<p>Hi, I'm a junior in high school and a hopeful Webster applicant for the class of 2011. After doing much research on Webster's site, I noticed that in St. Louis, they require workshops, but I was just wondering what, in addition to dance, the auditioners will require us to perform from the workshop. Any other information about Webster that I may not know would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Hello, Miss Millenium,</p>
<p>Welcome to this thread. It is exciting to know you are interested in Webster. You are correct that, for on campus auditions, a workshop is part of the process. It is, essentially, an ensemble warm-up to get you ready for the rest of the audition. I think you will find it helpful to you. You will have time to change into your audition clothes after you have done the class.</p>
<p>I hope this helps.</p>
<p>Plaidman</p>
<p>MissMillenium, Webster has many great perks about it's training program. First of all, Webster is just one school on a small list of conservatories that is attached to a professional theater. We have opportunities to work and observe professional actors through all the productions with the Repertory Theater of St. Louis. Next, the training is intesive and challenging. In retrospect, I can honestly say that I am amazed at the amount of things I have learned over the span of one year. Lastly, (and in my opinion, the most important) conservatory are taught by professionals. The faculty is supportive and have the student's best interest at heart. Also, unlike other conservatories, Webster can promise one on one work. The class sizes are generally small and there is ample time to work and meet with instructor on a personal level. I can tell you, I had the best Freshman year. I hope this has helped you a bit. Good luck with everything.</p>
<p>I am probably going to audition for the Webster Regional Theatre program next winter, but keep hearing that it is a cut school in disguise. How many freshman Regional Theatre and MT students started at Webster last fall and how many are coming back this fall? Of the ones who are no longer there, how many left voluntarily and how many were asked to leave? Also, how many of the rising sophomores will start the fall term on warning or probation? Same question for rising juniors. How many started as freshman, made it through sophomore year, and will be juniors in the fall? How many of those will start junior year on warning or probation?</p>
<p>I am glad you asked your questions, particularly at this time of the year. First of all, I do encourage you to audition for Webster. As you will discover from the threads, we are an outstanding training program and our partnerships with The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis are unmatched anywhere. Those partnerships create an environment that encourages the best of our students and it is exciting to see growth. I do not believe The Conservatory is a "hidden cut school". However, we are selective with our entering classes and have become even more so in the past two years. We do so since one year recently (I do not wish to identify that year specifically) we invited many students from a Wait List and that experience did not turn out for the best, so we are accepting fewer students with the goal that a higher percentage of those students will complete the program and I am beginning to see evidence that this process will work successfully.</p>
<p>To answer your question concerning retention, we will have 14 in our 4th year class this Fall and we started with 27. I am not certain just how many left of their own choice and how many were asked to leave. However two of the original 27 took a year of leave and will be returning as third year students this Fall. The third year class will have 15 of an original group of 33. Four were asked not to return at the end of this current semester. Two chose not to return at this time. The remainding left over a period of time, with one leaving a year ago during his first week of classes. It is hard for me to tell just how many of those were asked to leave, but I think most of those chose other majors and, I believe, five are at Webster in other fields. We had 26 first year students enter this past Fall. One left mid-Fall semester and has decided to become a teacher, two others have chosen to transfer. The remaining 23 will be in the second year this upcoming Fall. Perhaps Musicalmanmitch can give you some information about that group.</p>
<p>Your concern about "cuts" is a valid consideration at most of the schools offering a serious, professional training sequence. Webster does, indeed, do showings and reviews at the end of every semester and our faculty will work with you to assist you to grow. Some students, indeed, will be asked not to continue and some students will choose other fields. That is, I believe, inevitable and should be helpful to the individual student even though the decision is not the happiest. Webster's goal (and we are not unique) is that the students completing our training program will be talented and well prepared to have success in the profession. I believe our showcases provide examples that speak well to that training.</p>
<p>I hope you will visit campus, talk with students and make your own judgements about what it is that we do. Will you be at the Thespian Festival this June in Lincoln? If so, come by and talk with us. Have a good summer and, again, thank you for the good question.</p>
<p>Plaidman</p>
<p>Thanks! I'm on the east coast and won't be in Lincoln.</p>
<p>Thank you Plaidman and musicalmanmitch, I appreciate all the help!</p>
<p>In addition, I was wondering if there is a certain type of person that Webster looks for, or if certain people are better suited for your school than others.</p>
<p>Thanks,
Taryn</p>
<p>MissMillenium,
I can't exactly speak on behalf of Webster because I honestly don't know if there is a "certain type" of person that they look for. However, if I had to say, I think that passion, dedication and discipline are the key things that Webster is interested in its prospective students. As you probably have heard, the training at Webster is fun but intense. So, it is definitley geared toward students with the above mentioned qualities. If possible, visiting the school and sitting in on classes may give you a stronger feel for Webster's program and people. I hope this helps? Take care.</p>
<p>-musicalmanmitch</p>
<p>Hello, Miss Millenium,</p>
<p>I think Mitch has said it well. However, he left off the fact that talent is very important, then the person you are...all of the qualities he mentioned. The campus visit is always a tremendously helpful time. We will be eager to help out with the arrangements.</p>
<p>Plaidman</p>
<p>Can you tell us how many students will be in the 2006/2007 entering freshman class for MT & Regional Theatre? Also M/F breakdown?
Thanks!</p>
<p>We are in the process of finalizing the class, so the list is not complete. I will be happy to post that information later as we reach completion. I hope this will be helpful. I think most schools are still in a fluid position at this time.</p>
<p>Plaidman</p>
<p>It will be interesting to know those final statistics later on when they are available!</p>
<p>hey everyone. i have no idea how i found this thread but i recently graduated from webster conservatory and would be more than happy to answer anyones questions! i have been in new york for about a year now, and the longer i live here the more thankful i become that i received incredible training. feel free to shoot me any questions you may have. good luck everyone!</p>
<p>-WebGrad</p>
<p>What do you appreciate most about your Webster training? Were you accepted to any other colleges/conservatory? Did you come from an arts school or a regular high school? What kinds of jobs have you been able to land since you arrived in NY? What kind of training do you wish you had had more of before launching out into the "world"? Did you graduate with a BFA or BA? We would LOVE to hear of your experiences. Thanks for being willing to share.</p>
<p>WebGrad,</p>
<p>So happy you jumped onto the board. Welcome to CC!!</p>
<p>I am certain you will share very valuable insights with the participants and countless lurkers on this website!! We look forward to reading your take.</p>
<p>Best wishes with your future endeavors. :)</p>
<p>SUE aka 5pants (A&N B.'s mom)</p>
<p>hello everyone! first off sue, i love your boys, and im glad i got to know them before i left. they are amazing guys. i told them from day one that they were in the right place. </p>
<p>okay so, in response to your initial questions. i appreciate that, above all, we were taught how to act extremely well. the more i work with other recent graduates from other programs the more i realize that acting is not always the main focus. acting acting acting. you need to be able to act a song, act a dance, etc. so important. across the board, webster will teach you how to act. websters' classical training is also incredible. ask me about it if you are interested!</p>
<p>i came from a small town and went to a normal high school. i wasnt sure i wanted to take the conservatory route, but when i visited webster, it was love at first sight. they were the only BFA program i auditioned for. if i didnt get in there, there was no other conservatory program i wanted to be a part of. thank god i got in! </p>
<p>since graduating things have been going well. i feel like webster prepared me realistically for the real world, and i appreciate that. i have an ageant and have worked on a few small project here in the city and will be working on my first large project this summer. everyones' stories are different though. it's all about what you do with your training and how much you put into the business. i'm still learning everyday. patience is key.</p>
<p>webster turns out a very diverse group of actors every year, and therefore as a webster grad i never feel like i am labeled as a "cookie cutter." to me it seems that those people who have worked with webster grads, have loved them and think highly of their process. but i never feel like directors have any preconceived notions about me because of the webster title, other than i work hard and i know what i'm doing. </p>
<p>if there is anything that i regret it would be that as an "acting" major (regional theatre major) i didn't take enough advantage of the musical training that i had in front of me. as an acting major all of the voice and dance classes are available to you, you just have to take them. i did to an extent but i wish i would've done more. </p>
<p>i tried to touch on each of your questions, but of course i didn't want to go on and on. please reply back with specific questions such as, regional theatre vs. musical theatre majors, dance training, classical training, production work, cuts, ny showcase, or anything else you can think of. it is a very diverse program that can be tailored to your specific tastes. i look forward to helping in any way i can.</p>
<p>-WebGrad</p>
<p>To all future Webster MT hopefuls. Beware of the cut process. They have a faculty leader who is famous for overpowering the rest of the faculty and this year alone added (4) notches to his belt. These were all very surprised students who were blind sided by the nerfarious unfair and double secret probation mentality. If you are thinking of applying or have already been accepted consider yourself warned!!!!</p>
<p>Thank you mgbbob for voicing your concerns about Webster. It is always good to have multiple perspectives. Well, I certainly cannot speak for the particualr students asked to leave. But, I understand that a "cuts program" might seem a bit daunting to some. However, I look at it like this; the real world is competitve and the cuts only simulate (on a smaller scale) the nature of the beast that is showbiz. As a current Webster student, I was pleased to hear WebGrad's success and security therein from the education that he/she recieved while at Webster. I think WebGrad and numerous other successful grads are a testament to the wonderful training and preparation that goes on here at Webster. As for the faculty, I have found the faculty to be supportive and always caring about the student's well being. They are always available for office hours and individual time. But, that is just my perspective. Let me know if you have any other concerns about Webster.I've had a great year and think the training and people are stellar. Take care.</p>
<p>mgbbob,</p>
<p>i have gone thru the entire program at webster, and i must step in and say that the picture you paint is inaccurate. please refer to nate's earlier post which talks about the different circumstances in which students leave the program. there is nothing secret about it. if a student falls back in a certain area of their training, they are placed on warning and explained what things they need to improve upon. if the student can not make the imrovements themselves then a meeting is made, and they are placed on probation. this means they are given extra, individual time with professors to work on their craft. probation students often work with upper classmen as well to gain more knowledge and improve their skills. i have both been on warning and worked with an underclassmen on probabtion, and it was definitely the best thing that could've happened to me. there is a very communal sense of everyone working together to make sure that each student is working to his or her full potential. i am so thankful that i always had someone pushing me forward, and making sure that i never slacked off or fell behind. but i think this process is extremely neccessary. just because a student is accepted into a program does not mean it the right program for that student. the faculty is only looking out for the best intrests of each individual student. i have complete confidence that mitch and nate (both current students would agree and back me up on this) if you are still confused or have further questions, please feel free to ask me anything. </p>
<p>and i would like to say to future students or those thinking of applying to webster: rest assured that someone will always be looking out for you and pushing you to work at the top of your game. have a ball!</p>
<p>Hi everyone, I'm one of 5pants's sons. I've been checking out this forum for some time and due to the recent posts I just wanted to reinforce the points made by musicalmanmitch and WebGrad. Webster is a very specific program and they are always looking out for their students' best interests, and a part of that can constitute in redirection. In the moment, that may seem very hard to take, especially for actors who are incredibly passionate and determined individuals. WebGrad very accurately describes the warning/probation process that is used by the program- I encourage anyone entering or already at Webster to read the handbook that is given to them at the start of the fall semester. The process is nothing to be terrified about, but it is a real thing, and so I think understanding it is vital. I can not speak for other individuals, but I know for myself, Webster has been incredibly nurturing for my acting craft. They have been real and honest with the next steps I need to take, and have offered me tools that I could have never dreamed of. If anyone has any questions (about anything!), please feel free to contact me. I'd love to hear from you.</p>