CCM-musical theater- Page 2

[amiliablair]

Posted: 6/18/05 at 1:17pm

THANKS!

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 6/18/05 at 1:20pm

Honestly, you being a soprano might get you a BETTER chance at getting into CCM since the majority of people who audition are girl belters

[amiliablair]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 12:30am

Do CCM students have the opportunity to take classes involving liberal arts or other sciences, or does one participate strictly in performance related courses?? Sorry to keep bugging everyone!!
Updated On: 6/19/05 at 12:30 AM

[rKrispyt]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 1:09am

I THINK that there's a 4 year plan of classes for the musical theatre major on the CCM website. Don't know the link - someone posted it, right?

[briarbrad]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 1:11am

http://www.ccm.uc.edu/musical_theatre/bfareq.htm

[birdlives]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 1:46am

hey...
i'm a CCM musical theater grad and there are a lot of things in this thread that make me laugh.

eating disorders? i know you're exaggerating with the 90-91 pounds thing, but from my personal experience, i can tell you that's just plain stupid. the final two years i was there, they started off the year with a talk about being healthy, and taking care of yourself, staying away from drugs, not screwing up your body in order to be thin, etc. they were encouraging and helpful. listen, i'm a big dude. i had girls in my class that were BIG girls. the staff was very up front and honest...if you want to work as a young woman in musical theater on Broadway, then you need to be in good shape, you need to be fairly thin...that's just reality. unless you're a character woman, in which case, you're gonna have to bide your time for awhile, like maybe fifteen years or so, or audition for HAIRSPRAY every six months. although, there is a very beautiful young character woman grad from CCM right now who is at this moment giving a great performance in a hot new show about spelling. bottom line is, if you're prone to an eating disorder you can do that, anywhere, even in a local community college.

as for the "razors in your tap shoes" thing...ridiculous. that's the same urban myth i heard about Julliard and piano players. is it competitive? uh...yeah. just like real life. it teaches you real quick to prepare like crazy and give your all if you want that one special role. it also teaches you that in life comes disappointment, and you're not always gonna get the role. if you're a good person at heart, you'll attract other good people there to you and even though you may compete with your best friend for every show, as long as you maintain some perspective and you surround yourself with good people, you'll be fine.

and, finally...Cookie Cutter Machine. they only turn out chorus people. this one is my favorite. Lisa Howard, featured role in SPELLING BEE. Shoshana Bean, burning the house down in WICKED right now. Sara Gettelfinger, singled out for a great performance in DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, right now. Leslie Kritzer, one star turn away from all over everywhere, going into TRAILER PARK, right now. i could go on and on listing all the CCM people from the last five years who are unique and different and giving great performances in LEADING roles on Broadway, but it wouldn't matter, anyway.

as for all those chorus people...yeah, they turn out a lot of those, too. lucky for them, because there are plenty of people who would take a $1500 dollar a week chorus contract in a Broadway show any day over being the lead in a small summer stock in BFE Indiana. (not that there's anything wrong with that, either.)

to the original poster...i gave one of the worst auditions ever. i would have never admitted myself to the school, had i been in charge. but...i was myself, and i showed up with the things that i know best, and that i felt most comfortable with. i was aware of my strengths and weaknesses. i showed that i WAS an individual, and that i had great potential. like one of the other posters said, take a look at the website and check out the things that they definitely DON'T want to see.

then, just do your best. be yourself, and enjoy it as a moment to really show what you're made of.

in the end, no, it's not the be-all end-all of Musical Theater. no school is. (i watched people fail their boards and go into Broadway shows a few months later) like any school, you'll always get out of it what you put into it. if you get in, it will be four of the hardest years of your life, but they will also be four of the most exciting and rewarding, and you'll come away ready to build a career. if you're a strong person who knows herself and who can handle challenges and adversity, and who will never stop striving to be the best performer she can be, then you'll be all right at CCM.

best of luck with your audition, i hope you get in!

[birdlives]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 1:48am

oh...and you might be able to take a couple of other classes, but for the most part, you're studying musical theater, 24-7, unless you're in shows too, which means you're studying musical theater 34-7.

(don't ask me how, i never figured it out, either)

[Aigoo]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 1:53am

Kudos to you, dude.

[zoran912]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 2:14am

Major props for setting things straight.

[amiliablair]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 1:25pm

WOW!!

Thank you so very much for taking the time to give me some awesome experience-driven information!! I really appriciate your help!!

THanks again!

[dietcherryemma]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 1:34pm

Very good info...


But for you, if you're auditioning, just know that CCM and Boston Conservatory are probably the hardest to get into.

Trying for a BFA program is a great thing, but you really should look at some colleges that have good BA programs, do great shows, and aren't as expensive. So many people audition for the programs, are insanely talented, and don't get in. Or, they get in, go through the programs, then don't have enough money to stay in the city and audition. Just a thought.

[briarbrad]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 1:45pm

But don't rule anything out because of money...a lot of schools can be very reasonable with the scholarship money they give out! I got a very nice scholarship from Carnegie Mellon, which made it much easier to pull off...but do some research because some programs might not even offer (or have the ability to offer) scholarship money.

[rKrispyt]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 3:42pm

birdlives - just to make sure we're cool, in my post about the razor blades or what not, I believe I mentioned that I was told that by a friend of mine who graduated from teh program prolly about 5 years ago. I ALSO said some great things about what I'd heard/seen regarding professionalism and working in LEADING roles from its' graduates - jsut so you know I wasn't all "ccm blows, don't go there" or something, as your interpretation of my post makes it seem. In retrospect, I myself SHOULD have gone to a BFA or conservatory program and am kicking myself for not even auditioning for ccm becuase of what I'd been told about it. Especailly now seeing their success rate.

To amiliablair the thing I always tell my students and that I've always been told is that when you're auditioning for colleges, they want to see your potential. As birdlives said, he could have been happier with his audition, but obviously he still showed his potential. So don't worry if your audition isn't 100% perfect or doesn't feel like a finely tuned finished product - as long as you're showing your potential and how bad you want to make a career in theatre...

and as birdlives was saying - I have a friend who's been audtiioning at some prestigious places lately for transferring. She FINALLY couldn't take all the pressure to be perfect (what she thought they all wanted to see) and so decided to stop doing that and to just be herself in her auditions and interviews with colleges. In the first audition she went into after making that decision, they took her into their office afterwards and told her that they enver do so but they wanted to offer her a spot in their program right then and there. This happened to her on numerous occassions, and she truly feels that while she's not necessarily showing off her talent more than she was beofre getting this great response that by showing off who she truly is as a person and just relaxing, that that made all the difference.

So I know it's hard, but...remember to relax and let them see who you are as a person as well.

Best of luck! :) (and be sure to audition at other programs too - ccm is not the be-all-end-all, and upon your visit you may find it's not the right fit for you anyways - explore all yoru options!)

[birdlives]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 4:05pm

hey, Krispy...i know you weren't saying that, and i did see the positive comments as well. that one just struck me as funny because when i was looking at schools i heard the same thing about Julliard...the piano students put razor blades down in between the keys, to cut their competition's fingers. it's one thing to be competitive...it's another to be psychotic enough to inflict horrible physical damage. no worries. and, i never take anything personally on a message board. my best to you!

to the original poster, you're welcome. glad to be of some help. i always like to give input, it makes me feel like my tuition is still paying off.

best of luck! lemme know how it goes.

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 6:13pm

Bird, so glad you set the record "straight".

Perhaps you would like to comment on the fact that CCM sends out one of the most insulting brochures to potential students. You know, the one that gives you the weight range you "should" (ie. better) be in. The one thats says that you should put down that Big Mac cause fat epople don't work. The one where you better go to the gym and look good.

Should I continue?

Oh..and I guess you forgot the problem about three years ago when one of the MT ladies basically starved herself to death in fear of being cut.

Great school.

[birdlives]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 7:16pm

Mr. Tuttle,
I'm not aware of either of these things you speak of. Perhaps you could scan the brochure in your possession and post some pics of it for me to look at?

Even so, as far as the reality of working in this business goes, is it a bad thing to suggest that you should be prepared to be in good shape? Isn't it only common sense to know that you have to be relatively thin to be in most Broadway shows? I mean, I guess one could interpret advising people not to eat at McDonalds and to go to the gym as "starve yourself and make yourself throw up to be a star" but I think most intelligent people wouldn't see it as that. In fact, I think I could find the same advice in my latest Men's Health, or my girlfriend's Shape magazine. Those evil CCM'ers. Trying to get people to stop eating Big Macs. You must REALLY hate that SUPER SIZE ME guy.

As far as the person who nearly starved herself to death...again, I saw a number of people...myself included...encouraged to lose weight. There were quite a few discussions about my weight. And, with good reason. I was overweight, to the point where it could, and did, affect my career. Did I stop eating or throw up all the time to lose weight? No. I began eating a much healthier diet and exercising, something that is just good sense for most people, anyway. By this point, it's common knowledge that anorexia and bulimia are not the way to a healthy weight. Anyone who makes that choice at eighteen years of age or older knows this.

Your attempt to blame a school for that person's choices smacks of some underlying agenda on your part.

But, yes...you were right about one thing in your post...it's a great school.

[birdlives]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 11:52pm

*Bump for Mr. Tuttle*

Still hoping to see those scans of the brochure.

[whatyouown223]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 11:59pm

Bird- how important is dancing in this program?

[birdlives]

Posted: 6/20/05 at 12:13am

Kinda depends on how strong you are in the other areas, I think. There were some great actors who were never gonna be great dancers, no matter what, and vice versa. If you're a chorus guy without a lot of acting chops or a strong voice, you're probably going to end up really focusing on that, while trying to strengthen everything else as much as possible.

That said, everyone takes quite a bit of dance. When I was there, at minimum you took two years of ballet, two years of jazz, a year of modern, and could take something else, like a tap class. Beyond the two years, the more advanced dancers generally took more, or harder classes with the dance department. I was a character actor, so I took my dance belt off and called it a day.

When I auditioned, I was a terrible dancer, but I gave 110% in the dance audition. No matter what, give it your all and don't give up before they end the audition.

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 6/20/05 at 1:53pm

Hi Bird..don't worry..I saw your reply. Very sickining. But coming from CCM, I'm not suprised.

As for your little "don't be fat CCM brochure", you obviously have a short memory as they were/are sent to all prespective students. Please feel free to call your admission office and I'm sure they'll be happy to send you one. Or, if you had bothered to actually read the regualtions on the CCM web site, maybe you would have see it. Perhaps you can take a moment of your time to see where CCM tells you to go see a hair stylist, see a dentist, and go to a spa. Yeah...that's really important to study musical theater. Go on....find it...take a look...we'll wait for you.

Your comments just shows how much you have been brainwashed by the Cookie Cutter Machine. Your most brillant statement was:

"Isn't it only common sense to know that you have to be relatively thin to be in most Broadway shows?"

Wow. What an ignorant, unoinformed comment. But coming from a school where eating disorders are an everyday happening, I'm not suprised. Perhaps if you were actually involved in the real world, you'd see that people of all colors (gaps!) and sizes (gasp! gasp!) are a part of the musical theater world. Is Ernie Sabella a thin guy? Is Sara Ramirez a thing girl? Is Beth Fwoler? Is Marissa? Is Harvey? Are the two ensemble members of "The Producers"? Were most of the ensemble members of "Les Miz"?

You see folks, bird is a perfect example of what CCM wants. They want to produce nice, thin people for ensembles. They could care less if you have personality. They could care less if you are individual. Just as long as your pretty and thin. That's the twisted mind set of the Cookie Cutter Machine. Turn them out all the same.

I suggest people look at schools where you are encouraged to be yourself. To be the unique person you are. Producers, director and writers want indviduals, not carbon copies. Would you rather be you than someone else Of course. And so would producers.

So bird, thanks for posting and allowing us to see what a vapid, shallow, insulting school CCM is. You are a perfect product of the machine.

[Aigoo]

Posted: 6/20/05 at 2:19pm

Mr. Tuttle,

I think the bickering between you and bird are discouraging people to go into these colleges. No college is the best, really, and each college has its flaws. It's up to the student to decide which college is the best fit. If they want to go into the "Cookie-Cutter Machine", let them, because that's what they feel is a good match. CCM, Elon, U of M, Tisch, CMU, it doesn't matter. All schools have a drive to carve talented performers from unrefined, raw talent.

It is up to the auditors as to whether or not A) the auditionee will be a good fit with the school, B) if the auditionee has potential, and C) if the auditionee has marketability.

Fat, small, short, thin, skinny, muscular, African-American, Asian-American, Caucasian, Latino, it doesn't matter. If the student possess something that they can sell, then the colleges will train said student into a performer, and hopefully, the potential that the student has will carry them far into the future.

I really don't know what I'm trying to say. But you two are being quite childish. Bird, not EVERYONE has to think that CCM is the best school EVAR. Tuttle, CCM has a good reputation, and honestly, if you think that a college caring for your image is brutal, ALL colleges are like that. You can have the best, sun-shining personality ever, but if you misrepresent yourself phsyically, no one will even pay attention. I'm not saying that in order for this to be accomplished, you have to be skinny, but based off the way that people in our society view others, if you are not attractive aesthetically, you'll have a harder time getting people to notice what's on the inside. Online encounters are an exception because everyone is a mystery. Everything about you is erased and you can create a whole new person to others just by typing a simple message.

Updated On: 6/20/05 at 02:19 PM

[Jwei123]

Posted: 6/20/05 at 2:22pm

*claps for aigoo!*

[actress_06]

Posted: 6/20/05 at 2:32pm

I agree with Aigoo. Wow Tuttle what a mean and insulting thing to say. It is possible to be somewhat overweight and be inshape at the same time. My brother for example is 215 pound but still a very fit individual and a lot of people are the same way. And just because someone is skinny doesn't mean they have an eating disorder. I am a 17 year-old girl, 5'9" and just over 100 lbs. I do not have any sort of eating disorder (unless you can count eating a full meal on a regular basis a disorder)I have a healthy diet, but it all boils down to a persons matabolism. And I'm truly sorry if this offends anyone I'm not really trying. I only want to make a point.

Updated On: 6/20/05 at 02:32 PM

[Aigoo]

Posted: 6/20/05 at 2:35pm

I don't think Tuttle was commenting on the actual people's weight. On the contrary, he was defending that heavier people can also "make it" in the business.

Actress, what you're trying to say is that weight doesn't determine whether a person has a disorder or not. This is true, because muscle weighs so much more than fat itself.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/20/05 at 2:36pm

This has got to be one of the most interesting threads I've read on here for a while.

I am actually really understanding Tuttles point of view, and he has brought up some great points. The school does seem to brainwash their students a little. Keyword "SEEM". I'm not positive it's really like that though. Just basing my opinion on what I'm reading in this thread.