NewbieMTMom

Thought I would provide what I know about this morning's MT audition in Pittsburgh at CMU. Please note that because I am relatively new to this, I'm unable to properly identify people and I may not know everything that went on -- just the report from my D.

Time spent there from start to finish was 9a.m. to 12:30p.m. There appeared to be a lot of students -- but it was hard to tell with so many parents there. Most, if not all, were there to audition for MT. Only a few for anything else. It was a mixed bag of boys and girls -- I thought there were quite a few boys compared to the few others we've been to.

If I recall correctly, they said admissions for entering class of 2008 would consist of 28 students and look like this:
6 boys, 6 girls for MT
6 girls, 10 boys for Acting

We had a brief information session first. A woman from general admissions gave a brief talk. Then the head of MT did the welcome. There were 2 other gentlemen professors that also spoke briefly. All 3 faculty members were really wonderful and welcoming ... tried to put the kids at ease.

They split the kids in half: those who would dance first; then act/sing; those who would act/sing first; then dance. My D did her monologues first (did 2 and was asked to do a 3rd) -- there were 2 women in the room; 1 was the MT head. Then she went into another room to sing ... there were 2 women faculty there (she sang her 2 songs). According to my D, accompanist was "young." The group dance component was led by a male professor (who did not say any welcoming remarks). I think she said they did ballet and jazz combinations. Sorry I don't know who's who on the faculty other than the MT head. My daughter said all of the faculty members were really, really nice.

It appeared as though there may have been 2 rooms of everything going on. So ... there may have been another couple of professors listening to monologues in another room. Same for singing. However, I believe there was only 1 teacher doing dance in larger groups.

While the students were doing their thing, the wonderful CMU MT students (sophomores) gave the parents a tour of the drama bldg. They were delightful and full of a lot of great information.

I'm assuming everyone knows this but I'll throw it out just in case ... one of the faculty members said in the presentation that the audition counts for 80% of the admission decision; 20% is academic record.

All in all, a very positive audition experience for my D. The people at CMU really put the kids at ease.

NewbieMTMom

A couple of other things ... as mentioned on previous threads, they do take digital photos of each auditioning student before the audition begins (even though the students bring along a photo and resume). Also, my D (along with other girls) was asked to take off her boots (some girls were asked to take off their high heels) in the acting audition to allow for greater freedom of movement during the monologues. She was asked to do this in the audition room before she began her monologues. Also, the students auditioning were dressed rather nicely but in an array of styles. Many of the boys wore ties and jackets. Girls were stylish from conservative to trendy. I thought the kids auditioning looked adorable.

actormcfamous

Thanks for your report NewbieMTMom!

Question for you - how much of their songs did they have the kids sing? I'm auditioning next month in Chicago and am curious (since it doesn't say on the website). Thanks!

NewbieMTMom

We couldn't figure that out either. However, when we arrived this morning, they said 16-32 bars. My daughter's songs were cut at 32 so that's what she did and it worked out just fine. Sang 'em both, 32 bars each.

actormcfamous

Great! Someone mentioned (in a post from a couple years ago) that they asked for 32 at the audition so that's how I've cut them. Thanks very much for the info!

NewbieMTMom

You're welcome. I hope you have a great audition next month! All the best to you.

letsfigureitout

At my son's audition, the admissions representative indicated that the audition WAS the definitive admission piece. Yes, they eventually look at all the other "paperwork," but ONLY to see that you will be able to make it in classes at CMU. He gave "percentage weights" for audition vs. academic components--and I remember them to be 90-some percent audition vs. the rest academics. He did note that even though they don't use the academic portion as a major consideration at all, it turns out that the drama/MT kids really don't look all that different from the rest of the kids on campus in terms of academic stats.

Riesen

Do on-campus auditions have more weight with the admissions committee than regional auditions? Will a campus visit sway a decision at CMU? We were going to wait until a decision to visit, but if the visit will affect a decision, we may need to travel!

NotMamaRose

Riesen, I have no special knowledge, but I don't think that where a kid auditions is probably ever *the* deciding factor in an audition.

letsfigureitout

It is our impression that WHERE a kid auditions, or WHETHER a kid visits, does not matter in an acceptance decision. We've run into kids who were accepted at their schools from both on-campus and off-campus auditions. Reading back through CC should help you feel better about not visiting unless your kid is accepted--lots of folks do that! In fact, there are 3 schools on my son's list that he has not visited, and he's auditioning for them in Chicago. So, I HOPE it doesn't matter!

soozievt

BFA programs will tell you (and it is true) that they accept from both campus auditions and from Unified auditions. It doesn't matter when it comes to admissions, where you audition (otherwise schools would not bother with Unifieds!) Applicants get in from either audition location. It makes no difference in that regard. I know plenty of people who get in at campus auditions and plenty who get in at Unifieds.

The difference in audition locations has various benefits in OTHER ways for applicants.....all of which have been discussed here......for example, Unifieds make for less travel and campus auditions are a chance to visit the school if you have not already done so. But as others have posted, in terms of a visit, you can do that after acceptances arrive as well.

While there are advantages and disadvantages between campus and Unified Auditions, the one area where this is NOT the case, is in terms of admissions chances.

flhope

Our D auditioned in the Sunday (20 Jan.) afternoon session, and things were the same as NewbieMTMom's observed. The Forbes Ave. road closure and 12 degree temperatures added a couple of extra elements to deal with, but the CMU faculty and students coordinated things very smoothly (as far as we could tell) and in a friendly way. In particular, the MT and Acting students who were helping out did a nice job at making everyone feel as comfortable as possible.

Kids and parents were all put into one medium-sized room. The kids were then divided into groups, with one large group (maybe half the total of about 40 or so) heading off for the dance portion, and called into the different audition segments in small batches.

It was mentioned that CMU expects to audition about 1000, for 28 slots (12 MT and 16 Acting). The point was also made that those accepted for Acting still have the opportunity to work on voice, but not with the "double major" intensity that the MT students experience. All those in my D's session were there for MT, but the professor pointed out that the MT and acting auditions were one and the same.

Our daughter thought the the dance portion was pretty tough (she's had dance instruction but doesn't consider herself a dancer by any means), with a fairly wide range of technical skills and coordination (the latter not necessarily correlated highly with skill level!) apparent in her group.

One thing that surprised her (and knocked a bit off-stride) was that the acting and singing auditions were held in small faculty offices rather than in performance rooms. Is that typical for on-campus auditions? We thought that being on campus (especially at CMU, where our D attended the summer pre-college program and was looking forward to being in a familiar environment) would provide more of a true stage-type performance setting. So, for kids who make use of visualization to help get themselves "in the zone", work on visualizing singing while looking out a window at traffic and construction!

NotMamaRose

flhope, you mean to say that the kids were auditioning in the faculty members' offices?
Also, where did they have you guys park? Did they raise the electronic arm behind Morewood Gardens (on Forbes Avenue) so that you merely had to traipse up the hill to Purnell? I am wondering where to park. I don't imagine my daughter will want to wear her dress and high heels as she hikes up Forbes Avenue in the cold, and I don't blame her.

kaysmom

NMR,

I am pretty sure that you can park at that Morewood lot anytime on the weekend without a problem. Best of luck to your d!!!

nydancemom

I remember from daughter's audition last year, that the kids did audition in little tiny offices. One of the girls who auditioned the same day, came back to the room where all parents were waiting and I could hear her complaining bitterly about it. So I asked D when she was done what it was like. She said there was little room to move, and she felt VERY close to the faculty who were watching, but she didn't feel it disturbed her audition. Different schools...different situations. The kids just have to deal with whatever is thrown at them I guess. More power to them! I could never do it!