| I mostly agree with Bassdad, but I do think that the prescreening serves as a way to save everyone time and money. We know kids auditioning for musical theater, which has no pre-screen, and I have heard soooooome stories already, about kids who were their high school divas and really have no business being in a competitive audition. Frankly, I would prefer to know that my child wasn't even in the running before taking an expensive trip to an audition.
OTOH, I think the best advice I have gotten here, and it was several years ago, is to have an independent evaluation of your child's talent (from a professional who can better assess the nationwide pool...not from a high school director or private teacher). And then to have it again...through acceptance into summer programs, festivals, etc. There really is no way to know whether your child can compete with the "big dogs" without an objective eye/ear. And yes, this can and should occur well before January of senior year. |