Advice from two senior parents to current junior parents as they start to prepare for the College Audition Process…

The Holiday Season is officially here!

If you’re on the hunt for amazing gifts for the young artists in your life, the MCA Team has got you covered! Here are our top 5 recommendations for gifts that are sure to earn you a standing ovation!

You’ve probably heard the rumors about college auditions from your friends. Maybe you’ve even played witness to the copious amount of spreadsheets, the seemingly endless prescreen filming requirements or the dreaded pile of essays that seem to never decrease. And while we wish we could tell you that it’s not as bad as you might think...

Regardless of whether studying abroad is on the top of your college bucket list or if you’ve never considered it before, it can be an amazing option for you as a performing arts student to enhance your training and add some variety to your college experience. I personally spent this past school year studying film acting at Prague Film School in the Czech Republic, and it has definitely been a highlight of my college experience so far!

Congratulations, graduate! You’ve spent most of the years you can remember in school, and now it’s time to venture out into the “real world”: a place where you’ll soon find that you’re required to provide your own sense of structure in order to keep growing, learning, and moving forward.

If you’re like most young actors, you may be pursuing your dreams in a brand new environment. Wherever you choose to take your next steps, I’ve written this guide to help you plan your arrival: what to think about as you prepare to make the big move, and how to set yourself up for success in your new home. So read on, fellow adventurer—let’s get moving!

The life of an actor revolves around auditions. We prepare, we present, and we wait to hear whether we got the part. Most of the time, we don’t get it.

Ah, the familiar sting of rejection.

Regular Decision Audition Season is off and running! And that means Unifieds have arrived! After a year of fully virtual Unifieds, 2022 is rocking a decidedly hybrid vibe. It’s an ever-evolving landscape out there, but as always, we’re here to keep you prepped and informed on all the most important info.

Hoping to find some gift ideas for the performer in your life? Preferably ones where there is no shipping involved? We’ve got you covered! Skip worrying about if your presents will make it in time and give some practical presents that every performer wants and needs.

Here’s the tea: Rejection Stinks. There’s nothing worse than feeling the sting of “No” - especially when you’ve been pouring your heart, your soul, and everything you’ve got into chasing your dreams.

After gymnastics G.O.A.T., Simone Biles, won her Olympic bronze medal for balance beam, she told Today’s Hoda Kotb, “It means more than all of the golds because I've pushed through so much the last five years and the last week while I've even been here.”

Applying to college is, without a doubt, expensive. Add on the additional requirements of applying, prescreening and auditioning for performing arts programs - and the application process quickly becomes riddled with fees. However, with a little research, there are so many wonderful free options to take advantage of when planning to apply to a performing arts program. Here are some resources to get you started.

Now that you’re looking ahead to bright new horizons, it might be tempting to close that college audition door and never look back. BUT … I’d like to press pause - just for a moment - to reflect on all the lessons learned, all the progress made, and all of the useful things that you can carry forward with you.

Students who hope to gain an undergraduate degree in Musical Theatre and Acting are, essentially, completing two college admissions processes. You can, and should, consider what these Seniors do as a part time job on top of their senior year commitments.

No, a “career in music” is not an oxymoron. But it can take on many forms and look pretty unusual compared to other industries. And yes, the music industry is an industry. Let’s look at the definition and origin of the word:

As we already well know, this year is not normal in any sense of the word. While some schools have in person events planned for accepted students, many may not. You might live far away, making it difficult to travel safely to see the campus in person. Or maybe making a big trip to check out schools just isn’t financially doable right now. If any of these are true for you, know that you are in good company.

The Truth. Truth is really tough. We’ve been talking a lot recently about what is true, what is a fact and what is not, and how to tell the two apart. Social media increasingly asks us to question ideas about what is “true.” Uncountable ads and endless media images tell us what to think about ourselves, others, the world… the list (and the scrolling) is endless. The antidote? Some healthy subjectivity.

During 2020, everything we knew changed—including how we audition. Luckily, with the invention of ring lights and iPhones, paired with blank walls and preparation, we continue our careers with virtual auditions and self tapes.

The first quarter of my freshman year at Northwestern went perfectly. I auditioned at generals the first week, and was cast as the lead in one of the biggest musicals on campus. I was accepted into the Musical Theatre Certificate program a few weeks later. I got into my top choice student theatre board, and an awesome performance group. I made tons of friends through all of these extracurriculars, and I already felt like I belonged.