AEC Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 DS has an on-campus audition for Music Theatre at UMich (AnnArbor) next week. He’s wondering what kinds of interview questions to expect. Anyone have a dc that’s auditioned there? Advice about interview questions from auditions elsewhere? This is his first on-campus and it’s the place he’s most like to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 My kid auditioned music there last year and many other places. So somewhat different. But I think it's definitely good to have an idea at each school what you like about their program, and why you are interested in attending. If a school is your first choice and especially if you know the EFC will work for you, it's good NOT to be shy about that. I think that can make a huge difference if you click with faculty somewhere. My kid got some extremely directed questions at different places including MI that I really tried to get a sense of what he'd need financially to get into a program. If you need a lot of merit to make it work, I think that is fine to say "this is definitely my first choice, but my parents need to see the financials before we can make final decisions". Good luck - I know that is super competitive and a bit of a numbers game! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) Congrats to your ds on getting an audition at Michigan, regardless of how it turns out! There is a recent post about interviews on College Confidential in the musical theater major section. I don't know if there is anything there specifically about Michigan, but it might help. This is on the first page; searching might turn up others. Live audition curveballs Edited January 13, 2020 by klmama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counselinggirl Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Congrats to your son. There is a lot of info on Musical Theatre auditions in general on College Confidential. Here is the main page: https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/categories/musical-theater-major/ There is also this thread about audition day experiences from this year (there might be one from last year, try searching). There is nothing on Michigan yet but someone might post something soon: https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/2169484-the-class-of-2024-audition-day-reviews-p1.html Lastly, you can try posting and asking your question on this thread. There are many, many parents from the past that will share their DC’s experience. Plus as klmama suggested try searching college confidential under the musical thread I posted above—so much info! https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/2134474-the-class-of-2024-sharing-venting-discussing-mt-p52.html Break a leg! P.S. There is also a group in FB called MT Parents. It is a closed group of parents with high schoolers going through the process for BFA Musical Theatre. You can join and search the page or ask the question there too. Any other questions you might have can probably be answered on that page or college confidential. Those are the two spaces where most MT info is shared. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEC Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 thanks for all the pointers. The more I look @ this, the more tragically unprepared I feel. It's unfortunate that Mich will be his first, but nothing we can do. We have questions about everything! The guidelines say '32 bars or 60 seconds'....but what if the song is written in cut time? 50 bars == 54 seconds. Acceptable? Or he should adhere to the letter of the guidlines. He's never auditioned for something quite so intense before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 My kid auditioned vocal performance and has done a bunch of pro and semi-pro theater auditions. If you have 54 seconds, that really is fine. No one will count the bars if he keeps it to a nicely sized cut. Some songs just move fast and we always up the bar count to be in the 60-90 second range. My other kid just had to do a similar cut today for an auditioned competitive group locally with a cut time MT song. I wouldn't sweat it if you have it timed to 54 seconds. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 54 seconds complies perfectly with the guidelines - it's under 60 seconds. When he gives the music to the accompanist, he should quietly explain anything unusual about his cut and quietly sing a few measures at the speed he wants them to play it. Usually, that will be enough for everything to work out well. However, if there's a timing glitch and they stop him at 60 seconds, he should just stop and wait for their next instruction. What other questions do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEC Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 feedback on questions they typically ask? Just looking @ what kinds of questions he should think about in advance and be prepared for. He injured his knee (ACL & MCL strain) in early Dec. He's mostly healed, but hasn't been dancing on it in a month, and is still using a brace + cane to do stairs. They offered to let him opt out of the live dancing and just use his submitted video, but that seems like a very bad idea unless he just really can't do it at all. Or...better to rely on the video unless he's equipped to do awesomely? Dancing will not be the thing that gets him in, but it's not totally dreadful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEC Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 oh - and process questions. how do these run? A group of auditioning students all sitting in the room & they call you up 1 at a time? or everyone out in the hallway and they fetch just you for your turn? Typically standing on a stage by yourself in a auditorium, reviewers sitting in audience chairs or...something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counselinggirl Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 Interview question ideas & audition day specifics & dance questions— ask on the thread I posted above (3rd link Class of 2024 sharing, venting, discussing—not in Michigan thread, believe it or not. There a lot of parents on CC MT page that have been doing this a long time and they will guide you. Here are some ideas of questions asked that a musical theatre coaching organization shared: https://artsbridge.com/how-to-ace-your-college-admissions-interview/ also, ask the music timing question on the same thread, but usually if the song is in cut time you can do more bars. Usually 32 bars is 60-90 seconds so if it is 54, that is absolutely fine. Also, mark the cut—where to start and where to end on the music—and have son do what KLmama suggested with Accompanist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 I just googled and found this thread that includes interview questions and other info: https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/2106778-musical-theatre-audition-interviews.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 Also, since he still needs a cane for stairs, I'd go with the video. It will show him at his best, and it will protect him from further injury. He just needs to be ready with a polite statement to remind them that they offered to let him use the video instead since he's still healing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEC Posted January 19, 2020 Author Share Posted January 19, 2020 we're just back from the on-campus auditions. It was a great experience for him, regardless of the outcome (odds of getting in, even if you got to the audition stage, are about 7%, so no one is holding their breath here). Everyone - the dean, the auditors, current students, others auditioning - were SUPER nice. He loved every bit of it. He did end up picking a shorter song that met both the 32-bar and 60-second limits. Feedback on how much the num measures matters was mixed. He just picked something else rather than risk it. Almost none of the students reported being asked any questions during their auditions. Everyone was very understanding, bordering on overprotective, about his knee and the dancing. He went to the dance call - which wasn't really an audition, more like a group class - and just did as much as he comfortably could. During the Dean's opening talk, and looking at ads for classes on the boards in the hall, there's a definite focus on student physical health and taking care of their bodies in the theater dept, and their care for his healing knee was consistent with that. We all know he's unlikely to get in (at UMich, or any of the other remaining auditions he has), because everyone is unlikely to get in...but wow - would it be a fantastic opportunity for him. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 (edited) Thanks for sharing his experience. Glad it went well. Let us know if he gets in so we can celebrate with you. 😊 Edited January 20, 2020 by klmama better emoji 😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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