Times3

Oh good, glad to hear from another BUSTI parent (great acronym, btw). My son's very psyched, and we also plan to make it into a bit of a college-tour road trip on the way up. Is your daughter a junior? I'm sure she'll get even more into the process while in Boston. My S attended a shorter program at UMinn last summer, and it really helped him focus on college preparation--he was already motivated, but it made a huge difference to talk to faculty and students from a conservatory program. The BU program should be even more helpful!

MomtoC

My daughter attended BUSTI last summer and loved every minute. The kids were all focused and worked hard -- definitely not a "summer camp." A tip: have your son arrive with his monologues chosen -- or with the final few. My D had not selected a monologue and it was hard for her to find time to do the research to find the right one. I'm not sure how much time they spent on audition work.If you want to know more specifics, PM me and I'll ask my D. At the end of the program, students do (or may do?) their audition piece in one of two ways: as their audition piece for acceptance (in which case they don't receive feedback), or as a practice run and they receive feedback (very helpful for my D).

As far as I can tell, one of the main differences between Cherubs (at Northwestern) and BUSTI is that the Cherubs program winds up with full productions of plays, while BUSTI kids put on a show that is the result of their collaboration over the previous weeks. The kids are divided into groups for this process piece. The results were fabulous and each group's piece was unique.

Emerson College also has a summer program. We toured Emerson and were impressed with the facilities.

Times3

Many thanks, MomtoC--this is really valuable information. My son is thinking about monologues but has maybe chosen one or two, so your comments will be a motivator. I also found some posts from you and GwenFairfax from last spring about BUSTI, so that provided additional help. I was actually pleased to see that they do a collaborative, self-devised piece for the final performance--it's what I'd guessed and hoped for. S went to the UMinn summer intensive last year, which is run by both the BA and BFA programs--the BA program was much more experimental and student-created, and although his goal is BFA acting and he loves Shakespeare, he actually enjoyed the BA program work more at Minnesota. Sounds like BUSTI will give him more of that experience and a better chance to figure out what kind of program would be a good fit for him. Thanks so much for your post! I may get in touch via PM as the time draws near if we have questions.

ascharlau

Does anyone know anything about the US Performing Arts Camps? I requested a catalog and I'd like to send my S to UCLA for their Acting for the Camera camp. Thank you in advance.

nwiggie

Any good summer programs that haven't passed the application deadline?? UNCSA and Rutgers I think are still taking applications. Any info on these or other programs?

urbanator25

Northwestern NHSI Cherubs!!! I did it and it was an amazing experience. Breathing theatre all day for 5 weeks (you can do the musical theatre extension for 7), in classes and rehearsals from 8 in the morn to 10 at night, around brilliant faculty and kids...I'd be more than happy to answer any questions about it!:-)

hmh3515

The NYU Tisch summer program is a complete rip-off. They out-source their acting program to studio schools in Manhattan, like Stella Adler or Lee Strasberg. D opted to do the Stella Adler program one summer at a cost 1/4 of what NYU charges. Basically the same program.

nwiggie

Thanks for the info! My D definitely wants to apply to Cherubs next year (she is a rising JR). I looked at Stella Adler and Strasberg and their program doesn't end until Aug 10th...school starts before it ends! Anyone heard about the UNC program?

northdad

@hmh3515,
While it is certainly true that NYU summer acting program is expensive, it is not a "complete rip-off." Not, at least, in the experience of my child, who attended last summer. As you may not know, Tisch "out-sources" (not sure I would use that term, but I will follow your line of thought here for a moment) its BFA acting program to various studios during the regular academic year. That is one of the unique features of the program and the basis of its success. The summer program does the same. My child was assigned, in a group of about 15, to New Studio Broadway, and had Kenneth Noel Mitchell, an NYU faculty member, as the primary acting instructor:

Mitchell: Tisch School of the Arts at NYU

Voice and movement and other instructors were also NYU faculty or affiliates. The training was excellent. Guest lecturers included Louis Scheeder on Shakespeare:

Scheeder: Tisch School of the Arts at NYU

We also had a choice between Stella Adler and Tisch for summer programs. SA is certainly very good training and definitely cheaper, a very good option. What drew us to Tisch, however, was the excellent housing and chaperoning. In the NYU dorms, summer students are organized into groups of 6-8 and assigned a resident assistant, a current Tisch sophomore working for the summer. The resident assistant accompanies them to and from the studio morning and afternoon, goes with them on all field trips, etc. It was quite reassuring to know that our small-town 17-year-old was being very closely supervised in the city.

The field trips, to various theatrical productions around the city, were also excellent.

And, finally, students come away with six college credits which could be transferable to other programs.

Yes, Tisch is expensive. But there is quite a bit of value for that expense.

SDonCC

My D attended CMU for the summer and loved it, but the faculty was NOT the regular college faculty. It still gave her excellent training and a feel for both college campus living and the intensity of a BFA program, along with a look at what the talent pool from around the country was like. I'd imagine that many of these college-sponsored programs are not necessarily using the same (or at least all of the same) faculty as the college students have during the school year.

sparkleshirley

I just heard that my daughter was accepted to BUSTI! We're thrilled. Luckily I saw these posts and called to check on our status; the acceptance email never arrived. Best of luck to all who are still waiting.

PS: We still haven't heard from Theatrebridge.

Times3

A quick note to anyone who's waiting to hear from BUSTI--my son applied pretty early on and got an acceptance via e-mail on March 5th--but communication has been slim since then. He e-mailed to confirm that they'd received our deposit check, and received an e-mail update saying that they will be sending info packets out in early May (to kids who have been accepted and sent the deposit). I'd bet that they're just a little swamped with regular admissions issues right now! Anyway, I hope that helps for anyone who is waiting to hear from Boston. My son is really psyched for the program, and we're looking forward to the experience. Good luck to all

OddDad

^ what she said :-) By the way Times3 we did not receive that email about the packets being sent out in early May.

Times3

To clarify--our email from BUSTI was indeed in response to my son's inquiry about whether they'd received the deposit, etc.--I think we must be bugging them more than anybody! My guess is that they'll e-mail the information to everyone in May and until then, an air of mystery will be sustained.

Jillsfein

NHSI Cherubs. There is literally NO program like it in the world. You send off your talented kidr and come back with the most driven, self aware, disciplined adult you never knew was there.
Also, everyone there is smart as hell which you don't find at other programs.