PROCESSING THE PROCESS - Auditioning for College Musical Theatre Programs, A Parent’s Perspective

How are you all doing with the wait? If I had to guess your child is processing better than you are, their parent! Let me just tell you, you are in good company! I am a Mamma Bear more than most anything else. When my kids hearts struggle or hurt, it almost takes me out. BUT, it doesn’t actually, I become a whirlwind of emotions. I definitely plummet, hit the bottom, and come to the surface fighting. Anyone else relate? Each of our children are approaching this differently. Most will have low lows & high highs! Thinking of you and hoping you feel validated by our sharing!

Has your student been seen by a Laryngologist - an Ear, Nose & Throat doctor, specializing in Vocal Health, specifically, vocal fold nodules and cysts, laryngeal cancer, spasmodic dysphonia, laryngopharyngeal reflux, papillomas, and voice misuse/abuse/overuse syndromes? This is your reminder to have this done ASAP!!!! Seriously, schedule that NOW. Best case scenario is that your child is seen while in optimal vocal health to get a baseline and then checked annually or sooner, as needed for any issues that may arise. Singing through illness and/or over straining vocally can result in vocal cord damage. Untreated, the injury can worsen and can become a path changing obstacle. In this episode I am sharing experiences and thoughts. For more medical perspective go back and listen to Episode 4, where Dr. Rubin, our ENT and author of The Vocal Pitstop: Keeping Your Voice on Track, available on Amazon, chats with me about all thing vocal fitness. Go and get his book. It’s an excellent resource.

For many of you the topics & thoughts shared in this episode will be a familiar now or in your future. I want to do my best to share accurate information. My chat with this mom is current, relevant and, I think, will be helpful. It’s a valuable articulation of the potential overwhelm and realization of the magnitude of the demands of this process. I am wowed by the commitment that so many kids, in this time ,have made to move forward, doing zoom sessions for skill development, etc. Which, actually, lends itself well to the requirements of auditioning in this time where the pandemic exists and the comfort level that is needed for self tapes, zoom live auditions and interviews. It is the norm now and I think it will stay to some degree going forward. Our conversation touches on: the Project Manager role as the parent, the dilemma of the mask requirement of being in-person versus being on zoom with no mask, Walk-ins, Headshots, when all things considered equal what does it come down to, deadlines & parent versus student interface/outreach with college program contacts. God bless and my best to every one of you and your children!

Erin & Michael met in college as they were both MT students. They’ve journeyed together working in the industry…on ships & land. Today they are using their experiences as actors in interesting ways. I love hearing what life up the road could entail for BFA grads. Throughout this chat you’ll also get a brief update on what my boys are up to. Please rate, comment or reach me at lisathams@aol.com or on instagram @processingtheprocessptp or @308lat. Would love to hear from you. Any input or feedback is a gift to me;)

Meet a heart-driven powerhouse duo, ARTSBIDGE Founder & President - Halley Shefler and Vice President - Shaun Ramsay. They both have extensive experience in college admissions and are expert authorities. If you’ve listened to previous episodes, you’ve heard me speak of Artsbridge Summer program that both my boys attended as their final big push to prepare and train prior to their college auditions. It’s special! Listen to hear why. This is packed with so much insight and conversations that will help parents and their students think through the process ahead of them. If you found this episode, consider yourself very lucky. It’s a gem. ENJOY! As always..please, like this podcast, comment, email (lisathams@aol.com), rate, share, or reach out to me on social media @processingtheprocessPTP. I’d truly love to hear your thoughts and feedback.

If you are applying to school for Musical Theatre this year, 2019/20, you are currently in the throws of the process!Gabriella & her Mom, Amy, fall into exactly, that very special group of people! In this episode you will be listening to our chat. Gabriella has been thinking about and anticipating actively applying and auditioning for quite some time and is impressively articulate about her thought processes along the way of arriving at her decision to go all in on this route. So many great conclusions about that as well as choosing her prescreen material, finalizing her list of schools she’s applying to and much more. Lots of really great food for thought here, for sure! In Episode #1 of this podcast I talked with Amy, Gabriella’s mom, who was at that time looking ahead to now! So, this is somewhat of an addendum to that!