…and WILL MY CHILD FIND A JOB after graduation! Here’s the link to North Carolina’s Theatre Conference so you can see if there is something similar in your area…[NCTC</a> - North Carolina Theatre Conference](<a href=“http://www.nctc.org/]NCTC”>http://www.nctc.org/)</p>
<p>Great idea, Drama Mamma. After having just survived this process, I can’t imagine having the energy to do what you’re planning (smile)!</p>
<p>I’d add the talent scholarship info (see my thread on this), along with info about each school’s weighting of auditions vs. transcripts/scores where that info is available. Also, my d was most interested in (i) intensity of the theater curriculum; (ii) quality of the theater facilities; and (iii) how many gen ed courses were required (some kids want a strong LAC, others want more of a conservatory style education). I was concerned about the regimented cut systems at some conservatories; the integration of theatre kids with the rest of the school; junior year abroad programs (largely in England); the relationships between MT (where available) and actor training programs; and ready access by actors to voice lessons.</p>
<p>Having (barely) come out the other side, I am going to be doing a parent panel on the college auditon process w/another mom for parents of h.s. sophomores and juniors at my daughter’s theatre program. We just saw too many families along the way this year who had no idea of how competitive this process is, how different and more complicated than “typical” college app process, etc. </p>
<p>What’s the most important thing you learned in the application/audition process? What should every parent know as they start following their child along their audition year? </p>
<p>With all the logistics (travel, calendar) I think there is a role (no pun intended!) for both kids and parents in senior year auditions. The kids need to be ready, to do the apps, essays, get the teacher recs, study the schools, keep working on their craft, take the standardized tests, keep school grades high…and the adult gets logistics and travel and a chance to look at that list – so: parents – chime in. Students – what would you have wanted your (clueless) parents to have known to better support you through a crazy, exciting, disappointing, amazing, frustrating, fascinating, terrifying audition year??</p>
<p>How to find monologues. Summer pre-college programs. Timing for signing up for audtion slots (my D was lucky her teacher let her reschedule her midterm exam for an audition… not to mention the impact of auditioning in the middle of exam week). How to evaluate the theater program at any non-audition school. </p>
<p>I would think that at any school, families will be coming with a range of intensity about what they want for the college theater experience: some will want that conservatory or intensive acting focus; others will want to know that productions will be of a decent quality and frequency. </p>
<p>My D, for example, pursued two tracks: a limited number of BFA auditions and a wide range of BA schools, and absent BFA success was planning to pick a highly selective university not known as a “theater school” over schools such as Skidmore and Muhlenberg, eg, to which she also applied. So, I guess this raises a question: big fish vs. small fish for an actor. Advantages / disadvantages</p>
<p>Does anyone have a speaker recommendation for the Northern Virginia (Fairfax County) area who can speak to an audience of potential theatre students & parents with guidance and practical advice as mentioned by some of the posters on this thread?</p>
<p>I don’t have a specific suggestion but you could see if a college audition coach in the area would be willing to make a presentation for an hour. I would be an opportunity for them to get in frontof potential future clients and do a good deed.</p>