My d can’t believe that she only has three weeks left before she completes 1/2 of her time at college. For her, the time has flown by. For her mom and I, time is flying by also, but that started for us about when she hit high school.
She is taking all the Entrepreneurship electives that she can fit into her schedule, along with classes in non-profit administration to enhance her theatre company management skills. Having a bunch of AP credits really has paid off for her in terms of opening up her schedule for more electives.
She also couldn’t believe how little many summer stock programs pay and the fact that she can make more than almost all of them teaching dance here in town for an equity theatre company summer program (and when you throw in living expenses, the difference can run into a couple thousand dollars or more). She opted to sub-lease her apartment for the summer and return home to make money teaching dance and get her personal trainer certification.
We are super happy to have her home for the summer and even happier she can go with us on a trip to France. In the back of my brain is the thought that this is very likely the last time we have her at home for an extended period and perhaps the last family trip abroad.
@EmsDad, my MT D and I are going to France, too! We’ll be in Paris for a week, and then D will travel to other countries before meeting up with the rest of the Edison group. Edison is a play that alumni and students from UArts are taking to European Fringe Festivals. D is excited to be in the cast and travel around Europe!
She’ll be home for a few weeks before we leave for Paris, then a week or so after she returns. She’ll go back to UArts early for RA training and Freshman Orientation.
I completely agree with you all that it is mind boggling that they will be ending their sophomore year soon! D is still loving UArts and continuing to grow and thrive there. One cool thing that she did this year was start an official UArts cabaret club–coincidentally, with two other sophomore MT students who were/are active here on CC!
My D is still loving things at Hartt. She has had some terrific experiences and roles in her sophomore projects (Hartt students don’t audition for Mainstage shows until next week for Fall of Jr. year shows). She booked paying Summer Stock work for the summer but will be home for a couple of weeks before heading off to do that. Hard to imagine it is half-way over! I love hearing how great everyone is doing! All the stress of the application/auditions and the result is happy kids who are going after their dreams!!
Woohoo hi that’s me! Our second cabaret show just closed today! And I’m also going on the Edison tour (and hopefully will make it to France at some point) so @myloves has pretty much said it all for me, haha. Also I’m obligated to tag @theimmortalfish in this because she directed the cabaret and founded the student organization with us
My S will be spending the summer at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre in the ensembles of Oklahoma! and Hairspray and as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast. Can’t believe half their college years are gone already!
Can’t believe they’re halfway done! My S is headed to The Performing Arts Project in a couple of weeks to intern at the Blueprint session, then attend as a student for Panorama. He’ll only be home for two weeks at the end of it before heading back to Dayton to start working on his first professional show at the Human Race Theatre Company (paid plus equity points… yay!). It runs pretty much the whole month of September, so school all day, perform (almost) every night! He absolutely loves Wright State… it’s the perfect place for him.
@MTmom2015 Hopefully, you are still checking in now and then. As an Ohioan, I added Wright State to my D’s list and have followed your S journey with interest. How are the academics at Wright State?
Hey, @artskids. Required academics at Wright are 1-2 “core” classes per semester. Lots of available support if needed via free tutoring, etc. My S hasn’t found the classes to be overly rigorous… just the right amount, I guess? He has liked most of the instructors. Are you looking for something more specific?
@artskids - Totally get where your D is coming from. My S entered WSU as an “honors student”, but now going into his senior year he has never been able to get an honors class to fit into his schedule. One advantage he DID get was being able to skip many of the “basic” academic classes because of his HS APs - WSU is pretty generous there. The very generous scholarship for National Merit is a big plus. As his parents, we really wanted him to have a more rigorous academic program, but as a HS senior S was more interested in the BFA aspect. He now understands what he missed out on “academically”, but in the longer run, WSU turned out to be a good balance for him. He has really become more interested in the creative aspect of theater and has gotten involved in writing music, directing shows and is currently writing a full-fledged musical. His “academic rigor” has been very self-directed - reading/researching topics of his own choosing (the research for his historical musical and the writing of it is on par with a Masters level thesis). At a more rigorous program he would not have had the time or energy to take up this pursuit. As parents, we were a little leery of WSU’s academics - we were afraid he would become a mush-brain surrounded by other mush-brains. Totally not the case. Many of his closest friends are also avidly pursuing their own passions and in a sense creating their own “honors programs” - @MTmom2015’s S is a case in point. Though I would not have necessarily said this when S was in HS, academic rigor does not always have to be “directed” by the institution one attends - book larnin’ is not the only path to scholarship. If your D has more “creative bones” in her body, she might want to stay open-minded about programs that offer students lots of opportunities to write and mount their own productions. Just a thought.
Hi all, just checking in after a long absence. Just dipping my toes back in the water since I have one and possible two more kids who may choose this crazy path for college in two years. Big sis is LOVING Ball State and has jumped in with both feet. She just finished her sophomore year as a Musical Theatre Option.
She has been in two main stage muscials (Shrek and Parade), a devised piece, written a play that was produced as part of the Cave series, been a dramturg and performed as part of a Cabaret class in Indianapolis. This summer, she decided to spend another summer working box office and front of house at Interlochen Center for the Arts. It is extra special because she recruited two of her BSU buddies to work with her this summer AND her younger siblings are both there doing the three week Musical Theatre Workshop. We will fly out to see their final performance and spend a few days in the Traverse City area. Can’t wait. Taking a deep breath as I know my son is going to pursue MT in college and waiting for decision from his twin sister. It could be a very interesting 2018-2019 for our family with the twins graduating from high school and big sis graduating from Ball State. So nice to see so many familiar folks still chatting here and to read everyone’s updates. Have a great summer, all!
Just thought I’d throw a question out to all of you experienced 2019 parents - looking back at your son or daughter’s Freshman transition - especially for those with kids traveling far from home, what is some advice you would offer to those of us with incoming Freshman. We are just 7 short weeks away and I’m starting to feel really overwhelmed!
Use amazon for bulky items like the mattress topper (we get a new one every year). Are you flying or driving? Also, try to set parameters for how move in will work BEFORE you get there. We agreed that I would come up and help with dorm room - dad would not (D did not want to have too many people “hanging about”)
We shipped tons of stuff through amazon to her mailbox before arrival. My daughter went from Southern Ca to New Jersey. Whatever your child packs to take remove half of it and leave it HOME! LOL Also, on move in day her university had a Bed Bath and Beyond station that had everything anyone could want and we could have bought a ton of stuff at that time but we didn’t know about it. Some universities even take bus loads of kids to Target to shop after they move in during move in week. If they are coming from a warm climate to a cold one buy their winter wear in the cold state. California snow gear was a joke. Super warm shoes with traction is a must. Locate the local Target. CVS, Walgreens that your child can walk to or take Zipcar. Bookstore is too expensive. Buy books on Amazon! Don’t buy through school.
It may be most convenient to set up a local bank account for them (my d's school has a bank branch in the student center). For example, our home bank, where my d had an account, does not have any branches in Michigan. Hence, in order for her to have an ATM card without worries about fees, being able to write checks for a few required deposits, etc., we set up an account for her with the on-campus bank. If you have to do this, make sure that you allott time in your drop-off schedule to do this (the bank branch on d's campus is not open on weekends, for example). You may also have to brief your child on how to handle checks, deposits, bank transfers, etc. (I thought that my d "knew all about bank stuff," but, I was sadly mistaken when we rushed over to set up the account before my flight left).
For us, it turned out to be *much* easier to buy stuff at Target and Bed/Bath once you get there if you are flying across country vs. shipping it. At d's school, package delivery turned out to be a major headache at her dorm: packages were routinely "lost in the system" for days, and, in some cases, weeks. Many campuses even have pop-up stores on campus during move-in week. We did agree to let d order the all-important comforter beforehand (which we stuffed in a duffle and checked the bag), but we bought just about everything else once we got to Michigan. It was ridiculously easy to arrange for a rug and rented refrig/microwave to be delivered to her dorm room from services marketed by the school.
It helps to figure out the exact medical treatment plan before your kid ends up in the emergency room. Much to my amazement, my d has required emergency, or semi-emergency, treatment, twice (example: a badly broken finger suffered in dance class that swelled up like a balloon two hours later). Handling all the details and instructions associated with medical treatment and insurance in the immediate aftermath of an injury with a sobbing kid on the phone (while you are supposed to be in a board meeting) can be a little difficult.
Echoing comments from @Jkellynh17, arranging time to eat for MT BFA's is a universal problem. D ended up eating probably 30% of her meals in her dorm room due to intense schedule demands. There were many more demands for her time than what was shown on her class schedule or rehearsal schedule including: almost constant auditions for various student-directed and off-campus shows, departmental recitals, acting in scenes for directing students, course scenes and projects, etc. She was partially saved by having a convenient "grab and go" cafe in her dorm, but she still missed a lot of mealtimes in the cafeteria. The microwave and refrig in her room, along with a mini-blender for smoothies and plates and utensils, were life-savers.
No matter how many dance clothes and accessories she has now, she will need more...
Video skills are required for summer stock submissions, course projects, etc. If your student is not well-versed in filming and editing videos, it is a good skill to learn over the summer before you go to school (although there will be lots of people to help with this on campus).
The Bed Bath and Beyond order at home, use a scanner and everything you want is waiting for you is AMAZING!! You don’t have to buy everything either, take what you want. It is so darned convenient!!!
