<p>Dancing, voice, acting. So much to learn. How often did(do) you (your kids) have voice, acting, or dance lessons?
Do you take more as you become a sophomore/junior/senior in high school?</p>
<p>Get as much of each as you can (and can afford), starting as soon as possible. My daughter started with this as a sophomore (although she had been in choirs since 5th grade). She had voice lessons initially every other week (due to distance from teacher) but became weekly when she switched teachers. Dance 2-3 classes every week including most of summers. Acting she took through HS classes (public school) and later some private coaching. </p>
<p>In her case she didn’t progress enough to get selected for any BFA programs (she is accepted for a BA-theatre degree with an option to re-audition later for that school’s BFA). But you will hear of others who started in HS and were able to get into programs. </p>
<p>The best advice is to get as much exposure and training into all areas of the “triple” as possible</p>
<p>Dance: My D began dancing in 3rd grade (ballet and jazz one class each every week) but not a a particularly “serious” studio. In HS- she moved to private lessons with a choreographer she knew from other programs- which were easier to schedule around shows. Also- she could focus on building specific skills (like throwing in some emergency tap when she was going to audition for a production of Thoroughly Modern Millie). Especially helpful in the fall as she prepared for auditions- dance teacher would throw combinations at her and she would have to pick them up in a mock dance call setting. Really built her confidence</p>
<p>Voice: Private lessons weekly for 5 years. (since 8th grade) PERSONALLY (and I know this may be a matter for debate) I am not a fan of “training” an unchanged voice- and yes, girls voices also undergo changes during puberty. But far more importantly- go for the BEST voice teacher you can find and possibly afford. Voices are delicate- especially young voices. Again this is just my opinion- but every voice can benefit from training, if for nothing else than to learn to protect it. </p>
<p>Acting: You learn a ton from being in shows, but don’t discount the need for specific training. We began summer theater conservatories/camps in 7th grade, which provided her 1st directing acting training. Then for HS our family picked up and moved so we would be within the area served by a magnet performing arts HS. Now before you think I am either crazy “mama rose” or noble and self sacrificing- the move brought both my husband and I closer to our jobs, and to a community we really love. There she studied- and I think it has been the #1 factor that contributed to her acceptances. Don’t ignore training in this area</p>
<p>I would absolutely say D has done more every year. I am sure I would not be the only parent to say that my D has often been in a couple of shows at the same time- in rehearsal from 3:00- 9:00 or later on many school days with lessons on top of that.(shoved in to odd pockets- for example, voice can be on Friday evenings in the fall b/c school shows won’t rehearse then- football) It’s madness- and it can be brutal. That’s why the song is called “what I did for love” no one would work as hard as these kids do if it didn’t feed some vital part of their soul.</p>
<p>I agree with what has been said. My D has been dancing since she was 3 and caught the musical theatre bug at 9, Started voice lessons at 11 (early puberty) – acting classes as a Freshman. I agree also that sometimes lessons get squeezed in or squeezed out by shows. Three summers of camp in HS – CSSSA and two at Interlochen. She is a Junior and will audition in the fall and winter – we will see how she fares.</p>
<p>The students mentioned above were very fortunate to know early what they wanted to do and to have the family and resources to support them, but don’t panic!!! It does not have to be as intense as the above. My daughter decided Sophomore year that she wanted to head in the MT direction, and we began moving quickly at that point. Up until then, she had 5 years of piano lessons and 2 years of flute, 7 years of a local, private children’s choir that met once per week. She started weekly, classical voice lessons at 8th grade. Dance was a weekly ‘frivolity’ from age 3-12, mainly jazz. She also took public school drama classes from 7th grade on and was in the h.s. choir, including a show ensemble last 2 years of h.s. Summers were full of family travel and Girl Scout camping and counseling, not theater. Once she announced her intentions, she started weekly ballet, in classes with elementary schoolers! She attended the UArts summer MT program after her sophomore year. The, she began mix/belt lessons over Skype with MTCA coaching (see coaching threads) and they helped her prepare an audition tape for OCU’s summer program after her junior year. Middle of junior year, she also used them, over Skype, for monologue and song choice prep and college list coaching through her senior year auditions. She is now finishing up her junior year at NYU Steinhardt. So kids can make it who are not focused quite so early, although the competition increases every year. I would, above all, recommend ballet asap, classical voice training starting in 8th grade, with some strong mix/belt in high school from a teacher who REALLY knows what they are doing (hard to find!) and some professional (can be local) MT audition coaching beginning junior year. Coaching is not imperative, but those folks really know college programs, college auditioning skills, and save you LOTS of stres and headaches! PM me if you want more info.</p>
<p>To you all: What is your opinion on taking general MT classes? That is what I have been taking through our regional (Midwestern/Christian) theatre and I don’t know if it’s going to be appreciated!</p>
<p>@Christie2 - I agree that LOTS of kids are successful who didn’t find what they loved until later in life. A friend of my D got pulled into his school musical in the spring of his sophomore year- had never sung/danced/acted (though he was already a musician- guitar) He fell in love- transferred to my D’s performing arts HS for junior and senior year- worked his tail off- and was really successful in the BFA process- ended up at Ithaca MT. It’s more about the work than anything else. Talent is great- and certainly necessary, but dedication and work- especially on the components of the BFA process- is even better</p>
<p>My S’s experience with general MT classes was that they were “a mile wide, and an inch deep” when it came to learning the necessary skills. My S even attends an Arts H.S. As an “MT” major. It’s great for learning to work in an ensemble situation, but not for honing the essential skills that YOU need to work on. S also found that many times his peers were not as committed as he is and A LOT of valuable time was wasted waiting for others to get down to business. Go private as much as you can afford, or at least find a serious studio. S takes ballet classes every day after school at local academy associated with tour city’s professional company, and spends all day Saturday at a serious acting studio that focuses on learning real acting skills, not rehearsing for a production, as well as taking private acting coaching. Being in productions is fun and there are certain skills you learn about working in a team, following directions, showing up on time, getting your lines and performing in front of an audience, but again, that experience is NOT designed to improve your personal skills, but to put together an excellent show. if you only have so much money and time to expend, think seriously about what you’ll be getting out of it in relation to your ultimate goals.</p>
<p>There are various ways you can reach your goal. Getting experience and training are important, but how you get that can vary. My D decided for sure she wanted to look at MT in college around her freshman/sophmore year in HS. She took ballet/tap/jazz from around 1st grade through 5th grade, but then she started playing club volleyball. So something had to go and that turned out to be ballet. Two years later she had to make a choice between competitive volleyball and performing, and she chose performing. But she never got back into formal ballet lessons or other dance lessons because of what was going on in high school (see below). She would tell you she never should have quit dance lessons, especially ballet. She is catching up now as a freshman but it would have been an advantage to stay with ballet. So I would agree with those who tell you to get dance lessons, especially ballet.</p>
<p>As for other training, my D went to a very big public HS with over 4500 students. The junior highs were big as well, and starting in 7th grade she was in show choir. And remaned in show choir through high school (they ranked fourth in the nation her senior year, but I digress). So when in her freshman year she started thinking she might want to do MT in college, and that she knew she wanted to be a show choir kid, she started taking private voice lessons with a well respected voice teacher in our town, who had a good track record of placing kids into college MT/voice programs. She specifically did not want to strain my D’s voice, and because she is not a natural belter she didn’t force that on her. She is now learning that in college. I would say her voice teacher was pivotal in her development, and she likely would not be where she is without those lessons. So I would encourage anyone to seek out a really good vocal teacher who truly knows what he or she is doing.</p>
<p>The other thing show choir did was help her with dance and movement. The dance was obviously not ballet, but the choreographer for their show choir also choreographs all over including Broadway so my D really developed some dance/movement skills with her show choir years that I think helped during auditions.</p>
<p>Acting? That came from high school classes with some very good teachers, and from Summer Stock in our city where there were numerous opportunities. My D did local Summer Stock from her freshman year through the summer after graduation, and learned a lot from some very talented directors. In fact, while my D did have several leads in plays during HS, she never had a lead in a musical yet was accepted to three programs. So while there are some who fret over their resume, experience, etc, that did not seem to affect my D.</p>
<p>Coaching for her auditions was helpful. We were fortunate to have a great person locally who was instrumental in helping pick monologues and songs, what dress to wear, how to walk into an audition room , etc. </p>
<p>So my general advice is to get out there and do stuff, in whatever venue you can find, whether it be school productions, local theater, whatever. Dance and vocal lessons if you can, but be sure you have really good voice teachers. And one last thing: seek out those in the field who can give you an objective appraisal of your child’s skills. A local theater group led by three veteran MT performers holds a week long intensive training thing every summer. My D did that after her sophmore year. At the end of the week I asked the three principals to give me their blunt appraisal as to whether we should encourage our D to pursue MT in college. They were all very positive and complementary, and that gave me a lot of comfort that she was making the correct decision. And as she completes her first year of college as an MT student, seeing the joy in her face when she talks about school, and seeing how she has developed in just one year, it was the right decision.</p>
<p>I have to add that being a girl is much harder and you will want to start earlier if you can. Agree also with ballet as soon as possible and to take focused acting classes and improv. Callbacks are much less scary if you have improv experience!</p>
<p>“In fact, while my D did have several leads in plays during HS, she never had a lead in a musical yet was accepted to three programs. So while there are some who fret over their resume, experience, etc, that did not seem to affect my D”
I want to echo that thought- most college have NO idea (nor do they really care) if the shows kids have been in are high quality or not- what happens in the audition room is MUCH more important. Another reason why specific training matters so much</p>
<p>My son didn’t ever have a lead until the last show senior year, which was after all the auditions. And he got into an excellent MT program. He had a lot of training outside his high school, and was in a few semi-professional shows and community theatre shows, and voice lessons with a very good teacher.</p>
<p>It helped his artistic growth to have a variety of directors for the plays he was in. He learned different things from each of them. </p>
<p>My main suggestion in response to the original question is, don’t get all your training at your high school!</p>
<p>I’m sorry but I totally disagree that anyone can learn to sing by imitating Beyoncé or learn to act by imitating Meryl Streep. My D improved her voice with a vocal technique developed over years that involves a series of vocal exercises. Her warm up alone takes over 20 minutes.
And as soon as you act to imitate someone else, you are not presenting a truthful, authentic character that any audience will relate to. </p>
<p>With all respect @theburkemoses, if you auditioned for a conservatory 20+ years ago…it’s a different world. I don’t think singing along with cast albums is going to get you into any BFA programs these days. </p>
<p>I once read an interview with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, in which she revealed that she had anonymously posted a few times on a Harry Potter forum, and was shot down for her ignorance about the Harry Potter world.</p>
<p>Therefore I am not inclined to disagree with a Broadway professional such as Burke Moses, except to expand on what he said about early dance and voice training.</p>
<p>When my son seemed to be turning into a singer, I sought advice from many professional singers, all of whom told me NOT to start voice lessons until he was at least 15, and then to find a really good teacher. As Burke says, voices need time to mature, and a bad teacher can do a lot of harm. We do not regret taking that advice – he started lessons at 16 with a well-trained professional singer and voice teacher.</p>
<p>As for starting dance earlier, my son didn’t do that, but I wish he had. Boys who can dance AND sing are much in demand.</p>
<p>I will jump on the Dance bandwagon - my S trained in dance 6 days a week for the last 4 years. He attended summer dance programs, he took every master class in dance available to him. He did this without ever knowing how much it would help him later, he did it because he loves to dance. He noticed immediately at college auditions how he stood out, even from many of the girls, in the dance auditions. Of his 6 college auditions he was contacted by 3 heads of the dance departments. </p>
<p>If he could do it over he would not change his dedication to dance but he would’ve devoted more time to acting. </p>