Unifieds Chicago 2017

@Mardeen - according to my sheets - IRA Brind School of Theatre - The University of the Arts is scheduled to hold auditions in Salon 12 at the Palmer House.

@sabersunshine Thank you! I guess the IRA Brind School of Theatre didn’t register with me at all when I was looking over the room location list.

If anyone is looking for a super relaxed, fun walk in experience, I HIGHLY recommend Molloy/CAP21. Ricky, the admissions guy is very warm and welcoming and very engaging from the beginning, it was overall, an awesome experience! They aren’t on the Palmer house list, but he’s on the 20th floor in one of the suite’s. You have to hunt around a bit, but I seriously recommend it! Very intriguing program.

Living vicariously through your reports from Chicago Unifieds! How’s it going? My D had a pretty rough day yesterday-voice cracked-but today seems to have gone well. Syracuse tomorrow, and then I think she’s done! It’s gonna be a loooooong Feb/Mar/Apr!!!

Now that’ it’s over, D says that she had a great time at Chicago Unifieds, and is very pleased, overall, with how she did. How were everyone else’s visits? is it true that some of you from the NE are stuck (were stuck) in Chicago? Now that the excruciating waiting begins-I am hoping for some anecdotal advice from the parents and students who have already been through this: I have read many, many reports on here, describing how an audition that seemed a shoo-in yielded a redirect; and an audition that seemed not very good at all yielded an acceptance: Lol, so now I’m paranoid that good auditions are bad, and bad auditions are good. So if any of you kind folks would like to set me straight, I’d be grateful. Also-D was MORTIFIED that her voice cracked in 2 particular (top choices for her) auditions. This sent her into a panicked tizzy of unplanned, and somewhat poorly-considered string of walk ins (I wasn’t there to talk her down.) Is a voice-crack the kiss of death? Be honest. I don’t want to assure her that she still has a chance if she simply does not. But it seems to me-schools auditioning 400 kids could/would certainly use “voice crack” as an element of elimination.

@ownensfolks, I’m not saying I have any insider information for college auditions, but I would say a lot of it depends on how she handled that moment + the rest of the audition. They will look to see if she goes on and finishes strong, if it distracts her or not, and also what the rest of the audition has been. If she came in confidently, connected with them, and did great other than a voice crack, I’m just not thinking it’s going to matter. Interested in what others have to say.

we just got back from Chicago last night and I wish I would have thought to look here before we went. What an experience. I was not sure what to expect and it was a bit overwhelming at times. What I found odd is schools she was hesitant to audition for were her favorites (NYU) and those we thought looked great on paper were not as warm and friendly as we hoped.

@owensfolks yes, it’s true. Sometimes the best auditions yield nothing and what you think are the worst yield acceptances. But there’s no way of knowing and no way to figure it out until the envelopes come or you get that email or call. So what you and she have to do now is just try your best to put it behind you. Same with the voice cracks. You just don’t know. There’s no way to know how it impacted the auditors. So try not to waste any time overthinking it.

@owensfolks Wonderful experience for sure for my D. We were nervous about overscheduling, since some of the schools did not really specify expectations (15 minutes? 3 hours? dance call or no?) so she stuck with one AM and one PM per day. It worked out great, and in hindsight she could have slotted in more. But the only walk-in she did was for a school that was on her list and never confirmed (turned out she had not completed a supplemental - whoops). She had two voice-crack auditions, and I heard other kids talking about theirs throughout the week. My hope is that they can see past it, especially if they hit it later in the song. But that may remain a mystery until decisions come in. D got one response during the week, and some schools said it would come as late as April, so I guess we will need to sit on our hands for a while! Best of luck to you and your D!

@lookingforarolemodel The variety of experiences was interesting. Some schools were very warm, lots of feedback and direction, and some were downright short. One even turned off the kids’ music halfway through the song, just to see how they handle it, which I find fascinating! I wonder if the shortness was a similar tactic versus a specific response to a student. But part of me wonders, if they’re not interacting and looking for a human connection, are they looking at these kids as commodities, versus students? If any acceptances come from the “short” schools, we will definitely be watching for that on school visits. There was no rhyme or reason - some of the most prestigious schools were warm and friendly, some were cold. Some more accessible programs were full of energy, some were robotic. Will be something to suss out as decision time comes. Best of luck to you and your D!!

I’ll second the “downright short” @CentralOHmomof4! Not sure why , but some schools are just way friendlier than others. Surprising has been that the tippy top schools seem to have the time and inclination to validate the auditioning kids- which really is so nice (& worth the price of admission so-to-speak). If CMU with thousands of kids auditioning can take the time to be kind, it makes no sense that XYZ University can’t.

My daughter was one of the last auditions for a school and they were trying to get to dinner reservations, so they cut her to one song/monologue (the young lady after her also)…the entire time my daughter was in there they were packing up and never paid attention. The young lady who sat outside the audition room was quite short and condescending to several kids that I witnessed. Based on that, no way I would send my kiddo there. I agree 100% @MTMHopeful. Kindness costs nothing.

Agree 100% My D had an early audition and they were eating and talking during it. Really? Super rude. On the drive home she said “Even if I get in, I don’t want to go there”

My D also had one bad experience with a school in Chicago. I won’t go in to great detail but they were running behind so we’re limiting kids to one song and one monologue. She was called in nearly an hour past her scheduled time and sang her first song. They asked for her second and when she told them what it was the gentleman in the room rolled his eyes and was very rude about it. Mind you it is NOT an overused song and was carefully selected by she and her song coach to show her range. She was really shaken at that point and did her best but she was rattled by the attitude going into her second song and monologue. They rest of the brief exchange was equally cold and condescending. She walked out the door where I was waiting with tears welling up in her eyes. She said she felt so disrespected and minimized. Terrible experience and it really messed with her head. Now let me just say this school name begins and ends with an R. I’ll let you do the math. We also talked with others who had equally bad audition stories about this particular school. Yet CMU was the kindest, most thoughtful and encouraging experience despite their elevated dream school position. Truly a classy and caring institution.

@sopranomtmom Ugh. Stuff like that really breaks my heart. I get that this is the prelude to a super tough business where people are going to be buttmunches to our kids at times … but JFC … these are KIDS.

X(

@KaMaMom my daughter did several professional auditions from 16-18 and the people have all been super nice. No “buttmunches”.