Theater/Drama Colleges Part 6

xiggi · November 3, 2008, 7:27pm

**By Dancersmom (Dancersmom) on Saturday, September 25, 2004 - 12:58 pm: Edit **

Catherdingmom,

I totally agree with your assessment of college websites. They all tell us that their school is “the best”. It is very hard to get an accurate picture of a school from what their PR people tell us.

When my D and I did her college search we relied on arts teachers, her friends, and CC. In addition we relied heavily on faculty bios and the school curriculum guides. My D knew that she wanted an MT program that had a balance of music, drama, and dance classes. It was pretty easy to see which programs offered real triple threat training. The thing that was trickier was gauging individual school’s reputations. CC has been very helpful in that regard. The two schools that ended up being my D’s final choices, FSU and PSU, had not even been on her radar screen before I started reading CC. No one in this area had mentioned either program to my D. She did find out after deciding to apply to both schools that her acting teachers knew that they had very strong drama programs. My D then felt that her choices had been validated by her mentors.

I’m very grateful to all the parents and students who have posted their thoughts and experiences here. The information has been a godsend. I’m pleased that I can contribute my little bit of knowledge to return the favor.

**By Catherdingmom (Catherdingmom) on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 11:02 pm: Edit **

Did anybody do the Unifieds in Chicago or New York? New York would be closer for us, but the Unifieds in Chicago are located in a hotel, and that sounds as if it would make life a lot easier. If any of you did the New York auditions, did you find a hotel conveniently located to the audition site? Did you have any trouble scheduling auditions?

One of my son’s friends is only applying to one school–early decision. In my opinion it’s a sure thing. It sounds so peaceful, doesn’t it?

**By Reidmc (Reidmc) on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 02:31 am: Edit **

Catherdingmom - Though frostbite is a possibility, your S might want to take a look at the University of Minnesota. They have an Acting BFA run with the Guthrie Theatre as well as a BA in Theatre Arts. Along with the Guthrie, who gets a brand-new, three-stage facility pretty soon, the Twin Cities has a thriving small theatre community and two presenters of (mostly) A-level Broadway roadshows.

Here is the BFA info [Department</a> of Theatre Arts & Dance : University of Minnesota](<a href=“http://cla.umn.edu/theatre/theatre_program/bfa.html]Department”>http://cla.umn.edu/theatre/theatre_program/bfa.html)

And here is the info on Native American Studies, which has been a full department there for many years and offers a ton of interesting courses: <a href=“http://cla.umn.edu/amerind/index.html[/url]”>http://cla.umn.edu/amerind/index.html</a>

**By Alwaysamom (Alwaysamom) on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 11:53 am: Edit **

Marissal, most colleges that look for SAT II’s want you to take the one for Writing, then two others of your choice. Even the schools which don’t require them but simply recommend them, it’s a good idea to take them if you can fit them into your schedule.

Catherdingmom, my D didn’t audition at Unifieds in NYC but finding a hotel there which would be convenient, regardless of where the auditions are held, is not a problem. If you can find the address where they’re held, I’d be happy to recommend a few hotels for you. Cabbing it around the city is very easy and there are hotels virtually everywhere. Is your son’s friend who’s only applying to one school going for theatre? I wish him well. In my opinion, nothing is a sure thing in college admissions, especially drama programs!

**By Wct (Wct) on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 02:37 am: Edit **

Catherdingmom-

I agree with Reidmc. The Guthrie program at the University of Minnesota is a very good program. It hasn’t been around as long as other programs,(the BFA program) but it is making a name for itself none the less. They made my S “jump through hoops” at the audition. He was accepted the year before last but chose to go to CMU.

**By Catherdingmom (Catherdingmom) on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 09:38 am: Edit **

Reid, thanks for sending the links! I’ve passed it along to my son who loves the programs and is contemplating how cold is cold. I’ve seen him wear a leather jacket, though, when the temperature hits 70, so I’m thinking the reality of the cold could hit him hard. I had heard that the theatre program was excellent but had no idea they had such a wonderful NA studies program there. Reading through it made me want to take some courses there!

Wct, did your son find that the audition process varied much from school to school. I’m aware that some schools hold warm-up sessions, etc. but were the attitudes and the manner of the auditors pretty much the same? I read on the MT thread that auditioning for one particular MT program can be very intimidating, and I wondered if your son ran into anything like that.

Alwaysamom, thanks so much–I’d love a recommendation if any place springs to mind! If not, I’ll come up with something through a hotel search. I just thought the more convenient the hotel, the less stress the auditions would be. The auditions will be held at the American Management Association, 1601 Broadway at 48th St.

**By Alwaysamom (Alwaysamom) on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 10:17 am: Edit **

Catherdingmom, here’s a link to a list of hotels near Times Square, which is where you’ll be. We always stay at the Renaissance which I would highly recommend.

<a href=“http://www.timessquarebid.org/hotels.html[/url]”>http://www.timessquarebid.org/hotels.html</a>

There’s a huge range of prices, etc. so it pays to have a look at each hotel’s website for the info you need. There are so many hotels in that area that you’re sure to find one you like, plus you can walk pretty much everywhere from there. Let me know if I can help with any questions. There are lots of great places to eat in the area and I’d be happy to give you some ideas.

**By Alwaysamom (Alwaysamom) on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 12:33 pm: Edit **

Just got this sent to me by my D and thought I’d share with our MT and drama thread-lovers. She and her classmates have been encouraged to attend (with comps!) and if any of you are in the area, you might want to look into it. Sounds like fun!

[Playbill</a> News: “Working in the Theatre” Seminars to Feature Avenue Q, Fierstein, Albee, Vogel and More](<a href=“http://www.playbill.com/news/article/88685.html]Playbill”>http://www.playbill.com/news/article/88685.html)

**By Catsmom (Catsmom) on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 01:49 pm: Edit **

WCT - I REMEMBER BACK SOME TIME AGO THAT YOU HEARD THAT SANTA MONICA CITY COLLEGE HAS SOMETHING TO OFFER AND THAT YOU MIGHT CHECK OUT ONE OF THEIR PERFORMANCES. WE ARE INTERESTED IN MT AND I SAW THAT THEY DO 2 TO 3 MUSICALS A YEAR. IS THERE ANY INFO THAT YOU FOUND OUT THAT YOU COULD SHARE?

THANKS

**By Primab (Primab) on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 02:05 pm: Edit **

Any opinions on Emerson? I am interested in their BA (not BFA) and would appreciate any input.

Thank you.

**By Gadad (Gadad) on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 07:30 pm: Edit **

If he’s still in the top 10% of his class GPA, that and the 29 ACT should be good for a half-tuition scholarship at U. of Miami.

**By Thesbohemian (Thesbohemian) on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 09:22 pm: Edit **

Primab,
I dont know much about Emersons BA, but people from my school have gone there for the BFA in the past and this statement in The Princeton Review seems pretty consistent with what I’ve heard: Students Say … It doesnt seem to have much of a campus, but its in downtown Boston, so thatll be cool if thats what youre into. Also, the theatre training is supposed to be very good and the theatre itself is absolutely gorgeous.

Gadad,
I hope Im not about to increase my competition, but we got on the subject of schools with full rides on another thread. At Miami, I think the key score for a full ride is 1500 though it’s not guaranteed. All applicants are reviewed for scholarships and the only major they discriminate against is music because that department has its own. At Evansville, the standard for a full ride is #1 in your class or National Merit Scholar with them listed as first choice. The theatre department has discretion to give them out, too. As a student who goes there told me, “If they want you, they’ll get you.” SMU has full Presidential scholarships and the theatre department has control of a few though the standard isn’t cut and dried as far as I’ve been able to tell. Catawba has several full rides for theatre students along with a bunch of others that dont specify a particular major. They supposedly have lots of benefactors in the town theyre in who got rich on Food Lion stock in the 70s and my impression has been that they really, really, really, REALLY want to use them to attract students with high stats.

**By Wct (Wct) on Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 03:56 am: Edit **

Catherdingmom-

My S did 10 auditions and each one was unique. He auditioned for BFA acting programs, not MT, but many of the college auditions saw that he had musicals listed on his resume so they asked him to sing acapella. Many of the schools asked for more than two monologues. In fact some asked him to do pieces from the shows he was in that were listed on his resume. I think the Guthrie audition had him do 5 monologues/pieces of monologues, and sing. Some asked him to do his pieces a second and third time after being given a specific direction.
Some schools were cold and some were warm and welcoming. Only one program, Juilliard, had a warm up session. It became apparent that each school was looking for certain things. He auditioned in February on the West Coast, (LA and San Francisco) so many of the schools had seen a lot of applicants prior to coming out West.

Fortunately he was accepted to the college that he felt most comfortable at the audition. He just connected to the people who auditioned him. These people are now his teachers at CMU and he loved the fact that it was the teachers that came out to audition prospective students.

Catsmom-
I wish I had news for you. I still have not been able to get out to Santa Monica college to see a show. I promise as soon as I do I will let you know.

**By Catsmom (Catsmom) on Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 01:31 pm: Edit **

WCT - THANKS FOR THE REPLY. I APPRECIATE THAT YOU ARE STILL HERE FOR THOSE OF US ABOUT TO START THE PROCESS. SANTA MONICA CITY COLLEGE WILL PROBABLY BE OUR BACK-UP PLAN.

**By Catherdingmom (Catherdingmom) on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 07:04 am: Edit **

I love this message board–information about everything about scholarships to Times Squares hotels! Alwaysamom, I’ve bookmarked the hotel site. Thank you for making it so much easier to plan this trip.

Wct, thank you so much for the info concerning your son’s audition. We never thought about the possibility of being asked to do pieces from his resume. He was in a show this summer in which he had a well-known monologue. Although he had not planned to do that one for auditions, he’ll have it ready just in case he’s asked for it. He could have really been caught off guard about this.

**By Thesbohemian (Thesbohemian) on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 06:30 pm: Edit **

DONE! My applications are in and the auditions are scheduled. Now its work, work, work and wait, wait, wait. This list has been of great help to me in getting this accomplished and I want to thank all of you. What I need to do now is to get the whole college process as much off my mind as I can, so Im gonna need to make myself scarce around here for awhile. My email is on my profile, so please feel free to write me if you need links to new threads if nobody new emerges to do them. Thanks again, everybody, and broken legs to all! URRAH!!!

Oh, yeah. I misstated something about the scholarships. Maybe I should run for President! At Evansville, you only need to be a National Merit Finalist to qualify for the full ride. Semifinalists can get 75%. Glad I got that essay done, anyway.

Theater/Drama Colleges Part 6

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