<p>There are many, many working professionals out there who graduated from non-audition schools; and also many who never even attended college. A good friend of mine attended a small BA non-audition school – never even graduated – and went on to perform in 5 different B’way shows. I am very much a fan of the good BFA programs – my daughter is currently in one – but it is by no means necessary for success – and it also is not a guarantee of success!</p>
<p>A BA non-audition school is not a “safety” because it offers a less demanding education or because it attracts students who per se are not as talented as those who attend BFA programs. To the contrary, there are many students in non-audition BA programs who have every bit as much talent as those in the BFA programs and who were accepted to BFA programs but made a conscious election to attend the BA program. Very often, it is a question of how a student wants to balance educational goals and priorities. BFA and BA programs are very different in that regard and equally talented students can simply have different priorities that result in different choices. There are many very strong BA theatre programs with excellent acting, voice and dance instruction, at schools where the curricular structure also provides great opportunities for a broader education including double majors and minors. That can be a very positive and constructive choice for someone whose ultimate goal is to perform professionally.</p>
<p>In addition, as has been noted on a variety of threads, there is no one path that is the “right” path to becoming a performer. There are many successful performers who started out with BA programs. More over, the reasons one is accepted or rejected by BFA programs can be so subjective and devoid of discernible objective rationales that no one should assume that the rejections are sending a “message” about one’s talents, abilities and potential for future success.</p>
<p>Calling a BA program a “safety” is really a mischaracterization in a sense. What is really meant is that because there is no subjective audition requirement, you can better predict the likelihood of an acceptance based on objective, measurable criteria and clearly defined factors. The opportunity for a positive outcome is better predictable. A student can easily structure a list of BA schools so that there is a high likelihood of acceptances. In this regard, however, keep in mind that what is one student’s “safety” BA school will be another’s “reach” based on a student’s academic profile. In contrast, the highly subjective nature of an auditioned based BFA renders ALL such programs unpredictable and therefore a “reach” regardless of the student’s profile.</p>
<p>I would never take rejections from BFA programs as indicative of whether a student should continue in one career or choose another. It may mean that the student needs to take a different path to achieve the same career goals, but that’s ok too. In the long run it doesn’t mean that the student can not be successful and along the way, the student may very well have a number of educational opportunities that would not have been available in a more structured and confined BFA program.</p>
<p>Ditto everything onstage and Michael wrote!</p>
<p>I also know very talented kids who got into BFA programs but selected BA theater programs to attend. These were not even safety schools (Yale, Northwestern, for example).</p>
<p>Whenever we see a Broadway show or one that is touring in our town DD and I always read the bios in the Playbill to see where people went to college. Many times we have not even heard of programs some people attended and as others have said some don’t major in theatre or do not go to college and still end up on the stage.</p>
<p>We know one extemely talented girl that was accepted to both NYU and CMU for BFA MT and spent 1 year at NYU and decided it was not for her and is now at a wonderful school not majoring in theatre, but still very involved in it and hoping one day to be a working actress. There are many paths these kids can take to reach their goal.</p>
<p>Classicalbk – I ditto all of the terrific feedback that others have given you here in regards to professional opportunities! There are many different paths to a professional career. </p>
<p>To address a couple of your other questions…</p>
<p>“When one requires an artistic reference, does one ask the writer of the reference to pen 10 individual copies of the reference, one for each school? Or does one ask the writer to make one generalized “to whom it may concern” and then make copies to send to each university?”</p>
<p>We usually receive “to whom it may concern” letters for the artistic references (unless the writer has some specific experience with JMU – ie. alum, etc…). They are not photocopied, however. Each letter generally comes in a sealed envelop with an original signature over the envelope flap that matches the original signature on the letter itself. Basically the reference provider is printing out, signing, and sealing the same letter 12 times. </p>
<p>“My New Philosophy is that if the daughter doesn’t get into an audtion school, then it’s time for Plan B…”</p>
<p>As others have mentioned many CHOOSE to attend non-auditioned (and auditioned) BA schools over BFA programs, because those programs better suit their undergraduate educational goals and desires. In terms of students not being admitted to any of their auditioned school options – This does not necessarily mean that the student should pursue a “plan B” (ie. switch to computer science, education, communications, etc… :)). The most competitive auditioned programs will generally have a 2% to 5% admit rate. Even the less competitive auditioned programs will generally have a 10% - 20% admit rate. With admit rates so low, talented students are often not admitted to programs. This does not necessarilty mean that the applicant would not have been admitted to different programs if they had auditioned, nor that they will not have a successful career as a performer. Admissions to programs is flukey… that is why the common advice on these boards is to make sure that each applicant has at least one non-auditioned program that is an academic and financial match AND where the student would be happy to attend.</p>
<p>KatMt and all- Thanks so much for the good response to my questions and my philosophy, which apparently needs some adjusting! 
KatMT-Thanks especially for the “how to” on the references. We will certainly be out and about in your neighborhood in the coming months as you’re an easy drive. We will try to get to a show.</p>
<p>Great! Our spring semester mainstage musical is Oklahoma!.. auditions actually started yesterday and go through Wednesday… The show opens February 23 and runs through the 28th. Ticket info and times are on the JMU School of Theatre & Dance website. If you come down, send me an email.
o MT programs.</p>
<p>In terms of admissions to MT programs, kids who have a balanced list of appropriate schools with at least one non-auditioned safety (they would be happy to attend). are sure to find a “home” :).</p>
<p>I actually should have said above that the “safety” school needs to be a true academic safety… not just a match. I think in the terminology of college admissions a match school is still not to be considered a sure bet.</p>
<p>Marianne: Thank you. We have no idea what we are doing - just playing it by ear and instinct. </p>
<p>I would like to thank all the wonderful moms (and dads) out there who have sent me private e-mails helping us out. Your support is awesome. I promise that once we are done, and I have some experience in all of this, to continue going to this web page to help other moms/dads with this very crazy process.</p>
<p>I wish all the best to your son 2dogs1cat! I can definitely relate to him, as I’m a senior who’s entering this with only 2 years of theater under her belt. I’ve decided to take a gap year to gain more experience, but I still worry that it won’t be enough to make up for all the time I’ve lost. I’d love to hear more in the future about your family’s journey and wherever your son may end up. :)</p>
<p>Are there any Musical Theater schools that don’t accept transfers?</p>
<p>Some make you start over, so even if you transfer in, you have to do a full four years.</p>
<p>Agree with NMR. But sometimes it’s possible to finish in 3 years, even if you are required to register as a freshman. It depends on the school, and also on how many other transferrable credits you have.</p>
<p>I am looking at the unifieds and SETC auditions. Is there any organization like those groups for the midwest, western schools? Thanks. (when one question is answered, another pops up!)</p>
<p>classicalbk:</p>
<p>The Midwest Theatre Auditions, at Webster University in St. Louis, hold auditions for summer theaters and graduate schools. However, they do not hold auditions for undergraduate programs. Here’s the link:</p>
<p>[Midwest</a> Theatre Auditions](<a href=“http://www.webster.edu/depts/finearts/theatre/mwta/]Midwest”>http://www.webster.edu/depts/finearts/theatre/mwta/)</p>
<p>SETC does indeed hold auditions for high school students:</p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> School Auditions and Interviews - Southeastern Theatre Conference, Inc.](<a href=“http://www.setc.org/auditions/undergraduate.php]Undergraduate”>http://www.setc.org/auditions/undergraduate.php)</p>
<p>You do know that the Unified Auditions meet in Chicago, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, in addition to New York City?</p>
<p>Thank-you. Yes I know there are unifieds in those cities. I was hoping there might be one stop shopping for the midwestern MT schools as there are for the southeastern schools. If only Ohio participated that would be quite a group!</p>
<p>If your child is interested in MT and looking to audition for a lot of schools at one location Unifieds is the best bet. </p>
<p>SETC, VTA, etc… are great, but most MT schools that attend these will still require a student to come to campus for a more comprehensive audition. For example – I teach at a BA MT school that attends SETC and VTA… because the audition requirements there do not include a second song or a dance audition, we use these more as junior recruiting conferences for MT than an audition. I find this is the case with many of the other MT schools I have talked to who attend these auditions. The SETC conference is in the spring and unless a school has rolling admissions, SETC would be too late as an audition location for seniors. </p>
<p>Unifieds are a different story, because there students contact the schools to arrange the audition, apply for, and audition for the schools directly. As a result these auditions are comparable to on-campus auditions for the schools that attend.</p>
<p>Thank-you. Little by little I’m becoming educated in these matters, thanks to the kind CC folks!</p>
<p>Dear 62442:</p>
<p>Thanks! Go for it! The worse that can happen is that you realize that you need to move onto other things. You don’t want to be my age (46) and wondering what if…you will know one way or another. I will keep you posted - you keep me posted on what you end up doing!</p>
<p>addendum to post 316… for MT we use VTA in the fall as a Senior recruiting conference. But for MT the kids still need to come to campus. This seems to be the dame for other MT programs. :)</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me if auditioning before Christmas is better than after? We have the ability to do both.</p>