Webster University

<p>Dduellman,</p>

<p>Congratulations on your daughter getting into fine programs.</p>

<p>The audition process is a strange animal. Each audition experience is unique and personal. Over the many years my twin sons have gone out on many auditions both separately and together. It's amazing how different their experiences are from one another....particularly the ones in which they auditioned for the same shows/programs, same people, same day, for the same everything....sometimes we would scratch our heads in disbelief that they auditioned for the same show/program.</p>

<p>The selection of the "right" program that will fit your D's needs is also unique and personal. What one program is to one person will not be the same to another. The hook to a program could be the certain feel for the campus, or a chemistry with teachers...on and on. There are some programs on the board which we didn't personally care for, but others think it is the next best thing to apple pie. That is the key, finding your delicious slice of the pie.</p>

<p>Webster was that particular school for my Ss. They knew it right from the start. It felt just "right"....and I am happy to report that those instincts of theirs have proven correct.</p>

<p>To all of you who may be entertaining the idea of Webster as one of your schools, please know that if you call ahead of time to visit the campus it is possible to arrange a visit with teachers within the department. If you get a chance to meet with those who audit the auditions ask them what they are looking for in an audition...here again each school is very different.</p>

<p>Also, it is always possible to attend classes where you get to meet students and teachers in a classroom setting and even participate in the lesson that particular day. </p>

<p>Webster does indeed have student ambassadors. The "theatre buddies" walk with prospective students and answer any questions. Generally these are freshman students...mine were theatre buddies and met many interested prospective students, some which even spent the night in my Ss' apartment....a close up and first hand experience in every aspect.</p>

<p>Good luck in the selection of a school for your D. As I stated before, you should feel wonderful she got into fine programs. Unfortunately there are many on this forum who didn't get into any....but certainly they will find alternative paths and will have the support of this CC community at their backs.</p>

<p>SUE aka 5pants</p>

<p>Dduellman... 5. It would be nice if the auditioner even bothered to look at an auditioner instead of stare down at the score sheet the entire time. </p>

<p>YES. Weirdest audition I had in Chicago.</p>

<p>So...I got my official waitlist letter today for the program. Says I will receive written notification of any change in acceptance to the program BY May 1. </p>

<p>The theatre coordinator told me on the phone AFTER May 1...so who knows.</p>

<p>At least I assume they were your sons. They were obviously twins and they had the same last name. I don't think Webster has too many other sets of twins in their program. We did enjoy the play very much, by the way, and thought your sons were a highlight of the show. </p>

<p>As for our visit, I also assume others didn't have the experience we did at the audition, but the fact was there were no students and the only teachers Webster provided to answer questions was an admissions councilor. All in all it was a very strange experience.</p>

<p>Dduellman,</p>

<p>The question and answer session you speak of is for the parents while students are auditioning...at least this is how it was run a couple years ago. I believe the students who audition are invited to attend an acting class after lunch if they so choose. I know when my guys auditioned there were a few who chose not to accept the invitation for one reason or another.</p>

<p>Perhaps Plaidman might be able to post a response to your remarks. It sounds a bit different than the Q&A we encountered and I hate to overstep my boundaries. Definitely requires a response beyond my expertise.</p>

<p>Dduellman, yes those were my guys in "Henry IV". Thank you for the kind words. Working with the Rep. Theatre of St. Louis was a huge highlight of their year. They learned so much working with the seasoned actors in the show.</p>

<p>Please know that I totally respect your viewpoint....this whole audition process is draining, exhausting, and at the same time exciting. It goes above and beyond what a "normal" college applicant encounters and can never be fully appreciated unless experienced first handedly. It's liberating however when one can finally stick a fork in it and call it done!! Take care!!</p>

<p>SUE aka 5pants</p>

<p>We had the very nicest day when my son and I visited Webster in fall 2004. We arranged ahead of time for him to visit classes and meet faculty and students. He was most impressed with the faculty he met and the ones he observed teaching classes, and the students were great - the twins especially so!</p>

<p>Thanks for the kind words Ericsmom! My guys enjoyed the time spent with Eric also.</p>

<p>Happy Easter. Time for church and then put together a brunch! </p>

<p>SUE aka 5pants</p>

<p>I want to thank 5pants and Ericsmom for prompting me to reply. I had initially hesitated to do so since I do not want to sound defensive about a program of actor training (Musical Theatre and Regional Theatre) that I am convinced is a national leader. However, the concerns raised by Dduellman are important observations and I was very glad to have the chance to learn of those concerns and to be able to respond.</p>

<p>The situation concerning the infamous (now) rejection letter is going to be changed for next year. I appreciate everyone's help on that error.</p>

<p>The accompanist for our auditions is outstanding and has several decades of working with musical theatre literature and it is seldom he is presented with music he cannot play and play well. I have watched problems arrive with ill-prepared music, copies from books where page turns could be difficult and music not appropriate for a sight-reading situation. The accompanist is terrific and if you had heard him play, you would understand, quickly, just how gifted he is.</p>

<p>Webster utilizes all of the first students as ambassadors and they regularly show up for the audition time to talk with prospective students while they are waiting to do their individual auditions. The overall spirit of the first year students is that they are eager to meet the "Prospies" and to talk with them about the program. I do not know when you auditioned, but I would be surprised that some students were available. Further, the auditionees are invited to see acting classes (unless this was a Saturday audition and we do not have classes) and, in general, sample life on campus. If this did not happen, then we did, indeed error.</p>

<p>All of our on campus audition sessions have more than one individual observing the auditions and I would doubt seriously they had their heads down for the full audition process. It is important to take careful notes of the auditions since we do see many and clear, concise observations are important as we review applications. As I do workshops on auditions at various Thespian Festivals and at theatre conferences, I always warn prospective auditionees that audition observers regularly will have heads down and writing. I do so to be certain Dduellman's concern in this area, while important, is understood.</p>

<p>Webster prides itself on the fact that our representatives are responsive. I am surprised a faculty person was not available for a question and answer session since that is a normal part of the campus audition process. Again, the day visited by Dduellman must have been a unique day and for that, Webster did err.</p>

<p>I find it exciting to visit this thread to to gain your comments. They are incredibly helpful. I hope I have been able to contribute.</p>

<p>Plaidman</p>

<p>I would like to give you my view of our Webster audition experience. I am only speaking from a parent point of view. My D first auditioned at Thespian fest in Lincoln, NE. After going to the callback she was so pleased because they were one of the few schools that actually did something at the callback rather than just talk about the school. She got to speak with current students and then she worked with a professor on her monologues. </p>

<p>She then decided to audition for them at the Chicago Unified auditions. It was her last audition of 3 days of auditioning. Once again, they were one of a few schools who actually worked with her on her pieces, asked her to do some dance, and out in the other room I was treated to refreshments and was able to visit with Plaidman and ask all the questions I wanted. </p>

<p>We were thrilled when she was accepted into the program and she is currently weighing her options and she will let everyone know when that decision is made. We visited Webster last week. The young people in the department were very friendly, she visited a movement and an acting class. The tour of the campus was a little shallow but other than that it was a wonderful experience.</p>

<p>It is funny how different people have different experiences at the same places. I guess that is what makes one place right for some and not for others. Wherever my D ends up, I hope that it is somewhere that she feels she fits in and can grow as an actor and a person.</p>

<p>We had two other campus visits that same week. One was not a good fit and yet is a very well respected and I'm sure wonderful school. </p>

<p>Good luck to everyone in making their decisions and thanks to everyone at Webster for a wonderful day.</p>

<p>I hope your D did enjoy her day here!! Tell her good luck with everything no matter what she decides!! :) Let me know if you need anything!
Shayla</p>

<p>Here is a fun tidbit of information I found out this weekend. Katherine McPhee (one of American Idol's finalists) has a sister who graduated from Webster in 2003. Her name is Adriana McPhee. If you do a google search you can bring up pictures of Adriana. She is beautiful too!!</p>

<p>SUE aka 5pants</p>

<p>I'm new to this website as of now. I've heard about it from some friends and read some of the posts. I was accepted into the Regional Theatre class of '10 and am really excited about being in St. Louis next year. I would love to meet some others who have accepted the invite to be apart of the '10 class. </p>

<p>Matt</p>

<p>Hey there Matt!!</p>

<p>I am so excited for you!! Welcome to CC AND Webster!! I look forward to meeting you sometime.</p>

<p>Kudos from a Webster MT parent!</p>

<p>Sue aka 5pants</p>

<p>Hi Matt,
Check the List of Acceptances by School Name to see who else is accepted there this year. Congrats!</p>

<p>Here is the 2006-2007 Webster Conservatory Season</p>

<p>NIGHT OF THE IGUANA by Tennesse Williams</p>

<p>COMEDY OF ERRORS by William Shakespeare</p>

<p>BAT BOY Story and Book by Keythe Farley & Brian Flemming</p>

<p>A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY by Ivan Turhenev,Translation by Brian Friel</p>

<p>NO, NO NANETTE Book by Ottow Harbach & Frank Mandel, Music by VIncent Youmans, Lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach</p>

<p>Other productions include-</p>

<p>WEBSTER UNVERSITY DANCE ENSEMBLE
CAPSTONES (Senior Directing Student Projects)</p>

<p>Other performance opportunities at Webster also include One Act plays which are known as ETs (Every Tuesday)....please go to this link to read an article discribing a recently produced ET:
<a href="http://www.webujournal.com/media/storage/paper245/news/2006/05/04/Lifestyle/harold.Hits.The.Stage-1900311.shtml?norewrite200605060931&sourcedomain=www.webujournal.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.webujournal.com/media/storage/paper245/news/2006/05/04/Lifestyle/harold.Hits.The.Stage-1900311.shtml?norewrite200605060931&sourcedomain=www.webujournal.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Keep in mind that there are performance opportunities also offered through the Repretory Theatre of St. Louis. Here is a link to their site announcing their line-up for the next performance season: </p>

<p><a href="http://www.repstl.org/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.repstl.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>It gets kind of quiet here on the CC board from this time through summer. Just wanted to let you know though that most of us regulars check the boards daily if not more...always feel welcome to ask questions or post comments.</p>

<p>Looking forward to meeting the new freshman!! Best wishes with your hs graduation and love your summer, it will go by in a hurry!! :)</p>

<p>SUE aka 5pants</p>

<p>I'm thrilled to have found this thread. The comments are very helpful to the parents of juniors... When is the best time to visit the campus? Are you in session during the summer? Perhaps the Thanksgiving week break (November 20th-22nd before the holiday would work). Are you in session that week? Our S would be traveling from Interlochen Arts Academy (Michigan) and we would probably meet him there.</p>

<p>frozenchosenak,</p>

<p>I highly recommend a visit to the school before audition....take in a show, meet with students and visit classes. If one can swing it I say do it. I don't have the academic schedule for next year, but generally there is class right up to Thanksgiving. COMEDY OF ERRORS runs until November 21st and if you have time St. Louis Rep. will be performing their off ramp series' production of URINETOWN which is supposedly casting one or two from the Webster student base.</p>

<p>Let me know if I can be of further help. Best wishes to you this upcoming year...you are already off to a great start.</p>

<p>SUE aka 5pants</p>

<p>Hello, frozenchosenak,</p>

<p>5pants gave a good response. Summer is not the best time to visit since most of the Conservatory faculty are away, generally working on productions, in June and July. August is possible, but time becomes tight around the 17th as Webster gets ready for the start of classes and the arrival of the class of 2010!</p>

<p>The weekend prior to Thanksgiving is good since we will have a strong production in performance on the Mainstage. One good thing, though, is that with The Rep, there is almost always a performance available except on Mondays. The Rep will also have a wonderful musical in December, a spoof called MUSICAL OF MUSICALS. The Conservatory can help to arrange for you to see any performance while you visit. </p>

<p>Also, students are always eager to host a prospective student overnight in the dorms. We will be celebrating the opening of new dorms with this class, so it will be a great time to come. With a Conservatory student host, your S/D will be able to "shadow" for the full class day.</p>

<p>5pants is right in that is is helpful to visit prior to auditioning...it helps to make the next step a bit easier. Do not be afraid to call with any questions you have, Webster should be helpful.</p>

<p>Good luck through the summer. </p>

<p>Plaidman</p>

<p>Thank you for your responses...Our son has heard a lot about the program since a former alum, William Church is one of his professors at Interlochen. His one-act play senior director at Interlochen, Matt F. will be in your freshman class this Fall, I believe. Thanks for all the great ideas and we will look forward to visiting in November or December. Keep the ideas coming........</p>

<p>Thanks for that description. It is very interesting to know about the overnight with a conservatory student and subsequent shadowing of classes for the day. In most schools, the overnight is not coordinated with a current student in the major. This sounds like a terrific way to do it and so helpful for the visiting hopefull to have real exposure to the program.</p>

<p>Hello all. I don't really know what to say. First of all, welcome class of 2010; We are so excited to have you in our little conservatory family.You are about to embark upon a great year in training. If anyone has any questions or concerns, I would love to talk with you. Take care and have a good summer.</p>