Coastal Carolina Audition Review 1/31/15
The week starting out for my D was not great. She came home sick from school on Monday. I finally ended up taking her to the doctor on Thursday. At least she was able to get a few doses of antibiotics into her system before the audition. (This factoid comes into play later.)
We live within a 3 hour drive of Coastal but decided to head down the night before so my D could get a good night’s rest and not have to wake up at 4am. We stayed right near the outlets just a few miles from campus.
Check-in was at 8:30. I couldn’t find any information about a parking pass that may be needed and ended up trying to find a place that wasn’t marked as a spot for faculty. It was actually a very cold morning by SC standards (30’s) and we did not come prepared with heavy enough jackets…who would’ve thought! In the end, we found out there were no passes needed on the weekend.
At check-in there were several students walking around as well as faculty members mingling with the kids. It was very welcoming. We went into the black box theatre for a short welcome and a discussion of how the day would unfold. There were MT kids and acting kids and they were divided into 3 groups. The day was organized by audition groups, current student talkback, dance master class, vocal master class & acting master class. Parents are invited to attend all master classes. They also had campus tours led by current students.
We went on the tour first. The campus is very neat and pretty. Many of the buildings look brand new. The gorgeous rec center is only 2 years old and there will be new dorms available next year. There is also a new student center.
After the tour we went into the black box theatre and the head of the tech dept spoke to us and showed off the set for Picnic. He spoke about the technology they have and how the school invests money each year to keep current. He showed off a few lighting effects and talked about how the set was completely student conceived and carried out.
Next was the student talkback. Chairs were set up in a circle and the students spread themselves out. They encouraged the auditioners to ask them anything. They were all very nice and open with their answers.
My D had her vocal/mono audition next. I took the opportunity to grab a chai tea while I was waiting. After she was done, they had lunch setup for everyone in the courtyard of the fine arts center. It’s a beautiful area with a fountain in the middle. They had a very nice spread with a green salad, pasta salads, wrap sandwiches and chicken salad croissants. They also had chips, cookies and tea and water. It was very nicely done. Luckily the day had warmed up so it was pleasant to eat outside.
The dance master class was next. It also serves as the dance call. There were about 10 kids in my D’s group. The faculty were going from class to class observing and auditing the kids. They did some barre work and then some across the floor work before going into the combination which was done to The Nicest Kids in Town from Hairspray. They were taught by the dance instructor and led by two current students. I really liked the instructor, she went fairly quickly but was very encouraging. The dance combo was fast and fun.
We moved onto the vocal master class. The music director had taken notes on each student during their audition and they were called up individually to work on their material. It was great to see the improvements in just a few minutes! He was picking up on the most subtle things. That just showed me how much of his attention he was giving to everyone. It was awesome. While we were in there one of the faculty members asked me if my daughter had been sick, she said they are always afraid to ask the students for fear they may not be. I was very relieved she asked. She even took the time to talk to my D after the master class.
The last master class was acting. There were 2 different faculty that worked with the kids. One was the physical theatre teacher. They worked with the monologues the kids used for their audition pieces. It was so interesting to watch the emotions they were able to elicit from the kids with just a few minutes of working with them. The physical theatre teacher even had one girl put on a mask and take on the characteristics of a bird! She was such a great sport! It was really interesting how it actually helped her monologue when she did it again at the end. My D didn’t end up getting called to work on hers. Throughout the day they had a little bit of confusion with their groups. Headshots were given to the teachers to represent the kids in each group. Somehow, some of them got mixed up. I found out later that a couple of kids who were there for the acting program ended up in the dance master class! I love that they just went with it and did the class without saying anything. I’m assuming that is what happened to my D, just the other way around. They must not have had her headshot, so they didn’t call her up. Make sure to know both monologues well as they may ask for a different one than was used in the audition.
As a parent, I loved being able to sit in on the classes! One of the faculty members had said that for all of the time, money and attention we have given our kids through the years that we deserved to be in there to see the instruction that we would ultimately be paying for. For me, a lot of the times, the one missing element to these auditions is what are the faculty like and what is their teaching style. These are people that our kids are going to basically be living with for the next four years. Other programs out there could learn a lot from Coastal’s audition day! It was nice to not just be stuck in a room all day with a carafe of coffee!
The day was wrapped up with a Q & A back in the blackbox theatre. Overall, I would have to say it was one of the best audition days yet!
