BTW - Just gave D the feedback from above and got “I did, I did, I did” re marking, and explaining, etc. I asked her why he was off then and she replied “because he has tons of kids to get through, and I had 15 seconds to explain my music, and he didn’t care.”
I wish kids could see things through a different lens but she’s probably partly right. Just shows you need to be your best advocate in all things if you want the desired outcome. Otherwise, you get what you get. Tough lesson to learn (and one I think she hasn’t learned by her response to me - oh well…)
One of my kids had an accompanist STOP PLAYING at NTDA auditions about 15 seconds into the song. He was shaken and truly believed he would get no callbacks, but in the end, I think he got 37 that night (out of 54 schools?). One of the theatre directors I knew who was there told me that the accompanist had been making things “painful” all day and that the student handled it very well (where some students hadn’t). I had worked with him about how to work with accompanists that you have never gotten to work with prior. The adjudicators can tell what’s going on. But your reaction to what happens is everything. One of the biggest issues is that most of the students have no experience “leading” the accompanist before their auditions. The accompanist should be following them, not the opposite. So, bottom line - if you have any thing “special” (like tempo changes or cuts), please mark it WELL. Try to get a modified version of the music so that they don’t have to wade through marks and crossed-out sections (I use Adobe Acrobat Pro and actually edit the music there!). I strongly suggest to my students to tap out and sing the beginning of the song to the accompanist quietly if they can. We have learned that marking tempo sometimes isn’t enough. (One accompanist this year turned “The Kite” into a ballad! Even though the tempo was clearly marked). But you have to remember they are doing song after song with various marks, styles, re-imagined arrangements, etc. So treat it like they have never seen the song before and be clear with the direction.
@rickle1 Showing my age, I can tell you that early in my career people still “stress interviewed” meaning that they purposely were quite rude or threw in crazy curve balls just to see how you reacted. I sometimes wonder if some schools purposely do crazy things just to see how kids react. I hope all turns out well for you and your D.
Thanks to all for your comments. D will be fine. She had 5 auditions over the weekend (four good ones) and something like 12 more scheduled (plus walk ins). If it’s meant to be, it will be.
I know there are differences in many of the programs, but most (if not all) will provide great training and hopefully lots of performance opportunities.
I’m hopeful she’ll be accepted to a few and will make a decision from there. Does it really matter if it’s Elon or CCM, NYU or CMU, Boco or BW, Syracuse or Hartt, Viterbo or Nazereth or WCSU or even the stronger BA programs like Wagner and Muhlenberg? You get my drift. These kids are all talented. They’ll go (professionally) where there talent and resiliency takes them.
100% agree w @onette ! The pianist is accompanying YOU. Not the other way around. Sometimes you can tap it out, sing a few bars, explain at length, and it will still seem as though they are playing a separate song lol. It happens to the best of them. They are human and these are long days. However, my kids have always made it a practice to just keep singing at their own pace, the way it was intended to be sung. Most of the time they will catch up. Sing on! Don’t let it phase you even if you have to finish acapella. It’s your audition, not the accompanists On a side note, I would recommend not have a cut that jumps all over the place or isn’t clearly marked.
Just wondering if anyone’s D or S had any unusual “curveball” questions from NY Unifieds to pass on for future reference? The only one my D struggled with a bit was “what would you do if you COULDN’T be in performing arts?”–kind of the opposite of the usual, “why do you want to pursue this career?”
I did overhear a student say that the accompanist in one audition played the wrong tempo initially, then stopped and apologized and let them start over. Sounded like it was ok in the end!
I’ll say my daughter was asked a pretty jolting question (that I won’t share because it really does need to be heard and answered in the moment for the school to see what they are looking for). She was surprised by it but also really enjoyed that audition so just know that even if auditioners are trying to shock or surprise you, it’s just because they want to see the REAL you, not your prepared answers to all the commonly asked questions. Just BE YOURSELF and HAVE FUN WITH IT!
On a side note, I would recommend not have a cut that jumps all over the place or isn’t clearly marked.