<p>Does anyone have information about the BFA Actor Training program at University of Minnesota/Guthrie? I have read many of the previous threads about the program already, but I would love to hear more. I am also specifically interested in experiences with the callback weekend and what that is like. Any information would be helpful! Thanks!</p>
<p>My D was invited to the callback weekend at Minnesota/Guthrie last year and went and found it to be a very good and worthwhile experience. </p>
<p>Working from my faulty memory here, we flew into Minneapolis the day before. The next day, they did their monologues again for faculty and then the day was filled with various acting activities/workshops. That evening, we all (including the parents who came) went to the Guthrie Theatre to see a production of Wendy Wasserstein’s “Third,” which was fantastic. (Oh, I forgot: at one point, the called back kids also saw a student production, the name of which I cannot recall.) </p>
<p>My D said Ken Washington and his faculty and students were extremely friendly and welcoming and she enjoyed working with them. As a parent, I also have nothing but positive things to say about all our contacts with the Minnesota/Guthrie people. </p>
<p>She was fortunate enough to get the “You’re accepted!” call a few weeks (sorry, not remembering here … you can search this forum to find out when the calls went out) later. She was thrilled, of course, but in the end, decided to attend NYU/Tisch to study musical theater, which is her first love. (She did mostly MT auditions, with some acting BFAs sprinkled in.)</p>
<p>Sorry I can’t be more detailed, but I am hoping this general post might help you understand what to expect. I think the key is to just go in there and be as relaxed as possible and be yourself. They just want to get to know you better so they can put together the best possible class in terms not just of talent, but also of personalities and types.</p>
<p>How is the Minnesota acting scene? Is there any film work there? I don’t think of Minnesota as a big drama spot.</p>
<p>Minneapolis actually is noted as having the most theatre seats per capita next to New York City. There is a thriving theatre community with many of the leading regional theatres in the country.</p>
<p>How about film?</p>
<p>early_college, it is not as crucial that the city you go to school in has a thriving film industry. Most of your time will be spent at college if you are in an acting program and not in the wider industry in your city. If you are interested in acting in film, go to a college that has not only a strong acting program but also a strong film program and you can act in student films…such as a NYU/Tisch, Chapman, USC, UCLA.</p>
<p>Ty…</p>
<p>I still like this program though. I know with some BFA’s you can double major and I do know UMinn has a good journalism school. Is that possible there?</p>
<p>I have just been wondering whether any of the UMinn/Guthrie alumni have gone on to work in film/tv as well as theater…While my love is classical theater and that is where I want most to work, it is very difficult for an actor to make a living on theater work alone, most need the technique to be able to pay the bills with on-camera work too. Does anyone know if Guthrie’s program takes this into consideration, or if their graduates have done Film as well as theater?</p>
<p>Good Question. Also, I’m at the website and I don’t see where it says you have to sing. Do they ask certain people? I thought you said it is part of the audition. [BFA</a> Auditions & Admissions : Department of Theatre Arts & Dance : University of Minnesota](<a href=“Theatre Arts & Dance | College of Liberal Arts”>Theatre Arts & Dance | College of Liberal Arts)</p>
<p>early_college, my daughter auditioned for Minnesota at the Chicago Unifieds and was asked to sing. She had prepared a song just in case she was asked. If you’re worried about singing, perhaps you can find a voice teacher that will work with you to find a good song or two that shows off your voice, playing up the strengths and minimizing the weaknesses. We saw many kids walking around Unifieds with mini-boom boxes, although my daughter did not have any accompanying music. We also don’t know if those kids carrying the boom-boxes were auditioning for MT or straight acting. I would suggest asking any schools you may be asked to sing for if they allow music with your singing. Good luck! I know reading (and reading, and reading, and…) these forums for the last 1 1/2 years really helped ME be prepared for the whole audition circuit that my daughter just went through. Keep reading and asking questions!</p>
<p>My D auditioned for straight acting, but only two schools required that she sing(Evansville and Purchase) but was asked to sing at Minnesota. She felt that part of the reason she was asked to sing at Minnesota was because her resume was full of MT – even though she was auditioning for acting. But that is just her speculation. The vast majority of her acting auditions, however, had no singing requirements.</p>
<p>Thanks guys! I understand, but my voice is so terrible. I’m just not a good singer, lol. I wish I was, and people use to stare at me in Chorus.</p>
<p>Also, what are the Unifieds?</p>
<p>Here you go:</p>
<p>[National</a> Unified Auditions](<a href=“http://www.unifiedauditions.com/]National”>http://www.unifiedauditions.com/)</p>
<p>Ty!!!</p>
<p>Do you apply to all of them? How does a college get into this? Why isn’t NYU, USC, CMU, Purchase, and Julliard not there?</p>
<p>No, early_college, you don’t have to apply to all of them. Basically, Unifieds are a group of college/university/conservatory programs that come to a common location (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles) at a certain time to make it easier for kids to audition for any number of programs without having to travel individually to them. You can audition at one or two or half a dozen or more. CMU and Purchase usually do offer auditions during NY Unifieds, but they offer them in a different location in New York than the rest of the schools do. (Minnesota/Guthrie also has auditions each year during NYC Unifieds.) In order to find out where those auditions are held, you have to contact the schools. </p>
<p>NYU does not do Unifieds in New York because, well, the school is right there in New York. But I do believe NYU also does do other offsite auditions, including some in Los Angeles and maybe Chicago, to make it easier for kids who want to audition to be able to do so. Juilliard also is, obviously, in New York, so they figure if you are going to be in New York, you can come to them. I think Julliard also auditions in San Francisco and Chicago, but you have to check their Web site to find out for sure.</p>
<p>I have no idea how a college gets involved in this. :)</p>
<p>My D, who is now at NYU, did a bunch of her auditions at NYC Unifieds or during NYC Unifieds. (I say “during” because she also auditioned for Minnesota/Guthrie and Fordham and Minnesota’s auditions were in New York but at a different studio than the rest of the schools and we went to Lincoln Center for her Fordham auditions.)</p>
<p>Thanks so much you made it clearer. Is there any Unifieds in Atlanta, Charlotte, or Miami? Would NYC be the best to go since would have the most college’s there? Do people miss school for this? Any BFA acting program’s let you double major? I know NYU does, but you would have to apply for drama first. Like it would be possible for me to double major in acting and print journalism. And do these programs let transfers apply? Is there any where you could be a junior in the program and not start college all over. Ty!</p>
<p>I don’t believe that those schools hold auditions in the other cities you mention, but you can check.</p>
<p>Re: whether you should do Unifieds in New York or elsewhere, well, I guess it depends on how far away NY City is from you and whether LA or Chicago might be closer! There is no advantage in doing one city over another: the best city for you is the one you can attend.</p>
<p>Yes, my D missed some school in order to audition for college. There was no way around that.</p>