They had a 9am check in for about 25. And a 10am check in for about the same.
So far Elon are masters of inefficiency. It takes them 13 hours to do what Carnegie Mellon can do in 3. Ugh… Sry. Getting agitated. Starbucks is wearing off.
^^^ It’s really amazing how slow it is going here at Elon! I don’t get it. I think there’s about 60 here today. That’s a lot but shouldn’t take this long. Got here at 8:30 and haven’t even done the dance call yet!
There were two dance calls at our audition. One early one late. Some kids did not finish their voice audition until 8:30 (and arrived at 8:30 am).
Current Elon MT parent here. I know it can be a long day. Are auditionees still getting to sit in on an acting class? And work with a pianist before their vocal audition? I know things have changed a little this year since they started the prescreens. They don’t want the kids to feel rushed either.
If you have down time in between things, run over to the student center next door. Pick up a course catalogue, visit the new Lakeside dining hall and check out its global food offerings. There is also Ithe Irazu coffee shop there. Visit the new Global dorm area next to the lake. You are also not far from the bookstore and a few food hotspots popular with the students: the Acorn, Smitty’s and Pandora Pies.
Also, talk to the students who are helping out. Not just about the program, but what it’s like at Elon.
My D auditioned at Elon a week ago, and it did seem like an unnecessary amount of time to complete the process. The acting class they were supposed to sit in on was with a part time professor who seemed confused why they were there, and no students, so not a class. I was hoping that by spending the entire day there, they would actually be talking to the kids and getting to really know them, but D was in and out for the vocal and acting portions of the auditions with literally no interaction with faculty except a thank you. The dance call was longer and D thought fun. Got there 8:30 am to get schedule for day, 10:00 am “acting class”, spent 5 mins. with pianist late morning, 1:30 parent meeting, 2:30- 3 minute vocal portion, 4:30-3 minute acting portion, dance call 6:30, finished a little after 8:00pm. We literally had 2 hours of unnecessary waiting between all parts of the audition and there were only about 65 kids there. It’s a fantastic program, but thought the reason for being there ALL day was for them to attend class and see what it would be like as a student and for the faculty to really get to know the candidates. Really felt let down on both counts.
Syracuse was another disappointing audition experience that I wish my D had done at Unifieds. From a parent’s perspective, I enjoyed Ralph Zito and the panel of students. Ralph did not seem in a hurry and answered everyone’s questions. The panel of kids seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the program and the faculty. I went on a tour of the facility and felt like the kids leading the tour were answering all questions sincerely. My D had a very different experience, and felt like the the actual audition process was rushed and that the faculty seemed annoyed that they were even having to deal with auditions to the point of rudeness. I was sorry we made a special trip to audition on site as it seems that the kids who auditioned at UNIFIEDS had a similar experience.
OU (University of Oklahoma)
Wow. Loved this school! Campus is Gorgeous. Students & staff are super friendly. Actually, everyone in Oklahoma just seemed to be friendly! Facilities are amazing.
Day began at 8:30 - 9:00 with check-in & intro. of faculty & welcome remarks by dean & faculty & staff. Kids had already submitted their Headshots and resumes via snail mail. More were not needed. Kids prepared four songs: 2 Classic MT (ballad & uptempo) & 2 Contemporary (ballad & uptempo) - 60 secs cuts/each. 2monologues from different time periods, one comedic & one dramatic.
Head announced to the kids that they had received 1200 prescreens this year and had given 120 callbacks so students should already feel special. This number seemed high to me, but who am I to question… Now they will pick a class of possibly up to 15, though last year they took only 11 (8 boys & 3 girls) grrr…There were 21 students at this callback, four were boys.
9:00 - 10:00: students took turns warming up with accompanist. Accompanist picked two of the four songs for the students to present. He did ask D if she was comfortable with those choices. D admitted he had selected her favourite ones. Parents were taken on a general tour of campus led by an MT student. kids were taken to the women’s or men’s dressing rooms were they could leave their things unattended safely.
10:00 - 12:00 Song/Monologue Sessions (kids changed into dance wear immediately after sessions.
11:30 - parents had Q&A with current MT students. They were so nice and funny & informative.
12:00 - 1:00: dance call. Kids were asked to separate into “dancers” group and “movers” Each group was taught a different combo. at their skill level. Kids in both groups mentioned they loved this approach. Kids were allowed to switch groups if they felt overwhelmed/not challenged. They learned the combo in one room and then were taken to another for the dance audition. they auditioned in groups of three.
1:00 - 1:55: lunch on our own with the kids.
2:00 Tour of Fine Arts facilities. Wow. Very Nice. I counted at least three theatres at least that seat 700, 600 & 250 respectively in addition to various smaller, more intimate performance spaces,
3:00 Parents had Q&A with the director. He said decisions will go out mid-March. They have two more audition Fridays. No’s come via snail mail. Yesses come via personal phone call. A second call follows first with scholarship offer.
7;00 pm - all kids who auditioned and their families got invited to see the final run through before tech week of La Cage Aux Folles which opens soon. It was Wonderful. Absolutely loved it (even without microphones, costumes, full orchestra, or full set) and plan on going back (if D hasn’t been rejected by then) to see the finished production.
-This school has many more students currently on Broadway than I would have guessed. They sent us a list.
-Freshman - senior year take private voice weekly
-Freshmen may audition for shows.
-School puts on two musicals a year. One classical, one contemporary. Kids may also audition for plays & operas.
-President of school is big proponent of a semester Abroad. MT kids pair up with kids in Venice Italy & collaborate. OU kids pay same tuition as if they were in OK.
-Friends of OU Arts is big supporter of the kids, sometimes paying airfare for students to study abroad and/or attend summer stock auditions. They are Very committed to student success.
-Professional theatre in OKlahoma City of tends to cast OU students where they may earn Equity points.
-No Senior Showcase. Instead they do a week in NYC where they attend master classes and have appointments to meet with casting agents/companies. This year, for the first time, seniors will present a new work by Broadway composer at 54 Below. The kids are very excited about being launched in this manner. Casting agents are being invited to this rather than the Showcase. School is paying for seniors’ hotel bill.
-Lots of Industry professionals come to work with the kids for weeks at a time.
-there is art EVERYWHERE. Sculptures around every corner, student murals and paintings in virtually every wall of every building we toured. I have never felt so truly surrounded by art.
-The Great Reading Room inside Bizzell Memorial Library is like a scene straight from Hogwarts, a favourite of all us who toured. Think Hogwarts Great Hall minus bewitched ceiling…
-Campus Corner- not an actual corner but an area just across campus & the MT building with shops (bookstores, boutiques…)and food places (starbucks, Chipotle, Irish pub, etc…)I highly recommend Hideaway Pizza.
@addicted2MT: Most excellent report! Fingers crossed!
Thanks, @winnieroot . D did not feel “the vibe” for all the schools she auditioned for, but this is one of those she did and was not expecting it. It was nice to add another school to the list of ones I know she will be excited if she is lucky enough to get an offer.
My D did a walk- in audition for OU at Chicago UNIFIEDS. They asked her to come back a few hours later, but she had a previous commitment. They were then very rude and told her not to bother. Chicago really was the good, the bad and the ugly!!!
So sorry to hear that! Is OU Otterbein or Oklahoma? @limbo2019
Oklahoma U
I know I’ve missed doing some reviews … I’ll have to go through my notes, but I’ll put WMU here because it’s the most fresh in my mind. (Hopefully, this will help someone for next year in the Class of 2020! I know I poured through these threads looking for info.)
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
8:00am - sign in begins in the Shaw lobby. Each kid gets a number w/ their last name printed on it - along with colored dots that I (supposed) signified if they were auditioning for straight acting, MT or both. (Here’s what I didn’t get: there were signs that told parents to “park on the ramp”. Now, I don’t know if that meant the parking garage about a block away or what … we just parked right in front. The lot was empty … and that’s where everyone else parked too.)
8:30am - general mtg. with the head of the department. She said a lot of things that I loved … it’s really a conservatory style program inside a liberal arts college, they bring in casting directors to work with the kids, etc. She introduced some other professors and then the financial aid woman spoke a bit.
(What I didn’t realize until WAY later was that there were muffins and beverages outside the auditorium. Dammit.)
8:50am - they started calling groups of about 10 - and they’d alternate. 10 Musical Theatre. And then about a 1/2 hour later, they’d take 10 Acting. Based on the number D received at check in, she was about 50 people deep. And I believe her group got called at 11am. (Yes, there’s LOTS of waiting … but that’s no different from any other audition.) I would say there was about 100 kids there total - and they mentioned they had already seen about 200 kids in their previous auditions and would admit a class of 15.
The kids auditioned in front of a panel of about 5 people. While the kid in front of you was doing their monologue, you would be going over your pieces with the accompanist. So, two contrasting (16 bars) and then monologue. The profs told D that they were looking forward to seeing her at the dance call - and then the student helpers handed her her golden ticket and she was done.
Probably the worst part of the whole day was watching kids come back in with no call back. The actors would get an envelope if they were called back. The MT kids, a golden ticket. (Ala American Idol.) Someone had told me prior to D’s audition to be prepared, and I’m glad they did.
I believe the Acting callback was for a movement class at 12:30’sh.
After her songs/monologue, D changed into her dance clothes and I realized she brought a Rockford University sweatshirt to wear over it. Oh hell no. So we went to Panera to eat, went to Walgreens to buy a wall outlet charger for my iPhone and then to the WMU bookstore to get her a Western Michigan sweatshirt so she looked like she actually WANTED to go to this school. (Personally, I think D deviously planned this in advance so I’d buy her another college shirt.)
The call time was 2:45pm. They actually took all the kids at 2:40pm - so be on time!
I don’t know exact numbers but it looked like the cut about 3/4 of the auditionees.
For the dance call, I believe they divided them into 3 separate groups. Maybe 4 - but all in one studio.
Dance combo was to “Ease on Down the Road” and D said it was the BEST and most FUN dance call to date - a title once held by Ball State. 
There were times that they had to improv I believe too. And … they ran it one last time with the entire group. When I say D had a great time - she had a GREAT time. Loved it. Walked out of there with several new friends.
Any questions? Pls. ask.
Oh! Dance call was about an hour long.
I had asked previously (via email) if we could/would be out by 4pm as D had a show that night. They were VERY understanding and said if D got a call back to make sure the coordinator on site knew and it would be no problem.
And that’s exactly what D did.
He said he’d make sure D was in the first group to go. It ended up not mattering because they kept all the groups together - and she was done by a little bit after 4p anyway.
Really great audition experience.
so not an entire audition review; just a snippet:
Univ. of (UpNorth Somewhere) (I don’t wanna upset the locals)
Information Session: Pretty typical stuff about the program, the school, the campus, the community. yada yada
Lots of in-state people there - expected more out of state.
Then its time for Q&A. (I’m really not paying attention though)
‘Person from the audience’ -
I immediately begin shaking my head, rolling my eyes, “pshaw”… ridiculous question…he’ll get laughed right out of the room.
‘Response from School official’ -
[quote]
Oh, they can store them at the Armory. Its open 7 days a week, 5am to 9pm./quote… “wait… What?” I’m confused… maybe this school is an Olympic training ground for the Biathalon? Where they have their own bolt-action 22’s, skiing all over campus… Its certainty freakin cold enough for it. That has to be it.
“I’m sorry… WHAT!!!”
Apparently this state
.
Beyond my initial thought of ‘I really need to get back to the city’… I’m also pretty sure its impossible to conceal a handgun in dance belt… my kid will just have to go without.
So you are saying that you are not familiar with the new LaDuca Tap 'N Shoots?
@pghmusician - That is one of the scariest things I’ve ever heard! Wonder if they plan their show schedules around hunting season?
and @DaddyDoRite, one of the best comebacks ever!
@pghmusician & @DaddyDoRite - thank you both. I needed to LOL this am. Mission accomplished! =D>
@addicted2MT - Thanks, but the REAL funny part is that I tried that line on my co-workers and they didn’t seem to get it. At all. Like…crickets.
Last month, D auditioned at a school that hasn’t been mentioned at all this year on CC - Univ of Central Florida - and it was a wonderful experience. The school assigned ‘Audition Buddies’ prior to arrival, who wrote to offer their help and reassurance. On audition day, D’s Buddy greeted her with a lidded souvenir cup of Throat Coat and a nice bag of assorted snacks, Kleenex, Purell, etc. Nice touch. Next, the entire group had a Music Theory test, then individual songs, followed by an all call for dance. Monologues were not done live, with evaluators referring to Pre-Screen videos for this. While the kids were having their Theory test, parents met with quite a few current BFA MT, Acting, Directing, etc students for open questions. After the theory test, the staff arrived with the auditionees for more discussion of the program. UCF facilities are slated for upgrades, and the dorms are some of the best we’ve seen in the college search. The program felt very welcoming.