Hey all!
My youngest daughter is a high school senior. The school quite large with an impressive campus; there are almost 900 in her graduating class. She has been in the Theater track since her freshman year and has been a Theater Arts Honor Student every year. (Your academics have to be on the same par.) The program has been recognized as one of the most outstanding Theater Arts Programs in the country and has won a number of state and national awards. The school has a small 90 seat theater called The Black Box Theater, which is exactly what it sounds like - a big black box with seating on three sides. They have Comedy Tonight!, a comedy and improv evening four times a year (September, November, January and March), present a Shakespeare play every fall, a Broadway Musical Theater workshp in December (this year is You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, last year was The Pajama Game), in February a drama (last year was Niel Simon's Rumors, this year has yet to be decided), Magic Circle (short plays/scenes written by the students), the Play-In-A-Day Festival (the students write and perform an original play in 24 hours), the Scholarship Showcase for seniors, and, of course, the obligatory big Spring Musical that is presented in the main theater.
So, with all of that background, on to the meat of this post.
My daughter has always taken her acting seriously. Besides the singing and dancing lessons, she learned, all on her own, card tricks and slight of hand for one supporting role and learned to play the ukulele for another. This years Shakespeare play is The Winters Tale. She has the role of Hermione. The role has been a bit disconcerting for me in an amusing sort of way, as Hermione is pregnant. In keeping with her dedication she has been wearing her pregnant costume around the house for the last couple of weeks so she feels and acts comfortable as a pregnant woman.
More than her acting, however, she is in love with writing. Last year she won The Creative Achievement Award for her 12 minute play/scene "An Actor Walks Into A Cafe," which was performed at the annual Magic Circle. This really ticked off the rich folks in town as she was a junior and we live in the "poor" section of town where the homes cost is under seven figures. (We got the house for a song almost 30 years ago - long story.) More than that, however, at last years Magic Circle they performed four of her pieces. They only do 12 scenes, eight on each of the three nights, and three of the four she wrote were performed each night, an all-time record according to her teachers. Another aspect of Magic Circle is that you cannot direct or act in a piece that you wrote. However, she directed three of the other eight scenes and acted in three of the remaining five; another first according to her teachers.
So, now that I have done my best to impress all of you and convince you of her talents and dedication I need some advice. She really wants to go to college for writing. Amazingly, she is going to take some advice from me and also focus on Entertainment Management. Do any of you know of any schools that would be appropriate? My wife and I can't afford the full nut, and we don't want her and us saddled with enormous college debt. There are a few scholarships in the offing, but that will mostly cover books and housing.
We have been getting college brochures by the score and visited a number of schools already, but want to make sure that we haven't overlooked any possibilities.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance to all!
Peace,
Uncle Bob
My youngest daughter is a high school senior. The school quite large with an impressive campus; there are almost 900 in her graduating class. She has been in the Theater track since her freshman year and has been a Theater Arts Honor Student every year. (Your academics have to be on the same par.) The program has been recognized as one of the most outstanding Theater Arts Programs in the country and has won a number of state and national awards. The school has a small 90 seat theater called The Black Box Theater, which is exactly what it sounds like - a big black box with seating on three sides. They have Comedy Tonight!, a comedy and improv evening four times a year (September, November, January and March), present a Shakespeare play every fall, a Broadway Musical Theater workshp in December (this year is You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, last year was The Pajama Game), in February a drama (last year was Niel Simon's Rumors, this year has yet to be decided), Magic Circle (short plays/scenes written by the students), the Play-In-A-Day Festival (the students write and perform an original play in 24 hours), the Scholarship Showcase for seniors, and, of course, the obligatory big Spring Musical that is presented in the main theater.
So, with all of that background, on to the meat of this post.
My daughter has always taken her acting seriously. Besides the singing and dancing lessons, she learned, all on her own, card tricks and slight of hand for one supporting role and learned to play the ukulele for another. This years Shakespeare play is The Winters Tale. She has the role of Hermione. The role has been a bit disconcerting for me in an amusing sort of way, as Hermione is pregnant. In keeping with her dedication she has been wearing her pregnant costume around the house for the last couple of weeks so she feels and acts comfortable as a pregnant woman.
More than her acting, however, she is in love with writing. Last year she won The Creative Achievement Award for her 12 minute play/scene "An Actor Walks Into A Cafe," which was performed at the annual Magic Circle. This really ticked off the rich folks in town as she was a junior and we live in the "poor" section of town where the homes cost is under seven figures. (We got the house for a song almost 30 years ago - long story.) More than that, however, at last years Magic Circle they performed four of her pieces. They only do 12 scenes, eight on each of the three nights, and three of the four she wrote were performed each night, an all-time record according to her teachers. Another aspect of Magic Circle is that you cannot direct or act in a piece that you wrote. However, she directed three of the other eight scenes and acted in three of the remaining five; another first according to her teachers.
So, now that I have done my best to impress all of you and convince you of her talents and dedication I need some advice. She really wants to go to college for writing. Amazingly, she is going to take some advice from me and also focus on Entertainment Management. Do any of you know of any schools that would be appropriate? My wife and I can't afford the full nut, and we don't want her and us saddled with enormous college debt. There are a few scholarships in the offing, but that will mostly cover books and housing.
We have been getting college brochures by the score and visited a number of schools already, but want to make sure that we haven't overlooked any possibilities.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance to all!
Peace,
Uncle Bob