Brittany V. Green
NYU Callback Weekend - Day Two
by Brittany V. Green
March 11th, 2012
I woke up in the morning naturally, with the perfect amount of time to get ready. Only by the grace of God did that happen because I completely forgot all about daylight’s savings! I set my alarm the night before but completely forgot to set my clock back. I was EXTREMELY thankful I woke up right when I needed to, I hopped in the shower, ate some breakfast and put on my favorite blue dress and black blazer. Today I wanted to wear audition/interview clothes.
When I arrived back to NYU it was as if I had already had a gang of friends. We all felt a common relief to see familiar faces and talked amongst ourselves.
Today the first order of business was speaking with Janet [Zarish] about the program. We got to ask any remaining questions we might have and she elaborated on NYU and what the program has to offer. I found that no matter how many talks we experienced I always learned something new. After speaking with Janet we had another talk with Jonathan Ward, and the Associate Chair about financial aid.
Deciding to go to grad school is a major decision. It is not only something that will majorly affect your career and life’s path, your debt (if any) as well. In this discussion we talked about the realities of what it would cost and what forms of help were out there. We talked about finding apartments, work-study, scholarships and more.
Next the current students came in to speak with us, again without the faculty being there. I noticed that all of the students were eager to give as much as advice as they could. They were detailed and elaborated on all of their responses to our questions.
After the Q and A we got a tour of the surrounding area. I had no idea just how close the World Trade Center was to NYU. I asked what it was like the day of 9/11, and how did the class respond. I was told that it was a big mess that day. At first no one had a clue what was going on, but soon after classes and rehearsals had to be cancelled. It was actually the first day of classes. I learned that some students had housing near that surrounding area, but luckily everyone was ok. I looked at the space where 9/11 took place and shuddered at the thought of being near such a tragic and historical place. We learned more about the history of the surrounding area and even got to hear a man playing a grand piano at Washington Square Park. We were told that this was the location of the strike in the musical “Hair”. It was so cool because I did a production of Hair in 2009 at the Connecticut Repertory Theater (with now Broadway Star Stephanie Umoh) and it was cool to see the actual setting where that strike was supposed to take place.
After the tour we had a break before seeing more Free Play performances. I took that time to have lunch with two other prospective grad students. I don’t know what it is about my group but I felt such a great connection with them. We were all so different but there was a sense of bonding and family already! I loved having lunch with my other two “auditionees” and learning more about where they’re from and hearing their stories.
We paid the waiter and headed on back to the NYU Tisch building. I had to let the admin know about a schedule conflict with my interview. I was scheduled to come back and interview that Tuesday but unfortunately I was also scheduled to work. But no worries, I was bumped up to 8pm that day. So while waiting, I watched more Free Play performances, popped into the second day callback’s alumni talk back, which was nice because even with all the questions that were asked the first day I still learned more about the program.
The students had a cabaret planned that night with a cute little bar, with an assortment of drinks decorated with candles. They arranged the room to look like a nightclub. I thought to myself “I could get use to this.” I had some time before my interview so I was doing what I do best, chatting with alumni... lol.
Next I got a wave of anxiety. It hit me all at once that the possibility of this amazing dream may not happen for me. I went to the sixth floor bathroom so I could be alone and collect my thoughts. I prayed to God to give me peace and allow me to do my absolute best and pick up where I couldn’t help myself. I called my mother and she put me on speaker-phone, told my brother to join hands with her and we all prayed.
After that I ran all my monologues and song in the sixth floor bathroom... lol. I took a look in the mirror and told myself…”I’m ready”. I went down stairs and before I knew it, it was time to go in and give my one last attempt at showing them what I have to offer…Oooooooooo! Cliff hanger!
What will Brittany talk about in her interview? What will happen next???
Check back for PART THREE on Saturday.
Loves,
Virginia
P.S. THANK YOU to everyone who came out to Stanford's last night for the Acceptance Project Mixer!!! So wonderful to get to be with all of you.
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