<p>It's time to ask for letters of recommendation. How do you choose? My D has teachers in 2 different states. The home state is where she has private teachers with long standing relationships, and the other is where she currently attends high school and would have recommendations from more "well known" teachers. Some programs allow more than one letter, others specify that only one is accepted. Common sense says that we should go with the recommendations that would carry more weight (the current high school) but worry about hurt feelings from teachers back home, who are already asking if they should begin composing their letters!
Also, for MT, which is best, a recommendation from an acting teacher or a voice teacher?</p>
<p>Well, if your D's teachers in another state want to write recs for her, they will probably be really good. However, if she had them during 9th/10th grade I would try to avoid it. Colleges prefer recs from junior year/senior year teachers. I'm not sure what you meant by your last question though.</p>
<p>Clarification on my last question: For schools accepting only one recommendation, should D ask one of her drama teachers for a recommendation, or one of her voice teachers? Ideally, I guess the answer would be a drama teacher who had worked with her in a musical!
D's dilemma really lies in which teachers to choose; the sentimental favorites from her hometown (who continue their work with her when she's home), or choose the teachers who work with her in the school setting and may be familiar to the faculty in the programs she's applying to. And if she chooses to ask for recommendations from the teachers in her school, how does she tell her hometown teachers that she doesn't want/need their recommendation? It seems like such a touchy issue.</p>
<p>It's unclear from your post whether you are talking about academic or talent letters of recommendation; the distinction is important. It is also important to understand what the particular schools require. It can vary. Some schools just want letters from teachers who have taught academics to the student. Some also want recs from teachers who know the student's performance abilities. Look carefully at the admissions AND theatre dept webpages to make sure you have a complete understanding of what each school wants. Call admissions and the theatre department and ask outright if the webpages are unclear. With that in mind, here are some general thoughts:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Academic recommendations- use 11th grade teachers if at all possible. They carry the most weight since they are the most recent who worked with your student for an entire
year. Unless a school is a pure conservatory and specifically states it is looking for a talent recommendation only, the academic recommendation is what carries more weight and is what is required.</p></li>
<li><p>Talent recommendations are often sought by the department and not admissions. The recommendation should not simply gush with how wonderful and talented a performer your student is. Instead it should focus on the nature and type of training and performance experience and on the qualities your student has that show your student is prepared to handle the rigors of a demanding professional training curriculum. Remember, your student's talent will be judged by the AUDITION regardless of how great a talent a vocal teacher thinks your student has. Talent recommendations should focus on commitment, focus, ability to respond to instruction, energy, enthusiasm, areas of performance study etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Unless the school states explicitly that it wants only a certain number of recs and admonishes students not to send in more, don't worry about sending in an extra rec of each type. Don't go overboard though; more than 1 extra of each type and they probably won't be read and really considered anyway. Remember, schools are reviewing a ton of apps and recs and have a limited time to devote to each individual app. Quality of the recs is much more important that quantity as long as you are meeting the required number.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks so much for your replies. I was referring to letters of recommendation for the MT departments. (academic letters are already planned out) From your paragraph #2, MichaelNKat, your last sentence there seemed to hit the nail on the head. It probably wouldn't matter if the recommendation came from a voice teacher or a drama teacher as long as it addressed the applicant's qualities that you pointed out. It would seem that D's best choice would be to ask for letters from the drama faculty at her school, and then when situations allow for it, submit a second recommendation from her hometown voice teacher who has known her for years. Hopefully, that will take care of any hurt feelings that may arise.
Thanks again for your help!</p>
<p>Here is my question:</p>
<p>For my MT letter of recommendation, I was planning on getting it from the man who is the instructor of a summer 7-Sophmore theatre camp in our town. He has known me for 5 yrs and worked with me in several shows. However, the last in which I performed was three years ago; two years ago I was a student director and one year ago I student directed the middle school show. Nevertheless, I feel that he knows me better as a performer than most people and also as a person. He has seen all of my plays since then, he just hasn't been the director. What should I do?</p>
<p>My other option would be my my English teacher who runs the plays and musicals and possibly my voice teacher during the summers.</p>
<p>It would be nice to be able to "audition" your letter writers. I recently served as chairman of the scholarship committee for a local community theater. We required three letters of recommendation: any combination of academic, performance and/or personal reference. Some of the letters were very poorly written, including one by an English teacher who one would think would be the best writer.</p>
<p>Here’s my new dilema with MT LoR!</p>
<p>Last year, the teacher who has been my choir director for the past three years retired. He knew me very well, and I think that he would write me a great LoR. However, when I contacted him recently, he said that he thought I should have the NEW choir director at our school write my letter because if I didn’t, it would raise red-flags and the panel would wonder why my current instructor wasn’t writing the letter. I don’t feel like the new teacher knows me well enough to write a good letter on my behalf. I also have the option of asking for a letter from a choir director from another school with whom I took voice lessons with for two summers.</p>
<p>So is it really that important that I have my CURRENT choir teacher write me a LoR even if she’s only worked with me for…only one week? Or should I got with someone else who knows me better?</p>
<p>Use the one who worked with you in your jr year. He is the one who knows you best and will write the most complete and informed recommendation. That will be perfectly acceptable to schools unless they expressly state that they want the recommendation from your current senior year teacher (a requirement I have not obderved). The retired teacher can explain that he worked with you for three years up till the completion of your jr year. All of my daughters recs, both academic and talent, were based on her jr year (and longer where applicable).</p>
<p>Ditto what Michael advised you!</p>