<p>My s is a sophomore in high school. He’s been pondering between Muny and college summer camp. Which is more beneficial to career in the long term? </p>
<p>Do you mean to audition to perform at the MUNY? Is that available to HS students? Certainly, in the long run, performing at the MUNY would be benefiial, you see that in playbill credits frequently. I know a lot of people (from top college programs) who have auditioned for summer stock there- some have made it, some haven’t. IDK about a high school student in that pool- though I will freely admit I have zero personal experience with the program. On the other hand, I know many students (including my own) who have participated in college summer programs and loved them- and, depending on the program, they may give you a boost towards getting accepted in particular BFA programs, which might be the next stage of your “career”</p>
<p>The MUNY is starting a new program for high school students this summer. It sounds like a really interesting program. And it includes the opportunity to perform in a MUNY production if I’m not mistaken. That would be a great experience.
There are pros and cons to all of these different summer programs and camps. Living on a college campus and taking classes from college professors is great experience and helps you really understand what pursuing a BFA will be like. Other camps bring in reps from many different schools and help you prepare for auditions – and that is interesting too. Stagedoor and similar camps give you the joy of performing in a hi quality/talent laden show while honing your MT skills. So part of it is figuring out what you want from your camp experience. Because many of the programs are audition based, you may wish to apply to several since acceptance to any, including the MUNY, is not guaranteed. </p>
<p>The MUNY program you describe sounds cool vvnstar. Given that info, it sounds like a solid choice. My D did a college program summer between junior and senior year and it was amazing - but I don’t know if she would have gotten the same amount out of it summer between sophomore/junior. But that is just my kid</p>
<p>Based on what vvnstar describes and on what I’ve seen as a parent and teacher, I’d suggest trying for the Muni program this year and doing a precollege program after junior year, when it’ll help your son prepare for auditions and confirm whether this is what he wants to pursue during college. Good luck–hard to go wrong!</p>
<p>It is a new program and a collaboration with Webster. They are admitting 10 kids. There is audition info on the MUNY website.</p>
<p>Our D did OCU after her freshman year, mPulse after sophomore year and spent the summer after junior year working with a coach on audition material and college applications. That diversity was good for her in that she got to live on both a small campus and a large campus; experience two different programs and faculty; and learn a lot about herself and what she wanted in a college program. But I think she would have learned valuable lessons at many of the camps and programs mentioned on CC. I agree with @Times3 - hard to go wrong with the many choices available. Those just happened to be the ones we chose because we were interested in trying out different college environments.
I believe the new MUNY program will be housed at Webster University and may included classes taught by Webster faculty but I’m really not well versed on details about it. You can go to their website to learn more. I believe admittance is by audition and they are only taking a small number of students. (Something else to consider - does your child want to be around lots of kids or a select few?)</p>
<p>^We had a similar experience–my son did the wonderful Shakespeare summer intensive at Blackfriars Theater in Staunton when he was around 14; then did the U. Minnesota summer program, which includes classes with both the BA and BFA faculty, after sophomore year. That was about 11 days long and gave him a taste of life on a huge campus as well as exposure to two fairly different approaches to theater education. The next year he did the 5-week summer intensive at BU, which was truly a pre-college experience–similar curriculum to their BFA, much more autonomy and personal responsibility expected than the previous two programs (both of which were housed at colleges). At BUSTI, they also helped them with monologues and audition prep. It was a great combination of experiences that really helped him think about whether he wanted to major in acting and what kind of program would work best for him. We were lucky that we could eke out the funds for these (with grandparents’ help); I would’ve been reluctant to support the very expensive process of auditioning for BFAs, not to mention the risky move of choosing one without having at least some sense of what the life would be like, if he hadn’t done these summer intensives. </p>