Wright State Talk 2015

My son was notified via email after he submitted the paperwork. He had already been accepted into the school, but I don’t recall if that was a requirement

When did he send it in? If I recall correctly - and it’s been a while - the university does most of its notification through the web portal. I know we had some confusion about that, and it took us awhile to figure that out. We kept wondering when we were going to hear. I think the only email notifications we got were regarding scholarship/financial aid stuff (I just went back through old emails to check). I believe once you are accepted to the University the student gets a new PIN and portal information - I think this caused us some additional confusion at the time and we found WSU admissions portal system to be more convoluted than others. I think WSU does rolling admissions, so the wait shouldn’t be too long.

I assume that your S is requesting a January/February audition?? I’m pretty sure that the Theater Dept. would have taken care of notifying everyone with November auditions first and since that just happened last weekend, my guess is that they are just now getting around to sorting out the Winter audition applications. My S used my email address for all college applications and it looks like he received an audition invitation on October 2 for a November 8 audition. Right now, the faculty is in the middle of casting for next semester’s shows and then they’ll get wrapped up in juries and end of semester happenings. If it were me, I’d wait until at least the first week of December and then try contacting Victoria Oleen in the Theater Dept. She’s a gem and has great patience for anxious parents of applying/new students. Due to the usual privacy issues, she will only be able to divulge certain information to your S, but I think she can tell you if everything has been received and when notification will happen.

I know the waiting is SO hard. Good luck.

You can always call to check. Victoria Oleen is very nice and helpful. :slight_smile:

Thanks, I will def, call her. We’re in L.A. And traveling to NY, SC, NC and IL so I’d love for in be able to hit that NY WSU mini audition or book travel in advance :wink:

You do not need to sign up in advance for the mini-uni in NYC - it is a “walk-in” in the truest sense of the word - and can actually still attend the walk-in even if you do not pass a school’s pre-screen.

An interview with Shenandoah’s Jonathan Flom about the idea behind the “mini-uni”: http://artsbridge.com/audition-news-five-schools-announce-an-open-call-audition/

I am trying to email someone at WSU about the possibility of video or off campus auditions. Who should I ask? The person listed on their accdptd page. I forget her name, it started with a V. And I havn’t heard back in week. Perhaps not looking at email though with the holidays this week.

That could be. Victoria Oleen is the Managing Director of the Department and can generally answer any questions. Joe Deer is the Head MT faculty.

Going to email Ms. Oleen if no one on here has an answer, but I figured I’d give it a shot here first:

Would it be okay if I sent in only my audition request form now (to secure my spot on the audition date and the masterclass) and then send in my resume, headshot, and transcript at a later date? Based on the wording on the website, I am unsure if all of these must be sent together, or just that they all must be received two weeks before the audition.

I don’t have my headshots printed yet, but I really would like to attend the February masterclass, so would it be okay to mail just the audition form at this time, and send the rest of the materials later?

I would send as much as you can in one batch with the application. Do you have your resume and transcript ready? I think they might be understanding about not having a headshot printed, but may wonder what the holdup is with a resume. Lack of a transcript COULD be seen as a HS counselor issue, but I would not wait until February - or even January - to get everything in. This may be a personal view, but I might feel there was a correlation between “strength of desire to attend my program” and “effort put forth in getting everything in on the earlier side”. Maybe it’s just me. Of course, if there are extenuating circumstances, then do the best you can.

Some pics of the CAC expansion/renovation bringing new dance studios, rehearsal space, classrooms and more. Much of the project will be completed in April for the Arts Gala, the rest by next fall in time for presidential debate.
http://wsucola.■■■■■■■■■■/post/135785248234/dean-sobolik-visits-cac-renovation-project

A news video highlighting the renovation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw5m-OpP2ts&feature=youtu.be

@mom4bwayboy - does your S live on campus? Are you from the area? Does the school have diversity in all areas? I’d love to hear what your S has to say if anything.

@Dankadon - Yes, he is living on campus for the second year (on-campus apartment shared with 3 others) - about half of his freshman cohort stayed and half moved off-campus. The school overall has quite a bit of diversity - depending on your definition. For a long time, it was more of a commuter school serving the needs of local - perhaps lower-income, first generation attending college - students from all kinds of backgrounds. In recent years it has expanded tremendously and there is a significant over-seas contingent. The school really prides itself in its inclusion of students with all kinds of “abilities” and that was something my son found himself surprised to appreciate. The campus is adding new buildings and renovations like crazy right now. The make-up of the theater students is slightly more homogeneous than the campus overall - reflecting the general make-up of kids applying/auditioning for theater-related programs, I think. For a long time, WSU’s program has been a well-kept “secret” and most of the kids came from with-in Ohio. I don’t think that’s so true anymore and there are kids from all over the country. The casting of productions is fairly race-blind as far as I can tell and there seems to be a lot of mixing between Acting/MT/Theater Studies students. My S also enjoys interacting with the theater tech/design folks and film majors - probably the same for most of the kids.

We are from the Cincinnati area, an hour away from the school and were aware of the school for a long time, but not until we saw our first musical there when S was a HS junior did we realize what a gem WSU is. Feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions or if you want information from “the horse’s mouth”. The moms of an MT freshman boy (from the north) and a junior girl (from the south) also haunt this thread if you want their perspectives.

Got my confirmation for the masterclass/audition today! This was on the itinerary for the masterclass:

“Acting Power​​​​ 10:00 – 12:00​
(Prepare a song & monologue that you​ are not using in your audition)​
Joe Deer, Bruce Cromer, Scot Woolley”

I’m not sure if this class was offered last year, but if it was: Does anyone know if each student performs both a monologue AND a song? I’m figuring theres so many kids there (some of which who may not get to perform at all?) that each person who goes does either a song OR a monologue? I’m just curious since this is the first class of the day, and singing is definitely my strongest suit, so I’d prefer to make my first impression with my voice than my acting. If anyone knows whether or not the student gets to pick which one they do, or if they do both, please let me know! Thank you! :slight_smile:

Just texted my Junior D - this is exactly what she said: “They volunteer to do either. They only get through like eight people. It’s completely volunteer. But you can do either a song cut or monologue.” Let us know (speaking for other WSU moms on here) if you have any other questions!

@MTmom2017 Only eight people! Wow - I better be quick at raising my hand :smiley: Thank you (and your D) for the info!!

Back already with a new question LOL. I just realized Wright State asks for 1 minute solos as opposed to giving a # of bars. The 32 bar cut of my ballad runs about 1 minute and 20 seconds - will I get cut off? Perhaps they were just using “1 minute” as a synonym for “32 bars”? Maybe I’m reading too much into it, I just want to make sure I follow directions because I know being cut off does not reflect well on the auditioner!

@gmo913 Sending you a PM!

@gmo913, I recommend cutting your ballad. When we were there in November, Wright State timed the auditions. All three items (1 monolog, 2 songs) cannot exceed 3 minutes. They will stop you when time is up.

I agree. Cut to 1 min. For uptempo & ballad my son had 3 versions of each… 1 min, 32 bars & 16 bars. Always assume that the rules/guidelines are absolute & you’ll never go wrong. :slight_smile: