Hi, I was thinking about applying to AMDA as I heard that it was good training and easier to get into than many of the extremely competitive schools. However, they keep contacting me over and over again to ensure that I am auditioning, seeming that they are desperate/ will take anyone. It seems a little fishy. Does anyone know anything about AMDA and whether it is good training/ worth the money, pros/cons and if you can actually make a successful career in musical theatre by attending there. Thank you!
It also makes me a tad uncomfortable how pushy they seem… you can audition and they won’t rope you into attending when you don’t want to will they? I’m kind of scared to be honest…
I would apply to others and AMDA would be more as a backup
Hey! I have a couple friends who are going to AMDA LA this upcoming fall! AMDA is really a college, its technically a training program. I’m sure it’s good training, but not sure if all of it is applicable. For some reason it had been nicknamed “SCAMDA”. I assume thahs because of the cost of the training. The locations are good for acting, but you have to look at the entire spectrum! They called me and pushed me into scheduling an audition (which I did not attend) and they kept contacting me about it. It was kinda weird now that I think about it. They probably just want your money. I would check out CalArts!
My sister’s friend’s daughter went there a number of years ago. So please take this hearsay with a grain of salt. But her impression was that they take EVERYONE the first year, and only keep who they want the second year. The daughter was one of the ones NOT asked back, and they were very angry. It is expensive. Yet, go to any Broadway show, and you are likely to see someone from AMDA in the cast. So research it thoroughly. I don’t recall ever seeing a parent here whose kid went to AMDA, or an actual AMDA student. That of course doesn’t mean it is bad.
My high school director had a student attend AMDA a long time back. HIs experience was that there was a huge disparity in how students are treated. He said there was kind of an unofficial “A” group and a “B” group. He was an “A” group kid, and has done very well. He’s worked steadily and was in a national tour of Beauty and the Beast as well as one other show, I believe. I’ve also heard the program referred to as “SCAMDA” by some friends. But, really, I don’t know much about it other than the talk that circulates the theatre grapevine.
Thanks. Is it alright then if I apply sort of as a back up?
Im creating my list of colleges this summer and many are ] difficult so it is nice to have a more safe option. I have Ithaca, Emerson, Pace, Syracuse, CAP 21, NYU, Point Park, Rider, Montclair, Marymount Manhattan, University of Washington, SUNY Purchase and Central Washington. I want to apply for Carnegie Mellon but it is so competitive so i’m not sure whether it is worth it to pay to apply and such.
Others I was thinking of but haven’t researched yet are Illinois Wesleyan University, Millikin University, Rockford College, Western Illinois University, Western Michigan University, Central Michigan University and Elon.
Thoughts anyone?
Geographically it looks like you’re mostly interested in East Coast and upper Midwest - true? What are your strengths/weaknesses in MT-related singing, dancing, acting skills? What kind of student are you? GPA, etc.
How many total schools to you want to audition for? Are you doing on campus or unifieds? The more schools on your list- the more logistics you need- and that can be a challenge in and of itself. (Esp if you want to do on campus)
There are so many questions you could ask yourself to help shape your list. Here are some that may help you pare down your choices:
- How many hours drive do you want to be from home? or is this important to you?
- Do you want to be in a large city, small town or something in between? Or does that matter?
- Do you want to take only arts classes or do you want to be able to take classes in other subjects? (really look at each program's curriculum)
- How much dance do you want to take? Do you want dance classes to be leveled (usually if you are more advanced you'd like to be able to level into higher or more advanced classes)
- How many/what type of acting classes do you want to take?
- Do you want group voice lessons? solo voice lessons? vocal coaching in addition to voice lessons? Make sure you understand what is offered. Do you want a lot or a little music theory or piano?
- Do you want the opportunity to be in other clubs and organizations, possibly fraternities or sororities, etc..? sports events? or do you want to be all arts all the time?
- Do you want to be able to be in an honors program? do you want a school considered more or less academically challenging?
- Do you want to be part of a large MT class or a small one? Different schools accept different sizes of classes.
There are many other questions to ask yourself when making final decisions, but this should at least help you fine tune what you hope to find in a college. Answer each of these questions honestly. Think about how you feel about it - not what other people are telling you that you should do. (For example, most people assumed our D would want to be in NYC - but she decided she wanted to be on a more traditional college campus so she ended up not even applying to any of the more urban schools). Compare your answers to the schools you are considering and see if you can eliminate some and/or possibly add others based on your answers.
And be aware as you visit schools, your answers to some of these questions may change. You may have thought you wanted to be in the city and find you love a small town school. That’s ok. The important thing is to be honest with yourself throughout the process so you end up somewhere you will get the training you want and where you will be happy. I always recommend to folks that any time you are near a college campus, take the opportunity to walk around, see how you feel, see what you like. Don’t worry if it has an MT program. Just get a feel for different types of schools of different sizes and locations and see what you like best.
Since you have both city schools/midwestern schools on your list - you may want to consider CCPA - Roosevelt University in Chicago. You also may want to consider Webster in St. Louis. And I would strongly encourage you to include some non audition programs. You may want to consider Columbia College in Chicago for that purpose.
I know two people that have graduated there in the last 5 years and both have worked steadily since graduation. The first one did some regional theatre and then went on to do cruise ships which she loves. The most recent graduate has received several call backs - one for a national tour and has been in a couple different regional theatre shows. This graduate also has worked their summer camp last year and is going back to NYC to work it again before audition season as she just finished another show in PA. All her survival jobs in NYC have been theatre related so far.
I am most likely best at singing, then acting, then dancing but I can do all. I have around a 3.6- 3.7 cumulative GPA unweighted (I’ve taken many AP classes). Yes I am mostly interested in the upper midwest and East Coast and I’m mostly interested in liberal arts colleges over conservatories.I would prefer small over large.
How many schools should I apply to? I was thinking 12 or more in case I didn’t get into a lot… is that a good idea? I am hoping to go to Unifieds in Chicago for all of the schools that are involved in Unifieds. Question 1: How do you find out about how to go to Unifieds? 2: Do all schools require a video submission first? 3: How do you send in the videos and when? 4: How many schools are involved in Unifieds and how can you find out which ones?
I am not allowed to visit any until I find out if I am accepted. Also I have two non-audition (University of Washington has a musical theatre track in theatre major and I believe Central Washington)
Is my plan too risky? Or good?
@BeccaW444 - to answer some of your questions:
- It is typical to apply to 12-15 schools if auditioning for MT
- Search the forum for threads regarding Unifieds. The list of schools who attend may vary from year to year, so definitely check with each school in which you are interested to see if they will be in Chicago during that time. Note that many schools who will conduct auditions in Chicago that week are not officially part of Unifieds and will not be listed on the Unified website. But they will be there. This is why you always need to check individually with each school.
- To audition for a school at Unifieds, you must follow the application process for each school you want to audition for and apply and sign up to each individually. There is not a “unified” application. Again, check with each school to find out their deadlines and requirements. (As you can see, the only thing really Unified about Unifieds is that a lot of schools agree to be in the same location during the same dates to conduct auditions so that students can more easily audition for them. ). You will have a separate audition for each school you apply to and that audition day and time will be arranged directly with each school. So if you apply to 12-15 schools, you will have 12-15 applications and will need to schedule 12-15 individual auditions.
- Re: videos - some schools now require prescreen videos to be submitted and passed before you can schedule an in person audition. Think of your prescreen as the first round of auditions and you need to make the cut to move on to the 2nd round which would be your in person audition. Not all schools use prescreen videos as part of their audition process. And the schools who do use them change from year to year. So again, you need to check with each school you are considering to see if they require a prescreen video and what their requirements for that video are. They will also differ on what they want to see on the video and what their submission deadlines are. And how they want that video to be submitted. Most will provide a link to a service such as Accptd to upload your video to. So pay close attention to the requirements for each school.
- There is a website for Unifieds. It is www.unifiedauditions.com. There you will find a list of schools, dates and other info. But be aware, there are many other programs besides those listed that will be in Chicago to cconducT auditions on those same dates. So not to sound like a broken record, but check with each individual,school to see if they will have auditions in Chicago during the time of Unifieds.
- On your list there are a number of schools that are more conservatory style including Cap 21, Pace, Rider and Point Park. AMDA would also be more like conservatory training. If liberal arts is what you want, you might look at Muhlenberg. I am guessing you live in Washington State because of your non audition schools? You are leaving out lots of great programs in the mid part of the country you may wish to consider. Look into schools like Northern Colorado, Nebraska Wesleyan, Texas State, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City University, southern Illinois, Utah, Arizona, TCU and many others, or Ohio schools like Wright State, Otterbein, Baldwin Wallace, Ohio Northern.
As you can see, researching schools and programs and applying to them and scheduling auditions can be very time consuming. There really is no short cut.
Good luck and best wishes to you!
@vvnstar, that is one of the most informative posts anyone has ever written. You gave a perfect step-by-step explanation/guide to Unifieds.
I’d like to add that you might want to get things done well in advance of the deadlines, if possible. Most schools have limited numbers of available audition slots for Unifieds and once those fill, you will be unable to audition. Also, to have your choice of audition day and time, it is best to get your apps in early.
@BeccaW444 - @vvnstar gave very accurate information - the most important being “every school is different” in their application requirements and it changes year to year. You will have to do your own “leg work” on school websites to get up-to-date information. Many schools will not post new requirements and dates until July and even the “slow ones” should have it updated by early September. You will want to be working on your applications now (assuming you are a rising HS senior), or as soon as they start opening in July. Many use the Common App, which I believe you can start any time. Even if they use the Common App, many (depending on the schools you apply to) will require their own essays. You should be working on these now, because you will want to focus on your audition material and prescreens in August - September. If possible you want EVERYTHING in by early/mid October. Many MT/Acting programs have November 1 or December 1 deadlines (also to be considered for program and school-wide scholarships). The earlier you get all your materials in, the sooner you can register for audition dates and some schools’ “prime” audition dates (including Chicago unifieds) fill up by mid October. Your teachers and school counselor might think you are nuts, but you might want to start bugging them now for letters of rec and make sure your counselor is on board with how quickly you need to get things in - she/he might think you are nuts.
As stated earlier, each program has its own prescreen requirements - you can often look at requirements from last year to at least get an idea of what is needed - and you will probably want those finished by late September/early October if possible. Prescreens can be done as simply as standing in your living room with an iPhone or can be more elaborate. Look up past threads on this to see how others have done it. The tricky part will be scheduling an accompanist, coach/teacher, place to record (we used our church for one), and dance studio if you need to do a dance prescreen. You don’t necessarily have to have all these things together at same time, but they should be considered. Allow time for the possibility of getting sick, auditioning/rehearsing for your school/community shows (if doing, some students opt out of shows their senior year to focus on this grueling process), etc.
No need to panic, starting early will save you some stress as the deadlines approach. Good Luck.
I actually had Otterbain on my list but took it off because I heard they accepted about 6 people…
They actually accepted 9 males and 9 females for the MT program this year. That’s a few more than 6. 