offkey

Alright this is the matt of the future, the matt at the end of this letter. i was just looking back and this post is HUGE, so please forgive me. i promise its all mostly relevant information.

Heya folks,

its matt (edmondsg's son), i made my own username.

keds:
Unless you're applying early decision/action somewhere, college apps really shouldnt be a problem. I didnt start mine until well into the school year and i was fine. Even if you do apply early decision, since there should really only be one app for that, it's not that bad. As far as using up the summer goes, i had to give up a number of things including a summer camp i had gone to the past 2 years with all my friends, taking part in a 3-person show with two of my best friends, and just losing my summer in general. I don't regret a thing. Don't let apps get in the way of cherubs; you'll have plenty of time for that. and tell your son congratulations! he'll have an excellent summer if he chooses to go (which he should).

Jessica:
Congratulations as well!!
As far as electives go, you take four. they give you a big old list and you put them in the order from most interest to least. The list is about...15ish long? And generally you get your first choice, as well as two others from your 2nd to 6th or so choice. Then the last one is up to luck. I was lucky and got my first, 2nd, 4th, and 6th or something like that. But all of the classes are good, so even if you're not excited at first about a class you may get, you'll probably learn to like it. I don't think there was ballet offered? I'm guessing jazz is the closest thing, though theres always the chance that they added ballet to the list.

I did not know anyone before i went, though i quickly latched on to my roommate and a girl from his school (which just happened to be half an hour from my house), as well as a trio from iowa. by the end, the 6 of us were inseparable. As far as administrative stuff/class picking goes, they dont give people who are already friends any preference over anyone else i believe; if anything, they may put you with people you dont know just because they want to spread you all out. However, if you order your electives the same, theres a fairly good chance you'll have at least a couple of classes with one or two people you know. plus dont worry about not seeing them at all, meals and after-rehearsal time give you plenty of time to hang out with whomever you desire.

MT time! Group voice lessons (singing) are held every day. The groups are about 8 people, so it does stay pretty personal. You spend the first half of class doing technique, and the second half performing. Each student performs a piece of their choice (hint: bring some sheet music of showtunes you would like to sing in addition to the stuff they tell you to bring; i had to borrow from a friend) and then gets individually critiqued by the teacher. The teachers are pretty hardcore; the one i had just closed as Carmen, and another one i know teaches MT vocal students during the Northwestern school year (hopefully i'll get to study under her next year). You also discuss vocal health and things like that.

Other MT things. MT is a much smaller group; 30ish compared to the 135ish of the straight theatre group. at the beginning of the two weeks you are split into two core groups. I'm not sure if this is standard, ir may have been pure coincidence, but my group tended to have stronger voices, while the other group were stronger dancers. once again, NOT sure if that's standard or just coincidence. The two core classes held in the morning are acting-in-song, and dance, each 1.5 hrs long. Acting in song: at the beginning of the program you're also assigned a song by the instructors based on your diagnostic song that youre told to bring. Each class about 4 or 5 people get up and perform their specific song and get individually critiqued (mostly on acting, only occasionally on technique). You continue to rotate until the end of the two weeks when the two cores join together and watch a semiconcert of all the students perfected songs. Dance: pretty much self explanatory, you learn a few dances to several dance genres of showtunes. we did songs from 42nd street (yes, tap, but you didnt need shoes, though theyre good to bring if you already own them), hairspray, kiss me kate, and chicago.

In the afternoon you have voice lessons, music theatre history, and once every few days theres some sort of cool activity that goes on. I won't ruin them for you, but for example, we got to meet/have a q&a session with some cast members from the chicago Wicked production.

In the evening you have rehearsal for the revue you put on at the end of the two weeks. These songs are not the same as your core songs. if i recall theres two full ensemble songs, then two 15-person songs, then 4 octets, and then the rest are divided among quartets, trios, and duets. You're in the two main songs, and then 4 or 5 other songs in addition, one or two from the duet/trio/quartet group, one octet, and one of the half-ensemble pieces. this isnt a strict ratio for every student, but it usually ended up being something like that. the songs are usually from more contemporary shows; i had only heard of two of the songs when they were first announced.

anyway. the MT session is awesome; the fact that its smaller/more intimate leads to a completely different (not better or worse in my opinion) experience than the straight theatre one, though equally fun and educational. you'll have a blast. its kind of late and my writing skills were not at their peak during this post, so lemme know if any of y'all have any more questions on things i might have not been clear about.