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[0:00] Charlie Murphy: Hello, hello, and welcome to Mapping the College Audition, a podcast where we explore the landscape of the college theater world and try to demystify this daunting audition process. I'm your host, Charlie Murphy, director of MTCA, that's Musical Theater College Auditions, and today we've got Josh Young from Missouri State University, formerly of Oakland University, and I think a really excellent interview, if I do say so myself. Josh is really engaging and I think a great energy to pick up the baton from Robert Westenberg and carry it forward. And this, I do believe, is the first of this very specific kind of 2.0 versions of the podcast. We've done a few others where we had a second faculty member on the show, like we had Mark Badama and then Michael McElroy from Michigan, and then we had Michael back on when he moved to Howard.

But as I mentioned before, there is so much faculty movement from school to school that it will likely take us a while to circle back and grab all of these new heads for a lot of these programs as we also try to find that balance of having new programs on. So just, you know, always a balance for us with the episodes that already exist. And I do think there's a lot of value in the episode with Robert as well. We're going to reference that Robert Westenberg interview a lot to kind of hear about what the program has been. For those of you who already heard that, if you want to go back and listen to that as well, you're welcome to, as well as, of course, what Josh is going to do carrying the program forward.

So you can only listen to this for sure. If you want to listen to both, you can. And one thing I'll say that this has inspired me to do and to try to help alleviate a bit of confusion is we are going to go back and add a little intro slash addendum warning to all of you that the person you're listening to is not current when we know that's the case and as we know that's the case. So if you're listening to Robert's interview today, this won't be true today as I say this, but as we go back, eventually you'll listen to it and we'll say we have an updated interview with Josh Young here. Or we'll say we don't have an updated interview for you yet, but we think this one's great and still is true in blah blah blah ways.

So hopefully that will help you as a listener when you're going back to 2021 just to kind of know how current things are. It is not going to prevent us from talking a lot about COVID back then, which we did, of course, and it's not maybe as relevant in 2024 as it was in 2021, but at least you're going to know if the faculty member is still at the school or not. I'm mostly saying all of that out loud to publicly commit myself to actually going back and doing that as it's something I've wanted to do for a while now. So now you all get to hold me to whether that actually gets done. It won't be immediately done, but in the next couple weeks I'm going to really try to make that a project and get it done.

Speaking of commitments for your ease of listening, the wonderful folks at BPN, this Broadway Podcast Network, which you hear the ads from, they're helping us with a bit of technical mumbo jumbo that's going to allow us to split the feeds for you all. I know as listeners, many of you do listen to both the artists and the college episodes. That's great. You'll be able to keep listening exactly on this feed as you do, but I do know some of you are looking more for one or the other kind of episode, so we're going to try to make that a bit easier if you prefer to just subscribe to one or the other. If so, you'll get exactly half the episodes for half the price. Or you can subscribe on all three feeds, this and the two separate feeds, and you'll get double the podcast in three different places.

It's up to you however you want to do it. More on that in upcoming episodes as we have specific instructions for you. In non-podcast news, switching gears, I know this has been a really thrilling week in the world of MCCA students and their acceptances. We have had a lot of big yeses come in in the last week, and especially in the last 24, 48 hours, and some really overjoyed students getting into their dream schools. Sometimes people get into multiple dream schools, and they go, I don't know what to do about this. Really exciting. I love seeing those videos. I love seeing the texts. I love, you know, as all that information comes in. As I said last week, and I'm going to keep saying it for the next couple weeks, this does always mean, of course, that there are students out there, MCCA and otherwise, who are on pins and needles waiting for that first big in for themselves.

Please have patience with yourself. Please have patience with this process. As Josh is going to talk about in this episode, schools are often very precise in the way that they will let some know, so they'll collect information on some others while keeping other students in their pool of consideration, as he calls it. Now, for some schools, that's an official wait list, or sometimes it's rolling admission. Each school does their process differently, and quite often, they do it differently for different stages and for different students within the same calendar year. So try, try, try not to play the guessing game of what it might mean or might not mean. You don't know, and you're going to drive yourself crazy.

Is this a month that maybe you need to get off social media? I think that sounds pretty darn healthy to me. I had someone recently reach out to me, and they finished an email with, I hope your life is as magical as it looks on social media. And I wanted to say as like a blanket answer, I promise you it's not, right? It might seem to you like all of your friends are doing X, Y, and Z, but you're not seeing the examples of other students who, just like you, are nervously waiting in your exact position, and they are out there. And also, I'll just say in general, I would not believe everything you read on social media. Anyway, we know how that kind of simple game of telephone can lead to exaggerations and go, I heard this, and I heard this.

And if you start listening to stuff online, each year it's going to sound like an extra 50 people are turning down full rides to Carnegie Mellon in Michigan based on their self-reports. And let me just say, that's not true. You just don't know, and you don't need to know or compare. You got to run your own race, which right now might involve a lot of waiting. And if you're looking for something to do, listen on as Josh gives some really great advice about communicating with schools later in the episode. And we're going to go into detail on all of that with MTCA this Thursday, March 7th, on our monthly webinar, where we get into scholarship negotiation, campus visits, and we talk about this kind of continued communication.

So please check us out. That is tomorrow, if you listen as this episode drops, or if you listen two days later, it was yesterday. For our juniors and younger, this will be you before you know it. I think there's some really great advice for you here as well, some of which will be echoed in our upcoming junior weekend that's in person and online, March 16th and 17th. We're looking forward to seeing so many of you there. All right, let's get into it and hear from Josh Young and a Missouri State 2.0 interview.

[6:08] Charlie Murphy: Well, we are so excited to be joined by Josh Young. Josh has a BFA in musical theater from Syracuse, has been on Broadway as Judas Iscariot in Jesus Christ Superstar, for which he received a Tony nomination, Amazing Grace, as well as lots of regional tours and such things. Josh was previously the coordinator of the musical theater program at Oakland University before becoming the coordinator of the musical theater program at Missouri State, which is still located in Springfield, Missouri. They take classes about 16 to 20. They offer degrees in musical theater, acting, etc. Josh, welcome on the pod. How are you doing today?

[6:53] Josh Young: I'm doing great, thank you. How are you?

[6:55] Charlie Murphy: I am doing just fine. So before we dive too deep into the Missouri State and the sort of our 2.0 update interview, just tell me a little bit about your journey from Broadway to Oakland and then Oakland to Missouri State. So what made you make those various leaps?

[7:12] Josh Young: Well, I'm sure just like you, I wanted kids, right? And my wife and I, we're not really New York folk. We really like being out in the suburbs and not having that pace of life, kind of. You know, we loved doing what we did. My wife is a veteran of six Broadway shows, and I loved working in New York too. But when it came to our real goals in life, it was having a family, and I didn't want to struggle with, you know, you can't really put your kid to sleep all the time if both of you are in a show, and that was important to us. So we both had kind of achieved our goals in life when it came to theater, and we can still scratch that itch. We do Summer Stock, and every month we do another symphony, and that's how we get to perform still. But we also, both of us, really love teaching. Emily's on faculty here as well. She teaches voice, and we love to kind of live vicariously through our students and celebrate their successes now.

[8:15] Charlie Murphy: Yeah, I love it. Well said, and you get to avoid what we just had to endure, which is like an interview for a 3k program, a competitive 3k. I mean, I'm like, I'm feeling for our poor students who have to deal with this on the college level. I'm like, we have to do it when they're three years old. Come on.

[8:27] Josh Young: Well, we had to do that too. We just had a kindergarten interview, but it's not $40,000 for whatever it is in New York, which is nice.

[8:39] Josh Young: So basically what happened was Syracuse, my alma mater, my mentor was retiring, and she knew that I was kind of wanting to leave New York City, and she asked if I wanted to apply, and I did. These applications are huge, and teaching methodology, papers, and you have to collect all these references and get them to write letters for you. It takes months to get this application together. And then after I submitted, the provost was like, sorry, you need to have a terminal degree, a master's, which I do have now, but I didn't at the time. And so I spent all that time, and I was like, well, now that I have all my papers together, I might as well just do what else is out there. And it just so happened that Oakland University, they needed somebody really quickly to replace somebody, and I submitted there. I submitted to a few other places. They had me fly in, and they gave me the interview. I taught a class for them, and it just felt really like home to me, and I really loved it there.

[9:48] Charlie Murphy: So they offered me the job, and I found myself being the only full-time musical theater professor, and I just basically said, well, if I'm the only musical theater professor, even though I'm brand new to this, I am the coordinator, period. I put it on my business card. I put it on my signature line, and then it just was, right, which is an impossible thing if you just are starting with a BFA, right? Normally, you need to have your master's and have taught for a long time to run the program, but I found myself just making all these decisions and also helping. My first year was when COVID hit, and I found myself making all these huge decisions to help the program run when a lot of programs were flailing, and I just said, listen, if I'm going to be working this hard, this is what I am, and everybody was just like down with it, and that's how it happened.

[10:41] Josh Young: Talk about yes-ending yourself into a job and going, uh-huh, yeah, I am this, and you'll tell me I'm this. That is exactly what happened, and luckily, everybody else said yes-end. I guess we missed your terminal degree, so I read the BFA into the record. What's your master's, or where's your master's?

[10:51] Josh Young: While I was at Oakland, I started thinking I wanted to have my master's in case I ever wanted to make a move, which is what I ended up doing, and at Oakland, they're very generous, and I was able to get my master's for free, which is huge, and a lot of people who are coordinators, they might have their master's in musical theater, which is a rare thing to find. There's not many programs that have that, or they might have their master's in directing this or that, and I just could not. I spent so long in the classroom of life in musical theater. I couldn't see myself doing that, and I also have so much to impart of the things that I've learned over the years that I decided I wanted it to be in education so I could best take the things that I have and give them to my students, so my master's is in higher education leadership, and because I just took the job as the leader, I figured having the degree in it might give me some credence to clap.

[11:50] Charlie Murphy: I love that, though I feel my professors cringing that someone called your BFA from Syracuse not a terminal degree. In musical theater, that is a terminal degree.

[12:00] Josh Young: I guess in musical theater, that almost is, but not in academia. In academia, terminal degree. I think it's in theater as a master's, and once I've passed that, it's doctorate, but I do think—

[12:11] Charlie Murphy: PhD in theater. We've had people on who have PhDs in theater.

[12:14] Josh Young: Oh, really? That feels crazy to me.

[12:15] Charlie Murphy: I can't imagine going back to school in theater. I've lived it. I've done the thing, and I do feel like the things that I teach the most are things that I got from doing, or from the mistakes that I've made when it comes to the business of the business and stuff like that.

[12:33] Charlie Murphy: Okay, well, let's dive into Missouri State a bit from your perspective. I'm already going to have cued this up into the episode in the intro, but of course, many of our listeners will have already heard the episode with Robert Westenberg, who was the previous coordinator, and some of this, for many, will be the first encounter with the school if they don't go back into the archive, so we're going to try to balance some information that'll be a bit repeat in hearing your perspective and some more concrete specifics that we might not dive into quite as deeply.

[13:01] Josh Young: Well, since you mentioned Bob, I don't think I finished. You said, how did I end up at Missouri State? So Bob Westenberg, for those of you who don't know, he was the original Wolf and Cinderella's prince in Into the Woods, and he was in the original cast of Son of the Puppet George, and he was Neville in the original Secret Garden, and he was somebody who I'd always looked up to my whole life. And then when I started coordinating at Oakland, I got right into... Previously at Oakland, they had only recruited regionally or locally, and I wanted to build the best program in the country, and that's still my goal. So to do that, I needed students from all over, right? So I just called all the recruitment events, the Munifieds, the Chicago Unifieds, CAP, Pittsburgh Unifieds, and I just called and said, can I get involved?

And again, if you let me be involved, I'll teach a class to everybody. And so that's how I got involved really quickly. And while I was there, I saw Bob Westenberg, and I told him, I'm a huge admirer of your work, and can we have lunch? And we did.

[14:05] Charlie Murphy: Welcome back to Mapping The College Audition. Today, we're diving into Act 2 with Josh Young, the Coordinator of the Musical Theatre Program at Missouri State University. Josh, it's great to have you back.

[14:20] Josh Young: Thanks for having me, Charlie. I'm excited to continue our conversation.

[14:25] Charlie Murphy: Last time we talked about the overall program and its strengths. I’d love to hear about some of the changes you’re making to the Musical Theatre curriculum.

[14:35] Josh Young: Absolutely. One of the main changes is aligning our curriculum more closely with our goals and mission statements. We want to ensure that what we teach reflects the values we hold as a department and prepares our students for the industry.

[14:50] Charlie Murphy: That sounds like a significant step. Can you elaborate on how you're implementing these changes?

[14:55] Josh Young: Sure! We're focusing on a more integrated approach to training. This means combining acting, singing, and dancing in a way that reflects the realities of the industry. We want our students to be versatile performers who can adapt to various styles and demands.

[15:15] Charlie Murphy: I love that. It’s so important for students to be adaptable. What about the concept of “Yes Anding” yourself into opportunities? How does that fit into your curriculum?

[15:30] Josh Young: “Yes Anding” is a vital mindset we encourage. It’s about embracing opportunities and building on them. In our classes, we emphasize collaboration and creativity, allowing students to explore their ideas and take risks. This approach fosters a supportive environment where they can grow.

[15:50] Charlie Murphy: That’s fantastic. It’s all about creating a shame-free space for healthy ambition. What advice do you have for students when it comes to song selection for auditions?

[16:05] Josh Young: Song selection is crucial. I always tell students to choose songs that showcase their unique voice and personality. They should also consider the character they want to portray and how the song fits that narrative. It’s about telling a story through their selection.

[16:25] Charlie Murphy: Great advice. And what about self-filming tips? With so many auditions happening online, that’s become increasingly important.

[16:35] Josh Young: Yes, self-filming can be daunting, but it’s a skill that can be developed. I recommend students practice in front of a camera to get comfortable. They should pay attention to their framing, lighting, and sound quality. It’s also helpful to watch their recordings critically to identify areas for improvement.

[16:55] Charlie Murphy: Those are excellent tips, Josh. Thank you for sharing your insights today.

[17:05] Josh Young: Thank you, Charlie. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss these important topics.

[28:11] Charlie Murphy: Welcome back to Mapping The College Audition. Today, we're diving back into our conversation with Josh Young, the Coordinator of the Musical Theatre Program at Missouri State University.

[28:34] Josh Young: Thanks for having me back, Charlie. I'm excited to continue our discussion about the changes happening in our curriculum.

[29:05] Charlie Murphy: Absolutely! So, let's jump right in. What are some of the key changes you're implementing in the Musical Theatre curriculum?

[29:30] Josh Young: One of the major changes is aligning our goals and mission statements more closely with the needs of our students and the industry. We want to ensure that what we're teaching is relevant and prepares them for the real world.

[29:50] Charlie Murphy: That sounds fantastic! Can you elaborate on how you're going about that alignment?

[30:10] Josh Young: Sure! We're focusing on a more collaborative approach, encouraging students to "Yes And" themselves into opportunities. This means fostering a mindset where they build on their ideas and take initiative in their learning.

[30:30] Charlie Murphy: I love that concept! It really empowers students to take charge of their own education.

[30:50] Josh Young: Exactly! And part of that is also addressing healthy ambition. We want our students to pursue their goals without the shame that can sometimes come with ambition in the arts.

[31:10] Charlie Murphy: That's such an important point. How do you suggest students approach song selection in this new framework?

[31:30] Josh Young: When it comes to song selection, I advise students to choose pieces that truly resonate with them. They should reflect their authentic selves and showcase their unique talents.

[31:50] Charlie Murphy: Great advice! And what about self-filming? Any tips for students who need to submit video auditions?

[32:10] Josh Young: Absolutely! I recommend that students pay attention to their lighting and sound quality. A well-lit space with clear audio can make a huge difference in how their performance is received.

[32:30] Charlie Murphy: Those technical aspects are often overlooked but so crucial.

[32:50] Josh Young: Yes, and I also encourage them to practice in front of a camera to get comfortable with the process. The more they do it, the more natural it will feel.

[33:10] Charlie Murphy: That's a solid strategy. It can be nerve-wracking to perform for a camera instead of a live audience.

[33:30] Josh Young: Exactly! But with practice, they can build their confidence and deliver a strong performance.

[33:50] Charlie Murphy: Fantastic insights, Josh. I think our listeners will find this incredibly helpful as they navigate their college audition journeys.

[34:10] Josh Young: I hope so! It's all about finding ways to express themselves authentically and confidently.

[34:30] Charlie Murphy: Thank you for sharing your expertise with us today.

[34:50] Josh Young: Thank you for having me, Charlie. I'm looking forward to seeing how our students thrive with these changes!

[42:15] Charlie Murphy: We're a Missouri State shirt to their audition to the audition now and honestly didn't that was a positive for you. That didn't feel too desperate or too much for you. I loved it. I thought I was like, okay, I'm not playing around. It's like the person who comes in and says I want to be on Broadway. Great, now I know how to help you. Well, in some ways also, you're speaking to a fit with you of going that kind of student is bold and ambitious and something that you go that feels right for Missouri State. I mean, that's funny. I've always told students I don't literally wear them sure him that I feel like it might smell too desperate if you're like, I'm wearing Michigan to Michigan, I'm gonna get in here. I mean, they're in, they're in, they got in.

[49:15] Josh Young: Well, there you go. I just wanted to warn you, Charlie, you're about to have next year is gonna have about a thousand people wearing Missouri State shirts. It's gonna be walking around the Palmer House with nothing but Missouri State clothing. I love it.

[49:46] Charlie Murphy: Anything else in terms of, you know, the application process, the admission process that we didn't get a chance to hit on? I mean, a lot of it we hit with Robert, so I don't think there's anything that's new that I haven't asked you, but anything else that you want to throw off from your...

[50:02] Josh Young: I mean, well, I guess this would be mostly for next year's folks. I do think there's a benefit to auditioning early, especially now I'm talking as from my last position where I had money to give. Because we, you know, we're only human and we could end up giving out money and then when I see you in March, yeah, I don't have any more money to give. Yeah, right, so there's that's a good thing to know. I would audition early if you can.

[50:26] Charlie Murphy: Walking into the room like a person, just being yourself. If I walk you in and I say your name already, just you don't have to say your name. There's no like, there's no like exact right way to slate. You might not even need to say if it feels like you don't need a slate, don't say it. I don't need a slate. Yeah, come, come and chat with us a little bit. Hey, how's your day? How you doing? Where you from? Which I a little bit and then go, but it's a different, every room is different.

[51:02] Josh Young: Yep, every room is different and that's, you know, and that's a good thing to learn and something that we teach in our audition practical class. You know, every audition's different. Not only is every room different, but there's so many different types of auditions that you need to learn about. ECCs, EPAs, direct submissions to casting directors, you know, so you're in for being flexible and you should be that right as soon as you can.

[51:20] Charlie Murphy: Yeah, what a skill set that sensitivity is to the room means this is true in any relationship. Rico, what's going on right here? What's happening in this room? How do I adjust to it on this room versus this room? That can be sometimes the bigger auditions actually found. We're much less stressful because the casting directors at callbacks were like, hey, it's Charlie. So good to see you. Come on in. Like you're like, oh my God, this room, it's so warm and easy compared to other ones where it's colder and all right, whenever you're ready, may make us laugh.

[52:42] Josh Young: If you can make us laugh, if you can just do it, if you're a song, you'll be remembered. Okay, only a couple more questions, and I know we have a hard hour. We're gonna let you go. I just want to say as a young person in this world because you are a fellow young father and we're all young here, of course, we keep talking about just how do you see academia changing with your generation, right? We're seeing lots of programs with heads retiring, the landscape really shifting, especially I think resetting and kind of balancing from the trauma that was COVID and the turmoil that a lot of that caused to a lot of schools. But just from kind of a wide-angle lens, how do you think this generation of professors are gonna mold a different educational landscape than what came before?

[53:16] Josh Young: So I did my master's thesis in equity, diversity, and inclusion in musical theater. So I think that needs to be at the forefront. But I think what we're going, we're going through some growing pains right now in terms of what does that mean? There's so many questions that we don't have answers. No handbook. It's that's something actually I want to write. Like there's no, there's nothing that says, is it a, who's okay to play this part? Yeah, right? If you're looking at, I know my previous institution, they're doing Jesus Christ Superstar right now, right? Is it okay that anybody's doing Jesus Christ Superstar or does everyone need to be of Middle Eastern heritage? Uh-huh. I mean, if you think about it, this should probably all be of Middle Eastern heritage, right? What's okay? What's not? Yeah, that's kind of what we're figuring out.

[54:00] Charlie Murphy: You know, I would add, I don't think it's just not a handbook. I think there's no consensus. I mean, there's no concern. I mean, I've asked a lot of artists, guess this question of, you know, a poor Danny Feldman from Pasadena Playhouse, like tell me how we think about with casting. He was like, absolutely not. He didn't say that. He gave a good politic answer, but he was like, oof. I mean, it's really hard. It's just, I don't think there's an easy right answer of exactly where the line is.

[54:25] Josh Young: Yeah, there's not. And students should know that. I'm not, I don't ask for a break. Like we're doing our best. Like this is the people who are my age where we want this, right? But we, this is newer to us, these changes. We want these changes, but we haven't grown up with them. So we're doing our best to figure out this new landscape.

[54:43] Charlie Murphy: Well, it's part of the reason I ask that question as almost all professors a version of how do you interact with waitlists in terms of stuff like diversity of gender, height, race, whatever. Because if those things are important to you and you're going to maximize them and say this is something that will happen at my program, you essentially then do have to put people in some sort of box to say you are replacing, you are replacing, you are placing. You know, and it doesn't have to be A or B. I think people live somewhere in between. They either go, some people say I don't think about it at all and some people say I paid a ton amount of attention to it. But there's not an, I don't think there's an easy answer of going, you know, a young black woman will always be replaced by a young black woman, you know, or no in those worlds. It's that unique. It's that I want everyone to be an individual thing that that's really, really important.

[55:27] Josh Young: Again, everything that I do when it comes to designing the four-year plan, designing a new course, it's all with an eye of I want to graduate in class all going into jobs, right? So that's taken into consideration when admitting new students. And I think we as an audience on Broadway or on the radio, we as an audience on Broadway or on tour, we have ADD. We are not the same old, you know, golden age or classical era or whatever you want to call the pre-1970 stuff. There need to be stakes. There needs to be a huge obstacle. You need to be using every tactic in the book. We need to see you fighting hard for what you want in your objective. Now if...

[56:50] Charlie Murphy: Welcome back to Mapping The College Audition. I'm your host, Charlie Murphy, and today we continue our deep dive into Missouri State University with Josh Young, the Coordinator of the Musical Theatre Program. Josh, it's great to have you back.

[57:20] Josh Young: Thanks, Charlie! I'm excited to be here and share some updates about our program.

[57:40] Charlie Murphy: Absolutely! So, let's dive right in. What are some of the changes you're implementing in the Musical Theatre curriculum?

[58:00] Josh Young: One of the main changes is a stronger emphasis on collaboration across disciplines. We want our students to not only excel in performance but also understand the technical and production sides of theatre. This holistic approach will prepare them better for the industry.

[58:20] Charlie Murphy: That sounds fantastic! How do you align these changes with the goals and mission statements of the university?

[58:40] Josh Young: Our mission is to foster creativity and critical thinking, and we believe that by integrating different aspects of theatre, we can enhance those skills. We want our students to be well-rounded artists who can adapt to various roles in the industry.

[59:00] Charlie Murphy: I love that. Now, you mentioned collaboration. Can you elaborate on how students can "Yes And" themselves into opportunities?

[59:20] Josh Young: Sure! The concept of "Yes And" is about embracing every opportunity that comes your way and building on it. For instance, if a student is offered a role in a production, they should not only accept it but also think about how they can contribute creatively to the project. This mindset opens doors and fosters a proactive approach to their careers.

[59:40] Charlie Murphy: That's a great perspective. It really encourages students to take initiative. What about ambition? How do you promote a shame-free, healthy ambition among your students?

[1:00:00] Josh Young: We emphasize that ambition is a positive trait when it's channeled correctly. We encourage our students to set goals and pursue them passionately, but also to be kind to themselves during the process. It's important to recognize that everyone's journey is different, and comparison can be detrimental.

[1:00:20] Charlie Murphy: Absolutely. Now, let's talk about song selection. What suggestions do you have for students when choosing their audition pieces?

[1:00:40] Josh Young: When selecting songs, students should consider their unique vocal qualities and personal stories. It's essential to choose pieces that resonate with them and showcase their strengths. Additionally, they should think about the character's journey and how the song fits into that narrative.

[1:01:00] Charlie Murphy: Great advice! And what about self-filming tips? Many students are now required to submit video auditions. What should they keep in mind?

[1:01:20] Josh Young: Lighting and sound are crucial. Students should ensure they have good lighting that highlights their faces and that their audio is clear. It's also important to create a clean background that doesn't distract from their performance. Practicing in front of the camera can help them feel more comfortable and natural during the actual filming.

[1:01:40] Charlie Murphy: Those are excellent tips, Josh. Thank you for sharing your insights today.

[1:02:00] Josh Young: Thank you, Charlie! It's always a pleasure to discuss these topics with you.

[1:02:20] Charlie Murphy: And to our listeners, if you have any questions about the college audition process or want to learn more about Missouri State University, feel free to reach out to us at mailbag@mappingthecollegeaudition.com.

[1:02:40] Josh Young: Yes, definitely! We're here to help.

[1:03:00] Charlie Murphy: Join us next time for more insights and tips on navigating the college audition process. Thank you for listening!