Theater Maker

Hi! I know that I've been silent for a bit but I wanted to chime in with the end of my journey and some learnings for folks who are thinking about applying next year. Congrats to folks on acceptances!
I ended up with callbacks at CMU, Northwestern, UTAustin, UCSD, and Virginia Tech.  The  CMU, Northwestern, UTAustin,  and UCSD callbacks were all in the same week, the week of Feb 18.  I happened to be doing a two week intensive to remount a show beginning that week so I did Northwestern on Monday, flew home for two days of rehearsal, went to UT Austin on Thursday, UCSD for 4 hours on Fri, and CMU on Sat. I was able to come into Northwestern a day early to explore the campus and see a show, I really wish I could have done that everywhere. 
Each callback was entirely unique.  I don't want to go into too much detail because I think part of the process is navigating all of the different styles of audition and deciding which one you feel most comfortable in- it seems like the callbacks say a lot about the programs.
At the end I got offers from CMU and Northwestern. Once the offers came I had a really quick turnaround to make my decision (about a week) and I found myself doing a lot of research really quickly about cities and financial possibilities that I wish I would have done earlier. Both of the offers I got were amazing, I took the offer at CMU- that program is really special, the callback was a blast. I withdrew my application at Virginia Tech, although I think that program is really special too.
I think the biggest thing I wish that I had known more about is the timeline-- I would never have chosen to do a show in the middle of Feb if I had known that all of the callbacks would be at that time.

Hi! I know that I've been silent for a bit but I wanted to chime in with the end of my journey and some learnings for folks who are thinking about applying next year. Congrats to folks on acceptances!
I ended up with callbacks at CMU, Northwestern, UTAustin, UCSD, and Virginia Tech.  The  CMU, Northwestern, UTAustin,  and UCSD callbacks were all in the same week, the week of Feb 18.  I happened to be doing a two week intensive to remount a show beginning that week so I did Northwestern on Monday, flew home for two days of rehearsal, went to UT Austin on Thursday, UCSD for 4 hours on Fri, and CMU on Sat. I was able to come into Northwestern a day early to explore the campus and see a show, I really wish I could have done that everywhere. 
Each callback was entirely unique.  I don't want to go into too much detail because I think part of the process is navigating all of the different styles of audition and deciding which one you feel most comfortable in- it seems like the callbacks say a lot about the programs.
At the end I got offers from CMU and Northwestern. Once the offers came I had a really quick turnaround to make my decision (about a week) and I found myself doing a lot of research really quickly about cities and financial possibilities that I wish I would have done earlier. Both of the offers I got were amazing, I took the offer at CMU- that program is really special, the callback was a blast. I withdrew my application at Virginia Tech, although I think that program is really special too.
I think the biggest thing I wish that I had known more about is the timeline-- I would never have chosen to do a show in the middle of Feb if I had known that all of the callbacks would be at that time.

Hi! I know that I've been silent for a bit but I wanted to chime in with the end of my journey and some learnings for folks who are thinking about applying next year. Congrats to folks on acceptances!
I ended up with callbacks at CMU, Northwestern, UTAustin, UCSD, and Virginia Tech.  The  CMU, Northwestern, UTAustin,  and UCSD callbacks were all in the same week, the week of Feb 18.  I happened to be doing a two week intensive to remount a show beginning that week so I did Northwestern on Monday, flew home for two days of rehearsal, went to UT Austin on Thursday, UCSD for 4 hours on Fri, and CMU on Sat. I was able to come into Northwestern a day early to explore the campus and see a show, I really wish I could have done that everywhere. 
Each callback was entirely unique.  I don't want to go into too much detail because I think part of the process is navigating all of the different styles of audition and deciding which one you feel most comfortable in- it seems like the callbacks say a lot about the programs.
At the end I got offers from CMU and Northwestern. Once the offers came I had a really quick turnaround to make my decision (about a week) and I found myself doing a lot of research really quickly about cities and financial possibilities that I wish I would have done earlier. Both of the offers I got were amazing, I took the offer at CMU- that program is really special, the callback was a blast. I withdrew my application at Virginia Tech, although I think that program is really special too.
I think the biggest thing I wish that I had known more about is the timeline-- I would never have chosen to do a show in the middle of Feb if I had known that all of the callbacks would be at that time.

Hi! I know that I've been silent for a bit but I wanted to chime in with the end of my journey and some learnings for folks who are thinking about applying next year. Congrats to folks on acceptances!
I ended up with callbacks at CMU, Northwestern, UTAustin, UCSD, and Virginia Tech.  The  CMU, Northwestern, UTAustin,  and UCSD callbacks were all in the same week, the week of Feb 18.  I happened to be doing a two week intensive to remount a show beginning that week so I did Northwestern on Monday, flew home for two days of rehearsal, went to UT Austin on Thursday, UCSD for 4 hours on Fri, and CMU on Sat. I was able to come into Northwestern a day early to explore the campus and see a show, I really wish I could have done that everywhere. 
Each callback was entirely unique.  I don't want to go into too much detail because I think part of the process is navigating all of the different styles of audition and deciding which one you feel most comfortable in- it seems like the callbacks say a lot about the programs.
At the end I got offers from CMU and Northwestern. Once the offers came I had a really quick turnaround to make my decision (about a week) and I found myself doing a lot of research really quickly about cities and financial possibilities that I wish I would have done earlier. Both of the offers I got were amazing, I took the offer at CMU- that program is really special, the callback was a blast. I withdrew my application at Virginia Tech, although I think that program is really special too.
I think the biggest thing I wish that I had known more about is the timeline-- I would never have chosen to do a show in the middle of Feb if I had known that all of the callbacks would be at that time.

This May, I'll be five years out of undergrad. I'm the cofounding artistic director of a theatre company, so I've racked up quite a few directing credits over four season with my own company. (My partner and I pretty much split the season, with a rare guest director thrown in.) I also have a couple of professional directing credits from a youth theatre where I worked during undergrad, and a couple of assistant director credits from during and after college.
Just about all of the programs I applied to stayed pretty clearly that they were seeking applicants with 3-5 years of experience beyond college, but I'm sure there are many programs out there that are looking for different types of applicants. During interviews I've met current students with background very similar to mine, as well as folks with very different experiences. 
I interviewed at one school where they seemed almost turned off by the fact that I'd founded a company (a lot of "Well, why do you want to leave that to come to grad school?"). At others, my background seemed like a perfect fit, and no one batted an eye about the idea of stepping away from my company to pursue more training. 
All I can say is do your research, find the schools that speak to your reasons for pursuing grad school, and go for it. Be honest and clear about why you want to go to graduate school at this point in your career, and the programs that fit your wants and needs will come together. 

@Theater Maker that's awesome! I was thinking it was too late to expect anything from those two, so congrats on unexpected good news! 
I just had an amazing experience at my BU audition yesterday--I seriously contemplated kidnapping the actors I got to work with so I could bring them home with me. So talented and easy to work with! No way to know what the outcome will be, but I definitely feel good about my work there. 
Best of luck to all of you with interviews and auditions coming up!!

@Theater Maker and @Squidpunk I am so happy to hear that!! Knock 'em dead!!
@MadamDirector So glad to hear you had a beautiful experience at BU! I had also stopped checking Northwestern and UCSD thinking their windows had closed. There's still a glimmer of hope there. Did you have your Amherst interview already as well?

@Eccyclema I’m right there with you re: Yale. 
I got an email from UT asking me to come to campus for an interview, that will be 3 in one week because I just got an email invite from Northwestern as well. They’re doing 3 more days of interviews and scheduled them in teirs so I’m heading out there next week. 
UCSD emailed me today to set up a Skype interview.

@Eccyclema I’m right there with you re: Yale. 
I got an email from UT asking me to come to campus for an interview, that will be 3 in one week because I just got an email invite from Northwestern as well. They’re doing 3 more days of interviews and scheduled them in teirs so I’m heading out there next week. 
UCSD emailed me today to set up a Skype interview.

@Eccyclema I’m right there with you re: Yale. 
I got an email from UT asking me to come to campus for an interview, that will be 3 in one week because I just got an email invite from Northwestern as well. They’re doing 3 more days of interviews and scheduled them in teirs so I’m heading out there next week. 
UCSD emailed me today to set up a Skype interview.

I hope the Columbia weekend went amazing. Good luck at the Brown interviews @per4mance, I didn't apply there this year. 
I just got an email from UT Austin setting up a 15 min interview.  I'm excited but the waiting game is really getting to me. I'm assuming Northwestern is a no at this point so right now I'm waiting to hear about UCSD (radio silence so far) and Yale's 2nd round.

I hope the Columbia weekend went amazing. Good luck at the Brown interviews @per4mance, I didn't apply there this year. 
I just got an email from UT Austin setting up a 15 min interview.  I'm excited but the waiting game is really getting to me. I'm assuming Northwestern is a no at this point so right now I'm waiting to hear about UCSD (radio silence so far) and Yale's 2nd round.

Whew! The Columbia audition was exhausting but a total blast. I feel really confident with the work I did. If I don’t get in, then it truly wasn’t meant to be. 
Yale: just got a call on Friday for an audition the weekend of the 17th/18th. They said they’d potentially be calling folks through tomorrow.
UCSD: I emailed the contact today and she said interview requests went out last week, so I’m guessing that’s a no. I thought UCSD and CMU were my strongest applications so it’s interesting to see that those are both no’s, whereas schools I thought were reaches are offering me interviews.
I’ve now heard from all my schools, and am gearing up for my Brown interview this Friday in SF, Northwestern next Thursday, and Yale next Sunday. I need sleeeeep.

OMG @Theater Maker I didn't see that you got a callback from CMU! Congrats!!! Also @per4mance congrats on your CalArts callback and @E. Karenina and @MadamDirector congrats on your UMass callbacks! Yay so much success in one thread!

@Curio, I'll see you this weekend at Columbia! AAAh. You're gonna kill it. I'll be the person with the teal hair and red converses -- say hi!

Just finished the Yale interview. Had CMU yesterday. Completely opposite experiences in so many ways. Hope everyone else’s interviews went well.

Just got the first round interview request from CMU, I know a lot of folks got it already.  Heading to New Haven on Thursday.  Thanks for sharing your experiences with the Yale interviews, its been helpful to hear about the types of questions they ask.

Got my call from Yale yesterday!

Got my call from Yale yesterday!