| Maybe hard to hear.......
I don't want to speak for Musicalthtrmom or say that this is what she meant, but along the same lines, I believe that kids DO end up with a result that is best for them IN THE LONG RUN. We all think our kids are talented and many are. I know that the spots available for majoring in Musical Theater are limited and so it is comforting to think that if your child is not admitted, that it is only because there aren't enough spots. But sometimes, and I know this is hard to accept, the truth is that the student, while talented, really is not as talented as those who WERE accepted and maybe not talented enough to seriously consider pursuing MT as a long term career choice. And I believe that the proliferation of Musical Theater programs at the college level is NOT necesarily a good thing. I think many schools are developing these programs to meet the market demand they see and view it as another way to have more students attend their schools. Whether or not they will be able to develop quality training programs remains to be seen. What is known is that there are VERY FEW people who make a living in this business. Many of them have never set foot inside a college MT class and if you look at those who have gone to college for MT and who have achieved some level of success, the vast majority of them (and please notice that I did NOT say ALL!) come from the top tier schools discussed at length in this forum. And you have to know that the vast majority of the kids in even THOSE programs do not go on to the point where they can make a living as performers. Hard to hear and accept? You bet. And while no one wants to crush their child's dreams or squelch their passion, at some point, someone in the know, preferably someone who knows them and cares about them very much, needs to tell them that maybe they need a fallback plan, that maybe going to the the 50th best MT program in the country is NOT better than not going for MT at all.
Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I really DO care about these kids. I wouldn't still be here reading and writing to so many of you if I didn't care. I just feel like a little dose of reality is called for now and then.....
And, as one of my favorite comedians and a very smart guy, Dennis Miller, says, "And afterall, this is just my opinion. I could be wrong........" |