From CC to Senior Year, one MT parent's journey

College Majors Musical Theater Majors
1

<p>DECISION</p>

<p>Sometime in 2009 DD reached a decision: she needed to study MT.</p>

<p>“Want to do it?” I asked.</p>

<p>“Need to do it.” she answered.</p>

<p>As a former VP major myself, I knew that was the right answer, so off we went.</p>

<p>A couple things first, by that time I knew a couple of things: she was a good musician, and she was essentially untrained as a singer. When DD was young, my voice teacher told me to have her play a string instrument to become a good musician first, because that’s more important than early vocal training (more on this later). She was a competent string player by that time, and I knew she could sing on pitch.</p>

<p>A good friend whose DD was at a top MT program suggested CC, so I signed on (under a long-forgotten password from a long forgotten email).</p>

<p>My first foray into CC was, well, intimidating. There seemed to be both experts and “experts” and a fair number of hard-to-grasp rules. </p>

<p>Those first weeks I did a lot of reading on CC. It was clear we were behind the curve, training-wise, but I stuck to my belief that being a good musician would pay dividends somewhere down the line. </p>

<p>She first went to on on-campus audition at Marymount Manhattan. Wait, did that presenter just refer to Jerome Robbins as “Jerry”? Like, “when Jerry and I were doing a show …”</p>

<p>Cool.</p>

<p>Two important lessons were learned at Marymount: she wasn’t at the top of the class, but she wasn’t at the bottom either. Surprisingly, there were only 3 kids out of about 100 who really jumped out as great, a bunch in the middle, and maybe one-third out of their element. </p>

<p>Next up was Unifieds.</p>

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<p>I have a dd who is a dance major but looking at performing. She is so far behind in vocal training but does have excellent dance skills. I look forward to hearing more.</p>

3

<p>UNIFIEDS</p>

<p>We hit Unifieds with a grand total of two voice lessons (ever), no coaching on monologues or song selection, and some photos (can’t really call them headshots) printed from Target.</p>

<p>Here is where I began to question the “musician-first, singer-later” path we had taken. </p>

<p>First off, the breakdown of talent we saw at Marymount only changed a little: the exceptional kids seemed to be maybe 10-15%, many in the middle (including DD), and still a solid 25-30% who were not competitive.</p>

<p>However, those kids in the middle were pretty easily separated into ones who had a lot of training and ones who had not. Like it or not - and I absolutely DON’T like it - people who spend a fortune training-up their kids have a leg up in this process.</p>

<p>Like the girl with the nice voice who sang I’m Not That Girl … did she get in anywhere? I’m thinking that she didn’t, given the nasty look on the judges’ faces when she left the room. Why didn’t they ask her to sing something else as it’s clear she didn’t know that Wicked is all but banned at Unifieds?</p>

<p>Luckily, none of my worries rubbed off on my DD, who gamely raced from audition to audition (14 in all IIRC) until she ended up with no voice left for her last 2 audition, one at a school she really wanted to attend. One massive break on a middle C and school #1 was gone. At school #2 she raced ahead of her backing piano track. </p>

<p>But, there were certainly some great moments too. Some nice comments from judges so there was something to look forward to.</p>

<p>And then a little school in Scotland had a sign saying they were auditioning people across the street…</p>

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<p>THE ROYAL SCOTTISH ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DRAMA</p>

<p>DD had a great audition at the RSAMD during Unifieds, and got a callback that day, and an offer via email before we left Unifieds.</p>

<p>At that time we didn’t know where she wanted to go, so like everyone else, we waited.</p>

<p>She got an acceptance and a call back from two other schools in the coming weeks, but by then she was settled on the RSAMD.</p>

<p>I won’t get into Visa issues and all that, but eventually we got her off to Scotland for the amazing experience that was the RSAMD.</p>

<p>Since then she’s been on radio, TV, concerts, met royalty, and learned an awful, awful lot. </p>

<p>One of the deciding factors in attending RSAMD was their focus on students having proficiency in an instrument. So, while it was a bit of a deficit to attend Unifieds without tons of vocal and acting training, her focus on her instrument now began to pay dividends.</p>

<p>So, with a bit of good fortune she chose the right place, maybe even the best place FOR HER. I hope most CCers would try to find the right fit instead of choosing by name.</p>

5

<p>SOME CONCLUDING THOUGHTS</p>

<p>Graduation looms around the corner. At this point we know a few things.</p>

<p>No regrets on choosing the MT major. Our MT kids learn things that take other majors years to learn.</p>

<p>Every MT major learns to be a self-starter who can walk into a room of strangers and perform at the highest level on a moment’s notice. How many other 21-year olds can do that?</p>

<p>The interaction with artists, directors, MDs, and other professionals gives MT students a wonderful exposure to the life of a performing artist.</p>

<p>MT kids learn to collaborate, research, work alone, build a resume, and many other skills.</p>

<p>They learn how to handle rejection and how to network. They build resumes and understand the importance of being professionals.</p>

<p>MT schools treat them as colleagues and they respond accordingly.</p>

<p>I don’t think this experience is unique to DD’s school; it’s a by-product of the wonderful and challenging field our kids are entering.</p>

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<p>Loved reading your daughter’s story! Gives hope to some of us who haven’t had tons of training either. My biggest problem is when I hear about someone’s great experience at a school, I immediately want to add that to my list which has made my list a bulging 25-30 schools. Thank goodness I’ve cut it down from that, but now you’ve got my curiosity flaring about Scotland. For my parents’ sake though, I will refrain. It is so awesome to hear how much experience your daughter has gotten! :slight_smile: you must be very proud.</p>

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<p>AND A LITTLE ADVICE</p>

<p>Have someone with some technical ability analyze your kid’s basic skills (pitch, general vocal quality). </p>

<p>Examine their passion for pursuing this career. You should NEVER have to remind an MT kid to learn their lines or work on their dance moves.</p>

<p>Do try to help them become a good musician by learning another instrument. Musical directors love a singer who can sight-read, who understands harmony, and actor/musician shows seem to be on the upswing.</p>

<p>Get some outside advice on your kid for their selections for Unifieds.</p>

<p>And also read Doctor John’s 2010 post on the Otterbein page about all the (many, many, many) do’s and don’ts of the audition process. Fair? No. The right way to choose students? Perhaps not. The way it’s done? Yes.</p>

<p>If you get more than one offer, make your selection by thinking about what’s the best fit for your kid.</p>

<p>Even if it’s on the other side of the planet.</p>

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<p>Lamm66 - My DD really had no vocal training before Unifieds. She had about 2 lessons with a local grad student who left her standing (literally) in the cold. While I’m a singer, she wouldn’t take any advice from me.
I’d say to just get some lessons to ensure that she can sing on-pitch and go from there. If she’s a good dancer there’s certainly a lot of work for them and plenty of people who are jealous of that ability!</p>

<p>SteamedArtichoke (?!) - I’m actually in favor a big list of schools, money/time permitting. Knock on some doors, visit some schools, start to get a feel for what you like. After a couple of visits to small LACs, she decided that she wanted to be in a city, and that was crucial to her later decision regarding college. You might find just the opposite, but at least try to get a feel for campus life in a general sense (small vs large, urban vs rural). They don’t have to be MT programs but just get a feel for the lifestyle.
This is NOT one-size-fits-all, as I know an equal number of kids who thrived at, say, Otterbein.</p>

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<p>Croner </p>

<p>Thank you for telling your DD’s story. Perfect timing as my DS begins his MT preparation as a performer with little formal training.</p>

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<p>Croner,
Sounds like your daughter is about to graduate, which made me start thinking about life after an MT program, whether here or in the States. One reason my S hasn’t given much thought to an overseas program is the possible difficulty of getting a visa to stay in the country and work after graduation, or the ability to get work in the US upon return from Scotland after graduation. I know there have been some threads on this topic, but I was hoping you might be able to weigh in on what your DD expects to do after graduation - stay in Scotland or return the U.S. and the pros and cons of both paths. Thanks! And belated congrats to you and your DD for so successfully navigating the whole college audition season!</p>

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<p>Croner, what a lovely story! Thanks for sharing. Can I ask whether your D will be staying on in England? I would love to hear more about her experience at the school itself, too.</p>