@NewToThis13 I wish we had known about Cappex and getting waivers. Spent a nice a nice scholarship worth of money on applications!
@NewToThis13 @NoMTinMD I will highlight this because I was unaware as well.
@bwmama one thing we ran into is that even though Chicago unifieds were M-Th, some schools (eg Michigan) scheduled dance calls, so plan to fly up early. My son had a matinee on Sunday so he couldn’t make it and had to take a separate trip to Ann Arbor.
@NoMTinMD, rumor is that CCM is going to prescreen next year.
Not much action over on the SCAD thread…what do you know, or what have you heard, about their Performing Arts major?
@BWmama one thing we used (that I found on here) which we found incredibly helpful, was in advance of traveling for auditions, we gave each school it’s own folder with the appropriate materials in it, including marked music, # of needed headshots, etc… It was SO helpful to just be able to grab the appropriate folder and go in, than shuffling everything around from one to the next. Yes, we ended up with lots of copies of music, etc… but it simplified it so much.
@NewToThis13 - re: Viterbo My D received an email a week ago or so.
@BWmama - I just said to my husband that I wish you got a practice year to do this so you could do it better the next time (my second kid is not a theater kid - BLESS you for those with 2+ of those!). A few things we would do:
- Research a bit more. I thought we had been studying the process but we weren’t even close. There were many good programs outside the scope of the “big list” that everyone hears about.
- Look for some that give earlier decisions in the mix and try to get some fall auditions so it’s not all so clustered late in the process.
- Look at your summer program/coach/local team process. My D went to a summer program that a few friends recommended, it was great and she had some great learning/experience, but it didn’t yield anything in the audition process. Look at programs that may have audition as part of the process or at least as the prescreen.
- Research the PROGRAM, not just the school. I will admit that I ruled one school out because of academic reputation that, it turns out, has a fantastic MT program that might have been a great fit for my D.
- Research schools that you would like as walk-in options at Unifieds - this is one thing I DID do right. . . I lamented some that we missed in our initial research so we intentionally went looking for those right away at Unifieds. She was able to get all but 1 that she really wanted for walk-ins.
- However, DON’T do this for schools that you really want. My D did miss out on the one that we had hoped to pick up at Unifieds, so don’t count on this as an alternative strategy for planning and getting auditions in early.
- Over the summer start to refine your audition list, songs, alternates, monologues, etc. Also write some starter essays for a variety of the schools that you like and programs that most interest you. Then when you start to apply you will have some of the initial thinking done for the application process which is VERY labor intensive.
- Start saving now for audition season. Like, right now. I started at the beginning of last year, anything extra and a bit every week went in to the audition fund. When the time came we had no problem when an extra trip popped up because we had put extra aside.
@BWmama One important thing that we did find out and knew as we scheduled those early fall auditions was that you can schedule the audition without the application being complete (ie: transcripts, even the essay etc). There was some confusion regarding that this year. That allowed us to schedule so much sooner, the first audition he did was the second week of September. I agree, the summer programs were a big part of the learning experience. My S did three college summer programs and it gave him not only wonderful training but a true feel for the school.
@BWmama To what @TexasMTDad said, tell high school artistic directors NOW what weeks Unifieds are and suggest they schedule around them. Our D’s school actually did this and they came back from Christmas right into tech week and had their performances the weekend before NY Unifieds.
@theater9969 I did the very same thing. Very helpful. Thanks
Another thing for auditioners to keep in mind I would do differently if I could rewind these past few months. When scheduling auditions, if possible, put the schools that are on the top of your list later in the auditioning process. My D’s first audition was her top choice and she didn’t know what to expect so probably wasn’t as well prepared/confident. Not a good move on our part. Wish we could have done that audition with a few under our belt already.
Thanks everyone for your help. I’m getting ready to print this stuff up and head out. These parents will be very appreciative of your experiences and recommendations.
@mamaboyz I looked up Huffman (I’m bad with celebrities and can’t remember who they are or what they were in). It said her oldest daughter was born Dec 2000 and the youngest in 2002. I would think the one born in 2000 would match more age-wise to a rising college student. In any event, I’m not surprised parents do this, but it is infuriating and I feel bad for the kids. The message it sends to them is horrible.
@NewToThis13 the Viterbo notification came via email a few weeks ago. Maybe they are still undecided regarding your child. Good luck!
@BellHankmom. I know a lot about SMU. Alumni & from Dallas. Graduated from the Meadows School of Arts as well. There is no Musical Theater program at SMU. They have a minor but it’s not a challenge. The students put on their one @ only musical themselves. So it’s not a school for Musical Theater. SMU is great for acting, vocal performance & Dance. But no quality Musical Theater program in place. It’s very frustrating since DFW is such a large professional theater market. SMU needs to up their game and start a real Musical Theater BFA. So much talent in the metroplex for world class faculty. SMU could build a MT program in a snap. No will to do it currently with Dean & Head of Acting program. So don’t pay 60 K plus a year for SMU if want MT. Hoping one day they will launch it. SMU amazing school for Business & general arts but not MT currently.
@BWmama one thing that I didn’t know was that for the schools that are “test optional.” … some of the more academic schools like BU will not want to tarnish their acceptance stats by admitting what they would call “marginal” scores, and they (admissions office) won’t budge, even if your child is super talented and has a 4.0+. Of course some schools are not like this, but there is a reason why some of them are test optional reporting… don’t report them unless they’re on the high side!
If I had to do this over again I would only audition on-campus for schools that don’t come to Unifieds or are in the same city as Unifieds. The money we wasted traveling to Michigan and Penn State could have been much better spent on visiting a program that she was actually accepted to. At this stage I don’t want to spend another DIME but she has many programs to visit and I’m not sure how to get it all done without going for broke.
@BWmama The only school we had issues with scheduling an audition with was CCM. Granted my S did not submit his application early, but he did get it in on time, and at that point the ONLY way he could have auditioned was to take a slot in Cincinnati a week after he was notified that he qualified. That was not feasible with what would have been a last minute plane ride. Tried to get him in at Unifieds, but there was no space. Obviously, if he had applied earlier it would not have been as big an issue, but as much as we want that to happen, if they do apply on time, it seems appropriate to still have space. It all works out…not a big deal…just wish I had known beforehand and not paid that darn application fee then! (Water under the bridge.)
@BWmama - One thing I see in hindsight now… I wish we had spent more time last summer researching and understanding the different top-tier and mid-tier schools that we were not familiar with. I would have not done a couple we did, and I would have done a few we didn’t do if I knew a year ago what I know today. But this has already taken a ton of time. It was hard sorting through and understanding all this stuff first time through.
My S got a “very narrow waitlist” letter for BFA MT from Ken Martin at CCU. Anyone else get this? Wondering if “very narrow” was sent to everyone, or can I consider this “close to a yes”. Son liked the school 2 1/2 weeks ago at the in school audition.