@IStressSoDWont I would love info on Kent State also! If you fine anything out
@IStressSoDWont @DramaLove2020 my older D (NOT MT) goes to Kent for Fashion/Costume design. Overall she is happy there, typical Freshman growing pains, but we were impressed when we saw the performing arts facilities… from last years class @afterp89 has a F daughter there now & @UKTOLA has a F son there in the MT program.
Thanks @NYYFanNowMTdad - haven’t been active this year after the stress of last year and other things going on. @IStressSoDWont @DramaLove2020 I highly recommend the Kent State program if your child is looking for a solid supporting environment that will give them great foundational training and numerous opportunities. KSU seems to like unique performers but they must have at least some skill as a triple threat that they can build on. We’re seeing more and more KSU grads pop up on Broadway and in national tours.
D’s class has a couple ingenue and leading men, but definitely a wide variety in their class of around 24. They also offer a 3-6 credit summer course that allows students admitted to the BA performance track to re-audition for the BFA, but I wouldn’t count on that. This year only 1 of the 22 who auditioned was added to the originally BFA class (it’s a strong class).
Some unique aspects of the KSU MT BFA are the opportunity to pursue a minor (my D is getting a minor in lighting design), numerous student run black box shows, projects with film students and more. A couple drawbacks for some - freshmen can only participate in one performance per semester, so they cannot do a main stage show and a black box, or a black box and a film, or an on campus show and an off campus show. They want them to get their legs under themselves academically first. Another is voice lessons aren’t mandatory each semester and hard to get when not in one of the mandatory classes. They still sing in MT class, but if consistent voice training is wanted they may need to pursue it outside of school. MT dance is a progression, but some additional classes can be available - just keep in mind there is an additional tuition fee if a student goes over 18 credits for a semester.
Ohio is a tremendous place for performers. The number of community theatre companies is huge, many of which offer stipends and equity contracts. A state endowment for the arts makes a lot of it possible and why there are so many programs here - KSU, BW, Otterbein, CCM, Wright State, Ohio Northern, Ohio U and some lesser known programs as well. The Cleveland theatre district, Playhouse Square, is the largest in the nation outside of Broadway and less than an hour from KSU and even closer to BW. We’re originally from Maryland, which has ZERO schools that offer an MT BFA. As empty nesters and having spent so much time here during the audition season last year, we took our own leap when our D decided on KSU - we sold our house and moved to Cleveland. The cost of living and kinder pace of life are fantastic and I’m already involved in local theatre here myself.
My D fits the same profile. It will be interesting to see your D’s acceptance/rejections and compare them to my D’s. And, I totally agree. Things I wish I knew…the “pop” schools and “edgy” schools would cut her super fast. We could’ve saved a LOT of money! I wish someone would have told us which schools were edgy before we applied.
The only saving grace in all of these rejections was that we ended up taking my D to see a lot of the schools she was auditioning for. She has a really good sense of where she fits and does not fit, and now rejections come in and she says, “Yeah…they are right…I didn’t fit there.” And then she happily moves on. She is still ridiculously nervous about where she will end up (or maybe a gap year), but she has not been “hurt” by a rejection yet.
Of course, the 3 schools where she is convinced she “fits” the best have not sent out acceptances yet. I am really crossing my fingers she gets on of those schools.
Anyone have any feedback on The program at Xavier in Ohio. I’ve read I bit in past posts but looking for any other possible info .
@afterp89 Thank you so much for all of that wonderful information! My D is super excited about going in two weeks. Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you look at it 
my DH is taking her and I get the weekend off, so I won’t be seeing the campus personally. I love your comment about wide variety, because my D isn’t the typical. I also appreciate your frankness in the drawbacks, but, at least for me, those didn’t seem too horrible. My D is literally all over the place when it comes to schools. Some days she wants city, some days she wants campus life…sounds like a wonderful school and it sounds like your D is enjoying her first year (and you are enjoying your big move, too)!
@IStressSoDWont glad to be able to share. If she has any questions after her visit I can put her in touch with my D and I’m sure she’d be happy to help.
Going to Wagner next weekend for my D’s very last audition. Since they do all their auditions on one day, just wondering if anyone from prior years has any advice on this audition? How important is dance? Are they welcoming? Anything? I would like her to end on a high note.
We are headed there as well! Maybe we could meet, and offer each other support! 
@AnxiousNovice - we will be at Wagner as well, I don’t have any info from being a past participant, but the coach we used this year has a son there now, and she tells me it is the most fun of the auditions; so equated that to them being welcoming and hopefully ending on a high note!!! Unfortunately I can’t speak to the importance of the dance! Hope to see you and @WDWMom in the waiting room!! BAL!!
@AnxiousNovice and @theatrekidmom…we are AM audition. How about you?
FINAL AUDITION FOR D WAS COMPLETED THIS WEEKEND AT COASTAL CAROLINA!!!
check in at 8:30 am by student volunteers
meet faculty at 9 am
auditions broken into 3 groups 2 MT & 1 BFA acting/physical theater . numbers roughly 25/15…about 32 females/8 males
audition was standard 2 songs/ 1 monologue in front of 6-8+ faculty members
student info session with no faculty, ask anything you like of the kids at various stages in the program - was relaxed and informative.
school tour & boxed lunches provided for kids & parents with students and faculty roaming for informal chat.
afternoon was 3 work shop/ master classes which parents were invited to attend:
voice lesson with notes from the audition earlier that morning, dance & acting.
final info session to wrap up day at approx 4pm
tickets provided for that evenings performance of Legally Blonde if you wanted to return. Most did, I think. Show was fun & kids were talented. a mix of MT, BFA acting and Physical theater kids in cast ranging from FR to Seniors…seemed very well casted to me as a novice. kids are no doubt talented.
gorgeous campus though unusually cold in the 40s this weekend. said they will be sending out results ( all kids already had academic acceptance) on March 11 or 12. aiming for a class of 12 MT & 12 Acting the head of acting state she had seen 750 auditioners this year, but I think that was Acting & MT…may have even included Pre screens?? Im not sure . Also they seem to have a relationship with a performing arts school ( governors school??) in SC that they do some sort of live prescreen there as there were 6-8 kids from that particular school & they seemed to know some of the current students and faculty…didn’t directly respond to number of offers/ yield/ wait list numbers…mentioned scholarships could NOT be stacked.
hope this helps future classes, I will say & will provide more detail in our final decision that I believe my D has hit the wall, be wary of audition fatigue, travel fatigue at this point. she’s been auditioning since October . we got lucky only 1 minor illness and minimal weather challenges the past 5 months
OF note…CCU is the only one who states on their website and their emails that the prefer you come to campus even though they do go to Chicago, seems maybe they don"t bring their whole staff.??..not sure how many yesses typically come from Unifieds vs on campus but they made it SEEM LIKE the are more inclined to make offers to people they have had a chance to interact with for 6-8 hours…the faculty definitely seemed very engaged this past weekend so I tend to believe them…hope that helps, now we wait…
@AnxiousNovice, @WDWMom @theatrekidmom My D did the Wagner morning audition last year. Wagner offers a BA in Theatre and Speech with a Performance Concentration, not a BFA MT, and they are very proud to say that: they feel that a well-rounded, liberal arts education produces the best performers. Students can add a dance minor, which does make the curriculum very similar to a BFA MT degree. Thus, I don’t think the dance component of your audition is going to make or break your chance for acceptance. At last year’s audition, everyone checked in at Spiro Hall, and they divided the auditioning students into 3 groups-quite a few in each group. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. Each group of students did 3 separate auditions: a monologue audition, a song audition and a dance audition. You performed your monologue in front of some of the students in your group (around 6 or 8 others I think). You performed your songs alone in a room-not in front of the other students, and the whole group did a dance call together (my D noticed that they did write a score for dance on a piece of paper). The three groups of students rotated through the three different audition types (mono, song, dance). While the students were auditioning, they had an information session for the parents in Spiro Hall which was very good. There were faculty, parents, alumni and students on a panel. After the panel, they had campus tours for the parents. We were done by lunch time, and my D enjoyed her day. We also saw a show at Wagner and enjoyed it: they offered complimentary tickets to my D and me. FYI: Wagner has a shuttle to the Staten Island Ferry, so it is easy to get back into Manhattan if you are staying there. Please let me know if I can give you any more Wagner info, and BAL to all of you at your auditions next week!
@MTdreamin thank you for the info! @WDWMom S is scheduled for the PM
@MTdreamin Thank you so much for the Wagner overview. @WDWMom @theatrekidmom My D has AM audition and 2:30 music scholarship audition. Safe travels.
Our audition experiences (Chicago Unified’s & Others). BFA MT & Acting. Noted below. Putting in order, and including results where we have them:
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Oklahoma (Acting) – first audition. Did 2 monologues. Used as a warm-up. Department Head went to Carnegie Mellon, so he asked my D about her summer experience. Felt okay. Letter with a ‘No’ came the following week.
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SMU (Acting) – 2 monologues and 1 song. They loved her, and asked her to do another monologue and song. Told her voice was incredible and asked if she’d be okay NOT to be in a pure MT program (they have MT minor). She said yes…got ‘No’ the following week.
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TCU (MT & Acting) – 2 monologues and 2 songs. D loved this audition. She overheard a panelist whisper ‘WOW,’ when she left. Dance call was tough though she said, and also said that 'there are ‘150 caucasian girls with brown hair. It will be hard to stand out.’ No news yet
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Regional Festival – instant offers from AMDA, West Texas A&M, Wyoming. Called back to Webster, CAP21
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NYU campus-- D’s favorite audition. 2 monologues, 2 songs, and dance call. After monologues, D was pop quizzed what she knew about the studios. She had done her research. Asked to do one extra song. Said dance call was much easier than TCU. She really felt she nailed it…got a ‘no’ last week
Chicago Unifieds:
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UNSCA – D thought the presentation was way too detailed and long for a group where most won’t be admitted. Felt she did well, but said auditor didn’t even look at her while she did monologues and songs. Didn’t make callback.
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Boston U – 2 monologues. Really loved the person administering the auditions, as did my wife. Was very helpful with being informative and interesting at the same time. (no news yet)
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Baylor U – 2 monos and songs. Dr. Stan Denman was very very nice, and was very engaged in asking my D questions, etc. Got a ‘no’ last week
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Point Park – D had an audition scheduled for 8am (via GetAcceptd). They didn’t show up until 9. Not the nicest group of auditors either, but D felt she did okay. No news yet
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Carnegie Mellon – D knew both of the auditors from her summer program, so felt both the monologues and songs went well. Extremely nice folks, but knows not to read anything into that. Was just glad she passed the pre-screen
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Miami – likely the rudest bunch. One auditor asked my D – “How do you think you did?” She replied, “I think I did pretty well?” He responded with “Really?” They then asked if she had any questions for them. She asked what some new graduates are doing. A response she got was (eye roll), “Well…we DO have lots of grads on Broadway.” D didn’t let it get to her, and that the real world works that way sometimes.
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Boco – this was for Contemporary Theatre. Daughter LOVED the Boco ladies. Very nice, helpful, and informative. I think this is her favorite choice right now. Loved the ‘activism’ part of what they are doing in CT
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Arizona – very welcoming and nice people. 2 monologues (Acting only). Very short and to the point
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Pace – Acting. Held away from Palmer house. Very small and stuffy space. Had to pair off and devise an original piece with a partner. Said it was fun. Was called back to movement workshop. Said she did well, but even with callback, knows it’s a long shot
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Molloy / CAP 21 – loved Rebecca Overton. My D had been ‘called back’ by her at a regional festival. Audition in Chicago was much faster. monos and songs done quickly and no follow up questions. Got the ‘no’ letter today
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Webster – auditioned for both MT and Acting. Both very nice. All business. In and out in 15 mins. No word yet
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Emerson – last audition at Unifieds. Everyone else was already gone. Very chill and cool group of folks. Laid back monos and songs. D was exhausted by the time they came about, so knows she didn’t do her best
The waiting continues…
Oh @StanfordAI2019 ! I know they say not to read into auditions but my heart goes out to your D - to get so much positive feedback during auditions and so much bad news afterwards - that’s just brutal. I am sending good vibes and positive thoughts - hoping for good news SOON.
@calmom – thanks for the kind words. She’s showing great resolve and humor during this process. Before the process started, I told her my own grad school application horror stories. [How Harvard B-School waitlisted me…then sent me an acceptance letter…with someone else’s name…and that “I” actually got rejected.] She now says, “Dad…you have one of those stories. I now have a dozen.” 
@StanfordAI2019 sorry to read this, its brutal . not sure what else to say, fingers crossed for you guys…btw " 150 caucasian girls’ is likely an underestimate… hang in there
@NYYFanNowMTdad Great write up! Looking back, funny to see so many similarities. Point Park was spot on with D’s experience. D thought they were rude, disinterested in being there in general (Chicago). Attended a summer audition program that had 10 schools and D said they seemed that way there too. Kind of turned her off but still waiting to hear.
Your SMU experience is so telling. Being told you’re “incredible” and then getting a no. I wish they wouldn’t make those comments and create false hope. That’s happened to D numerous times. Extra song. Longer than usual interview, good connection, you’re amazing…“no”!
At UNCSA - on campus - they actually told the group in info session to not be concerned if the judges aren’t even looking at the performers. They essentially said we’ve become quite good at observing while feverishly typing notes on our laptops about each performer. They said it’s not an indicator of anything, almost the opposite. The more notes they take, the more interested they are.