@carriemc95 Thanks for sharing! What a great story and so happy your D figured out that she wanted to move in a different direction. My D is a sophomore MT and I always tell her she can change her direction at any time. Wishing your D lots of success!
@carriemc95 A really thoughtful story, thanks for sharing it. Nobody said the path would be straight to get to where each kid belongs. And performing arts will probably always be something she can enjoy and share. And frankly, she will end up with fulltime employment while my kid will be working at Starbucks between MT gigs. Best wishes.
@carriemc95 as other said, so happy you posted, likely this is more valuable to some than the " traditional" final decision…thanks for sharing and congrats to having an outcome that makes you & your family happy- isnt that what this is all really about??
@carriemc95 thank you for sharing your story. It’s good to have some variance here and I wish your daughter so much happiness.
One reason I almost didn’t post here is because I keep thinking about kids who don’t have options, who aren’t accepted to many or any schools, and how we don’t hear from them - there have to be so many more stories out there. I know of one young woman who went to Unifieds having literally no idea what she was stepping into; no one had prepped her for it in any way. She quickly realized that she wasn’t in league with the other kids there and took a gap year to take voice/acting/dance lessons to prepare herself for the following year Unifieds. I often wonder about stories of changed minds, ending up at the wrong school, not getting in at all, and finding an entirely different path to the MT world (like not going to college, just taking tons of private lessons etc). There are so many roads and this process we have all been in must hurtle many people into unforeseen places.
@carriemc95 Congrats to your D on making a tough decision and finding her path! Kudos to you for all your support! Thank you for sharing as it’s helpful to other parents whose kids are in similar situations struggling to make the best decision! Hope your D has an amazing college experience!!!
@carriemc95 Thank you for posting your D’s journey, and BEST of luck to her as she pursues her new venture! I’m sure she will do amazing things!
@carriemc95 thank you for sharing and best of luck to your daughter. With such good self realization skills, she will go far.
@carriemc95 I have to echo everyone else here and thank you for sharing your unique and wonderful story, and say hurray for your family’s support for your daughter’s path. Congratulations!
@carriemc95 Congratulations and thanks for sharing. My own journey started undeclared, then theatre, then after a year off I transferred and changed to broadcasting. Many of the same skill sets, especially improv and understanding the human condition.
@carriemc95 thank you for sharing your daughter’s journey. As the mom of a kid who does keep wavering on whether or not she wants to go down this path, it’s nice to hear your story and how happy she is with her choice. Congratulations!! The University of Alabama has a very helpful community here on CC! If you haven’t already found it, go check it out!
@carriemc95 Congratulations and thank you for sharing your story! Sometimes the unexpected is the best path!
@carriemc95 thank you for sharing your D’s story.
Programs Applied to: American University, Arcadia, Boston University, Coastal Carolina, Elon, Emerson College, Florida State University, HARTT, Ithaca College, James Madison University, Muhlenberg, Penn State, Point Park University, Rider University, Shenandoah University, Syracuse, Temple, Wagner, Western Connecticut State University, Young Americans College of the Arts
Prescreens: (Passed) Emerson, Ithaca, Florida State, Syracuse, American University, Young Americans College of the Arts (Not Passed) Elon, Penn State, Rider (Re-directed to BA Theater), Shenandoah,
Accepted to: Arcadia (Re-directed BA Theater), Coastal Carolina (Re-directed BFA Physical Theater), Emerson College (BFA MT), James Madison University (Re-directed BA Theater), Muhlenberg, Rider University (BFA MT), Temple (Re-directed BA Theater), Wagner (BA Theater – Performance Concentration), Western Connecticut State University (BFA MT), Young Americans College of the Arts
Rejected Artistically: Boston University, Florida State University, HARTT (could not attend the live audition and had to submit video audition), Ithaca College, Syracuse
Withdrew from: American University
Wait-listed at: Point Park (4/19/19 withdrew her name from WL)
Coach: None
Summer Programs: Emerson College – Pre-College MT 5-week Studio Program July 2018
Background:
D has been immersed in the performing world since she was born. Her childhood from the age of 2 until her freshman year in high school was spent traveling around and spending her summers performing under a traditional European circus tent in the New England area since both my husband and I both worked for the company and took our family with us. She grew up around passionate adults and youth alike gathering skill sets in juggling, aerials, hula hooping, stilting and character work (aka clowning). She also took regular ballet lessons to keep her lines clean when doing her aerial work.
As she entered her freshman year of high school, so many other opportunities became available to her, which included drama club! D, being comfortable performing character work in front of an audience all her life, auditioned for the fall play and then surprised us by saying she would audition for the Spring Musical as well. D had no formal vocal training at this point and the only time we heard her sing was singing along to the radio in car rides, but we encouraged her and felt she would come out with a role in the ensemble.
The day of casting came and she was cast as JoJo in “Seussical”, to both my husband and I, we were a bit taken back and surprised, but so proud of her that she landed a lead role in her first musical. She would not practice her songs at home, so we had no idea what to expect and were a bit nervous when opening night came. To say the least, she had us both in tears throughout the whole show at the beautiful voice that graced that stage that night.
After that run of shows, it solidified D’s love for the stage and she moved from the circus world to the theater world and immersed herself into as many theater and dance classes and sought out a vocal coach to grow and strengthen her vocals and see if even pursuing a career in musical theater was an option. To be honest, even though my husband and I have a background in the performing world, the world of musical theater was a learning curve even for us and living in Vermont was certainly not a geographical help in seeking out close to home options of finding training.
Luckily after some research, we were able to team up with some fabulous mentors and friends who embraced our D and put her through the ringers and gave her opportunities to make sure this was definitely something she wanted to pursue post-high school. To watch her evolve these past 4 years and show the determination, drive, and passion for this art form has been a joy to watch.
D attends a public high school that embraced her passion as well and supported her and found ways to allow her to audition and perform in “Matilda” at a regional theater this past winter, even allowing her to earn an elective credit when she was missing school for the rehearsals and tech runs.
D took a nasty fall skiing in March and fractured her tibia spine, two weeks before her high school spring musical in which she was cast as Bert in “Mary Poppins,” instead of re-casting the part last minute, her drama director promised D she would still grace the stage. D had surgery 4 days before opening night and ended up being able to perform her final musical on her high school stage as Bert in a wheelchair. She nailed it and even though she was disappointed that she could not perform her dances, she was grateful for the support of her school to allow her the opportunity to still perform.
The audition process started about one year ago with the researching of schools. Luckily living in the East Coast, we were in driving distance of many of the schools that ended up on her list, so we tried to line up open houses during spring break last year to try and get the “feel” of the schools before spending money on application and audition fees. Being brand new to this process, and no coach to guide us, we debated on Unified’s or no-Unified’s and in the end, based off of her final school list, she decided it would be most beneficial for her to actually audition at each school rather than attend Unified’s.
What an adventure it was as we navigated headshots, monologue choices, song cuts, filming the pre-screens ourselves with countless outtakes, and then taking that first sigh of relief once they were all submitted.
She ended up applying to 19 schools and we did live auditions at 13 of them. She loved the audition process and was grateful for auditioning live and having that extra time to spend at the campus and ask questions of fellow students and the faculty. It was fun as a parent to see her reactions after an audition day, it became very apparent which ones were still on the “yes” I can see myself here list if accepted, and the “let’s get out of here” reactions.
As the acceptances and rejections came rolling in it was fun to see how each of the schools saw something different in her. Her acceptances ranged from a BA Theater to a BFA Physical Theater to a BA Theater with a concentration in MT to finally a few BFA’s in MT!
The rejections fell pretty on par with her feelings after leaving those respected auditions or were the high-reaching schools she thought she would at least try to “see what would happen.”
CONT…
CONT from above…
Final Decision:
What a ride this experience is! The following story just proves you keep going no matter what because you never know what the outcome might be! D applied and sent in a pre-screen to Rider University for BFA MT. Pre-screen was not accepted, so D sent in an email asking if she could be considered to audition for the BA Theater - Concentration in MT. They sent the request off to the faculty and she was approved to come to audition for that program.
Fast forward to on-site audition day, Feb 9th. Arrived on campus and D immediately remembered all the things she loved about the campus from our initial visit a year ago and was energized to show them what she could bring to Rider. After the dance call, they were all given their order for their vocal/monologue auditions. As with every other audition, my D knew she probably would be the last to go do to the alphabetical order by last name. So here she was, last audition day for Rider for the season, and my D the last auditionee to be put in front of them to be considered for their BA Theater program.
10-15 minutes after she entered the room, I hear the familiar click of her shoes at a faster pace than normal coming down the hall. As she rounded the corner, she had a huge smile on her face and tears in her eyes and gave me a huge hug and said, they LOVED my audition and that they WANT to consider me for the BFA MT program! After both “celebrating” and taking the moment in, we both took a deep breath and reminded one another that there are so many stories of those that had the same positive experiences, but then ended up getting the rejection letter, so we left checking our emotions at the door. My D kept saying, I know that if I can get in front of them they would see something they did not get to see on my pre-screen video!
Every day, D was checking the portal to see if they actually would change her major from BA Theater to BFA MT. Day 1, nothing. Day 2, nothing. Day 3, nothing. Day 4 - major CHANGED from BA to BFA! Still not celebrating yet, but D knew she was at least one step closer and why would they go through the trouble of changing her status if they were going to reject her? Knowing that they would be contacting the definite yes/no’s before the 21st of this month, D was hoping to hear something on Friday or even Monday which was one week after her audition. After a whirlwind of a weekend auditioning at Ithaca and Nazareth, we did not get back until late last night, so upon waking up this morning, D checked her Rider portal and found that it had been changed - ACCEPTED to BFA MT!
After contemplating other acceptances and weighing the programs, opportunities, interactions she had with faculty and students and attending admitted students day, she confidentially could commit to the place she would call home for the next four years.
DECISION: Rider University – BFA Musical Theater. Go Broncs!
I am so proud of my D for having the courage to take that initial rejection of the pre-screen and turn lemons into lemonade and to prove she could be a contender for a BFA program! A story that I hope inspires future auditionees to not give up on your dreams since you NEVER know what will happen.
As a family that was new to this process, I am so thankful that I found CC, there were ideas, suggestions, and advice that we followed throughout our journey that I am positive helped us get to the place we are at today. I am happy to be a Bronc Mom and look forward to the next steps in my D’s journey as we enjoy these last 7.5 weeks before she transitions from a high school graduate to a Rider MT Bronc!
What an inspiring story! So happy for your D @MTVTmom!
@MTVTmom - such a unique story, really cool…its what makes this final decision one best of all…congrats!
Congratulations @MTVTmom! So glad your D’s perseverance paid off!
Wonderful background story! Congratulations @MTVTmom!!!
What a fantastic story @MTVTmom ! Congrats to you your D and way 2 go for her courage to go for what she wanted!