The Short List

February 20, 2006 by Dennis Baker 

That is a word that I have been using more since the auditions. I emailed Rutgers university to tell them they are on my short list. I also got an email today from Indiana University which stated I was on their short list.

What does that mean? I am not 100% sure because everyone’s short list is different. A short list could actually be pretty long, or shorter than that, or even shorter than that. You get my drift.

Therefore Indiana is on my list. I don’t know much about the school than what I got from the website and the short 15 minute interview in Chicago. So now it’s time for research (i.e. trying to find any Indiana MFA alumni in LA). If you know any please pass them this way.

Out of the schools that expressed interest so far, here is the ranking of my short list:

1. Rutgers University
2. University of Iowa
3. Indiana University (May change after some research)
4. Wayne St. University

Filed under: Acting, Auditioning, Graduate School, Rutgers
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No Mile High Acting

February 16, 2006 by Dennis Baker 

I got my first rejection letter from Denver today. It came in the form of an email stating that they decided not to call me in for callbacks in March. I was not too surprised as they did not seemed at all interested during the audition/interview. Denver has great facilities and a good program. One down, twenty-two to go…

Filed under: Acting, Auditioning, Graduate School
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Cancergrrl

February 14, 2006 by Dennis Baker 

While doing research for Rutgers I came across the blog of Cancergrrl, whose latest post reads:

Friday, May 06, 2005
I’m back again!
I had a terrific time at Rutgers. It really is a great school and a fabulous program–everything I’m looking for. There is a real emphasis on learning the basics: mastering tools so that you can go on and develop your own style. HONESTY is the big word. Everything must be truthful and organic, and the instructors immediately jump on any false moves by either directors or actors. It’s a rigorous program–very demanding and totally consuming–a true conservatory, professional development course taught by working professionals who know the business. I loved it. It was so energizing to be in an environment dedicated to learning the craft. The most amazing thing was how welcoming everyone was. All the students went out of their way to answer my questions, show me around, and rave about the instructors and the program. I also didn’t see any competitiveness among the students. No one was trying to impress anyone else–it was just all about the work. A very supportive environment. This speaks volumes about the instructors–that they can create this feeling shows that they really care about training the students. I saw tons of stuff–a whole spectrum of the work: third year BFA acting students doing monologues, first year MFA acting students doing scene work (the directors are required to take all the acting classes as well, so it was great to meet the acting teacher, too), a run-through rehearsal of the third year MFA acting students showcase (which was going to be performed in NYC and LA for directos and casting agents), and finally the final scene presentations of the first year MFA directing class. I was really impressed with the directing work. There was an emphasis on honesty and simplicity that shone through all the scenes. Just what I want to strengthen in my own work. I finally got to my hotel at around midnight–a long, but exciting day. I also got to meet the other directing teacher. It was such a busy day that the head of the directing program sort of interviewed me on the fly, then told me to call her again in a few days to discuss my assigned play–we still haven’t gotten to that!

Unfortunately, my main concern (as always) is if my health will allow me to do this. Can I keep up with a course load that will have me running day and night–classes, rehearsals, homework? Once I came down from the high of being there, I felt really depressed and uncertain–especially since I’m going through a tough time right now. But I don’t want to dwell on this. I’ll just take things as they come. I may not get accepted anyway.

My first thought was I wonder if she got into the program. Why is this the last post? I click to read the comments and half way down it becomes clear. Ellen was admitted to hospice on September 2nd, 2005 and died shortly thereafter. This was the last think she wrote. Ellen never got the chance to pursue her dream of directing at Rutgers. As I go through an MFA program, no matter the school, I will carry this story with me.

Filed under: Graduate School, Rutgers
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Active Consideration

February 13, 2006 by Dennis Baker 

I got a letter from Wayne St. University. I am in active consideration. That could mean a lot of things: they are not sure about me till they see other people, they like me but don’t want to make a decision yet. I know it means that they did not say no right away, which is a good thing.

I am not 100% excited about the program. I would like it better if it did not run under non-union. Apart of going to graduate school is that I would like to get my equity card, an almost impossible task in LA. But with Wayne St. being non-union I could not get my equity card while in their productions. I also have a connection to the Detroit area (shout out to Jessie) that says the school is not in the greatest location. On the positive side, they pay for all of the tuition. So good news for now, maybe I will get other surprise letters like this one…

Filed under: Acting, Auditioning, Graduate School
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Back in LA

February 10, 2006 by Dennis Baker 

We are back in LA. The auditions went well. University of Iowa and Rutgers were the two schools that seemed the most interested. Indiana University also expressed some interest. Overall, Rutgers gave me the most positive feedback, saying they wanted to fly me out to see the school.

I still have Cal State Long Beach audition tomorrow and UCLA in two weeks. More and more I am thinking about it, I think Rutgers is the place Karen and I will end up. I have always received good feedback from them. While at the interview they told me they wanted me to come last year, but I did not officially apply to the school. Last year would not have been a good year for Karen and I to leave LA for New Jersey. This year is a little different. I will not know for sure till I hear back from schools in April. We plan to go visit Rutgers the first week of April, after we return from Europe.

Filed under: Acting, Auditioning, Graduate School, Los Angeles, Music, Rutgers, Web Design
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Super Sunday

February 5, 2006 by Dennis Baker 

Today was a good day for graduate schools auditions. I was passed on to Final auditions for URTA (that are in Chicago). Which means that I will audition for all the schools associated with URTA. If I did not get passed on then there is a Open Call where the schools are not guaranteed to be there (what I did last year).

I also auditioned for Wayne St. The audition went well. I am not 100% sure about the school. It is a see and wait. UC Irvine was a group audition that went well. My Montana audition went ok, I forgot some of my Shakespeare monologue and had to stop and start again, a first that has ever happened. My Regent audition went well too. I had a good hour long talk with them. We discussed issues I thought I might have with Regent as the schools is associated with Pat Robertson and conservative Christianity. The professor had only been teaching there six months and said he expressed the same concerns while in the hiring process. That was good to here. After leaving the schools I realized it was like Fuller with a theatre program.

The only thing I have tomorrow is my URTA Final Audition and any interviews I get with that. Cross your fingers/pray or do whatever you do as I could get zero interviews or a lot.

Filed under: Acting, Auditioning, Chicago, Graduate School
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Chi-Town

February 4, 2006 by Dennis Baker 

We are officially in the windy city. We arrived at Midway Airport at 6:00pm and met up with Karen’s cousin Alan. He flew in from St. Louis to spend a couple of days with us. It is great for him to be here for numerous reasons, but mainly it gives Karen someone to hang out with while I am gone all day at auditions.

We took a cab to the Courtyard Marriott in Downtown Chicago. The picture is our room. What is great is we got that for $39 a night. A STEAL because Alan works for Marriott in St. Louis. I am not one to brag, but that is amazing. That was a nice surprise. After settling in, it was time for dinner. So we walked a couple of blocks (a huge task in 29 degree weather) to Pizza Uno. The place was packed! We ordered a medium sausage, Chicago deep dish for Alan and I and a personal cheese deep dish for Karen. Then we took our place at the bar because the pizza was going to take a hour to make, and by the looks of it, we were not going to get a table till then.

After finishing off a couple of beers our table was ready. Alan tried to worn us about how big the pizza was going to be, but words could not describe. The crust was three inches deep. It was literally a pie. So we sat at the small table, eating pizza, drinking beer and watching the snow lightly fall outside. A good first night in Chicago.

Tomorrow I have my URTA auditions as well as Wayne St., UC Irvine, Univ. of Montana and Regent University. For those who might want to know my audition pieces are Chris from All My Sons and Thersites from Trolius and Cressida.

Filed under: Acting, Auditioning, Chicago, Music
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