jasmom

Hair callback list to be posted tomorrow 2am.

homestretch

theatredivasmom,

My d will be attending the Stella Adler studio next fall and will be looking for a voice teacher. Would you or anyone on the discussion have ideas for her?

theatredivasmom

My daughter is taking singing as an additional course besides her studio hours at Strasberg and her academic classes. She has a voice teacher who she has been very happy with and who is a grad student at the Steinhardt school of music. This teacher has been in many regional Broadway productions and has been extremely helpful to my daughter. I'll see if I can get her name for your daughter. It is an excellent situation as we pay a minimal amount for the lessons for the entire semester and she earns two hours of college credit doing something she was going to do on her own anyway.

homestretch

Thanks theatredivasmom!

klri

Homestretch,

My daughter is in Adler and takes private lessons outside of NYU. I wrote to her advisor to get recommendations for teachers. We went over the list and she took a sample lesson before she choice the her teacher. The teacher is wonderful and it turns out that a few of her friends are using the same person and all seem to be just as happy.

rossji

Well, once again, my daughter did not get an audition slot for HAIR. AND, she went to Into The Woods audition last night after she got out of work; TONS of people there and no room even on the waitlist. Guess she's gonna be making LOTS of money next year, seeing she can't audition for any shows!! Hmmm..

jasmom

Awww... That's SO disappointing. How is she coping? It's frustrating to not even get a chance. Is Into the Woods also a Tisch production? Is she, too, looking on the bright side of time to make more $? That's really a tough one. Send another mom's hug her way.

alwaysamom

rossji, I'm sorry about your D not getting there in time to get an audition spot. She must be very disappointed. I know she's just in the position now to be able to audition for shows for next year, and as a mom of a rising senior, I'd just like to give you my view based on our experience and you can take it for what it's worth. It also might provide insight to parents of new Tischies as well.

It is vital that students ensure that they are constantly aware of upcoming productions and the details of audition calls. Times for sign-ups and the actual calls themselves have to be adhered to absolutely. This is no different than it will be when they're out of school and going to auditions. This can be a problem when students have commitments to jobs. There have been discussions here on the forum in the past about students having part-time jobs while studying drama and MT. It's very difficult, in most cases, for them to do so and to still be able to devote the time needed to classes, homework, rehearsal, tech requirements, etc., and yes, for auditions. Depending on the type of job they have, they can be unavailable for any or all of these things for several hours each week, if it isn't a job that has some flexibility.

With the cost of college, especially at a school like Tisch, I totally understand the need for some kids to have a part-time job. Finding one which is not going to interfere with the vital parts of their educational opportunities is difficult, but it IS possible. It's important to keep these things in mind when looking for a job as a student. No kid can do everything, there simply isn't time in their schedules. When they have work commitments each week, they're not free to do the things which are being done during those working hours. If it's a workstudy job, these kinds of accomodations can usually be made for students. It's a balancing act and sometimes it doesn't work.

These are considerations that kids, and parents, need to keep in mind, probably more so for these kids than for kids who are studying other majors. Audition times are generally publicized well-enough in advance that most kids can have the opportunity to sign up for a spot but they need to be available when it's necessary.

rossji

Well, my d's going to try again today; apparently she thought they had another set of auditions today while she's at work, but they're afterwards. We'll see how it goes. Alwaysamom, I would have to disagree with you regarding the students getting plenty of notice for auditions. She only found out 3 days ago; her work schedule was set way before then. I don't know of too many jobs where you can rearrange your schedule 3 days ahead of time (even though her boss is also a director and would probably accommodate her if she could!) Also, she was supposed to get work-study in her financial aid package, but having studio 9-6 3 days a week, it was tough finding anything that didn't require her to work on those days. Jasmom, is your son auditioning for Into the Woods? I heard there were TONS auditioning for Hair (even with the head shaving/nudity; can you imagine??) I'm sure he knows about the audition, but in case he doesn't you might want to tell him it's today from 7-9 and 10-midnight? Something like that. It is a Tisch production, but it's GAP. If he's going to audition, tell him break a leg!

jasmom

rossji, well, good for her! Her persistence is noteworthy. I don't know if s knows about Into the Woods auditions. He loves the show. We have "an appointment" to talk this afternoon, so I'll pass along the info. and the encouragement. I don't know how all of your wonderful students pull off working. I'm sure that my son would not be able to do it. As it is, he's non-stop.

rossji

Also wanted to add: regardless if a student signed up for auditions in time, don't you feel that ALL drama students should get an opportunity to try out? I mean, esp. at NYU, when we're paying big bucks to send our kids there. One of the reasons students choose to go to NYU for theater is to perform there! If 400 drama students wanted to try out, I think they should be able to; that's the reason they're there! I can see where a GAP production would be a different situation; the students are running it. But any other Tisch production? I think any drama student should be able to try out (as long as they're able to be there on at least 1 of the audition days and shouldn't be excluded just because there were 400 kids ahead of them in line) I realize the "real world" is like that; 1000 people auditioning and not all will get a chance. But a college program should be more flexible as to allow all drama students to audition. It's bad enough that some VERY talented people won't get parts; it's even worse when not everyone can audition. Sorry; it's a real pet peeve for me (can you tell?? lol.)

alwaysamom

rossji, I can tell you're upset about this, and I truly understand that. I do know that the notice to students announcing when to sign up was more than three days ago. My D mentioned it to me almost two weeks ago, on the 10th of April. My younger D who isn't at NYU also spoke to a close friend that week who was going to audition, and he also knew of the dates for sign-up back then.

The job issue is a difficult one, for the reasons I stated in my previous post. No matter what type of job these kids have, it's going to mean sacrificing something else. Time is so precious for these kids. Several of my D's friends have had workstudy jobs over the past three years and have managed to work them in to fit around their studio schedule but they have not been able to participate in many things that the kids who don't work have been able to do. It also is, as I said, easier to get time off for things like this when necessary if they're doing workstudy but still not always possible. The necessity for that type of job is something which needs to be actively pursued at the beginning of the school year so that you can find one that will work with your schedule. This is true for all students, but especially so for drama students. It's an unfortunate fact that kids who work during the school year are going to miss out on opportunities.

As far as everyone being able to audition for every show, this may be an ideal which everyone would like but it's not realistic, even in a setting like this. The use of sign-ups and allotted times is very common, even my D's arts h/s did this. With the number of productions of various sizes (about 100) which occur at Tisch every year, there simply isn't time to hold full-out auditions for every student in the college. It would be impossible to do it. Did you ask your D how many kids are auditioning and how many slots there were? My impression from past productions is that it is not common for kids who show up at sign-up time not to get a slot, so I'm curious. Maybe I'm misunderstanding you when you say that there were 400 kids ahead of her in line? I thought from your previous post that the problem was that she wasn't able to go to sign-up at the announced time because she was at work. Am hoping to speak to my D again in the next day or so, so I will try to find out what the actual numbers were.

theatredivasmom

Rossij,

I am totally with you on your last post. Interestingly enough, my daughter doesn't seem to feel nearly as frustrated as I do with regard to the auditions, lack of notice, etc. She did get an opportunity to try out for Hair, said it was an excellent experience; didn't get a callback but still felt very good about it in the end. I guess I'm starting to understand why she is a drama major. She has a passion for drama and she is going to do whatever she can to make it happen for her while she is at NYU. As I mentioned earlier, she was cast in a series of One Acts by Tenneessee Ernie Williams that are being directed by Gallatin Students; I am not sure how she found out about the auditions for these, but she is thoroughly enjoying the process, meeting new people outside of her studio, making network connections (one of the actors in her production has graduated and has a SAG card so she learned a lot from him) and is looking forward to performing in a New York City theatre, as these are not being held on campus, if I'm not mistaken, etc. She also decided that she needs to attend summer school through Strasberg Studio to keep her acting skills at their peak. She felt last summer she lost the continuum she needs with regards to her acting skills. As her parents, you can imagine the smile on our faces when she suggested she needed some more money for summer classes at studio. But, you know, you just keep supporting their dream as long as they are willing to keep following it and it appears to be viable. She will be working part-time this summer in addition to studio to assist with some of the rent on her apartment during the summer. I believe she plans to keep working during the school year next year, too.

I have to admit that when you are spending $50,000.00 a year for your child's education, some financed through Parent Plus loans, there are times I feel like I might have a panic attack. I wish there were more opportunities and better publicity with regard to auditions and I think it's okay to feel the way you and I do with regard to the lack of publicity and timeliness of same when the university is charging the amount for tuition that it does. Sometimes I also realize that I'm more concerned about how many auditions my d is going to, than she is, and that's when I realize this is her life and her call on what she wants to audition for or doesn't want to audition for in the long run. I was surprised she auditioned for Hair because she is much more interested in dramas. At first she hesitated on the audition for Hair, and then in the end, as I said, although she didn't get a callback I think she really felt it was a growth experience as an actress. I know I was shocked by her enthusiasm for the audition process itself.

Is your d on the Tisch drama listserv at NYU? I am pretty sure that is of help with regard to knowing about auditions, when and where they will occur. I will also say that my d said she has had some trouble getting placed on the listserv, so if you d is interested make sure she makes sure there is follow through from both her end and the school's. I'm not sure my d had the follow through part down, and so the issues of not getting on the listserve could fall in her court, not NYU's, but can't judge as I am not there.

I also know with regard to auditions there are productions outside of NYU's drama department because both my d and her roommate are currently involved in separate instances of same. My d's roommate was cast in something through a Jewish Theatre league (could have the name wrong there) with the production occurring this weekend or next, not quite sure. D's roommate didn't try out for Hair as she will be attending the London Royal Academy (???) Drama School as part of her overseas study next fall. My d's one act is the weekend of May 5th and I believe she found out about that opportunity through Strasberg. It seems to me that oftentimes she hears about auditions through word of mouth.

Don't know if any of this advice is helpful, but I didn' think it could hurt. Anytime you get frustrated about the audition process, I always find posting here to be a positive tool in dealing with the frustration. I have learned so much from all of the regular posting parents on this forum. It provides both a wealth of information and a sense of camaraderie that can be helpful to the parent of someone who has chosen such a difficult profession to pursue.

Thanks to everybody for expressing their thoughts on this website.

Kris (Theatredivasmom)

soozievt

RossJi....while I already discussed about the Hair auditions and sign ups with you, I'll just reiterate those thoughts here and then tell you a few more things.

Ideally, it would be nice if everyone at a college who wants to audition is afforded that opportunity to do so. I know that in the case of NYU/Tisch, WAY more than just CAP students are eligible to audition for the shows, so we are talking huge numbers who want to audition. I know for Hair, there were four nights of auditions for at least four hours per night so they saw a LOT of people, and that doesn't even include callbacks. I know that my D got her first choice audition night when she signed up. What I think these students need to do is to keep apprised of the process and the procedures. It appears that a great many students knew to sign up and how and when. While it may not be ideal that not everyone can audition, that is the situation, so one must really keep on top of how it works, which is what the kids will have to do in auditions outside of school as well. For the next time, make sure your D asks other students where they find out about these things so she knows just what to do too.

Now, you are mentioning the GAP show of Into the Woods. As you know, my D is the musical director of this production. While she'd normally like to be IN the show, she knew that the only role she'd ever be considered for there would be Little Red and she has already played that role before (though she was cast as Cinderella in ITW at a professional theater this summer but has turned it down). When asked to be musical director, she agreed. The director of this production is a boy she went to SDM with for years...two years ago, he was Tony and she was Anita in West Side Story, and is now a good friend at Tisch. He is a freshman in Playwrights hoping to go into directing. The student producer of the show is an alum of SDM as well. My D's co musical director is a fellow CAP freshman and close friend. Ironically this boy posted on the CC MT Forum last year but my D doesn't read/post here but coincidentally he is now one of her best friends...he posted here last year as Collegebound87 and was also a student of wct who posts here.


I knew that ITW held auditions last night and they are doing more all tonight too. My D said huge numbers of students are trying out. When I read your post this evening about last night's auditions, I was wondering about it all. It seems that many students knew about this and that it has been posted in many ways. However, it hasn't been known for too long because my D told me on April 17 that their proposal for ITW had gone through and so I imagine it was either that day or very soon before that and she never expected that they'd be approved....it is not easy to get approved (many proposals go in) and they are currently all freshmen. So, the word spread like rapid fire all week.

My D just happened to call here about 20 min. ago on her way to the auditions, as she was leaving rehearsal for her a capella group. I mentioned that you were concerned that your D might not get to audition. She told me she had sent emails to your D to tell her to audition tonight. My D commented that she thinks your D has the best voice in their vocal tech class! Anyway, as my D was arriving at the auditions and was about to go, who walks up to her but your D! I overheard her saying hi to her and so SHE IS THERE and YES...she WILL get an audition! Last night, my D accompanied all who auditioned but tonight, they hired another pianist. It is very weird for her to be on the other side of the table being on the casting team and she says it seems everyone from CAP (and Tisch) has been trying out and so that can be tough. It is one of my D's favorite shows and she has studied Sondheim in depth. I'm glad your D will get to audition. She says that so many people like this show and want to be in it. While their show proposal only got approved a week or less ago....they wanted to hold auditions before everyone leaves NYU. The callbacks are next weekend and as you know, regular classes will be over about then.

My D also has a part time job related to musical theater in NYC on weekends but it has some flexibility and she can accept each date or not, depending on her schedule. These kids juggle many many things!

soozievt

Also, since we are talking NYU Productions.....while not a theater production...I'll mention that next Saturday night, my daughter's coed a capella group, The N'Harmonics, are putting on their final show at NYU for the season....so spread the word to those you know at NYU to go catch it. They are a hot group with really good voices and they seem to rock the place when they perform. If some of your kids go (I don't know your kids and they don't know my D....except RossJi's D who is in her class)....my D arranged two of the songs....Bohemian Rhapsody (in style of The Braids) and Something To Talk About (Bonnie Raitt) and her solo song is Think (Aretha Franklin). The N'Harmonics won the Northeast Quarterfinals in the International A Capella Competition held at Brown University last month. The N'Harmonics are going into the recording studio in about ten days for a week, to cut a CD. Tell your kids to check out the concert!