What was your audition experience like at CMU?

<p>I attended the morning M/T auditions at CMU this past weekend on campus.
When we arrived we dropped off our resumes and head shots, had snapshots taken etc.
The1st half hour was introduction/information speeches given by Peter Cooke and other faculty members.
After there was no tour for parents who were left to go do whatever…
All the student information brought was put into a folder. Once they had all the folders put together, they divided them into three groups. Each group was called up to first do dance,
another act, and another to sing.
My experience is strong in singing and acting but I was able to do the dance as best as I could. The person I had for my monologues did not ask me to improvise my pieces. I wasn’t sure how often they ask auditions to do this? Not sure if this means she was able to see what I am capable of my the two pieces I performed.
What I was a bit surprised about was there was no “interview” questions.
People can sing, act and dance but how can they determine what you are like?
They can look at a resume and photo but when someone is engaged in a conversation
that is revealing about a person. I felt the audition lacked a personal connection.
Would like to hear from others who auditioned.</p>

<p>My S auditioned 2/16. He had a fantastic experience and made personal connections with several faculty there. Yes there was conversation. Did you do your monologues for Kaf or Barbara? My guess is that Barbara is warmer, but I have had no interaction with Kaf so I don’t know. Barbara is the one who tends to ask for more improv.</p>

<p>I did chat with Barbara at the end of the day who asked if I had gone on a tour. I mentioned that admissions tour conflicted with the overview. She said no, a tour of the school of drama. She seemed surprised that no one had offered and she was disappointed with that. I do think maybe someone dropped the ball on this, but I had poked around a bit and saw what I needed to see.</p>

<p>In any event, we did get a great sense of the warmth of the faculty, their personalities, etc. FWIW, Peter Cooke was not there and Barbara did most of the talking in the overview although many faculty and staff spoke.</p>

<p>We loved CMU!</p>

<p>Singing was with Gary Kline and Monologues were with Ingrid. Ingrid read my resume and remarked that she knew and worked with my acting coach/teacher here in Boston.
The staff seemed nice in how they came across during the intro talks…
But the process was not very personal once we were sent off in our groups. The faculty I auditioned with seemed nice but I wasn’t asked any specific questions. I wasn’t asked to improvise - which I take as I showed through my pieces what I can do and my potential. The process seemed very Point A to Point B onto Point C -maybe because it was the morning session of
auditions?</p>

<p>Afternoon session was pretty much the same vivahg11</p>

<p>I would advise not to read too much into it. You may have shown them everything they needed to see or hear. Perhaps they were rushed at that moment OR they may simply not be looking for a talent like you for whatever reason which is out of your control. You can only be the best you that you can be. Good luck to you.</p>

<p>I auditioned at NYC Unifieds at an afternoon session. I acted with both Kaf and Barbara, both of which I had a conversation/interview with. Neither Kaf or Barbara asked me to improvise. I also chatted with Gary a bit about things on my resume before I began my vocal pieces for him. </p>

<p>That’s my two cents.</p>

<p>They seem to be looking for legit sopranos this year. Idk what they are looking for in guys.</p>

<p>Wouldn’t be surprised. Legit sopranos always seem to be coming out of CMU’s MT program.</p>

<p>Was not asked to improvise either. Totally would have been willing to do so though. But alas, I got a rejection letter. Hopefully I manage to get off the NYU Tisch wait list.</p>

<p>My son auditioned at LA Unifieds and felt CMU ran a great process - efficient yet very personal. They had recent graduates there that made the students feel welcome and comfortable, and they shared their CMU experiences. They were great ambassadors of the program. He felt great about his singing audition, where the auditioner told him, “Wow, you can really sing.” The dance audition wasn’t bad, and dancing is my son’s weakest element with little training. He auditioned his monologues with Barbara, who then spent about 10 minutes interviewing him. She was especially interested in his background in sports, and asked him where else he was applying and whether he had any acceptances yet. She made him feel great, telling him he’s talented, tall, and good looking, and he’ll have many choices. We know others she also made the same comment, “you’ll have many choices.” All in all, this was one of his best auditions with respect to how they made him feel. In the end, he was rejected, but CMU handled the entire process so well. Nice personal touches throughout! Class act.</p>

<p>SaratogaParent - You mentioned in your post that “in the end he was rejected.” Is CMU telling kids at the audition whether they’re being accepted? Or was your S EA or ED? My D’s CMU audition is tomorrow, and I just want to be prepared for the inevitable “no” if it’s coming tomorrow lol.</p>

<p>DoReMiMom…CMU does NOT tell kids the outcome AT the audition. Rather, all are notified in late March and not on a rolling basis. Also, there is no EA or ED for this program. Be aware that they only accept approximately 10 to 12 students for MT and usually more boys than girls. Also, they accept the exact number of students as places available in the class, and not extras. If someone declines the offer, CMU maintains a very short Priority Wait List.</p>

<p>soozievt - Thanks. I’m just curious how Saratogamom’s S already knows he wasn’t accepted. I thought maybe they changed something.
We’re pretty familiar with CMU. My D went to pre-college there over the summer, and the faculty told the kids only 4-5 girls and 6-8 boys will be accepted for the BFA MT program. Her vocal coach also said this year is a record-breaking year for number of MT applications received…I blame Glee LOL…</p>

<p>I think the CMU audition experience is pretty much a “bucket list” item for these kids, and I’m excited to see how they run things tomorrow. :)</p>

<p>DoReMiMom, soozievt’s notes are accurate. I believe SaratogaParent was referring to experience in last year’s audition season. I believe, based on other posts, that the rejection came some time after the audition. Have a wonderful day tomorrow!</p>

<p>SaratogaParent’s son auditioned last season.</p>

<p>Mother of a current CMU MT student here. To those saying CMU is looking for legit soprano’s, I believe you are misinformed. My first hand observation is that CMU’s classes are always comprised of a combination of soprano, legit, belt singers. Same spread in the male voices. They have great diversity in ethnicity as well as in “types” be that the type of singer, or the type of actor. For those that are worried about dance, please do not. They just want to see “teachability” not perfection. The most common thread I see each year is that every student accepted has the “it” factor. There is something that just stands out in a crowd. You can look at past threads on this subject, which is very subjective, but alas very real. The very best advice I can give is to do your due diligence, support your child as best you can, don’t obsess about the outcome, and know that he/she will end up at exactly the place they were mean to be. In the end, you want to go to the place that saw the special something in your child. Wishing you all the best. I remember well how intense this process was. B-r-e-a-t-h-e !</p>

<p>Question for those of you who have been through the CMU process…Does anybody who was not seen by more than one teacher at the audition have a chance? It seems that a select group of kids were going from room to room singing and acting for all of the auditors. My daughter only sang for one, and acted for one. She received positive feedback and felt really good about her experience. However, I don’t want her to be unrealistic and hope for an acceptance that has already been denied. And who is the final decision maker? It looked like the goal was to get in front of Barbara.</p>

<p>Katy my understanding is that there’s no rhyme or reason or motive or rationale behind the number of people who they audition for. I do believe final decision goes to Barbara but not positive.</p>

<p>I do not think you should read too much into who your student did or did not sing or act for. CMU auditors are a team. They have been doing this for a very long time. They know what they are looking for and the type of student they believe will be successful in their program. Sometimes it can take auditors more than one look to make that decision. Other times they can see it right away (or not see it, as it were.) Of course the head of the dept is going to have a very big influence over the decision but she also trusts her team. The best advice anyone can give your student is to be himself/herself and let the best of them shine. The rest is completely out of their control. As for being realistic or unrealistic and hoping for an acceptance, based upon the statistics-it’s such a long shot for EVERYONE. No one should have an expectation of acceptance. But there will be hundreds - if not thousands - who will hold out hope. A lucky few will win that lottery but thankfully, you all know to buy more than one ticket, right?! There are many many excellent MT programs out there. The goal is to find the right “fit” for your offspring. I like to think of this as similar to auditioning in the real world. You just keep going and going until you’ve attended all the auditions you reasonably can. When you get your callbacks (acceptances) then you can decide which role (school) is best for you! Good luck everyone! I know how hard this is… hang in there.</p>

<p>I know I’m not supposed to read into these things, but from reading past threads, it appears that those who were accepted to Carnegie Mellon had very similar auditions. Went from room to room, ultimately landed in front of Barbara and many sang for her. We are putting this one to bed. My D knew it was a long shot. Onward!</p>