U/RTA Day 1: Recap

I woke up at 6 AM, shaved, showered, and centered.  I had a nice little breakfast at one of the zillion Dunkin' Donuts around here . . . seriously, they're like Starbucks.  Weird.  Then, at 7:45, I headed to Roosevelt University.  After a brief orientation (and free chapstick?), I set up my portfolio, then walked around and looked at a few others.  There were 5 or 6 other sound portfolios.  All of them but 2 had the same headphones as me (Sony Professional series), and the others had plain consumer grade over-the-head earphones.  One other portfolio included business cards and stands for his resumes, and I was the only other one who did that.  He had one thing that I didn't think of, though: about 40 copies of his portfolio on CD for the auditors to take with them.  Brilliant.


I got 6 interviews:  California Institute of the Arts, Ohio University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of California - Irvine, and University of California - Los Angeles, and University of Cincinnati - Conservatory-College of Music.


CalArts liked me because my portfolio was very diverse, and he was impressed with my soundscoring capabilities.  The main part of my portfolio included a soundscore for Metamorphoses, and he was part of the original production.  He was also excited to learn that I greatly enjoy designing sound for non-conventional performances (and my goals to study Performance Studies).  He said that he thought my mentality and style meshed well with the CalArts community.  However, financial aid is kind of slim, and no one gets full-rides.  It would be about $50,000/year.


Ohio University was also impressed at the range of my portfolio, and said that the focus of the program was conceptual, with technology taking a bit of a back seat to that.  He "encouraged me to apply," and wants me to visit campus (in Athens, OH).  He did mention that the 2 sound design positions received full tuition waivers and a stipend per semester.  Holy.  Cow.


UI was interested in me because of extensive experience in live sound set up, sound reinforcement capabilities, and my background with my father's sound business.  But, the interviewer wasn't too enthused beyond that.  He seemed tired and just floating, like he didn't really care about anything besides getting the information out there.  I was kind of excited about this one, but I'm not sure if I just want to do reinforcement and mixing my entire grad school career.


UC-Irvine was very slick, very "California."  They stressed that they were state-of-the-art and had several performance spaces, none of which has an in-house system.  That means that every production is customizable with a HUGE selection of brand new equipment.  I was also excited about this one, but I'm pretty sure they only interviewed me because I asked them to.


UCLA wasn't as slick as I thought they'd be, and were actually much more interesting.  The head of the department designs sound for Cirque du Soleil, and every semester the design students take a trip to see the current show.  They did say that tech was also a little more background than creativity - he said that they teach the tech "to the point of use," and expect the students then to keep up.  This was actually pretty exciting, and it's not bad that it's UCLA, either.


UCincinnati was also pretty exciting.  I started looking at their program some time ago.  However, they are very focused on dramatic performance (theatre, musical theatre, opera, and dance are all supported by the program), and not really any non-theatrical sound exploits.  Which is ok, I guess, but it would be nice to do some performance art work.  It's just plain fun.  They expect me now, if I'm interested, to apply, visit the campus, see a show, show my portfolio, and formally interview.  I don't know about this one, either, but they seem l little more professional and high-caliber than some of the others, while still maintaining an approachable front.


There won't be much of an update for today - there aren't any acting schools in town set up yet, and my plan for today was to walk around and take advantage of the free walk-in auditions that were about last year.  The only school here at the moment is Rutgers, and their audition fee is $75.  Plus they have an application fee beyond that.


More to come on day 3.

U/RTA 2010 Prologue: Day 0

Tomorrow morning marks the first day of my 2010 grad school auditions.  I arrive at 8:00 in a conference room with tons of other designers (who probably know a lot more than me in most areas, and can probably draw) and set up a portfolio that consists of:

1. My computer looping a video containing all of my best sound pieces and production photos;
2. A binder containing the full process for Einstein and the Roosevelts;
3. A binder containing other useful pieces: original music for Twelfth Night, a marked up script, some production notes, and a class project
4. 40 copies of a pretty impressive resume`;
5. Some copies of my transcript;
6. Business cards

I'm not sure if this is going to cut it, and I'm not even sure if what I do have is actually anything that they care about.  But, one of the last things my advisor, coach, and mentor said to me as he stood up from checking it out was:  "I would be excited to work with this."  That boosted my confidence enough to at least shine during interviews, of which I have two.  I have already contacted Purdue and the University of California - Irvine, and they both said that they are going to look at my stuff while they're here.

Since this is the prologue, I'll leave it at that.  Saturday is going to be kind of a throw away day unless I can find some decent schools to audition for free of charge.

Thinking of Winter

I am not a Christian, nor do I adhere strictly to the Gregorian calendar, so this time of year can get a bit awkward.  I feel the intention when people say, "Merry Christmas," but it's not a sentiment I can return with the same meaning.  At least, not with the same words.  I've been struggling with how to phrase this exactly, and it seems I'm failing even now.  I don't exactly know how to express a "Merry Christmas" with the intention beyond religious connotation.  Nor can I say, "Happy Holidays" because theses days aren't necessarily any holier than any other.  Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh - these are more akin to the times of year I celebrate, though I wouldn't necessarily consider myself pagan, either.  Ultimately, I would consider myself Taoist in philosophy.

So what does this time of year mean to me?

Somehow, through all of the commercialism and materialism, the "true meaning of Christmas" has survived - it is a time for sharing, and a time for love.  I find it interesting that a generous gift-giving holiday comes in the middle of Winter, the cycle of Death, but I suppose it's kind of appropriate.  People want to escape the harsh environment and wish themselves warmth - physical and emotional.  So while I don't necessarily believe in The Lord Our Savior Jesus Christ of Nazareth, or that he was born on Dec. 25 22BC, I do participate in the gift-giving ritual.

I'll have to ponder this a little further, but at least now I have some basic thoughts down.  Something to consider, something to think about.  More to come - stay tuned.