Just now seeing the question about Auburn back from October - My daughter is in the Auburn MT program. Very happy with it.
Just FYI. Talked to a Sophomore MT at Ithaca. He said the auditioners never asked him any questions, never asked him to sing another song. Never read into anything.
I’m looking over S19’s schedule for Chicago Unifieds and I realized that the Coastal Carolina confirmation doesn’t say anything about a dance call. Does anyone know if they hold a dance call at Unifieds and if so, when it might be scheduled?
^^Same for my D when she auditioned for Ithaca and she was accepted for MT too.
@toowonderful so if you audition in NYC Unifieds, when will Ithaca send out a no? How long? 1 week? 2 weeks?
@NewMTDad . Just a comment on the Broadway alliance list. It is a good starting point, but dated. A number of the schools listed as non audition are now audition, and some BA have moved to BFA. My advice is to check at each school online for the most current degree. Couldn’t agree more with comments about a school that has a BA and a strong BFA. You don’t want to be looking on with envy when your D is locked out of classes in a BA. program by BFA only classes.
@mindatwork Coastal doesn’t do a dance call at Unifieds, only on campus. 
Hi there!
I think the answers to your questions are very personal ones … some kids might be happy and thrive at a BA program at a top BFA MT. Some kids will bloom at a lesser known BFA program. And the truth is, the fit is VERY individual to the particular kid - not to mention that BA theatre programs can be VERY different. Some theatre departments won’t cast BA kids in mainstage productions - some will. Some will SAY they will - and then if you look, you’d be very hard pressed to find any recent BA kid onstage.
My own kid had a very rough audition season - she’s currently a senior BFA MT. And I can tell you with 100% certainty, she ended up in the place that allowed her to grow … with profs and a theatre department that activately cultivated her and her talent. Would she have had the same experienced in a “name” school? Probably not. She’s grown SO MUCH since freshman year - I think, no I know, she would’ve felt overwhelmed and out of her league in a program that had kid’s whose talents were steps above hers.
Don’t get caught up in the shiny, brand name schools. That’s not to say that they aren’t AMAZING places. But there are LOTS of gems out there that will be the right fit for your kiddo and her growth.
Pinky swear.
:)>-
Signed,
A mom who’s Class of 2019 BFA kiddo will be waiting tables in NYC in 6 months
My D did Combines got an acceptance that night as well and got a call back to another school for one of two dates in February or March and may have gotten a 3rd. We were awaiting an audition slot and apparently those emails came out the same day so not sure if it was from Combines or the regular process
Agree Rider was similar in last season’s auditions. It’s a turn off. Also why are they worst about notice for audition times at Unifieds? They take forever to let one know. They are so hard to plan one’s day around during Unifieds. They need to step it up.
@NewMTDad great questions. Guess what she can move to NYC after graduation and take amazing MT classes locally and wait tables now. Truth one can get on Broadway and not major in a BFA or BA. So there is no perfect path to success. That said last year we went thru this process. My daughter got MT BFA offers, VP & Acting redirects, Waitlists the whole spectrum. She only auditioned for BFA MTs but got several redirect offers. You just have to wait till the end of the audition process and evaluate your options. Once at orientation at my D’s BFA MT program she does get priority to classes before BAs. Tons enroll as BAs hoping to reaudition for BFA MT spots at the University as a second shot to get in the BFA programs. One thing I liked as a parent if my D had picked the BA path…is she could have double majored. But she picked BFA MT offer in the end. BFAs do seem to get cast more than BAs at her school & she’s a freshman. Also at orientation the BFA MT kids were definitely given preferential treatment in orientation vs the BAs by faculty. So I felt awful for the kids who chose her university hoping to get the same amount of attention as a BA. So in the end a BFA is just more concentrated with more performance opportunities. This is a long journey. So wait it out and put as many choices as you can in the funnel. Many kids will be waiting right until May 1st. So have academic safety schools established just in case. But prayers all get offers. And folks with multiple offers release your spots soon so those on waitlists aren’t panicked. Break legs one & all!
@thespis1 - if previous year’s pattern hold- Ithaca will start releasing kids 2-3 weeks after unifieds
Also perhaps one can find a more current Broadway Artist Alliance college list. I see lots of outdated info on the 2015 link. Great organization … perhaps a new updated list will hit the internet after their Winter Workshop where this list is given out to participants.
@Kkrazie I actually used their list from like 10 years ago! It has less schools and identified top40 (which were the only ones my d would apply to accept one that has improved since then). I accidentally ran across the updated one doing a google search. It is crazy how many more schools there are now and there is some movement in that top list. Location was important to us and she wanted more established programs so it worked for us but there are a couple I would have added if I had found the newer list sooner.
@NewMTDad Not sure if this is in the family budget, and it might be late for this year, but you could hire an audition coach. There are many different pricing tiers and levels of service. A coach can evaluate your kid objectively and help craft a custom-fit school list of reach/solid fit and non-audition safety schools. I don’t really have any skin in the game, we did not use a coach. Sounds like you’re ramping up quickly on your own! Do your very best this year, evaluate at the end of the season, but don’t settle unless 100% excited about attending a school in the fall, whether it’s BA or BFA. Gap year is definitely a great option. Enjoy senior year, polish skills and get the audition package together and apply early the following year. There are many success stories here on CC. Sending hugs and wishing you the best of luck.
@thespis1 my son and I are away at auditions this weekend, but my wife let me know there’s a “thin” envelope that arrived from Ithaca on Saturday. So it looks like no’s have already started coming.
Signed,
Trying hard to keep the FAITH!
Now that we have a few auditions under our belt, I have a question. We got most of our advice from our local music teacher, who is great, but I’m wondering if it might be a bit outdated. My D seems over-dressed at auditions. She’s wearing a very nice but conservative dress with hose. Everyone else seems much more casual and showing more of their personality off. And forgive me if this sounds prudish, but some are showing more skin than I would be comfortable with as a mom. What’s the current thinking on this? Our music teacher said to be as professional as possible as if you were interviewing for a job, but now I’m wondering if we should changes things up.
@NewToThis13 My daughter attended 2 college audition workshops, one in NYC and one in our local state. Both advocated wearing outfits that show their personality, without being too underdressed, like dirty old sneakers would not be advisable, but if their style is wearing a skirt and converse sneakers and a fun top, that’s what you should wear. I think they also advised not to go too far down the path of ripped jeans, or overly revealing outfits. You want the outfit to be something they feel comfortable in, shows who they are, but without overshadowing their audition.
@NewToThis13 when my MT daughter auditioned years ago (she’s a 2017 grad), the majority of them wore jewel-toned dresses - it seemed to be a uniform! But that isn’t the norm anymore. And she wore one because it’s what she loved and felt good in. Last year, Acting D had multiple outfit options and wore what felt right on that day, not one specific outfit. We went to NY and Chicago Unifieds and saw everything from jeans to sparkly cocktail-looking dresses, and yes, jewel-toned dresses too. Your D should wear something that she feels GREAT in! No super-high heels, nothing super distracting and no character shoes with her audition outfit.
@NewToThis13 - good advice above. I have been amazed by the number of you ladies who show up in summer dresses in the middle of winter. I remember one girl who sat next to us in a waiting room at a campus audition with her teeth chattering. Obviously everyone should wear what makes them comfortable - but a sleeveless or strapless minidress when it is 10 degrees out feels COLD to me.