Final Decisions; BACKGROUND, Class of 2018

College Majors Musical Theater Majors
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<p>Hailing from Canada, my D is proud and very happy to be joining our neighbors to the south at her chosen program at Ohio Northern University. As is probably the case for most of your D and S the fit was just right. Now the fun and hard work begins</p>

<p>We knew going in it would not be easy to get a spot considering the limited number of spaces so we made the decision to apply at 18 Universities. Of those 6 said yes and 1 is a waiting list, but going in we felt even 1 yes was going to be an accomplishment. So for those reading who have doubts about the chances of getting in I would say this, there is no doubt the chances are slim to get into a program, perhaps even slimmer to make a career out of this field, but if your S or D has a true passion then you absolutely have to help them try to realize their passion. It may work out or not but in the end it is important that they not ignore their passion. I would also say this, its important not only to apply to your dream school but also to the school that is going to ACCEPT you. </p>

<p>Ohio Northern University was not on my D dream school list at the beginning, but remember that dream schools are such for those few who get in and for the rest they are of no use. The program at Ohio Northern is from our estimation as good or better than any of the others who accepted my D, but in the end it came down to the impressiveness of the people who she will be learning from for 4 years, Kirsten Osbun Manley in particular, after that its all up to my D. I am trying to say that Carnegie Melon is not what will lead our S and D to a successful and happy life, rather it is our S and D that will determine how their career and life turn out. Good luck to all !!</p>

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<p>Congrats @informationman and D! Welcome to Ohio. For some reason there seem to be a lot of people passionate about MT in this state - must be something in the water. She’ll be in good company.</p>

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<p>Aw, thanks broadwaybum :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Congrats informationman. I was especially touched to read that we parents should not ignore our children’s passion. That line hit the nail on the head for me, and probably for many parents who have undertaken this incredible journey.</p>

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<p>Congrats @informationman to you and your D. My D is going to ONU also and we are way south of Canada in Texas We started the process and ONU was on the list but we did a walk up with them at Chicago Unifieds. They accepted her and she fell in love with the program, the students, and the faculty Maybe we all the CC members whose kids are going to ONU get together during move in day. I think there is a pub at the Inn. </p>

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<p>I have already had 2 visits to that pub.</p>

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<p>Just realized I never did a background.</p>

<p>Applied to Baldwin, Cincinnati, university of Michigan, Ithaca, NYU-video audition</p>

<p>Passed pre screen for Ithaca and Michigan.</p>

<p>Redirection Cincinnati and Michigan</p>

<p>Accepted NYU and Ithaca</p>

<p>Wait listed Baldwin</p>

<p>Final decision Ithaca!!!</p>

<p>Voice lessons 4 years, dance 3 years tap and jazz, camp Broadway and local summer theaters for 6 years.</p>

<p>Coach: none</p>

<p>Well I have to say this has been one of the hardest Things we have gone through. From our trip to Cincinnati flying into an ice storm to a five hour delay on our train to Michigan. All we kept saying as long as we get him there and he is healthy for the audition nothing else mattered. I have to say he handled the up and downs better than I at times.</p>

<p>If I had some advice to the new parents I would have had him apply at more schools. I would have started researching and probably hired a coach for this. Everything worked out as it was supposed to but there is so much competition out there. I also would have had him audition for the college summer programs.</p>

<p>This site has been so supportive and helpful during this grueling process. Thank you all.</p>

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<p>SU88BFA’s Son: (6’ 1" baritone)</p>

<p>Applied to: Ball State, CCM, CMU, Coastal Carolina, Hartt, James Madison, Pace, Penn State, Point Park, Rider, Shenandoah, Syracuse, Texas State, UArts, UCF.</p>

<p>Non-audition safeties: Nova Southeastern U for MT (accepted), and Virginia Commonwealth U for VP (cancelled audition, late Feb.)</p>

<p>Did Pre-screens for: Coastal Carolina, Pace, Penn State, Shenandoah, Texas State, and UCF. Passed Coastal Carolina and UCF. Did not pass Pace, Penn State, Shenandoah, and Texas State. </p>

<p>Walk-ins at Chicago Unifieds: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Ohio Northern U. Verbally accepted to both programs on the spot.</p>

<p>Not accepted to: Artistically: CCM, CMU, Rider, Syracuse, UArts
Not accepted to: Academically: James Madison, UCF. </p>

<p>Accepted: Coastal Carolina, Hartt, Ohio Northern, and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Wait-listed: Ball State and Point Park (still waiting to hear from both)</p>

<p>FINAL DECISION: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland !!</p>

<p>In all, son applied to 19 schools! At the very beginning of this process, we were hoping for 2-3 acceptances to choose from. He got that, so we were happy, but what a grueling process! We ended up with so many applications for several reasons-- First-- Academics-- My son isn’t a scholar. He didn’t take school seriously Freshman and Sophomore year, and his transcript/GPA/test scores reflected that. We chose schools that we thought he could get into academically. Second reason was his Pre-screen video rejections-- 4 out of 6. Ouch. That hurt and send us into a tail-spin in November, Luckily, it was still early in the process and we added a few more schools.</p>

<p>Background/Training: Started school musicals and community theater in 7th grade. Started school chorus in 8th grade. Had been a staple/supporting/lead of all school stuff since the beginning. (ie
big fish in a small pond), and thus got bitten by the bug. He started with a private vocal coach sporadically in 9th grade, and then switched teachers and started full-time in 11th grade. Dance: Ballet in 11th grade and Jazz in 12th grade. No acting classes at all.</p>

<p>Summers: Summer between 11th and 12th grade he attended Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts for VP. Previous summers he spent overseas or at sleep-away camps (nothing MT-related.)</p>

<p>College Prep: MTCA. He started with them in the fall of his Junior year. SO glad we started early. (Background story: In son’s sophomore year, he had a very good friend who was a senior and applying to musical theater programs. She was a very strong dancer, with vocals and acting next. Unfortunately, her parents knew nothing of CC, or MTCA or Moo, nor had she done any summer theater camps. She applied to only top-tier schools, no safeties, no Unifieds. It was a train-wreck. She didn’t get in anywhere, and did a last-minute after-she-didn’t-get-in-anywhere audition at AMDA. (Where she is now and loves it, BTW. But, she was devastated by the rejections.) We learned a big lesson from her and decided after she cried in her room for a week that that wasn’t going to happen to our son. Hence-- MTCA. They were great! We knew nothing of monologues/songs to pick for auditions. They were very helpful in that regard, and also in helping him with the acting part, which was weak for him.)</p>

<p>NOTE TO UPCOMING MT PARENTS: Make sure your kids get good grades!!! You get acceptances
oh-- and merit/scholarship money! Both really good things! Our son’s less-than-stellar academic performance was a very large hindrance in this process. Really! He didn’t even get accepted to his state school. Also-- Make sure your pre-screens are good! We rushed our son’s, because I was so concerned about getting them in early so I could schedule the auditions. But guess what-- When they get rejected, there are no auditions to schedule!</p>

<p>So, now-- Scotland, here we come! It’s going to be interesting.</p>

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<p>It’s going to be SO exciting! I think we need a thread where we do quarterly updates on all the kids to keep track of the next part of the journey
wouldn’t that be interesting to read?</p>

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<p>I apologize in advance – this is LONG but so was the journey! (gotta post it in a couple of posts cause it’s toooo long)</p>

<p>Cellomom’s – D</p>

<p>Applied: 

19 schools
. For BFA MT: Rider, Otterbein, Pace, Elon, Syracuse, Penn State, Ithaca, Emerson, Texas State, Coastal Carolina, U Miami, U Arts
For BA MT: JMU, Wagner
For BM MT: Baldwin Wallace, NYU/Steinhardt

BFA Theatre: U Conn
.For BA: Muhlenberg, Northwestern (cause her brother goes there and really, really wanted her to apply)</p>

<p>Prescreens: 


7 schools
. Texas State, Pace, U Miami, Ithaca, PSU, Otterbein, U Arts - Passed all prescreens except Otterbein & Pace</p>

<p>Auditioned: On campus at 9 - NYU, Muhlenberg, Ithaca, Texas State, Rider, U Conn, Elon, JMU, Wagner
Auditioned at 4 during NYC Unifieds - Syracuse, PSU, U Miami, Emerson
Auditioned via video: Baldwin Wallace (planes cancelled due to snow – no other dates available)</p>

<p>Academically Accepted: 

9 schools
.Ithaca, Penn State, Baldwin Wallace, Wagner, Elon, U Conn, Texas State, JMU, U Miami – grades/scores matter!</p>

<p>Accepted Artistically: 

ONE school 


Rider BFA MT
Waitlisted: Rider (accepted from wait list April 21), Wagner, Muhlenberg, U Conn</p>

<p>Artistic Rejections: 
Ithaca, PSU, Texas State, Elon, Syracuse, Emerson, NYU, JMU, BW U Miami (the school where BOTH judges were texting on their phones during her entire audition!) </p>

<p>Withdrew: Coastal Carolina, U Arts</p>

<p>Final Decision: Rider University: BFA MT!!! </p>

<p>Training:
voice lessons: Broadway, pop - 4 years, classical – 3 years
Acting/monologue: coach for 4 months – helped D choose her monologues, also various acting classes at Stagedoor Manor, youth theatre, etc. (about 5 years)
Dance: tap (3 years), jazz (8 years), hip hop (2 years), ballet (7 years) all at local studios that weren’t very serious. Private ballet/jazz lessons at local conservatory (4 months to prep for dance calls at auditions – a BIG help)</p>

<p>Summer Programs: Stagedoor Manor for 2 summers, 3 week Ithaca College Pre-College Class, Intro to Musical Theatre, Acting the Song Class at a local private high school with a Broadway actor </p>

<p>Background and Advice: Now that this crazy process is all over and my D is very, VERY happy with her final decision (the PERFECT FIT for her) – I can share a final reflection. DoReMiMom’s honest, reflective post inspired me so I’m going to try to be as honest and helpful to future MTs and their parents as she was

My D is a true BWay baby - the only thing she wanted for her 4th birthday was tickets to see Cats before it closed and her favorite Christmas present that same year was a karaoke machine (we have video of her 4 year old self using it to sing the entire soundtrack from Grease) and her bedroom is covered with Broadway posters from shows she’s seen or been in. My D is a Mezzo Belter with a strong mix voice that she has developed over the last 2 years. In choir she chose to sing in the alto section because she loves to harmonize but also sang soprano in one of her 3 a cappella groups so she has a range. She is a singer first, then an actress, then dancer/mover. She’s had many years of vocal (classical and Broadway) and dance training, but her voice is her strength. She has been in musicals since the age of 5, between 3 to 5 shows a year sometimes more than one at a time. She can pick up dance steps quickly and perform them accurately, yet it’s not her strongest skill. She’s been singing and training in voice for 7 years and has taken dance since she was 3 but quit at 10 to concentrate on cheerleading (which she gave up in high school for musical theatre) then took up dance again for the high school musicals. Acting training was a part of her youth theater experience from age 10-15 with a class here or there but much of her acting is instinctive. She did go to a fantastic acting coach at the beginning of her college audition process to help her choose monologues and work on them. That was invaluable!</p>

<p>My D is a 5’7” attractive blonde singer who can act and dance. She also had a 3.98 unweighted/4.2 weighted GPA with AP and Honors courses. Two years of a 10-15 hour a week part time job and lots of community service. Although I intellectually understood how tough this journey was going to be given the sheer number of talented girls (not taking anything away from the talented boys but they weren’t competing for the same spots as my D) auditioning for very few spots but I was completely unprepared for how competitive this process would be. I want to make sure any future parents reading this can hopefully grasp what I had to learn the hard way. </p>

<p>Going in to this process my D had already performed in more than 45 musicals, including youth theater (with many leads), community theater, a 5 month long regional equity show (her first paying gig), school productions (with a lead senior year), summer camps and programs . I’ve learned over the last 8 months, however, that no matter how fabulously talented someone is (or you believe your child is) or how much experience and training someone has, when it comes to college auditions, none of that matters anymore. </p>

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<p>After reviewing my daughter’s college lists, we were told by both of her coaches, who have over 25 years a piece in this business, that she’d have lots of artistic offers. As the rejections started to come in, they were shocked and couldn’t understand why she was getting them. Her coaches felt that she was a very well prepared auditioner who had great material which showed her particular strengths. They were boggled, we were upset (and sometimes angry on her behalf) and D started to doubt herself. December through April had many highs and lows!</p>

<p>First suggestion, if you can afford it and want to give your child every advantage in this crazy college audition process, hire a professional college audition coach like Mary Anna Dennard (MOO), MTCA or Dave Clemmons. They have tons of connections, REALLY know what the colleges are looking for, help their kids choose just the right songs/monologues, prepare prescreens that will be accepted everywhere (which is even more important in future years as more and more college require them) and make sure that their kids have a package that is tight and well-rehearsed before the journey begins. I also saw them supporting their clients at unifieds which can be a big confidence boost at a stressful time. Oh, and go to Chicago unifieds if you can; it’s longer than NY or LA so you can fit in more schools and walk ins. </p>

<p>Second suggestion, make sure your child’s college list is varied with a mix of BFA, BA, and BM schools from various MT tiers of difficulty. D chose not to try any of the big 3 (CMU, CCM or U Mich) because she knew they are basically lottery schools and she didn’t feel that they were a good fit for her BUT she had too many other top tier schools on her list with little variety to balance them out. After 13 auditions, D decided that she would be happiest in a BFA program although if that wasn’t an option she would have been ok with a BA if it had a strong MT program. She decided that BM programs weren’t really for my D as she doesn’t play a musical instrument (piano lessons would have been helpful
). Unfortunately, as I mentioned above, the rejections poured in and she was left in the beginning of April with a lot of academic choices she no longer wanted and 4 wait lists. At that point I will admit to being very skeptical when all the great, encouraging posters on CC kept stating that the kids always end up where they were meant to be. I was really happy about all the acceptances that the kids of CC posters were getting but I really thought my D was going to be this audition cycle’s cautionary tale with no acceptances in the end! </p>

<p>Third suggestion, make sure your child applies to at least 2-3 non-MT colleges that are academic matches/safeties that they would be happy to attend because there really is no such thing as an audition safety. And a school that might seem to be an academic safety might not be if you are also applying to their MT program – some schools who would have admitted your child without question based on their grades/scores might reject them from the college too if they are rejected from the MT program. Learn which schools make independent MT/college admission decisions so you’re not surprised later! Also, there is nothing worse than your child getting artistically rejected from all of their colleges but being admitted academically. I don’t know about your children, but mine was not interested in attending any school academically that didn’t want her in their MT program (it was not a good March – April with 4 artistic wait lists and 9 academic acceptances, D felt confused and lost because she wasn’t happy about any of her options).</p>

<p>For future CC parents and kids stuck on a wait list you REALLY want (need) to get off of – here’s what D did – she sent emails to the ad coms and department heads at her wait list schools letting them know that their school was her top pick (only one really was and that’s the one she eventually got into but at this point she would have been thrilled with any of them saying yes) and that she would definitely attend if accepted from their wait lists, her boggled and frustrated voice and acting coaches volunteered and quickly wrote additional strongly supportive recommendations to the head of the MT/acting departments at her wait list schools, she re-visited her wait list schools and spoke with the department heads and ad coms so they would remember her face/name when it came time to discuss who was getting off their wait lists. She also had acting/singing clips from her latest high school show in which she had a lead all ready to send to those ad coms and department heads but it wasn’t necessary because Rider called and told her the good news (cue the happy tears from both D and me – this has been a super stressful process!!!).</p>

<p>And now the cynic is a believer
.I truly believe that my D ended up right where she is meant to be. The fall can’t come fast enough and D can hardly wait to begin her college MT journey!!!</p>

<p>Thank you to all the supportive CC posters on this MT thread, couldn’t have done it without your advice and encouragement!!! Take all my advice with a grain of salt future applicants/parents but BAL and much luck on your own journeys!!!</p>

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<p>I also will post in batches due to the length:</p>

<p>D applied to: NYU Tisch (early decision – sister attends Gallatin), CMU, The New School (acting), Pace (acting – D didn’t realize there was an MT program, too), Wagner, Molloy/CAP 21, SUNY Purchase, UCLA, UC Irvine, AMDA New York. All except for Irvine were audition programs.</p>

<p>Prescreen : Pace – passed
Auditioned on Campus: NYU, The New School, Pace, Purchase, Wagner, Molloy/CAP 21, AMDA
Auditioned at NY Unifieds: CMU
D did not attend UCLA audition because she was in the emergency room that day (she’s fine now, but it was scary). They were nice about it and allowed her to send in a tape
but D changed her mind about going to school in CA and chose not to submit it.</p>

<p>"Re-directed”: Wagner, Pace – both with huge scholarship lures.</p>

<p>Waitlisted: SUNY Purchase</p>

<p>Accepted: AMDA, Molloy/CAP 21
Rejected: everywhere else.<br>
Final Decision: MOLLOY/CAP21</p>

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<p>WOW cellomom51! What a journey to have survived. Perhaps your D will now be ready for ANYTHING that comes her way. Congrats!</p>

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<p>Continued!</p>

<p>Training:

  1. Voice: 3 years at Hoff Barthelson Music School in Scarsdale, NY.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Dance: 8 years (jazz, ballet, tap – member of junior company) but quit after 8th grade.</p></li>
<li><p>Acting: 2 years summer day camp (after freshman and sophomore years) at Play Group Theater in White Plains, NY. Great program – they had the kids writing and performing their own plays!</p></li>
<li><p>How the MT bug bit: </p></li>
</ol>

<p>a. Solo in 5th grade holiday concert brought the house down; D’s dad and I suddenly realized the girl could sing – honestly had no clue before that – she never sang in the house.<br>
b. Attended a public MS and HS with separate Player’s Clubs. Joined MS Player’s Club in 6th grade. The summer after 6th grade, she was set to attend Challenge Camp (for gifted and talented kids) and landed a role in the musical they were doing. Had to drop out because her older sister was hospitalized for 10 weeks – D totally traumatized. D says now that her sister’s illness helped her decide that the stage was the place to be – she could pretend to be somebody else for a while (!!!).
c. In 7th grade, completely stole the show as “Pushy Woman” in an adaptation of a comedy called “Help.” MS director suggested she audition for the HS Player’s Club, a phenomenal, award-winning group. The director and choreographer (a husband and wife team) are truly gifted! D auditioned in the spring semester of 7th grade. HS director loves to tell the now-famous story in our school of how D insisted that she be permitted to audition despite her age, saying, “but I’m really good!” She was, and she is, and she got in!<br>
d. Was initially intimidated by the HS Player’s Club and quit rehearsal one day. Her older sister (yes, she recovered, but with lasting repercussions) luckily was home that afternoon and insisted D turn right around and march back to school and go after what she wanted. D did, and the rest is history. Was in the chorus in 7th and 8th grade; watched, learned and bided her time (albeit impatiently!).<br>
e. Leading roles in grades 9-12; landed the role of Belle in “Beauty and the Beast” in 10th grade, which caused some problems with a few of the senior girls. Actually dyed her blond hair brown for the role because she hated the wig – to the amazement of the director and most of the HS. A photo of her in the gorgeous, custom-made “Belle” yellow gown is hanging in the HS auditorium. She was allowed to keep the gown!<br>
f. D also had leading roles in the comedies the HS Player’s Club puts on in the fall (“Pushy Woman” was no fluke – D has natural comedic timing).<br>
g. Our HS offers a Theater course for academic credit; D took that, too.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Other audition experience: is registered with a children’s talent agency for modeling jobs.</p></li>
<li><p>So what happened?: Talent is not enough
D thought because she is the diva in HS, she would have no trouble. I tried to tell her that the process is very competitive, etc., but she interpreted that to mean that I had no faith in her and she stopped listening to me. D’s biggest problem was allowing herself to be intimidated at auditions; it was the wrong time to discover that there are other talented kids out there, too. She thought everyone else was better than she was. What they really were was better prepared! Her dream school was first NYU (although she came out of the audition saying the current students were mean to her and she didn’t want to go there), and after she was rejected there, Wagner. Both auditions were train wrecks, but Wagner’s was an annihilation worthy of its own entry on this thread. Her confidence was in shreds after that. She wanted to give up and go to Wagner anyway for a non-performance major, or to AMDA, which did accept her. After I posted about the Wagner audition nightmare on CC, BethsMom told me about Molloy/CAP 21. I pretty much forced D to audition only one week after Wagner; she fought tooth and nail. I thought she would intentionally blow the audition for spite, but her dad and I secretly hovered outside the door when she sang
and she nailed it! I give a lot of credit to the two CAP 21 audition evaluators
they let her warm up and were very encouraging. D came out of the audition all smiles. One month later, she was in artistically as well as academically. We were not sure about the Molloy part, but our campus visit yesterday sealed the deal
they are pouring money into the place yet the tuition is thousands less than the competition; the brand-new 550-seat theater is state-of-the-art; and the professors really care – the student/teacher ratio is 10 to 1! D also got a huge merit scholarship because her grades are amazing.</p></li>
<li><p>Things I learned/would do differently:
a. Should have followed CC more closely YEARS ago! I completely underestimated how difficult this process really is.
b. I did not do nearly enough research
for example; I totally overlooked Rider and MSU. Another way following CC earlier would have helped!
c. Should have started voice lessons before the 10th grade
yes, the 10th grade. That being said, D’s strongest asset is her powerful, mature voice.
d. Should have begged, borrowed or stolen the money for an audition coach. A coach would have prevented the audition disasters.
e. Should have begged, borrowed or stolen the money to send her to a college-based theater camp after junior year. Instead, she worked at a day camp to make some money. Penny-wise and pound-foolish in retrospect.<br>
f. Should have encouraged D to do local theater in addition to HS – practice makes perfect, and you make connections.
g. D made a huge mistake quitting dance before HS
it really showed. She was unprepared for the dance auditions.
h. D refused to consider some great programs based solely on location – a huge mistake, but D is a stubborn person! She actually said to me, “CMU is in Pittsburgh? I’m not going to Pittsburgh.” (You got your wish, D!)
i. D’s dad initially discouraged D from applying to certain schools (Ithaca was one) because they aren’t big-name schools in the non-theater world. In retrospect: who the heck cares; we are in the theater world!
j. Given D’s difficulty with auditions, should have applied to some non-audition programs.
k. Kicking them in the seat of the pants is an available option! I had to do it with Molloy/CAP 21, and it worked.</p></li>
<li><p>Grateful for: CC, especially BethsMom, who told me about Molloy/CAP 21!</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>@cellomom51- thank you for the beautiful honesty. It is so wonderful that your story works out to be an inspiration. I think most parents had a very dark “what if” moment somewhere along the way- I know I had about a month of them. I think it IS really important for those who are just getting started that this is like nothing else our “theaterbabies” have done. The pond is HUGE, and it is all really confusing/challenging- and sometimes you can’t guess the whys and wherefores. HUGE congratulations- especially for never giving up!</p>

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<p>@EastchesterMom and @cellomom51 - thank you for your detailed accounts of your journey. You do not know me, but I have anguished for you and your girls all along your journey. CC has been so helpful as my D and I embark on this journey together, largely thanks to your candid stories. My D is another big fish in a little pond, but thanks to CC, we know better than to take anything for granted. In fact, my D’s voice teacher wants to ban me from CC cuz she says I am stressing too much over other people’s kids! Each time a wellmeaning friend, parent or teacher tells my D that she will have many offers we want to scream in frustration (and tell them how little they know) rather than be pleased by the compliment. My D reacts as if each positive comment is a jab at fate, taunting it and she starts knocking on wood and telling people not to even talk about it. She is working with a coach and we are struggling whether to sign her up for master classes with the heads of some of her favorite schools as I agree with whoever said that this close to auditions a master class can serve to get you name/face recognition, but it can also highlight your weaknesses as well. Such a struggle even when one has all of this information to make the right decision for one’s child. I feel like I am gambling with my child’s future and the odds are not good ones
 Sighhh
 I just pray we make the right decisions and in the end trust that God will lead her where she is meant to be.</p>

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<p>Wonderful stories, Cello and Easchester Moms!! We were with you every step of way hoping and believing for the best and look at what happened!! I am ecstatic for you both!!!</p>

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<p>EastchesterMom - thanks for the praise but I have to give a big shout out THANK YOU to cheeseheadMike for telling us all about Columbia College Chicago - one of the best non-audition schools around. Mike lives fairly close and visited and gave us the low down on what a great school it is. So one again, Thanks Mike!</p>

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<p>Happy Tears for you and your D cellomom51!!! I’m very happy that everything worked out for you guys! :)</p>

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<p>Happy, happy, happy!! Congratulations!</p>

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<p>What we did for love. Now we kiss today good-bye as our kids point towards tomorrow, the next cliff to climb, and the next, and the next. . . We’ll all still be there, in the cheering section. There should be a special island getaway for the INCREDIBLE parents who survive this - a getaway with free umbrella drinks and unlimited donuts, where show tunes are banned, and only magicians are allowed to perform in the live stage shows - or maybe cute animal tricks.</p>