Office of Admissions Blog

by Corey Dorris, 3rd-year actor

Before I came to Juilliard I heard so many things about the school. Many of them were myths and rumors, but many of them were true and made up what contributes to the school’s reputation. I heard that it’s really tough with a really busy schedule. I heard that it’s really hard to get into. I heard that the students are all great and talented and competitive. All of this is true. But what I didn’t hear about (and was genuinely surprised by) was the amazing student life. There are departments, programs, and staff here solely for the purpose of the student life outside of classes. And they help create a community and an actual college experience that are often overlooked when people talk Juilliard’s great reputation.

One department that probably over half the student body participates in is Educational Outreach. They have a ton of programs, from teaching to performing, that encourage students to participate and engage with New York City. Some students teach to middle schoolers on Saturday mornings. Some students take summer trips to Detroit and Utah to teach master classes or do community service. One thing I’ve done over the last two years is participate in the Gluck Community Service Fellowship. It’s a program for students to form performance groups and perform all over the city in places such as nursing homes, hospitals, and teen shelters. Sometimes after the performance, we stay to talk with the audience members and they tell us about a favorite song, or a grandchild who sings and dances, or things they do in the arts. One time a lady came up to us crying because we had performed a song from her favorite musical.

Another program I’ve participated in is The New Orleans Project, which is led by the Office of Student Affairs. Every year, a group of 20-30 students raise money to go to New Orleans over Spring Break and teach master classes, help build houses with Habitat for Humanity, and teach creative arts classes to students at the local YMCA. The program started 7 years ago because a Juilliard dancer wanted to help her hometown, New Orleans, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Since then, Juilliard has been back to New Orleans every year! I went two years in a row and was surprised at how many of the students from the YMCA remembered my name! Even though we were only there for one week, it proved that we really do make a difference, and that every bit helps. Evey year we hear from the person who runs our Habitat for Humanity site that we put them ahead of schedule on the house we help to build!

Not only are Gluck and The New Orleans Project outreach opportunities that help Juilliard give back to the community, but they help make a community at Juilliard. I’ve met some of my best friends through them! My performance group for Gluck hangs out before and after our performances; and through all the meetings and preparations for the trip, I met some of my best friends during The New Orleans Project that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to meet. Juilliard has a reputation because of all the things you hear about it: the classes, the rehearsal schedule, the competitiveness. But what I never heard about was its amazing community and student life. Those are qualities that should definitely make students want to come and study here!

by Raquel Gonzalez, M.M. – Voice

My third year at Juilliard I joined the Gluck Community Service Fellowship.  I had sung at nursing homes while in high school but didn’t really have much true outreach experience.  I got involved with GCSF after hearing about it from my upperclassmen colleagues. I thought it would be a great opportunity for extra performing opportunities and to be able to perform for people within the city who might not otherwise have access to any type of performing art.

My first group consisted of myself (a soprano), a cellist, and two dancers. A motley crew to be sure.  Because of the size of our group and the space we required, most of our performances our first year took place in the outer boroughs–Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx.  Furthermore complicated by our conflicting and ever-changing rehearsal schedules within Juilliard, most of our performances took place on our one mutual day off: Sunday afternoons.

Our strange group offered certain limitations as far as repertoire was concerned, but for each performance we strove to find a new way to make cello and the human voice serve as an inspiring and exciting scene partner for the magic our dancers created. We performed a lot of Bach, Handel, and Mozart, but found ways to work in some golden age standards and even holiday tunes for our December performances. Our two dancers would improvise to Bach preludes, Mozart arias, and anything else we would decide to throw at them.  Assembling the program for each performance really tested our creativity and ingenuity, but the end of a successful performance was always incredibly rewarding. We worked this way for two years together, and then my former group mates graduated and moved on. I graduated and stayed at Juilliard for my M.M., continuing in the fellowship program with a different ensemble – for which repertoire was much easier to assemble.  Myself, a collaborative pianist, and two more singers make up my current group.  We perform at nursing homes, homeless shelters, psychiatric treatment facilities, and hospitals in the five boroughs.  Our mission? To entertain.

Now, this concept may seem strange to anybody who is training at a conservatory, learning to be always critical of your own work. Though audiences at Juilliard are always seeking entertainment, it is our keen ability as performing artists to imagine the highly critical (nonexistent) dialogue taking place in the minds of our audiences. This is a finely-tuned method we artists use to cause ourselves maximum grief. As soon as we convince ourselves that our audience does, in fact, want to be entertained, we are freed.

Now, Juilliard is not an inherently critical or scary place. On the contrary. But this is the place where we are trying to become our best selves, and–as I said–we like to freak ourselves out. But that is not a requirement (or recommendation) for being a successful performer! And the minute we get away from school, we remember that people WANT to enjoy what we do! Especially people for whom our performances are novelty, are exciting, are NEW.

Selfishly, GCSF serves as a place to remind ourselves why we do what we do when we have worked ourselves to exhaustion and talked ourselves in circles. And the people in the audiences at these various facilities? They feel that, too. These performances serve as an outlet, an escape, a remedy, or as sheer entertainment for the audiences we meet. I have had long discussions with residents at nursing homes about the history of the Metropolitan Opera, or the lineage of bassists in the New York Philharmonic. I have been serenaded by a man at an HIV/AIDS treatment center singing his own composition. I have seen an unresponsive child in a pediatric facility open her eyes and lock them on me as I sang.  And I have had a man in a psychiatric treatment center come up to me after a performance and say, simply, “That made me feel so much better.” And the same was true for me.

by Jenna Pollack, 4th-year dancer

Do you remember being told, “Oh dear, if you keep crossing your eyes like that they are going to stay that way”?  Though I must defend funny face-making and the great GIFs they become, I do try to keep my own to a minimum.  Why?  Because the underlying, hard truth behind your Grandmother’s scare tactic is that habits stick.  I believe that the same rule applies in the studio: if you glue your eyes to the ballet mirror- or the script, or the score- they will stay that way.  Well, not your eyes per se, but the intention behind them.   And, contrary to popular belief, in order to reach your artistic potential you must stop practicing once in a while . . . and practice other things.

I have found teaching to be one of many excellent outlets for this. While everyone at Juilliard works hard to get better, The Office of Educational Outreach provides opportunities for students to work hard at bettering the lives of others.  I’ve found this to be one of the school’s secrets to making some of the world’s most talented performing artists. And not only does the teaching fellowship give me crucial skills to better market myself upon graduation, but the stipend lets me take out much smaller student loans.

On Saturday mornings I join one of my dancer classmates to The Children’s Storefront in East Harlem.  We arrive to a handful of the most adorable fourth and fifth graders, and for two hours we lead them through ‘dance class’.  But they aren’t like Juilliard classes. While certainly used, we keep codified French terms to minimum.  We explore new physical coordinations, play games, improvise, and create movement together.  We go across the floor improvising what it feels like to be different animals and different seasons.  We speak complete conversations to each other with our own created movement vocabulary, like the South African gumboot dancers.  We talk about the idea of ‘theme and variations’ and, after watching George Balanchine’s version, ask them to create their own contemporary remix. We watch Beyoncé’s ‘Countdown’ music video and learn the real Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker choreography. We ask the students to work together to generate movement phrases that are put together for a performance for their friends and family.  And week after week, I learn what it means to be a successful dancer from these students.

At the end of last semester one of our students asked about the upcoming winter break:

“So when do we come back to dance class?”

“After the holidays, in January!” I replied.

“What about when school ends in the spring?” her voice a near shrill.

“Well, dance class will go on a summer vacation with school.”

“Ugh, NO!  I want dance class to go on forever!”

I share this not to toot our horn, but to illustrate just how much a weekend activity- whether it be dance or basketball or a music lesson- is a vital outlet for young minds, and especially those targeted by Juilliard’s outreach programs.  They are so important in developing one’s identity, and with different standards from the regular classroom. Extracurriculars refresh what it means to learn and, more importantly, to be successful.

Dance class, as with most extracurricular activities, is a way for our students to express themselves, to push their own boundaries in a safe space, to try out new skins and voices.  Our students make important discoveries about themselves as their confidence grows with exercises big and small.

One of my favorite moments these past two years as a Children’s Storefront teacher was at a student performance last semester.  The father of a girl named Chyna had just returned from prison. He had been locked up for almost the entirety of his daughter’s life.  Chyna was still on cloud nine from his arrival the week before, and performed the best I’ve ever seen her dance knowing he was in the audience.  She has always had a phenomenal work ethic and attitude, and I am so happy that her father could be there to witness her success.  I am deeply moved to think how important of a moment that was for their relationship, and I love seeing him pick Chyna up from class every week now.

For me, teaching these students also solidifies what I (think I) know about dance.  I am re-inspired when they make their “different music can change the same dance!” epiphanies.  I am reminded of the importance of patience when a girl builds coordination to turn in the matter of a few weeks.  I am grateful for our diverse individuality when I give the boys their own steps.  And so I’ve begun to build better habits, habits of character, that I can bring back to the practice room.

Before coming to Juilliard I already knew that the arts were wildly underestimated as a crucial part of a child’s development.  But what I’ve learned since is that teaching them is also wildly underestimated as a crucial part of an artist’s development.

Take alumnus Adam Driver from HBO’s hit series Girls who, in addition to being a total rock star, co-founded Arts in the Armed Forces while at Juilliard.  In an interview last month with the Juilliard Journal Adam talked about the compatibility of his school work with his nonprofit organization: “In a way, it’s [entrepreneurship] the most gratifying thing to work on because not only is it beneficial to have a project where the focus isn’t about you, but it’s also about using the craft as a service. As an actor, there’s nothing that sucks more than feeling that what you’re doing is irrelevant, and I feel like I’ve been fortunate enough to work on a lot of projects that seem very relevant and active and have a point of view and that reminded me that it’s a service.”

So though you don’t have to believe me, you should definitely believe Adam Driver.  I mean, just look at his goofy face.

by Caeli Smith, 3rd-year Violinist

It’s comforting and empowering to know that there are people and programs at Juilliard standing by to help us become successful and well-rounded artists. Whether you’re a musician, actor, or dancer, once you arrive at Juilliard, you will discover that there are many different offices and programs outside of your department designed to support you, your education, and career.

One of my favorites is the Office of Career Services, where they help you out with everything from cover letters and resumes, to editing videos and recordings for auditions. Not only that, they’ll also hook you up with gigs for a that much-needed extra cash. Of course, Career Services is also a great place to find practical, real-world career advice. At Career Services, they make you feel supported as a student in a different way than your department teachers do. It’s comforting to know that there are people who are concerned with the business-end of your career – you know, the complicated bureaucratic stuff that we sensitive artists don’t always like to deal with! Career Services helps guide us through practical situations and prepares us for life after Juilliard.

Another office I love to visit is Educational Outreach. Let me just say it: this department is incredible. Educational Outreach offers numerous fellowships to students, to help us share our art through performances and teaching, all over the entire NYC metropolitan area. I am currently thrilled to be a recipient three of the fellowships, and to have the opportunity to teach and perform for New Yorkers of all ages. Aside from being an antidote to those soul-crushing hours toiling alone in the practice room, these fellowship opportunities provide us with teaching experience, resume boosters, and the extra cash needed fund our fabulous NYC lifestyle (AKA, that tiny little apartment in Astoria).

Also – take your blinders off! When students first arrive at Juilliard, they’re totally and understandably focused on and excited about all the great work ahead of them. It’s tempting to be narrow-minded and sink all your energy into classwork and practicing. Be sure to open your eyes. Be mindful all of the incredible artists around you, in so many disciplines. Take advantage of all the other divisions’ performances. Collaborate with them in performance and teaching. When you are at Juilliard you’re at the epicenter of the performing arts world. Music, dance, theater: it’s all here. Take advantage of the art being made by your peers outside your discipline. Their art will inform yours, and you will be stronger and better for it.

by Gillian Abbott, 4th-year dancer

My name is Gillian Abbott. I am currently dancing my last few months away at Juilliard. Looking back at my favorite experiences, I realized many of them were collaborations that I or other students made happen on our own time. I have had some amazing opportunities to work with extraordinary artists in all divisions. Last spring I got to choreograph the first musical ever performed at Juilliard! My dear friend Claire Karpen Pettry dreamed of making Sondheim’s A Little Night Music come to life by incorporating students from all three divisions: Dance, Drama and Music. In her final year of the Drama Division’s Actor Training Program, she decided to truly pursue this idea as an independent project.

Claire and I had become good friends through a school-run outreach program called GLUCK. The two of us, along with two other actors and one opera singer, went to different medical centers throughout the city to perform for patients of all ages. She asked me if I would be interested in helping her tell the story of this beautiful classic. I was so honored to be asked and jumped aboard! We held auditions for students at Juilliard in the fall of 2011 and it was such a great experience for me to be on the other side of the table, figuring out how we could best tell the story. We ended up casting 10 actors for the characters, and 5 opera singers for the “quintet”. In true Sondheim fashion, the music was incredibly complex and could not have been tackled without our Music Director Evan Fein, a forth-year student of the DMA in Composition and a new faculty member of Juilliard’s Pre-College and Evening Divisions. It was nice to work with him again as I had been friends with him from another school run outreach program called Artreach in which we went to New Orleans to build houses with Habitat for Humanity and to work with students at the YMCA. Taking parts of Jonathan Tunick’s orchestration along with the piano-vocal score, Mr. Fein orchestrated the score for four instruments! With himself on piano, and three Music Division students on Clarinet, Harp and Cello, the sound came to life. I learned so much from working with him, as I had to know the music like the back of my hand in order to put counts to my choreography to teach the actors and singers. The biggest battle we faced collectively was “A Weekend in the Country”, but somehow we did it!

So when do Juilliard students find time in their insanely busy schedules to make a musical? Sundays and holidays! We rehearsed every Sunday starting in December, as well as one week over spring break in March. Thanks to both the Drama and Dance Divisions, we had studio space to play in and a great black box for the show. I loved working with the actors and singers and was so impressed by their willingness and eagerness to try new things. I was thankful for their patience as well, as this was the first show I ever attempted to choreograph. I love telling stories through my choreography, so eventually I felt at home working on a musical.

In my eyes the show was a great success and, more importantly, something I think all of us will cherish forever. In Mr. Fein’s words, “Juilliard is not just about creating at the highest professional level, but about stretching the boundaries of the profession itself.” We hope this project inspires others to break down division walls and find inspiration and growth from each other just as we did. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such talented artists and I hope it is just the beginning of collaborating with Mrs. Pettry and Mr. Fein!

by Kerry Warren, 4th-year actor

At Juilliard it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the pressure to give your best performance. As a drama student, I remember looking at the strenuous class schedule every week and wondering how I would save my energy for rehearsal at the end of the day. I was always rehearsing for something in the Drama Division, be it Shakespeare, Chekov, or a Lorraine Hansberry scene. Yet as the weeks went on during my first year I kept having the urge to collaborate with people outside the drama halls. I became curious as I watched a ballet class on my way to Liberal Arts. I would stop on the fourth floor and listen to a musician practice their scales.

This curiosity led me to a dancer who introduced me to the Black Student Union and the Martin Luther King Celebration. I still marvel how first year I performed choreography by a fourth-year dancer and then sang in a choir led by a Jazz Trumpet student. Year after year I find students creating their own work from dance solos, reenactments of speeches, or honoring the black composers who rarely get recognition.

This year I decided to perform a speech by Coretta Scott King. After participating in the celebration for the past three years, I noticed that the woman behind this great man had never been recognized on stage. I was determined to honor her during the celebration in hopes that a curiosity for her story would emerge. I remember going over a certain line in the speech, “My husband arrived somewhere to his strength and inspiration from the love of all people who shared his dream, that I too now come hoping you might strengthen me for the lonely road ahead.” This idea of sharing a dream I related to, and when I read those words, I could not help but apply that metaphor to the meaning of Juilliard’s MLK celebration.

Every student at Juilliard has the dream to be a master at their trade. And I would also say that during their time in school each student has felt lonely in the struggles of conservatory life. This loneliness, I have found to dissipate when I reached out to fellow students. The MLK celebration created an opportunity for me to share and collaborate with different divisions. Which can be refreshing in between hectic semesters at school. It was a chance for me to create as an individual and be a part of a community of different artists. I got to perform pieces that I was passionate about and without the pressure of impressing faculty. Even the Sunday dress rehearsal had its perks. Laurie Carter, VP and General Counsel/Executive Director of Jazz Studies, gets the best fried chicken this side of New York and there are always left overs. Who doesn’t enjoy good food and the company of new people after a dress rehearsal?

Then something special happened after the performance this January. An alumni pulled me aside and thanked me for my work. He was a part of the first Martin Luther King Celebration, and was proud to see it in it’s 25th revival. I felt connected to something bigger at that moment. I was also a part of a tradition and a remembrance, that many before me and after me will continue. I always felt it important to honor my history and to pay homage to those that paved the way, and I believe that’s the main reason why I participate in MLK. However, that alumni reminded me that I also perform to keep that narrative alive. I mean, I chose to be an actor because I want to tell incredible stories, to work with extraordinary artists, and to make an impact with my art. Through MLK I think all the above is possible.

by DJ Pimm, Admissions Recruitment & Technology Coordinator

It’s interesting – before coming to work for the School, I didn’t know much more about Juilliard than its word-of-mouth reputation. Like many other people, I regarded Juilliard as one of the world’s greatest performing arts schools, and really didn’t know why. The name JUILLIARD has a powerful connotation, and is a name to which many young artists aspire.

Now, with my Admissions hat on, it’s my job to know the ins and outs of Juilliard’s one-of-a-kind education. I come to work every day and join a community that works tirelessly to create as many experiences for its highly ambitious students as possible. It is Juilliard’s mission to provide the highest caliber of artistic education so that students may reach their fullest potential as artists, leaders, and global citizens.

I take a step back every day and wonder what it is that a prospective Juilliard student should learn about the School. Since September, we’ve been talking to our applicants all about the process for admission – and believe me, we’ll keep doing it – but what about the Juilliard experience? What happens once you actually become a student here that gives Juilliard such a notable name? What kind of life can you expect as a Juilliard student? What does it mean to be an artist, leader and global citizen, and how does this education prepare you?

We’ve made it our goal to answer these questions right here on the Admissions Blog. For the next seven weeks you’ll hear directly from current students about everything from student-produced performance activities and cross-division collaborations to professional development and community outreach programs. Over the next two weeks we’ll commence this theme with two topics: On Stage at Juilliard and Things I Didn’t Know About Juilliard.

Enjoy!

by Lee Cioppa, Associate Dean for Admissions

What does it mean to be an artist in the 21st Century? This necessary self-reflection for all members of the Juilliard community, from the administration, to the faculty, to the students, often leads to the response: an artist must also be an entrepreneur.  At the opening of this school year, at Juilliard’s annual Convocation (all-school meeting), the focus of the presentation was on this topic.  Courtney Blackwell, our Director of Career Services, gave such a wonderful speech on this topic that I asked her if I could post it on our blog.

But before you read her speech, you must first visit a brand-new section of our website: Juilliard Entrepreneurship, Shaping the Future.  While there, watch the short film that is featured in the main window on the page (click on the arrow icon in the center of the photo to start the film). The film was the lead-in to Courtney’s speech; so watch first, then read below!

From Courtney Blackwell, Director of Career Services, The Juilliard School

After seeing the great things that these faculty have done and after hearing everything you’ve heard today, you might still be wondering, is entrepreneurship for me?

Good afternoon and welcome back everyone.

The truth of the matter is that these faculty, and many of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs were once in the place that you are today. They exhibited talent, discipline, and were creating a vision for something that mattered to them. Finding what matters to you produces an atmosphere where great ideas are born.

Take the case of a small group of local musicians, with one ringleader, who formed with a mission of advancing instrumental music. (You’ve definitely heard of them). In the first few years, the group took a very hands-on approach, making all decisions – from music to new members – by a group majority vote. They even put together a large scale benefit concert to raise funds for a new building, which was initially unsuccessful. These humble beginnings started by an entrepreneurial collective would later become the New York Philharmonic.

Another example is the professional trumpeter who was so frustrated with ineffective lip balms that he took matters into his own hands. The health of his lips were obviously very important to his playing, so he went into his own kitchen , made his own mixture of herbs and moisturizers and developed a product that he not only uses but is also used by wind players all over the world. That trumpeter is still performing and his product, Chopsaver – a virtual cash cow- is in 1500 retail stores worldwide. I even wear Chopsaver and in case you don’t know I am not a wind player.

Another great example is that of a choreographer who in the early 1980’s felt that there needed to be a space specifically for dance in New York City. He had a business partner with a similar vision and they found an old art film house where the vision could be born. Using everything they had to track down sources for private and public funding, this new home was born and still stands today as The Joyce Theater, which now attracts an annual audience of 140,000 and has welcomed 270 dance companies to its stages. And the choreographer in that case was none other than Eliot Feld.

All of these people began their journey to create something great with by finding what mattered to them.

I remember myself, years ago, as a student at Juilliard. My picture perfect career path involved travelling, going to some of the world’s greatest theaters, and working with some of the best artists I could imagine. But what I thought would get me to that goal was one singular path, my fate held in the hands of one artistic decision maker.

After a career ending injury while dancing in a company, the course of my path changed. I was living in Munich, Germany (where the company was based) and enlisted my entrepreneurial skill set and dance training to create new job opportunities. I quickly learned basic German, became certified in Pilates, and founded my own portable fitness service started by a need that I saw around me. In addition, I began writing for the local English newspaper and sought out business opportunities that helped pave a path towards arts administration, my current career. During this transition I realized that entrepreneurship provides you with the benefit of having many paths to your goal and even enhancing your original goal.

Being an entrepreneur is not just for Silicon Valley start-ups, this concept applies directly to you, performing artists who already create on a daily basis. Entrepreneurship gives you the chance to create your own job, be your own boss and determine how your art and your voice will influence this world instead of letting that just be determined for you.

Entrepreneurship lets you decide what will be most important in your career as an artist, whether that be social good, artistic fulfillment, financial reward, or a balance of these factors.

Like the illustrations you’ve heard about today, entrepreneurship allows you to create incredible opportunities for yourself instead of waiting for the one opportunity that might present itself.

So as you ask, is entrepreneurship for me, remember that if your goal is to innovate and move the industry forward, entrepreneurial thinking is not an option, its essential.

Entrepreneurship at Juilliard is the vehicle that will help you to connect what matters to you with your education as an artist. From entrepreneurial coursework and to programs like – the Center for Innovation in the Arts, Professional Mentoring, Career Services, and the drama division’s student-initiated projects, Juilliard has resources to help you define and explore what entrepreneurship means to you.

Juilliard even provides financial support to build your skill set or to execute your idea through fellowships from the Educational Outreach and grant awards from the Juilliard Summer Grants Program. Juilliard’s programs have even helped students build fully functioning and in some cases money making endeavors before they even graduate.

All of these resources help you develop that idea of something that matters to you which could be the next Chopsaver, NY Phil, Signature Theater, or Facebook.

To kick-off Juilliard’s emphasis on this type of thought and action, we have created a new webpage called Entrepreneurship at Juilliard. It is your go-to source for all things entrepreneurial including the programs and resources mentioned today.

Also kicking off Juilliard’s emphasis on entrepreneurship is a new grant, the Jonathan Madrigano Entrepreneurship Grant which provides financial support to student projects that display innovative ideas, resourceful thinking, and impact to a specific audience. Mr. Madrigano, of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, is a passionate supporter for seeing these projects flourish and is here with us today.

You can read about the five winning grantees on the Entrepreneurship at Juilliard website, but I will give you a quick snapshot of each:

We have granted awards to:

• Jessica Garand: A violist determined to see that every child have the opportunity to experience music

• Toni Marie Marchioni: An oboist who personal obsession with Facebook produced a new media firm geared towards arts organizations

• John Brancy, Tobias Greenhalgh, and Armand Ranjbaran: Two baritones and a composer turned classical music superheroes, taking the future of classical music into their own hands

• Kristin Olson: an oboist whose modern and baroque reed making workshops are built to make everyone sound as good as possible through having the best crafted reed as possible.

Our final grantee is a second year actor. His vision for helping he, his classmates, and other Juilliard students obtain future employment comes in the form of a three tier project, the first of which is called 18 actors: acting. Here to tell you more about his very creative and very entrepreneurial project is second year drama student Max Woertendyke.

(To hear more about Max’s film, visit www.18actors.com.)

By: Jo Mei, Third Year Drama Division Student

Hello, my name is Jo Mei and I am a third year Drama student. There are so many things that are special to Juilliard that I want to share with you that it’s hard to choose where to start.

Well, I’ll begin with my final step in the “getting in” process. The year I applied was the first year the Drama Division incorporated the Final Callback Weekend into its admission process. Out of all the people called back during the initial audition process in New York, Chicago and San Francisco, 40 or so candidates are invited to spend 2 days at Juilliard, where they’ll get a feel for what a typical Juilliard day is like. Then out of those 40, 18 are selected for the incoming class.

Initially, those two days put a lot of fear in my heart. I thought, “There’s no way I can act for two whole days straight.” But it turned out to be a fantastic experience. I was able to meet the entire Drama faculty because they guided us as though we were already their students. In those two days, I took a hardcore movement class, had my first exposure to masks, learned about poetry, an established poet performed for us, I sang (poorly), read a short play… and so much more. Sometime during that first morning I realized the point of this is not to do everything they throw at me perfectly, the point is for the faculty to see me try my best, be myself, and not fear to fail. This was also a chance for me to take a hard look at what Juilliard training is like. Do I like this? Can I see myself here with these people for 4 years? Obviously, for me the answer was “Yes!”

Another thing you might not know about the Drama Division (unless you’ve taken a tour of the school) is our famous photo wall. Each year every student, faculty and staff member gets a new headshot taken and the photos of the students go up on a wall in the drama theater lobby. I love looking at the glowing faces of my classmates. Somehow each photo captures something very genuine and intimate and seeing them all together just makes me very proud to be among these talented artists. Make no mistake, these are not glamour shots by any means – some of us despise our own photo and can’t wait till the next year, but that’s also part of what makes it great. Not to mention, the photo session at the beginning of the year is just one big party with food and music and catching up about the summer, and meeting the first year students. My very first photo session/party will burn bright in my memory always.

If you think it’s difficult getting into the Drama Division as an actor, that’s nothing compared to the Playwriting Program. Each year only 4 playwrights are accepted out of hundreds of applicants. And as the playwrights compose new plays at Juilliard, the entire Drama community assembles to hear their new works. And what makes these readings special is that the parts are cast with actors from across the division. So it’s a rare opportunity to work with students in other years of training and sometimes even alumni of the division will return to read as well. For example, this year, one of my classmates got to collaborate with alum Greg Jbara, weeks before Greg won the Tony for his work on Broadway in Billy Elliot.

Also, many of the playwright’s plays get developed into studio workshops either for the 2nd year or 4th year season. And being able to contribute to plays as they are conceived, edited and re-edited is an enormously gratifying experience. How great to be able to say I originated a role in a play written at Juilliard that goes on to have a life off-Broadway or at Lincoln Center.

The time slot where we read new plays is called Community Meeting. This is also something unique to Juilliard Drama, I think. Every week, the entire division gathers as a unit. Some weeks we hear new plays, other weeks it’s a time for guest speakers. Just this year we had Ed Norton, Laura Linney, and Edward Albee, just to name a few. This has also been a time for master classes, or just a time for dialogue. We’ve also had a string quartet come play for us… I have to say Community Meetings are full of surprises.

One more cool Juilliard happening I’m selfishly looking forward to is the 3rd year’s Shakespeare Rep slot. Actually, I’m looking forward to the entire 3rd year season, which includes a movement-based play and a cabaret. But we will end the year with the Shakespeare Rep, which is two Shakespeare plays simultaneously rehearsed and performed by the same cast. This year the third years worked on Othello and Love’s Labour’s Lost and last year, Julius Caesar shared the stage with As You Like It. One more cool thing about Shakespeare Rep is that the plays are performed on our uniquely designed Globe set which is modeled after the original Globe Theater from Shakespeare’s time.

So, as you can see, I can go on about Juilliard Drama but I hope this brief blog entry gives you some insight into things you might not have known.

By Chris Venditti, graduating trumpet student

If you are reading this you are most likely a student preparing to come to Juilliard this fall.  So, first things first – Congratulations to you!  New York City and Juilliard have so much to offer.  There wouldn’t be enough room to tell you about all the things studying at Juilliard has to offer, but let me give you ten to whet your appetite for this fall.

1.  Your most valuable resource at Juilliard is your classmates.  If you are a musician, go check out a drama production.  If you are a dancer go to a music concert.  If you are an actor, see your friends in the dance department perform.  The very first performance I saw when I came to Juilliard four years ago was a dance in the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre.  I remember sitting there in the balcony thinking to myself, ‘wow, now this is why I came to Juilliard.’

2.  Go meet Margo.  Who is Margo you ask?  Margo is the lady that answers the phone when you call the Juilliard general phone number.  She has a small office on the second floor where she operates the switchboard for the whole school.  When not connecting calls, she can be found talking with students offering her words of wisdom and support.  Lastly, she keeps a container of chocolate in her office, which is always stocked and ready for any student that comes looking.

3.  Practicing and rehearsing are good, but sometimes the best thing for your art is to get out of the building and take a walk.  My favorite thing to do when the weather is nice is to go take a jog in Central Park.  The park is very nice, and because it is so big you can jog for a very long time and not have to rerun any route.  The best part of the park for me is the Ramble.  The Ramble is in the middle of the park and is full of trees and winding paths.  If you are in the thick middle of it, the tall buildings and city noises and smells fade away.

4.  If you are a musician, go to as many concerts as possible.  There are plenty of ways to get free or very inexpensive tickets to concerts.  In the four years I have been here I have seen virtually every major orchestra in the world perform at Carnegie Hall.  I have seen plenty of ballets at the City Ballet, and operas at the Met.  Seeing the great artists of the world perform will inform your art more than almost anything else.

5.  Get out of Lincoln Center.  Don’t get me wrong, Lincoln Center is nice, but there is so much to see and do in the city.  If you like architecture, give yourself a tour of the city’s most exciting buildings.  If you like Thai food go out exploring, and find some good restaurants around town.  I am a big coffee drinker, so I have been all over the city looking for the best cup.  Here are two suggestions for you:

• Mud Coffee in the East Village
• 9^th Street Espresso in the Chelsea market.

6.  I personally love New York style pizza.  There are probably close to a dozen pizza joints within a ten-block radius of Lincoln Center.  Every time I walk by a place I haven’t been to I am compelled to go in a try a slice.  The best pizza I have found is Grimaldi’s pizza.  Grimaldi’s is under the Brooklyn Bridge on the Brooklyn side.  This place is cash only and they sell pizza by the pie only.  If you make the trip to Brooklyn you won’t be disappointed.

7.  Another thing that will inform your playing, acting, or dancing is going to museums.  There are so many cool paintings and works of art that are housed in New York’s museums.  The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) down in midtown gives all Juilliard students free admission.  The Metropolitan museum of art and the Natural History museum are nearby and are also great places to visit.

8.  The Yankees are the most successful team in Baseball history.  Games are played at Yankee stadium in the Bronx.  You should go.

9.  Make friends with upperclassmen in your division, they have a lot to offer you.  I am not saying this because I am one, but because I remember what it is like to be a first year here.  There are a lot of really talented people that can do some incredible things.  I find that I have learned as much from my fellow students as I have from my teachers.  Watch, listen, and learn.

10.  I know this is no big secret, but Juilliard is going to be what you make of it.  So, have fun, work hard, and in four short years you will be the one writing blog posts to future students.