Unified Auditions 2017

Will there be an official list of schools attending each Unifieds? Aside from the member schools, it’s hard to find exactly which programs I can trust to see in Chicago, where I plan to go.

@clonesweater - there is no, complete, “official” list of all the schools that hold auditions during Unifieds in Chicago. There is a list of the “official” member schools on the Unifieds website, but, as noted in a previous post (#25), more that double that number will be holding auditions at the Palmer House Hotel, nearby hotels, and other studios and campuses in Chicago. Unfortunately, there is no list of all the schools that will be holding auditions in Chicago that week that is guaranteed to be complete and correct. Non-member schools holding auditions at Unifieds varies from year-to-year.

You have to check with each non-member school that you are interested in to see if they will hold auditions in Chicago during Unifieds.

@theaterwork the Double Tree Times Square South on west 36th is just off 8th and around corner from both Pearl and Ripley Greer studios. Also the New Yorker is on 8th across from Pearl.

Double tree has good deals online - get the bed and breakfast option if you can. We paid about $110 last year there. Make sure it is the correct double tree - there are several in NYC.

Also any recommendations on when we should plan on arriving? My D may only be auditioning for three schools right now and it sure when they will be … I’m thinking we come in on Friday? Leave on Monday?

If only three auditions you should be able to do all Saturday if you schedule early. Or at least all Sat/Sunday. Schedule early and leave the block of time open they ask for (some want ten minutes and some want four hours).

@bfahopeful thanks for all the info. We’ve never stayed in NYC proper before, always in nj and rode bus over. We’re so clueless lol. So if we come in at port authority on bus are those hotels you mentioned walkable from there with minimal luggage?

@theaterwork - yes they are walkable Maybe a 5-10 min walk. We walked by port authority several times. Penn station is also fairly close to these hotels.

We took subway or walked everywhere. Google maps is your friend! Very clear subway directions and the stations are all marked really well in terms of exits and street names. I’m not that familiar with the city and we found it very easy. Good luck

To those on a budget, remember that NYC hotels vary considerably in price–not just hotel by hotel, but date by date. A hotel your friend stayed in for $250 could be $125 when you visit, and vice versa. Also if you’re taking your car in, remember to budget in parking costs.

You can easily widen your scope by considering the subway. The studio is located very close to Penn Station, which makes it very accessible to several lines. One time I was doing a conference in this area, and I stayed uptown at Hosteling International at around 104th or so. I took the subway downtown, and it took me no longer than 15 minutes. You do not have to be within walking distance of the auditions, although it’s nice. Also, remember that up and down, the blocks are very short, whereas west to east, they are much longer. So 10 blocks uptown doesn’t take you too long to walk. However, bear in mind that the weather can be very cold at Unifieds, with snow and slush and biting wind. Sometimes staying close to a subway station is better than walking several blocks.

How many schools can you reasonably audition for during the 2 days of LA Unifies?

One note of caution on the subways: I know this is extremely rare, but last year’s epic Unified blizzard shut down all public transportation. We were lucky because we were in the New Yorker, right across the street from Pearl, and all of my daughter’s auditions were at Pearl. I felt for the kids auditioning at Ithaca, CMU, Pace and NYU that weekend (the first two were in town but at different locations; the second two were holding on campus auditions that same weekend) because getting around the city was dang tough. I know kids who walked blocks and blocks to get uptown where Ithaca was at.

Actually all underground trains remained open during the blizzard. We took them. Any subway that also had portions elevated was shut down as were all taxis, buses, other trains, cars etc. it was very limited transportation and a lot of miscommunication about what was open or closed, but underground remained open (at least all day and into early evening). NYU cancelled Saturday auditions and Juilliard got kids out early. All others I know about kept going as long as possible CMU was at Ripley Greer right by Pearl and they ended mid afternoon (we were there) but they held auditions that Saturday. Ithaca was at Nola studios where Guthrie was too. That was not fun to get to during the blizzard. We took subway most of the way and walked a few blocks. All others were easy to navigate.
Hope that helps

That was also a historic storm. I wouldn’t count on that happening again.

@Jkellynh17 yeah it was! We were in the Midwest and never made it to NYC for our one unified audition!

To second @bfahopeful, no, the subways underground did not close last year. CTDramaMom may be confusing reports of above-ground closures, but underground subways didn’t close. Underground subways service most of Manhattan.

The year before, in 2015, there was a subway shutdown during the blizzard, but they faced a huge backlash for that decision, and in 2016 handled things more proactively. Regardless, it’s really, really rare that they shut the underground subway down at all, and if the weather were so bad it required subway shut-downs (highly unusual), that would impact auditions for nearly everyone, including the auditors. I agree with @Jkellynh17, and wouldn’t worry about that, honestly.

I stand corrected. And I did say it was a rare storm, but I do know several kids that walked many blocks to get to off site auditions.

Yes @CTDramaMom there was a lot of mixed messaging going on and people did think subways were closed! It was all part of the adventure. #wesurvivedNYCblizzard16

@CTDramaMom, yeah, it was easy to get confused!

This brings me to a really important topic --be sure to bring winter gear, especially snow boots (good enough to cover your whole leg if you step into slush or deep snow) and ear muffs!!

Manhattan has a special brand of chill because the buildings form a sort of tunnel and the wind can really cut through you. And ear muffs were one thing my S didn’t think of! You don’t want to wear a hat because it messes your hair (even guys!). He arrived at his auditions with cherry-red ears, really uncomfortable. At least we remembered the snow boots though… We saw some girls trying to navigate the snow while wearing their audition shoes.

@connections advice on snow gear also applies to Chicago Unified’s. S and I are proud survivors of the Chicago 2015 blizzard. I believe it was 3rd or 4th worse blizzard Chi has ever received. That Sunday, Chicago did shut down public transportation. The trek to the CCPA dance call, two short blocks over, is still on my list of top 10 worst experiences of my life.

If you chose to wear street shoes outdoors before auditions, you might want to have some wipes with you (handiwipes, baby wipes etc) to get rid on any possible salt stains.

Another good tip we picked up along way (mor relevant for girls) was - if your audition is in the winter - don’t wear a summer dress. The day D auditioned at CMU was crazy cold (well below 0). There were any number of girls there in sleeveless dresses with bare legs. (which made me think - you don’t own a pair of tan dance tights???) Even inside the building - they just looked COLD. I would think it would be hard to be at your best when you are physically uncomfortable.

And make sure your boots are 100% water proof. Mine, my daughters and everyone we met had snow boots but once snow melted there were literally rivers of water we couldn’t avoid. ALL of our snow boots leaked

I wish I had brought rain boots that were truly waterproof with liners and heavy socks for warmth.