<p>Astonishing is a very overdone song at college auditions, just so you know.</p>
<p>Soozie is right, Astonishing is overdone in college auditions.</p>
<p>It is really a pop musical theatre ballad. Depending on the contrast it could work as part of a package. For example if your D was singing āYes, My Heartā from Carnival (a soprano uptempo), āAstonishingā could work as a contrasting belty ballad.</p>
<p>However, since it is overdone, she may want to consider a different song.</p>
<p>Thank you and I will pass this on to my D. She is looking for an uptempo song from after 1960 she has already chosen her pre 1960 ballad. Any sugestions?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Itās really hard to suggest songs without knowing your daughterās voice personally. And youāll find that many on this board are understandably very protective of their own favorite songs! Your Dās vocal coach can probably come up with a list of songs that fit her voice and physical type; once you get a list, itāll be easier to make some final choices that take into account songs that are overdone or inappropriate in some way.</p>
<p>letsfigureitout,</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I also appreciate the scholarship information, however having sent our oldest daughter to Tisch, with high grades, scholarship offers from all of the other schools she was interested in, Tisch was the one place that did not offer her a penny. We weighed this, along with her feelings, and went ahead and took on a substantial financial commitment so that she could attend the school of her dreams. </p>
<p>I would love to find a school that just looks at the audition process and offers scholarship for talent only, however, the best schools tend to award scholarships from an academic standpoint only with regard to MT. If anyone can point us in the direction of schools with MT programs that award for talen, Iām all ears. </p>
<p>Once again, thanks for your help.</p>
<p>Theatredivasmom</p>
<p>I donāt know if things have changed at all in the two years since my daughter went through the audition process, but we were disappointed to not see much ātalentā scholarship money available at the time. As you have already mentioned, the vast majority of the $ available is merit-based (which worked out fine for her, but I was hoping for talent scholarships to augment the academic ones 
) The one exception was Point Park which offered a generous combination of the two. At the time the maximum talent award which they offered was $5000/yr (donāt know what it is now, could be more?). Although D chose to attend another school I was impressed with PPUās offer.</p>
<p>Hopefully, in the two years since my d auditioned, more talent scholarships are being offered by more schools. Best of luck on your second time down this road!</p>
<p>UMich offers very generous talent based scholarships. We were very surprised at the amount.</p>
<p>In terms of academics, I have heard of Tulane University here and there, but know nothing about its Theatre and MT programs.</p>
<p>The reason I am asking is that I was sent an offer to do what they call a personal application. I can apply without paying the application fee, without sending in a personal statement/essay (which I think is actually not a good thing since I believe an essay should count for 30+ % of the decision factor), and that iād be notified of acceptance in 4 weeks of them recieving my application. Also, Iāll be automatically be considered for scholarships. </p>
<p>I will apply as it doesnāt hurt to if the application fee is waived and I need as many safeties as possible. But that was all sent with the school expecting me to enter as a liberal arts major. My main question is, Does the school have a good or decent acting or MT program that is reputable? I have heard nothing about the schoolās arts programs at all, let alone theatre and MT.</p>
<p>and my list of possible schools include:
Northwestern
Syracuse
^^those 2 are my top/Reach schools</p>
<p>UCLA
UC Irvine
UC San Diego
UC Santa Cruz
UC Berkeley
^^half of those are being applied to after I reached a compromise with my parents to let me apply to schools as an acting/MT major (o, I hail from SoCal, so thatās the reason for the huge number of UCs)</p>
<p>Ithaca College
Emerson
Tufts
UMich
Elon
USC (possibility based on price, not distance since it is only an hour away from home)
^^these are maybes since I think my list will have to be rounded out to be a total of 10ā¦iād like to apply to all of them, but my mom is refusing to pay for all the application and audition fees. She, right now, is almost refusing to pay for me to apply out of state as she doesnāt think I can be mature enough to live far away, which I donāt believe is one bit true..but itās a little understandable; parents can feel a little overprotective when their child goes away to college.</p>
<p>I might also apply to Cal State Fullerton, but Iāve only heard negative things about the program from current students. They say because the cut system, the underclassmen that have yet to audition for the BFA at the end of their sophmore year do whatever they can to put themselves ahead of the game, even when it means hurting everyone elseās chances.</p>
<p>And, the main thing that matters to me in a school is for it to have a good/reputable acting or MT program, but still offers opportunities for me to explore other areas of interest for a secondary major (another compromise with the parents in order to get funding for tuition)ā¦most likely my second major will relate to theatre or actingāfilm, communications, psychology. Also, Iād like an opportunity to try directing. I know a few of the schools of my possible list donĀt give its students much room for exploration outside of theatre, but as everyone says, itĀs good to have a wide range of schools that you apply to. O, and cost is another, actually a MAJOR factor. My family is in that range where youĀre too rich to get much financial aid but not rich enough to pay for college for a full 4 years. Getting big loans is out of the question. Since IĀm planning to act and eventually get an MFA, I donĀt want to have to be buried in financial debts and worries for my whole life because of student loans. ThatĀs another reason for the 5 UCs. </p>
<p>If anyone knows of any Performing or Visual Arts scholarships that I can apply for that would be great if you can notify me of themĀ also, if there are any scholarships made specifically for Asian Americans and Asian Americans involved in the arts, that would be wonderful as well.</p>
<p>If you need any more info about me, such as GPA and test scores, so that you can recommend colleges, feel free to ask me to elaborate on them. As deadlines are approaching, I really need to figure exactly what list of schools will be best to apply to for myself.</p>
<p>Thanks ahead of time.</p>
<p>āAnd, the main thing that matters to me in a school is for it to have a good/reputable acting or MT program, but still offers opportunities for me to explore other areas of interest for a secondary majorā</p>
<p>If having the opportunity for a second major or even a minor is a priority, then you should focus your search on BA programs and not BFAās. The typical BFA curriculum is a tightly structured sequenced program that normally does not afford a student the time or opportunity for a dual major nor often even a minor. This could change the landscape of your school list significantly.</p>
<p>yea, i first intended on pursuing just a BA, but when I visited Syracuse and UCI, both said they would allow me to double major. At UCI, iād earn a BFA in MT and BA/BS in my other major, and at Syracuse, iād earn a dual-degree with a foundation of the BFA.</p>
<p>I know UMich allows students to earn a BFA and BA/BS at the same time. Emerson wonāt allow for a double major, but I still liked the school when I applied. Ithaca said I would be able to minor if I majored in acting instead of MT. All the UCs, excluding UCI, offer BAs only. I havenāt looked into Elon yet, but my friend told me to look into it. I believe all the other schools offer BAsā¦yes, iāve done my fair share of research. I think Iāve spent 20+ hours looking through CC aloneā¦hahaa.</p>
<p>Thank you though. Most of my friends, even the ones wanting to pursue acting or MT donāt know the real difference between a BA and BFAā¦they seem to believe getting a BFA is the better choice. I like the idea of a BA giving me options, but I like the idea of the conservatory approach of a BFA, so if i could somehow get both? Iād love it!</p>
<p>Michigan certainly allows kids in the BFA in MT program to do a dual major in something else, but in reality, not that many do it and most who do spend a fifth year there, finishing all the dual major requirements.</p>
<p>You might look into NYU/Tisch, where even the MTs have to take a goodly number of liberal arts courses and that way, can pursue another major or minor in an already (for lack of a better word) built in way. Tisch believes that an educated actor makes the best actor, so the kids in the department of drama there take two days a week of liberal arts courses.</p>
<p>There was another thread recently about BFAās and dual majoring. You may want to do a search for it; there was a lot of useful info. In a nutshell, I think the majority consensus was that dual majoring with a MT BFA would require extending your college career by at least another year and therefore, if for no reason other than the economics, a BA theatre program at a school with good MT opportunities might be a better path.</p>
<p>Iām curious about Syracuse. Admission to the MT program is BFA only which, as I understand it, does not leave time for a dual major. The BS in theatre at Syracuse is an option offered only to incumbent BFA students who conclude or are advised after 2 years that the BFA program is not the right track for them.</p>
<p>vivianngo123 - regarding double majoring, Iām a freshman at Michigan (just finishing our first fantastic week of class) and for a long time was considering a double major. I think itās important for anyone considering a BFA in MT/double major in something else to really think about what that will mean for you during your four years in college. Before actually going to college, itās easy to be optimistic and think that youāll have no problem getting in your BFA requirements as well as the requirements for a second degree, but in reality itās going to be really tough. Thereās two āsuper seniorsā at UM this year (that is, 5th year seniors) who are both double majoring in MT and English, which is said to be the easiest major to combine with the BFA MT. I was talking with one of them the other night, and he told me that he took 18 credits for every semester of the past four years and only took academic classes that would fulfill his English degree requirements, and yet he is still back for a 5th year. (Keep in mind that this 5th year of school is costing him about $45,000 between classees, room, and board) During an orientation meeting, Brent Wagner (the head of the department) and some upperclassmen told us that it would be almost impossible to do a double major in 4 years without taking summer classes, which requires more money and would prevent you from being able to do summerstock. Frankly, I think this is true in most environments - BFA schools tell prospectives that they can pursue a double major in order to attract particularly academic-minded students because they technically can, when in reality it may be almost impossible to do so in 4 years.</p>
<p>Something else to really consider is how a double major will affect your time in three ways. First of all, it prevents you from being able to take whatever academic classes you want. This was a big deciding factor to me - while I like the idea of double majoring, I didnāt want to restrict myself to only taking academic classes that would count for that major; Iāve got a lot of things Iād like to explore and donāt want to lock myself into something early on. Second, itās going to impact your commitment to your MT training to some degree. You wonāt have the same amount of time for out-of-class work as your classmates because your schedule will be so full, and you wonāt have the room to supplement the curriculum with extra classes in areas that interest you or that you need more training in. Finally, youāre committing yourself to a full course load for your entire 4 years (at most schools that is 18 credits per semester). Thatās going to affect the amount of time you have for the social element of college, which is undeniably a big part of the process. If your friends are going to the beach one weekend, you may have to stay home and study, and you might not be able to join an extracurricular group because you canāt make a solid time commitment.</p>
<p>All that being said, I think Michigan is a PHENOMENAL place for students who are academically minded. For all upcoming auditioners, you should know that UM recently added a āwhat we are looking forā section to their website that is, from my experience here, incredibly accurate in its description. They point out there that they look for students who are academically minded, communicate well through writing, and who have interests outside MT, and itās all so true. We are really encouraged to immerse ourselves fully in the college experience at an intellectual level and there is so much support from the faculty in pursuing academia and, as I like to call it, āreal people classes.ā</p>
<p>As mentioned in my previous post, hereās the new stuff Michigan added to their website, both on suggestions for the acting/voice auditions and what theyāre looking for (copied and pasted from <a href=āhttp://www.music.umich.edu/departments/mustheatre/auditions.htm)%5B/url%5Dā>http://www.music.umich.edu/departments/mustheatre/auditions.htm)</a>. Highly recommended for any upcoming auditioner, whether you are considering UM or not.</p>
<p>ACTING - Preparation Suggestions:</p>
<p>Choose monologues which are appropriate for your age and experience.</p>
<p>Be able to discuss the play as a whole. ItĀs best to select monologues from plays, as opposed to special material written for monologue books. </p>
<p>Avoid historic styles, such as Shakespeare, and verse or poetry. Avoid dialects.</p>
<p>Exercise taste in selecting the monologues, avoiding pieces that may be inappropriate because of language or situation.</p>
<p>VOICE - Preparation Suggestions: </p>
<p>Choose songs with which you can communicate a specific situation in a clear context with an objective (goal). Make the situation as honest and specific as possible.</p>
<p>Even though a 16-bar song is very short, do as much as you can to give the song a progression. What happens or changes as the song proceeds?</p>
<p>Select material which is suitable for your age and experience.</p>
<p>Explore the lyrics of the song as carefully as you explore the music. Be absolutely certain that you are singing correct words, notes, and rhythms. </p>
<p>Adhere carefully to the 16-bar maximum. It is not in your best interest to include more measures, even if the tempo of the song is fast.</p>
<p>Include a 2-bar or 4-bar introduction to the songs, and mark the introduction carefully and clearly in the music. Remember that the measures of introduction do not count in the 16-bars you will be singing. Be sure to rehearse the song with the introduction prior to your audition! </p>
<p>If you are not starting at the top of the song, write the title of the song at the top of the music, along with the time signature and key signature. </p>
<p>Do not try to sing too high or too loudly. Volume and range can be explored separately if the faculty have questions. Choose songs which fit comfortably in your range. If you are using a transposition of a song, be sure that you have correctly printed the melody, lyrics and accompaniment in the new key. Note: Itās to your advantage to put the song in a key which best suits your voice. An enormous number of applicants present songs in keys which are too high for them to show themselves at their best vocally. </p>
<p>You must audition with the accompanist provided by the Musical Theatre Department and may not bring your own accompanist. This will usually be a faculty member. Advance rehearsal time will not be available. </p>
<p>Be cautious of choosing songs which have complicated accompaniments, or those which can be difficult to perform without prior rehearsal with the accompanist. </p>
<p>Itās wise to work with a skilled accompanist at home before you begin your college auditions, making sure that all elements of your printed music are presented clearly and correctly. You will have very little time to discuss the music with the UM accompanist at the time of the audition, so the clarity of your music can have an enormous impact on the success of your audition. </p>
<p>Do not sing a cappella. Always sing with an accompanist, not a recording. It is never to your advantage to sing with recorded accompaniment.</p>
<p>Put your music in a binder. If you use plastic covers, these should be non-reflecting. Taping the pages for the accompanist is also acceptable. Be prepared to give the tempo to the accompanist by singing a few phrases and/or clapping the accompaniment. Think of the tempo carefully ---- most auditionees tend to give the accompanist a tempo which is too fast.</p>
<p>Do not use a chair or props in the vocal audition. </p>
<p>When you enter the audition room, leave your water bottle outside. </p>
<p>WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR IN A MICHIGAN APPLICANT?</p>
<p>Someone whoĀ
-has intellectual curiosity and recognizable talent.
is prepared, confident, sincere, courteous, ambitious, and is clearly a team-player.<br>
-appreciates and takes pride in the artistic growth of fellow students.
is comfortable physically.
-can communicate very specific ideas and choices in dialogue/lyrics, music, and dance.
-sings the correct notes, rhythms and words, with a clear sense of pitch, an understanding of musical line, and a healthy approach which doesnāt push the voice higher than is appropriate. In addition, applicants should have music reading skills, especially at the piano.
has interests apart from the arts.<br>
-is engaged in the culture of community, ranging from politics to public service, and is excited to find ways in which the arts can impact and enrich American culture.
-has a passion for writing, and a desire to express personal ideas and points of view.
-has done his/her homework about the Department and the University by reading official publications and speaking with faculty, students, School officials, and graduates, rather than relying only on internet opinions or YouTube postings.
-is committed to a university environment and has given careful thought to the reasons for pursuing a BFA in a university as opposed to a conservatory.</p>
<p>yea, NYU was certainly in my top in the beginning, but when my cousin was accepted into the school of arts and sciences she got barely any financial aid. it came to about 5k a year. and she had a 4.7/4.8ā¦do you know if nyu does merit based scholarships? cause if they did, then not giving a 4.7ish student a merit based scholarship one is incredulousā¦sheās now at berkeley where she receives way more help in financial aid.</p>
<p>so i might end up applying to NYU, but being able to get a lot of financial aid in forms of grants and scholarships is crucial for a school.
and iām also not sure if iād like to be in NYC for school. I had a friend who mentioned being there led to a lot of distractions so that it was hard concentratin on schoolā¦BUT iād definitely like to be able to study in NYC for a semester before I graduate to make a transition from college life to NYC life.</p>
<p>Did you talk with the Drama Departments directly about the possibility of double majoring. Sometimes the information that the admissions office gives is not accurate to Acting and Musical Theatre programs. I only ask because you mention the āfoundationsā of the BFAā¦ I went to Syracuseā¦ and āfoundationā is art major terminologyā¦ at least when I was there. </p>
<p>While I was at Syracuse I do not think there was anyone pursuing a double major. It is a pretty intense program, and the theatre building is far from most of the main campus buildings. </p>
<p>In general, at any school it is always important to talk with the BFA program directly about whether it is possible to double major and graduate within four years. </p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>I didnāt talk directly to the drama departmentā¦we only had a couple hours to spare before driving to Boston and the drama tour was way later in the day. She was some rep or admissions officer for the College of VPA..She said foundation/grounding meaning my basis of the degree would be concentrated on my primary major in acting or mt. like, first year would be dedicated to my MT classes. I wouldnāt begin taking the requirements for say psychology or communications until my sophmore year. I donāt know about MT, but a few of the acting majors have double majored in political science or communications and rhetorical studies. I think she mentioned some MT double majored in the communications and rhetorical studies because it was within the same college. But thanks for pointing out that I should talk to someone in the drama department. Iāll try to contact a few people in the drama department and the departments iām looking into to double major in.</p>
<p>and thanks for the info about michiganā¦i still havenāt done much research on that school yet, but iāll definitely look into it more!</p>
<p>As for the issue of being a five yearer. Iāll hopefully have a handful of AP and college credits when I enter as a college freshman. I passed 2 APs last year for english lang and US history. And I got, I believe, 6 college units from a community college this past summer for music and theatre. And hopefully Iāll do well and pass my AP CalcBC, Econ, Gov, and Lit exams this coming may. And when I take econ next semester, Iāll be able to enroll myself in an econ class at Cal State Fullerton from taking the ap class at my school. Should these help fill requirements when I enter college if I want to double major? And about spreading myself thin..i kind of already do. I take as many ap and honors classes as I can as well as attending a P. Arts school part time while being involved in shows and 1 or 2 other extra curriculars. Thatās the only reason why I feel I may be able to tackle double major in 4 years.</p>
<p>ā¦but iām still wondering about my original question that was intended to be a few lines which seemed to take the length of a long essay question more. Anyone have any info about Tulaneās theatre program?</p>
<p>o, and Does anyone know if UCLA allows for their MT, acting, or directing majors double major? I only know those majors are not allowed to double major in the film and tv departments.</p>
<p>As some of you here know, I recently visited 7 schools with my son who asked the questions about double majoring. </p>
<p>In a nutshell, yes it can be done with enough AP credits going in, a very structured plan for 5 years and possibly the necessity to do some summer classes (which can be done back at home if they indeed will transfer). </p>
<p>It is not for everyone. I would suggest not only speaking to the admissions personnel of the MT BFA departments, but also the honors colleges at each school. It was interesting to see the options for an honors student at each school. As an example, at Syracuse, an honors student can take up to 23 credit hours per semester at no extra charge for the credits over the normal 18 credits. While at Syracuse U, we bumped into some students who were juniors and seniors at the Syracuse Stage (the equity theatre at Syracuse U). One was a double major with a BFA and Political Science, and one was a double major with a BFA and communications.</p>
<p>As I said, it is not the norm, it is going to be tough, but if you go in with a āplanā showing how you would like to accomplish it, you might be surprised with the responses. </p>
<p>Good luck in your journey and just keep chatting with as many people as you can that have done it or are doing it. </p>
<p>Remember, at some schools you do not have to complete that second major. You could be working towards a second major along with your BA or BFA and as long as the college would allow you to take the courses and they would transfer to the receiving college at a later date, you could do it that way.</p>
<p>It will depend on whether you actually declare a double major or just work towards one without declaring. That of course would be up to the individual school. Feel free to PM me if you would like more information on what we found out at the following schools.</p>
<p>Ball State Univ.
U of Mich.
Penn State Univ.
Syracuse Univ.
Elon Univ.
Univ. of Colorado, Boulder
Stanford Univ.</p>
<p>I wouldnāt base my own decision about NYU on what happened to someone I know, no matter what the circumstances. I would do my own research and apply and audition and see what happens. You might be surprised.</p>
<p>From the parent of a kid who thought they couldnāt afford NYU, but whose kid is now there and loving it and we are not subsisting back home on bread and water. </p>
<p>PM me if you want to discuss this in more detail.</p>
<p>By the way, I honestly have to say that I have trouble understanding those who say that they donāt want to be in NYC (or donāt want their kid in NYC) because of the ādistractions.ā (I do get that going to school in the city is not for everyone. I am addressing only those comments about ādistractions.ā)</p>
<p>If we are all being honest, every single college campus I can think of has plenty of distractions, including parties, fraternities, sororities, clubs, and so on. For instance, Penn State (where my daughter almost went), a wonderful school with a fabulous MT program, is listed as one of the countryās top party schools, yet itās pretty much located in the beautiful middle of nowhere. Parties can be pretty darn distracting.;)</p>
<p>It seems to me if a kid is focused enough on becoming a musical theater performer or actor (in other words, <em>really</em> want to be a performer) that that kid chose to be part of a BFA program, that kid will want to focus on the program wherever he or she is. If that kid is not focused, then I posit that that kid probably wonāt make it through a rigorous BFA program anyway, no matter where they are, because there are always distractions. </p>
<p>And letās face it: I can think of few places (other than London) that are as wonderful for a theater loving kid as is New York. Theater is happening everywhere. Itās all around them, as are the people making theater. </p>
<p>Again, going to school in a huge city is not for everyone. Some kids certainly would prefer a more open, green campus with the brick buildings and walkways that comprise the traditional idea of a university or college and thatās fine. I just feel skeptical about the whole āNew York is too distractingā argument. :)</p>
<p>KatMTās advice to speak to the drama department about dual majoring is spot on. With a BFA program, I bet you will get much different information than from admissions or even a rep from VPA who is not directly involved with the MT program.</p>