<p>I recently overheard a conversation suggesting that MT schools like to admit kids with Broadway credits so they can add them to their stats about how many students from their program get professional work. Kind of like how schools like to admit National Merit Scholars for bragging rights.</p>
<p>My experience would suggest that if there’s any bias toward Broadway babies it would more likely relate to connections, talent and experience, but I found the discussion interesting.</p>
<p>Any thoughts about whether Broadway credits improve a kids’ chances for getting admitted to top MT programs?</p>
<p>For those in the programs, do you find that kids with Broadway credits typically stand out among their classmates? D has several friends who have worked on Broadway, but so far only one has auditioned for MT schools so she has little firsthand information.</p>
<p>I certainly know that a talented kid can shoot to the top of the audition heap out of nowhere, but what I’m not sure of is whether some schools like to “collect” Broadway kids to boost their stats about students who work.</p>
<p>I do know that as a parent I looked for those stats about how many students work professionally when D was finalizing her list of schools to audition for.</p>
<p>I’ve seen no evidence of schools doing that. Although most schools have alumni information available, I’ve never seen actual stats kept in that regard. The information that is available is for grads not for work that current students did prior to arriving at the college. The reality is that there are not a huge number of kids who have performed on Broadway and who have then applied for college MT programs, and the ‘collecting’ of them isn’t likely to be of much importance in this process.</p>
<p>Most of the kids who arrive at school having Broadway credits were typically very young at the time. There is not a huge number of teenagers on Broadway (or rather there have not been in the last 5 years or so). Being a child performer really doesn’t have any bearing on getting into a good BFA program. My S was a soprano at age 8!</p>
<p>It seems in D’s generation there are quite a few Broadway kids… between Spring Awakening, Bye Bye Birdie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Thirteen, A Little Night Music, Next to Normal, etc. she has quite a large number of friends who have Broadway credits. I don’t recall there being nearly that many teen roles when I was their age. And I’m amazed by how many kids have agents.</p>
<p>As you say, though, many of these kids don’t seem to be applying to colleges.</p>
<p>In any case I found the conversation interesting, as the thought hadn’t previously crossed my mind.</p>
<p>I know a girl who was on Broadway a few years back, and she was denied at a few colleges (though accepted to amazing ones). It’s not all about resume, it’s about audition and luck.</p>
<p>When judging the success of a program, I don’t look for how successful a kid was before they got into a school: I look for how successful they were after they got out. If they were talented enough to be on Broadway they will probably have a good shot at getting into a competitive program, but none of the schools I have looked at mentioned anything anywhere about who had done what BEFORE they attended the school, so as far as grabbing those kids for bragging rights, I don’t see it. If the experience rendered the kid better at auditions, then it would be of use getting in. Though a lot of it is simply luck. If you have 1000 amazingly talented kids and ten spots, then 990 amazingly talented kids are going to have to go elsewhere. And from what I have seen, by the time they get to this point, the vast majority of them are pretty darn talented. There is a lot of competition. You just have to be what they are looking for, and much of it is luck.</p>
<p>We did have at least 2 top programs mention a statistic that X% of each class has worked on Broadway, without specifying whether it was before, during or after admission. As you say, though, many schools provide a more specific listing of where alumni have worked.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that all of our experience with schools was well before the regular audition season, so we may not have heard their normal spiel. ;-D</p>
<p>The people I overheard talking about this, though generally very well informed, were no doubt speculating and it obviously changes nothing either way. Plus after this over-subscribed audition season I doubt that schools are motivated to attract even more folks to audition next year, so boosting stats is probably the LAST thing on schools’ minds at this point!</p>
<p>I know: like are they sitting there saying “how can we boost our number of rejects to FIVE THOUSAND up from four thousand and nine hundred this year?” I know they want a certain size pool to assure they have a great selection but there has to be a point at which they experience diminishing returns!</p>
<p>Any idea how many schools capped auditions this year? I know some schools were quite grateful for the extra slot when D had to cancel her auditions, and that was only December! ;-D</p>
<p>Yes – this year I heard several schools mention “The Glee Effect” as an explanation for swelling numbers of MT applications. I wonder if this will continue in future years.</p>
<p>We have noticed that a lot of kids with Broadway credits or national tour credits are not necessarily the best out there. They are the ones who have parents willing to haul them around, give up their entire family life, let them home-school or do independent studies. We know several, and when it comes down to a local audition, they have not always been cast because they are not always the best in the pool. When my son was younger, he was offered an opportunity to do a tour, which we turned down. I had other kids at home, he loved sports and would have had to give up his soccer season- it just did not fit into our family’s life. Sometimes when those kids are older and competing for spots in MT programs, they don’t stand out in the pool of applicants. We also know a lot of kids with agents, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are getting any work. Of course there are always those great kids who start young and continue to be amazing as they get older. But in general, I can’t see that it is much of an advantage to have done Broadway in getting accepted to MT programs.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for too many of my colleagues, but I can tell you that the resume has very little to do with final choices. That may not be true of every program, but I know it is true of the several I know very well. The simple truth is that the program is looking for talent and fit. We are interested in training talent. There have been several occasions where an outstanding audition peaked our interest, only to find that student had a decided lack of ability to take direction. That left the student on the outside looking in. Credits are nice, but are not an indicator of ability to grow. </p>
<p>If a program takes a student to add to some idea of “we have this many with broadway credits” I would question the program. Since I have faith in the majority of my colleagues I would suggest that talent and fit always win out over resume and agent. </p>
<p>Oh, and I agree with “takeitallin” - equating Agent with Talent is like equating Equity with Talent. It simply is not the case.</p>
<p>As far as I know the Broadway kids D knows are all very talented and well trained, but I do agree that a prime differentiation between them and the many other talented kids D knows is their families’ willingness to allow them to pursue Broadway and all it entailed at an early age. We were definitely not open to that (ok, so maybe I was holding out hope for a career in science). ;-)</p>
<p>I guess in part the discussion I overheard made me wonder if we’d handicapped D in any significant way (beyond college auditions since that became a moot point for D) by not being at all open to the early Broadway possibility. From what I’m hearing it sounds like probably not.</p>
<p>Momcares, I’m sure you did not. My overwhelming impression has been exactly what kjgc said - they are looking for what is in front of them and what they can do with it, I think. They can be pretty specific about what exactly that is and if you aren’t that, I don’t think a Broadway credit is going to make much difference really. There’s hundreds, what, maybe thousands, of kids who get spots in great schools without any Broadway experience.</p>
<p>It will be interesting to see what becomes of the Billy Elliot little girls. I met a former Annie orphan (equity card and all) who was crying in the bathroom when she was supposed to be in a workshop because the agent doing the workshop said her audition songs weren’t appropriate. She was 13 or so and in the slump period, just like everybody else her age, and struggling to find age appropriate songs, again just like everybody else. So when she goes on audition, I think she has to prove herself at the moment, just like everybody else. Annie was just too long ago and it’s all about today, isn’t it?</p>
<p>I think it is sad commentary that the 13 year old girl is taught to believe that all theatre is professional and takes place in NYC. My god, seasoned adults can barely handle the day to day pressure and criticism. I hope that young lady is taught to love the art form, to love the literature, to love the very act of creation. That can happen at a community theatre in Wausau, WI just as well as on a stage in NYC. It breaks my heart that so many are taught that the goal is Broadway and not to become artists. </p>
<p>They young lady mentioned above doesn’t need to make rent. I see so much of this in the auditions, so many potential students whose sole goal is the applause - the end product. What drives those who have stay in the art form is the love of the act of creating work, of breathing life into the words, of finding the nuances, the beats, the meaning and then once that is all done - of showing your work to the audience. That’s what this is about. Yes, some fantastic work takes place in “the city” and it certainly has a concentration of talent. But some of the best work I’ve been a part of took place in a former automotive repair shop-cum-theatre with a group of dedicated artists. </p>
<p>Anyway, I’m sorry to go on the diatribe. I just hurt when I see so much worth and angst put into the idea of “making it” when the real goal should be a life in the theatre. Those that seek a life in the theatre will do just fine, those that seek applause will not find this a successful profession. Well… at least in my humble and rather didactic opinion.</p>