@Timesfour My D did Ithaca Acting in NYC. She wore black jeans and a fitted sweater. Her jeans fit more like jeggings so she was able to move fine.
@Abutilon Thanks much!
My D’s experience at NYU on campus audition was virtually identical to that described by @tsamuique It was a bit odd that the evaluators remained anonymous because it precluded being able to send a thank-you note but my D’s audition coach said that NYU does not expect thank-you notes. My D enjoyed the whole experience and I found the staff who ran the event to be very kind. For example, they began our session by giving the entire group a round of applause for getting this far in the process. Considering that NYU is not a prescreen school, this was a lovely gesture because it was not applauding them for “beating out” anyone but, rather, just for having put in the effort to complete the application and prepare for the audition and travel to NYC. So nice to have SOMEONE acknowledge all the work that these kids do.
@toystorymom NYU auditions are in main Tisch building. Use address on confirmation email to get to the correct building. Lots of places nearby to eat. As soon as they took the students away, the faculty member in charge of event (cannot find his name right now) gave us a list of suggestions and where to find them.
Sitting here waiting for D so thought I would add some notes from other auditions (already posted about NYU).
Columbia College of Chicago: very low key and friendly but may have been because we had afternoon session which was only 4 kids. Morning session was MUCH larger.
Syracuse: great info session that included a faculty member and a LARGE student panel (very impressive turnout). Info session, including lots of Q& A, started with parents and students and continued after kids were taken to auditions. Parents then taken on facilities tour. Whole event was well-organized, well-staffed, great upbeat energy, and very honest/ transparent Q&A.
Emerson: (warning I HATED this event). The check-in student was glum and unfriendly and could not answer even the most basic questions. They immediately separated parents and students and we waited for over an hour while a faculty member did an info session with the students only to come upstairs and repeat the exact same info session for us. Since while point of parents coming along instead of just dropping off their kids is that many students want the moral support at the start of the event, why not keep us together until auditions start (like every other school) or at least do simultaneous info sessions? The Q&A session was horrible. The person running the session dodged a lot of questions and offered inconsistent reasons for policies that parents questioned. Students kept running upstairs to interrupt our info session because the guy doing it was the only person running the entire event and had to personally troubleshoot every problem. Totally understaffed event. Then they did not assign kids an order for monos/singing but instead asked them to volunteer (could they put more pressure on these kids?). When kids were done (most were done before our info session ended because they started it so late and it kept getting interrupted) they had to walk into info session across the whole front of the room to meet up with their parents and exit (exit to street was on opposite side of room from stairwell through which students returned) which was very awkward. My D did not mind most of this as much as I did but agreed that, compared to all the other auditions we have attended, this one was the most poorly run.
Unified auditions so far have been totally different format but this afternoon we are at Pace, which is an all-afternoon event run like the on-campus auditions.
Pace: The guy running it is very nice but it is utter chaos. The facilities (at the Hyatt, not Palmer House) are completely inadequate for the number of people auditioning. Many people (including parents) have to sit on floor for lack of seating. The noise level in the waiting area is as loud as a middle school field trip school bus and the audition rooms abut the waiting area so auditioning students can hear all the waiting room noise. The confirming emails said that session would start with info session but there was none. Session started 45 minutes late. Their system, after each student has done their two monologues, is to have Acting students do a scene with an assigned partner. Then we wait until all of the scenes are done to see which students are being called back. Not at all clear whether failing to make that callback list means you are totally out of contention (implied by email and confirmed by audition coach) or just means that they want to see some kids for a movement lab for some reason (what the guy in charge announced without any indication of whether kids not on callback list have been cut entirely.) I can update this later once I know answer yo this callback confusion.
In terms of more typical Chicago Unifieds, so far:
Point Park: very pleasant, on time and the evaluators asked interesting, creative questions.
Montclair: mistakenly sent my D an email that she had 8:00 am dance call today. When she showed up she was told no 8:00 am dance call on Monday. Rude (even though my daughter could not have been more polite) evaluator (has to ask him because there was no one at sign-in desk until after 9:00 even though acting/singing auditions began at 8:30) insisted that we must have misread email. We went back to room to check and we read the email correct, we put it on our phones and went to see checkin person (who happened to be the person who sent the email) and showed it to her. She basically said “oops” and rescheduled my D. Not so much as an apology and my D could have spent that time in another audition or signing up for walk ins before they filled up. D went back later in the morning for her minis/singing audition and it seemed to go OK.
Even though I am sure that others’ experiences will differ, I hope that some of this is helpful to others.
Would love to hear something about the CCM, Rider, Ithaca and /or Roosevelt auditions.
@AnxiousNovice In regards to Pace, specifically for their acting auditions, if you are not on the callback list, then you are cut. That has been their procedure for years. Hope that info helps.
@AnxiousNovice @stagedoormama To be clear, this is for Pace Acting, NOT Pace Musical Theater? Anyone have info on the MT audition at Pace? D has her callback in LA on Friday and we still don’t have an email about the details, just the start time.
@NeensMom - Yes Acting, not MT.
@AnxiousNovice Interesting re: Pace. That was very similar to our experience at their open house on campus in October. Disorganized, not enough prep for the number of people attending (even though everyone had to register in advance), etc. It could be the greatest program out there, but they certainly don’t show it!
@AnxiousNovice Emerson was the least favorite audition last year. D volunteered to do monologue first and the faculty member was not ready when she walked in the room. D stood there for minutes waiting to start.
@AnxiousNovice - you are having the classic audition experience! I could have written your entire paragraph on Pace and my D auditioned in LA at Unifieds two years ago. Some programs consistently have their act together and some seem not to care.
Does anyone have a review of Pace MT auditions in Chicago? We will be in LA for my D’s callback this weekend. We still haven’t reviewed an email with the details. I don’t even know what she is supposed to have prepared!
This is what I have for Pace’s audition requirements:
One monologue - same as prescreen.
Two songs - 1 minute cut, same as prescreen. Have 16-bar cuts prepared in case time is short.
Dance call is jazz, tap, and ballet.
@LadyMjolnir when you say “same as prescreen” do you mean they want to see all the same things you sent in your prescreen? No new material?
@NeensMom that’s what I think they mean, but we couldn’t open the app on Acceptd to see what S had submitted to Pace, and it was so long ago we can’t remember which items he sent them. So he’s just bringing his best stuff, instead.
@NeensMom My D did the Pace MT audition today in Chicago. They were told to do two pieces of their own choosing. This could have been two songs, two monologues, one of each- whatever they chose. They were told it didn’t have to be their prescreen material. It was my D’s favorite audition. Hope this helps.
@AnxiousNovice for the Pace Acting the guy said if you were cut you’re no longer considered, but not true for TV/film, you may still be in consideration.
While cramped I found the Pace audition very efficient! For Acting you did your monologue, in/out no fuss, then were partnered to do a scene, in/out then call backs happened. Maybe New Yorkers are just used to being cramped? Space is such a premium in NYC!
We didn’t do MT, but they are basically split in half. One group did the dance call while others did individual auditions. Having sat there the whole time thru several schools, I have to say the Pace MT singers were extremely impressive. I was wowed and several times ppl in the waiting area wanted to applaud because the kids were so good.
@Trinimom Were there cuts and callbacks for MT at the Pace audition? Do you know who the kids were auditioning for? I just learned that the head of the department, Amy Rogers, won’t be in LA. I wonder if that hurts LA auditioners chances of getting in.
@NeensMom MTS auditioned for Amy Rogers for monologues and songs. There were no cuts or call backs. Half the group started with the dance call and the other half with songs/monologues and then they switched. I don’t think it will hurt LA auditioners if they audition for faculty other than her. She mentioned that she doesn’t watch or evaluate prescreens herself and that her faculty make extensive notes on each. I’m sure they have a way to make the audition process fair and equitable when she’s not physically present.
BU folks, did your kids do any of their monologues over the stated 1 min. My D’s comedic is 60 seconds, but her preferred cut for her dramatic is closer to 90 seconds. I’m particularly interested in hearing from anyone whose S or D was accepted to BU? Thanks!