Advice for HS Juniors thinking about auditioning for Musical Theatre/Acting Colleges

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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<p>The best advice I can offer is not to freak out. I went into my first audition completely terrified. The reality is, yes, college auditions can seem scary when you walk in and see your competition, but they really aren’t as scary as they seem. For the most part, every auditor I’ve had so far has been personable, friendly, and looking for us to succeed and do our best. I had this idea in my head that the auditors would be these mean and scary people, but it was so far from the truth. Just walk into the audition with confidence, have a good attitude, and do your best. That’s all you can do. Don’t get worked up watching your competition…that was a big one for me, I let my competition affect my focus a bit in the beginning. Also, don’t read into anything that happens at auditions. It’s hard not to, but don’t try to understand what they’re thinking. It will literally drive you crazy.</p>

<p>Most important thing…prepare! So many people I know were searching for monologues two weeks before their auditions or looking for sheet music days before. Pick your material as early as possible, don’t wait until the last minute. You’ll feel so much better if you know you’re prepared, and it will be obvious if you aren’t.</p>

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<p>On the “administrative” side – be prepared to receive LOTS of mail…many thin envelopes from your schools while you are waiting for audition results…and in them are “Hello from housing!” and “Come to accepted students weekend” “Congrats on your academic admission…I sure hope [insert your name here] will come to our college!” Every time there’s written communication from one of kiddo’s schools…we hope it’s THE letter…and so far, it’s been what we’ve been calling “college commercials”. (I am waiting as I write this for her to come home from rehearsal to open one thin envelope that seems too soon after an audition to be anything but a commercial…I hope…and also a Fedex envelope that was hand-delivered…)</p>

<p>Also, be prepared to follow up with schools regarding all the paperwork that has to come from your end. Things DO get lost. Keep a calendar with dates stuff was sent, and call the schools to confirm that they got it (one of kiddo’s schools misplaced her test scores, another lost a friend’s h.s. transcript…).</p>

<p>Realize that both email and US Mail are imperfect systems, at best. Kiddo did not receive some audition schedules that were to be emailed (a phone call helped get that). Also, she did not receive a hard copy scholarship competition form that was to be sent USMail. An email she sent, confirming her continued interest in a school went into the vapors (thank heavens they followed up to see where it was!). Again…don’t assume that SENT (from either party) actually means RECEIVED. Confirm with a live person.</p>

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<p>I agree. My daughter is strongest in dance so we did less dance and added extra voice lessons (there are only so many hours in the day!) I believe it was the right thing. Even if it doesn’t result in college acceptances, it will benefit her in the long run and I am certain it made her auditions stronger. But the proof will be in the pudding as they say. By the way, the waiting is torture. We only did a couple of musical theatre audition schools, but I really feel for the rest of you Agh.</p>

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<p>This is a recent quote from a PSU grad (MT BFA) who was a dancer in Promises, Promises and is now a dancer in How To Succeed in Business W/O Really Trying:</p>

<p>What advice would you give a young dancer, actor and/or singer who is considering a career in the theatre?</p>

<p>My advice is to train. Never stop training. You can never get too much training. But also you have to enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy it then stop now because there will be hardships and so many steps backwards and so many rejections. If you don’t really love it and you can’t imagine yourself going home after hearing at three auditions – “No! No! Thank you very much but No!” – and can’t ask yourself, “How do I make myself better?” – I’d say to rethink. But if it’s something you love and can handle – then train as hard as you can and go in with an ‘optimistic eye’ and things will work out. I’ve been very blessed and very lucky. That’s how I went into everything so I can only say what I know. An ‘optimistic eye’ is what a lot of people forget to have. If you are not optimistic about yourself nobody else is going to be. -Ryan Watkinson (DC Theatre Scene interview)</p>

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<p>Classicalbk: Thank you for posting this!! I love the statement an ‘optimistic eye’. I remember the year my daughter was applying and someone said, if you can imagine yourself doing anything else other than theatre…then you should do that. This is such a wonderful perspective from someone in the business, again, thank you for sharing.</p>

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<p>I don’t know if this link will be allowed but here’s the rest of the Ryan Watkinson interview about succeeding on Broadway:
[Dancer</a> Ryan Watkinson tells us how to succeed on Broadway ? DC Theatre Scene](<a href=“http://dctheatrescene.com/2011/02/25/local-actor-ryan-watkinson-tells-how-to-succeed-on-broadway/]Dancer”>Dancer Ryan Watkinson tells us how to succeed on Broadway)
If the link is removed, search his name and DC Theatre Scene. He has something to say about “doing it all” as in being strong in all three aspects of musical theatre.</p>

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<p>Thank you for the article link!</p>

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<p>This may be a stupid question, but what is the difference between the coaches you are talking about and a private voice teacher? As someone who’s considering the graduate MT degree, I want all the help I can get.</p>

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<p>MTCA is a great organization for coaching. I believe they have a website or one of their coaches will contact you through CC when they read this. My D has really benefited from their advice and expertise.</p>

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<p>Not a stupid question at all caramello-
Private voice teachers generally concentrate more on vocal technique, where a vocal coach generally works on the whole enchilada; movement, stage presence, expression, presentation, etc. I use the word generally because there is a lot of cross over. While my D saw a voice teacher weekly while in high school, she rarely used a separate vocal coach and only when she was preparing for a specific event or audition. He usually worked in conjunction with her teacher- in fact her teacher usually went with her to act as the accompanist when she saw a vocal coach and said that he learned from it also. The coach gave her another, fresh perspective on the whole package. There is a lot of variation on what different teachers and coaches offer, so it is really important to discuss what you are looking for before making a decision.</p>

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<p>For my 2 MT kids - their voice teacher works on technique, etc. Vocal/acting coach helps with song and monologue selection, combining movement with song, general coaching for both songs and monologues. Their coach helps them “sell it.” That being said, voice teacher and coach do have to work together regarding song selection. Voice teacher tends to pick things that show off voice and technique, but coach has to make sure that it is entertaining and flattering to the performer. My kids have weekly voice lessons with teacher, and work with coach occasionally to prepare for auditions - especially with my D’s college auditions.</p>

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<p>There are also private college coaches that some MT hopefuls hire. We didn’t use one, but as I understand it these coaches specialize in suggesting suitable songs and monologues, provide coaching in acting and/or vocal coaching for this specific audition material, and generally shepherd families through the entire college audition process often including helping create “the list” of schools to apply for. Some of these coaches even attend Unifieds with their students. Sometimes these coaches work in person, and others will work via Skype.</p>

<p>Some schools hate it when they can tell a student has had an audition coach, but many families swear by them.</p>

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<p>MomCares, what do you mean that some schools can tell, (and hate it) when someone has an audition coach? What would be the “telltale signs” and why would that be a negative?</p>

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<p>All I know is that when D was at UMich last summer she was told that they can tell when kids have had college coaches and don’t like it. I don’t know anything more specific than that, though maybe some other folks here who have been to MPulse can add more specifics if this was something D was told in a group setting.</p>

<p>My guess is that maybe the performance can become a bit too slick, so it doesn’t feel organic - but that’s pure speculation on my part.</p>

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<p>I think that MomCares is right that with poor coaching an actor can seem canned or have a poor selection of material. However, I do think that with good coaching, kids (and parents!) get good information and a chance to work their material with people whoreally understand the college audition process. Like many have said here, my child worked with coaches (shout out to the lovely folks at MTCA!) as well as with her private voice teacher. Bottom line: ask for references and ask those references lots of questions about the background of the coaches, their experience as educators, how the coaches are selected and monitored and their availability to work with the kids. For instance, the person running the group that my child uses is a former teacher. That meant alot to me because I know that she understands adolescents and saw that she was sensitive to my child’s needs as a developing person as well as a developing artist. I was also impressed that each child had a co-ordinator so that there was a point person who monitored process in all the three areas of dance, singing and acting as well as made sure that the college list had good balance based on my child’s goals both artistically and academically. While I am sure that there are many different ways to approach coaching (including not having any at all), I know that both my child and I felt very supported and positively influenced through the audition season and now as we wait…and wait…and wait…! Best wishes to all who wait and for those who are just begining the journey!</p>

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<p>Well said mom24girls - I agree with you 100%. The coaches can also find unique and appropriate material for your child to audition with - which is also a huge factor when auditioning.</p>

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<p>Another shout out to MTCA and Coach C! We would not have made it through this process without them! Unless your student attends a performing arts academy, or has spent years in a theatrical arts camp where they specifically focus on auditioning for colleges, I would highly recommend an audition coach. When we started this process 2 years ago, we had no idea how competitive it would be. Nor did I really understand it until we attended Chicago Unified this year with 1,200 other very talented kids! </p>

<p>For those that say they are too far away, we are in Oregon and used Skype with a couple of visits to NYC for face to face coaching. It worked beautifully and saved us hours and hours of time choosing monologues, songs and colleges, as well as building my daughter’s skills and confidence.</p>

<p>Be careful to research who you decide to go with. I am now convinced that Musical Theatre is turning into a cash cow for many schools and coaching programs. </p>

<p>Feel free to pm me for more info or recommendations.</p>

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<p>"Private voice teachers generally concentrate more on vocal technique, where a vocal coach generally works on the whole enchilada; movement, stage presence, expression, presentation, etc. "</p>

<p>That’s how it worked for us.</p>

<p>And MTCA is extremely credible and the highest benefit to the student is absolutely their motivation, I will attest to that. I would be very careful about who you do hire because this is exactly the kind of business where less than scrupulous people will take advantage. </p>

<p>“Be careful to research who you decide to go with. I am now convinced that Musical Theatre is turning into a cash cow for many schools and coaching programs.” You bet it is. Word to the wise.</p>

<p>Word of mouth from other kids and parents is probably the best way.</p>

<p>My daughter and I, out here in the middle of nowhere, were utter rubes about the whole process and without the guidance we got I think she would have not felt good about her auditions at all. As it is, except for unavoidable things like a sore throat or just a bad day or just the general craziness of it, she felt very well prepared for her auditions and felt as if she gave it the best that she was personally capable of doing, and her coaches were there to console, advise and cheer - but from the perspective of someone who had been down that road and absolutely knew what they were talking about. (they were there for me too!!! Pretty important as I couldn’t be there for my daughter if SOMEone wasn’t there for me) I mean, we as her family love and cheer her on, but although I absolutely adore theater, I don’t really know jack about it. No way I can give her informed advice.</p>

<p>We skyped and it worked fine. The nice thing about it is that you can skype from anywhere so no matter where you are you can have your lesson! In person is best but we are hundreds of miles from a coach…Also, the help with selecting material was great because OMG what would we have done. I shudder to think what it would have been like if we’d depended on my daughter’s theater teacher for monologues. </p>

<p>People who are exposed to this business and knowledgable about what is currently going on in the schools might not need a coach as desperately as we did. We haven’t heard much from anyone yet (ARG) but we’ve had two responses, one yay, one nay. (and the nay was a lottery school and my D feels she did great at the audition but just didn’t hit the lottery that day. So, we can live with that.) I really doubt we’d have had that yay without the expert advice from the coaching, especially on some key issues my D really needed to work hard on.</p>

<p>A coach can’t make your kid what he or she is not, and can’t magically make the programs decide your kid is what they want, but they can and should honestly assess and tell the kid where and what to work on, help them to understand where they need to work on and where their weak areas are; can help them present themselves in the best light possible at schools, prepare for interviews, help with getting a good school list (essential!) and help select material that fits and suits your child. They can advise on what to expect from auditions. </p>

<p>My daughter (and I) love her coaches dearly and are really going to miss them - this process is almost over for us and we miss them already!!</p>

<p>We were really lucky to find a reputable coaching company. thanks to the CC folks, again.</p>

<p>One more thing. Good coaches book up fast in the crazy fall season. Don’t wait till a couple weeks before the first audition to start looking…good ones are busy and as they are also working in the business their schedules are crazy too and you have to have enough lead in time and be flexible with them. It was probably the most challenging part, for us, but it worked out okay.</p>

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<p>Snapdragonfly has offered very good advice on coaches. My S is a BFA acting major in a college that has a strong BFA MT program. I also don’t know how my S or I would have made it through the application/audition process without CC and his audition coach (who also trains MT kids in acting). He was fortunate to find his coach through a student who was a year ahead of him at his high school and was an MT standout and who at that point had been accepted to an impressive number of top BFA programs. My S’s coach is an experienced acting teacher with a huge knowledge (and library) of plays with age appropriate roles and she was able to share copies of various plays with him S so that he could find suitable monologues. It took quite some time for him to find monologues that he felt were a fit for him, and his coach provided feedback on whether or not the monologues were right for him after she listened to him perform them. He did not start sessions with her until near the end of his junior year. She said that it was almost too late for him to start training with her, even though auditions were 8 months away. Also, it was very helpful for him to have someone other than a parent to guide him through the audition process and to listen to his audition experiences. As many CC parents have noted, the audition process turned out to be far more competitive than the parents had imagined that it would be (that was my experience) and so having a skilled coach proved to be very helpful. My S’s coach did not guide him on which schools to apply to – just on acting skills and prepping him for the interview part of the process.
I know that there is a concern that the adjudicators can tell if a student has been coached, but I do not think that possibility should deter a student from having a coach. The college application/audition process for drama/MT programs is very difficult and stressful for parents and the student to navigate on their own, so having a coach can help to alleviate some of that stress. One thing is that I think it can be difficult for parents and students to sort out how to locate a coach. My S was lucky to be able to find his coach through a fellow acting student at his high school – and he was able to train with his coach in person. Any advice on how to locate a coach by persons who have been through the process would be helpful to students and parents who are beginning to undertake the process (high school juniors and below) – as I noted, in my S’s case, it simply a case of asking a fellow student. Also, in looking for a coach, I would ask the potential coach which colleges or programs his/her students had been accepted to. The students of my S’s coach have been accepted to some fairly impressive schools, including Ivies (not all of her students elected to do BFA programs, although they may have applied to a mix of programs). I asked my S where the students in his BFA program are from. He said that many of them have come from large cities (which is his case); have graduated from performing arts high schools (not my S’s case but he did graduate from an academically highly-regarded high school with a strong theatre program); and some have had professional experience (my S is SAG-eligible, but I don’t think that had any impact whatsoever on his application – I think that his having an acting coach made a big difference). So, if you or your child is considering applying to a BFA program, I also suggest your looking into hiring a coach to help with training and to guide you through the process. As long as you are able to find the right coach, in the long run you will be glad that there is an independent person (other than a parent or a busy high school drama teacher) that can provide advice and guidance, if pursuing an intensive college program in acting or MT is an overriding goal.</p>