Unified Auditions

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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<p>I agree with freelance that you should do a follow up visit with your doctor since you still have problems. A plethora of great advice and remedies are being suggested here but ultimately you should follow up with the doctor because he/she treated you in the first place and you are still having problems. </p>

<p>Relaying one experience in response to MTMommy's question about if anyone else auditioned sick (congestion type sick) and what was the outcome.....I can't blame this on sickness....but last year my D WAS sick at her first audition, came down with it the day before and so took a bunch of over the counter meds before entering the morning long audition, and she felt like she did fine in the audition (though worried a bunch before entering it as to how she'd ever sing) but she was not accepted into that BFA program. She never blamed it on being sick. But just saying in response to if anyone ever auditioned sick and what happened, that's our only experience with that. Luckily she was in good health for the other auditions.</p>

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<p>S's voice teacher at home (pre-college) swears that DayQuil and the like are not good for the voice, too. They are too drying. S has used a Chinese syrup called Honey Loquat before singing when he had a cold (along with strong vitamin C, throat coat tea, Cold EeZe, Zicam,and guafenisen, which is in Mucinex). We heard of the Honey Loquat when we visited Syracuse two years ago. It really has helped get him through a performance. You have to get it at an Asian market or order it, though.</p>

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<p>So is Ziacam a prescription or over-the-counter? I don't have time to visit the doctor, and they haven't done anything right in the past, but my dad is going to run to Walgreens to pick up the emergenC. The nearest Asian market is pretty far, so I probably won't be able to get the Honey Loquat tea. Should I try throat coat for this, or since it's not a sore throat, would it be unneccessary?</p>

<p>And I'll cut the Dayquil. Thanks for that.</p>

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<p>On the Emergen-C, it says to mix 1 packet with water, 3 times a day. Hope it helps. It will definately give you energy too.</p>

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<p>Zicam is over the counter. It comes in swabs or a spray. It's basically zinc. A friend of mine began to come down with a terrible cold a few days before her wedding last November, and began to use Zicam, along with doses of Vit. C and something (also over the counter) called Airborne (also vitamins.) She never really got sick, and thinks that it's because of what she did. I am not sure if science would back that up, but it's worth a try! Please be careful using zinc, however. Most bottles of zinc come with warnings about its interactions with other medications. I think you have to be cautious about dosage.</p>

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<p>I looked up to see what all is in Emergen-C. All I know is that is works!</p>

<p>Sodium 60 mg 2.5%<br>
Potassium 200 mg 5.7%
Total Carbohydrate 4.45 g 1.6%
Protein 0 g 0%
Vitamin C 1000 mg 1666%
Vitamin B1 0.38 mg 25%
Vitamin B2 0.43 mg 25%
Special Niacin Component 5 mg 25%
Vitamin B6 10 mg 500%
Folic Acid 12.5 mg 3.1%
Vitamin B12 25 mg 146%
Pantothenic Acid 2.5 mg 25%
Magnesium 60 mg 15%
Calcium 50 mg 5%
Zinc 2 mg 13%
Manganese 1 mg 50%
Chromium 10 mcg 8.3%
Alpha Lipoic Acid 1 mg
Other Ingredients: Ascorbic Acid, Carbonates of Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, and Manganese; Tantaric Acid, Citric Acid, Aspartic Acid, Malic Acid, Potassium Phosphate, Mono Calcium Phospahte, Zinc Ascorbate</p>

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<p>I don't doubt that Emergen-C works. I also read a scientific study that revealed that taking echinachea will lessen the duration of a cold, though it won't prevent people from getting a cold.</p>

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<p>My dad refused to buy me EmergenC. He bought me just plain vitamin C instead. I'll see if my mom will get me EmergenC, and I'll look for Zicam. Thanks!</p>

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<p>I had 2 students at NY UNIFIEDS and they had good solid auditions at a number of colleges and felt it was a good experience.</p>

<p>My Chicago group continues to praise Otterbein, Webster, OU, SMU and CMU for their warmth in the room and a wonderful audition experience.</p>

<p>I was particularly impressed with Lee Gundersheimer from Tisch. He had some really meaningful things to say to all the students. Also, he happens to be a great fan of one of my former students who graduated from CAP last year. So we had mutual affection to share!
He has quite a lot to do with the Senior Showcase at Tisch and is continuing his support of former grads, which is generous.</p>

<p>Juilliard and other schools are calling back a record number of students. The showing was particularly strong this year. The general feeling among those heads I spoke to is that the student auditions improve each year and this was a very impressive Chicago UNIFIEDS, especailly day two.</p>

<p>xxx,Mary Anna</p>

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<p>Building on what MTMommy said, it's warm and dry right now in LA. You might want to use a humidifier if staying over the night before your auditions.</p>

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<p>The smoke is really bad here in Orange County. I hope these Santa Ana Winds die down before the weekend.</p>

<p>Good luck to all auditioning this weekend.</p>

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<p>I'm home for like a minute - tomorrow I leave for the Cincinnatus competition. The Unifieds in Chicago were SO fun, I had a blast seeing friends from this summer and otherwise, and meeting new people. Auditions went very well, but of course I have NO CLUE about any of them and not reading into anything is driving me crazy. I did walk ins at Otterbein, Evansville, Penn State, and OU, as well as Webster, CCM MT, CMU, and Juilliard (no callback) so if anyone has any questions about those auditions, let me know! Good luck to everybody!</p>

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<p>there were two Juilliard call backs today and both were young men who were BFA college grads.</p>

<p>xxx,Mary Anna</p>

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<p>aspiring.
I think you are awesome.
Kick some B....
Good luck!
xxx,Mary Anna</p>

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<p>Thanks Mary Anna, I sent you a PM :) A boy (who I'm playing opposite in Beauty and the Beast) from my little public high school here got a callback for Juilliard last Friday or Saturday (whichever, it was in New York), but then didn't get past that first callback for whatever reason. Still though, how cool is that??</p>

<p>FYI to everyone, just forgot to blatantly say - walk-ins are not difficult at all to schedule! So many schools had open slots and cancellations and it's a great way to practice pieces/audition for schools you couldn't or didn't originally plan on applying to. They were some of my most enjoyable auditions.</p>

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<p>Most of the tips previously mentioned are great, but I do have some warnings. Beware of Zicam. Although it does seem to do the trick, it is advised that one doesn't stay on it longer than 2-3 days. The highly addictive medication can really dry you out, something terrible for singers. Also, although Airborne does help immensely to boost your immune system (I use it everytime I fly), you're paying far more than you need to for something that you can get in a few pills or just a really great multi-vitamin. I have been taking 2000mg of Vitamin C and 100mg of Zinc before going to bed every night and have stayed healthy since September. I typically get sick about four times a year, but I've been going strong and thereby swear by my concoction. I also make sure I get at least eight hours of sleep a night. Despite the fact that I am a busy senior and have my AP classes too, I believe personal health is far more important than anything else. I would recommend lots of vitamins, water (LOTS), sleep, well-balanced meals and positive vibes (I swear, so much of it is psychological). And always remember that adrenaline can work wonders. If you are still not feeling well, I'm told that a very small dose of vocal steroids can perform miracles. I haven't had to use them myself, but most doctors will administer them if they understand the circumstances. That's just my two cents. Hope I helped. I'll be at the LA Unifieds on Sunday. Finally....something in my hometown.</p>

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<p>BrendanN, what schools are you doing on Sunday?</p>

<p>And I started using Zicam swabs alternated every two hours with a saline nose spray, since that's what my voice teacher recommended, as well as using the airborne, vinegar mix, and sudafed I already had. It seems to be working already, so hopefully I'll be better by Saturday.</p>

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<p>Just returned with my d from Unifeds in Chicago....great city, great hotel, great experience. All the schools my d autitioned for were all very nice. In contrast to the onsite auditions she had done earlier this audition season, these auditors took time to give positive feedback several times. She left feeling affirmed, even if she does not get into any of the programs. She also saw and heard how wonderfully talented so many of these kids are. It was a great opportunity for moms to meet other moms, too, as we waited in the lobbies while our children did their auditions. If you are planning for next year, I'd highly recommend Chicago Unifieds.</p>

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<p>A WARNING ABOUT LAMDA
Hey guys i just did my lamda audition at the ACT unifieds yesterday. Even though they ask on the website for 1 contemp, 1 shakespeare, and 1 song, they asked everybody who was there for a second shakespeare piece. I think thats kind of odd but maybe its a way of testing you. Just though I should let everybody else auditioning for lamda know that.</p>

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<p>I'm back from SF and LA Unifieds! I had Emerson in SF, and the whole experience was really great. We had a meeting session first, and then after, we were all waiting in this hallway, a group of eight of us and parents, though there were a bunch of people going for acting at the room next door. It was a long wait, probably about 1.5 hours, but that gave a lot of time to talk to the other people. I thought it was interesting that in my group of eight, there was only one guy, but two people from Los Gatos! Anyway, it was really relaxed, and then we all went and changed after singing/monologues, and did a dance to You Can't Stop the Beat. It was fairly simple, and we ran over it a bunch of time before performing it for him. It was really hot in the room, but that was the only bad thing. </p>

<p>That evening, I flew down to LA and checked into the Hilton. I had my Hartt audition scheduled first, then Ithaca at noon. The Hartt group was only five people. The dance part went really quickly, and was pretty hard, especially compared to Emerson. Luckily, though, the guy who taught it to us did it with us the whole time. Then we had time to change and did the singing/monologue. The entire thing probably only took 30 minutes, including changing and waiting. </p>

<p>Next door to Hartt's room was Penn State. Apparently, they only had one or two people signed up, so they were trying to convince everyone to do walk-ins. I did, as did two or three other people around me. I got a fairly nice feeling from it, though nothing special. </p>

<p>After packing and checking out, I headed over to Ithaca's room. They were running a little bit behind schedule, but we started an information session at about 12:30 (it was supposed to be 12). That went on for a half hour. Everything seemed pretty tense. It was a huge group - at least 20 students, plus parents. They gave us our order, and luckily, though I had rescheduled my audition in December, my July sign-up date still held, as the auditions were done in order that you signed up. So I was first! It went really quickly, but I didn't really get a feeling one way or the other. </p>

<p>On my way downstairs, Otterbein had moved into Hartt's room from earlier. I had a friend that auditioned for Otterbein in SF, and of course there has been all of doctorjohn's info from here, so I thought I would see if I could do a walk-in. Really, there wasn't a slot until 3:45, when we had to be at the airport, but when I said I was from CC, he said he could fit me in right then, which was really nice. I actually felt like that audition was really personable, and doctorjohn was really nice. :) It was my favorite audition of the day, in fact - it felt really relaxed, and I presented my songs/monologue without error. </p>

<p>So overall, it has been a long, but definitely enjoyable weekend. And now that I'm done with this long post, I'll be off to Colorado on Friday for my UNCO audition this coming weekend.</p>