Thought it would be helpful to have a separate thread where people can share their audition stories from specific schools. Please post experience, thoughts anything here
Today at 6:35 am This is a reposting from this morning on another thread.
HI everyone,
I’m giving my experience of Penn State’s auditions on Dec 5.
First of all they were fantastically organized. On the 4th you were invited to watch 3 different classes; voice and performance, a theater history class, and a 2 hour senior workshop. This was great in that you could really see who was in the program, how they work, etc…
The afternoon also included a very nice q and a session with Cary and the new director John. It was very thorough and put the kids at ease, yet in a realistic mind frame.
You had the option of watching yet another performance or reading that lasted through the evening.
The morning of the audition began with dance. The check in was done with current students who could not have been more helpful and friendly.
Dance was about an hour split with ballet and then jazz.
Then very, very, quickly they had to change and run to the general warm up in the studio and personal auditions.
Now for the interesting part.
The parents were again taken in a room and talked to by students and faculty alike. In depth, perhaps too much so, we were given the lowdown on the program, philosophy, and a myriad of details on the terrific program.
Most importantly we were reminded of how the elimination was going to go down. The first cut that day was going to be a talent cut. Cary stressed that even though the student may have talent, if they were not NOT asked to stay for an interview, it meant they didn’t feel the student had the tools to develop or succeed in their program.
If they passed that, they were put in a pool of “we can’t decide on these people so fast so we need two weeks to process what we saw and then we will send out more notices”. If you pass that stage, you are in a holding period of “yes, you are quite capable of succeeding here and we just have to see everyone now before we put our puzzle pieces together.” On March 30, after all 500 plus people have been auditioned and sorted, we will take the entire group leftover and make our final decisions. From that we will have our class and its understudies, er, wait list. By may 1st we will let the wait list know if they have a place. There will be no more than 7 girls and 7 boys. One class recently had only 5 each, I think a student said. And of course the variety of types will be the rule.
Here is the heads up I want to pass on to you. I am not sure if this is a common practice, but there are at least SEVEN faculty members watching at the audition. That is not a problem, but it is a lot of eyes on you. Be ready.
They tape the audition for future reference.
They also let the student who goes after you to observe your audition. Is that typical? I don’t know. But you should know that.
You will also have the WHOLE CURRENT FRESHMAN CLASS watching you as well. The students are all seated in the room during your songs and monologue. Actually they are there watching the dance portion as well but my D thought she would have a more private audition.
Of course, it’s their school and they have every right to do whatever they prefer but your student should know that there are going to be at least 18 or 19 people there observing.
Penn was my D’s first choice. She loved everything about the place. She was nervous already. Hardly slept the night before. Didn’t eat breakfast (unheard of). This “open to all” audition threw her. Maybe it shouldn’t have. Maybe she cared too much. Maybe she should have better prepared. Yes, all three. She, well, not bombed, but did not have a good song/monologue portion. And that was that. Cut.
Live, learn and improve.
We are onto the next one on Sat. I realize her chances at Penn, everyone’s chances, are remote. but I did want to give you all a heads up on that tidbit. BAL- it’s a great program!
Sharing two posts from the Coastal Carolina subforum. These are quick reports back after attending our first 2015-2016 audition in November of this year!
crc500:
“Daughter attended her first on-campus audition this weekend at CCU. Cannot say enough nice things about the process-- from staff, students, Q&A, workshops, and performance that we saw! Quite impressive!”
MTnSWVA:
“We also wanted to say what a great audition experience that CCU provides. It was our D first of the Fall audition tour and she still goes on about what a great day it was. The hands on approach that is demonstrated by the faculty is incredible. The audition process itself is stressful, especially your first one, but CCU helped make it more fun than stress!”
Re-posting here from November with some added details:
D had first audition yesterday at Muhlenberg. It was a long day because she had stayed over with a student the night before, attended her morning voice lesson, then sat in on an acting class then straight to audition. Charlie Richter had her sit in on an acting class,but it was really a directing class so she just watched some scenes but did not get to see teacher involvement, which she would have liked to see. She was then taken right in to audition with zero time to catch a breath or warm-up.
She felt monologues went well but said song was not her best. She felt partly nerves, mostly from not warming up first. Mr.Richter looked over resume and talked with her about it a little bit and she asked several questions and that was it. She said it seemed rushed and he seemed frazzled, there were other kids waiting to go in. It was not the warm and fuzzy that I have read on here about Muhlenbergs audition. Initially she was going to do the dance audition but bc she needed a solo for it we cancelled that portion a while ago bc she felt she wouldnt have time to prepare solo. Wish it was just choreography and not solo, the kids have enough to prepare but would have been nice for them to see her dance abilities.
University of Tampa Open House & audition this weekend: was a BA now a BFA
They do the auditions along with their Open House so we knew it would be another long day before the audition. However the one big difference from Muhlenberg was that they allowed all students to take time to go in these practice pods and warm up for as long as needed. they also said at start of tour if you prefer at any time during tour, please feel free to step away and go warm-up.
The Open House started with listening to University talk, benefits etc… and a few student speak. It was done very well and the students were funny and engaging… Then you chose which talk to attend, we attended the Honors Program, which she has been accepted to and then we went to the Theater talk and tour. Mr.Michael Staczar was extremely nice and funny and gave many details of the program and what to expect. Then if you were auditioning you went with one student for a shortened tour if not you went on the regular tour.
As the students were warming up we parents were just milling and chatting with each other, then my D walked out of the pod and they asked who would like to go first and to my surprise my D said I’ll go and walked right in. Mr. Staczar and one other professor were in the room. She said ti went well, 2 songs and one monologue, no dance call, they just asked about her dance experience and reviewed her resume. She said they gave one note and that was it. She felt very good about. As she says she has one foot in the door,since she has already been academically accepted now she needs the other foot in! They said we should be notified within 2-3 weeks!
Oh and the campus is absolutely beautiful and within walking distance of the “city”, I put it in quotes because being from NY it really does not feel like a city. Hope this helps. 
A few things I should add about University of Tampa audition:
- Although it is now a BFA, UT still has high liberal arts requirements& the theater director said every theater student must have either a second major or minor. He stressed that the amount who make Broadway is small so use college to find another area of interest that can complement your career or turn into a career, either in or out of theater.
2.The admission rep for our area who we have come to know & who called my D with the academic acceptance, emailed the day after the audition to see how she felt her audition went. She thought that was so nice. - Today one of the theater student tour guides called to simply say thank you for coming to see the school and audition. He asked how she liked UT, her tour and her audition. Again, she loved that personal touch.
I’ll try to get our couple of auditions stories in here. The first school my d auditioned at was Culver Stockton College. It’s a small school in Eastern Missouri, up the road from Hannibal. We visited and saw a show there D’s sophomore year, and D thought it would make a good fit for her. She was academically accepted with a nice academic scholarship. Everyone at the school is super nice and the campus is adorable, although the town it is in is very small and somewhat isolated. They require auditioning for music and for theatre. She sang for the head of the music program, who we were very impressed with. He actually encouraged D is pursue vocal performance. (this will be an ongoing trend in her auditions…) LOL! After the audition, he told her he would be recommending her for their top talent scholarship. Then she met with the head of the MT program and auditioned for her with her monologue. She also told her she would be recommending her for their top theatre scholarships. (you get money from music and theatre if you are a MT major) She also sat in on a theatre history class and said it was a lot of fun. They were prepping for an exam and playing a “jeopardy” type of game. D said she was actually able to answer one of the questions because they had just discussed the topic in her college level theatre class at her high school. They seemed very enthusiastic about her and she was told she would be accepted into the BFA program. We have since gotten her talent scholarship offer and it was very generous, especially for such a small school. It may not be a “name” program, but they do very well at contests and their graduates are working actors (mainly in Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City). They also bring in a guest artist every year for one show. No freshman freeze, students start in shows first semester. It was a great, fairly relaxed audition experience…perfect for the first one to get her feet wet.
My D auditioned for James Madison University this weekend and it was a wonderful experience for her. I was not there but will relay as best I can what she and hubby said. She was auditioning for both MT and Theater, which is great that JMU allows you to do that.
The main thing she said and felt was that everyone from faculty to current students were incredibly friendly and seemed to desire for each kid to feel warm and welcomed and comfortable with the process. The night before the audition, she was invited to attend a rehearsal for their upcoming musical, she said they were “insanely talented” . I thought it would scare her for the audition but instead it got her excited knowing what an amazing program they have.
She loved that the current theater students were working the audition because she got to meet them and feel like she would fit right in. They were so nice and excited for the kids auditioning, she said it really helped. Some of the students remembered her from the night before so she liked that too. We had received prior a schedule and they were very organized and gave the kids plenty of time for outfit changes and warming up.
First for her was the dance call, they all started together but then they separated those who were advanced dancers and she really liked that opportunity to show her skills and work with the choreographer she had watched the night before.
Then she had her MT audition. She did one monologue and sang two songs. After that they would call you in if they wanted to work with you. She was called in and they spent a lot of time working with her. She thought that was wonderful that in the midst of such a crazy, busy day for them, they would spend so much time and be that committed to each kid and wanting them to succeed and have their best shot at a good audition. This really impressed her very much. And she liked having the chance to see what they addressed with her and how they worked with her.
Then later she had her theater audition and did her two monologues and they asked a few questions.
There was an information meeting and optional tours during the day too. We had visited in the fall and the MT director remembered her from that, which again,with so many kids she was really impressed by that and that made her feel so good. (thanks @KatMT).
A good friend of my older D’s is an alumni there and happened to be visiting that weekend too, so he met up with my D and Hubby and took them all around, he raved and raved about the school.
So happy it was such a great day for her and getting her academic acceptance two days before the audition was a big lift too.
Let me know if anyone else is going and if I can answer other questions.
We were at Texas State on Sunday for their first (I think) callback weekend of auditions. There was a master class held on Saturday evening for both Sat and Sun auditioners, but we had to miss it because of a rehearsal for my daughter’s school musical. We live within driving distance, so we drove down Saturday night after her rehearsal was over and spent the night. If you’re booking a hotel room in that area, be careful to watch for smoking/nonsmoking. Our room was nonsmoking, but some of the rooms at the end of the hall were smoking and those folks thought it was okay to also smoke in the hallway. Ew.
We arrived for check-in Sunday morning and were greeted by Kaitlin, who knows all the kids faces and names. Her attention to detail is quite amazing that way. We checked in and waited for the program overview. There were lots of kids there from my daughter’s summer intensive, so they spent the time catching up. The program overview was given by Kaitlin and included several faculty members as well as about half a dozen current MT students. It lasted an hour.
After the overview, the students left for the dance call, which took about an hour. I think they were taught a combination, then performed it in small groups because they seemed to trickle out that way. Auditions started right after that, so they changed into their audition clothes and waited for their time. The current students were around the whole time, answering questions and visiting with the kids. They also came to escort each kid back to the audition room individually. They did a great job of keeping the stress level down. LOL! You can really tell that they are all great friends and have a great company rapport. The auditions lasted about 15 minutes each. She sang her songs and did her monologues. The music theory guy had her do an exercise in singing scales. And I think that was it.
After auditions, there was a lunch break. We grabbed a bite to eat close by and then drove around San Marcos a bit. We’ve been there to shop and for other school events, so we’re pretty familiar with the area. It’s a really nice college town that’s in a great location. The university has really grown, so I really hope they’re able to maintain that smaller college town feel.
The campus tour took about an hour. They are not kidding when they tell you to wear comfortable walking shoes. We live in the hill country, so we are accustomed - but it is a campus that is on top of a large hill. The first part of the tour was walking up the large hill, and then the last half was down. It was a really pretty day, so the tour was great. We finished it with an inside tour of the new performing arts facility that opened in 2014. Last time I was there, they were still putting in some of the floors so it was nice to see the finished product. It’s beautiful. And that’s an understatement.
It was a great visit. Of course my daughter loves their program (everybody does it seems!) - she’s had the opportunity to work with some of them over the last few years since we live so close, so she’s pretty familiar with the faculty. But we know what the odds are for being accepted, so we just hope for the best and continue on with the rest of audition season. Hope this helps anyone who’s headed to see them at unifieds or the other on-campus weekend!
I auditioned for Muhlenberg in early December, and had a different experience than a lot of what I’ve heard. When I arrived, there was a student crying outside of the building, so the day was already off to a weird start. We waited in the lobby of the arts building until Charles Richter greeted us and showed us to the class we would be observing. It was a class of Sophomores, and they were working on scenes. Two kids arrived late to the class, and a student was scolded twice for using his cellphone in class while other kids were working.
After that, Charles Richter gave us a tour of the facilities. Everything was so nice, and there were so many beautiful spaces. It definitely seems like a well funded program. I didn’t have the best time at Muhlenberg, but I think this was an isolated incident. It definitely doesn’t seem like the norm!
@lrfmt18 your experience might be similar to our visit…D did not care for anything about the school really. Well, she and us did think if is well funded as well . We also were impressed by their tech theater resources as it looked impressive. Everything else was just “meh”. We also encountered some weird things that day but again probably isolated experience. Lol
My D’s Muhlenberg audition day was not a good one either. Mr.Richter seemed very frazzled and busy and didnt even give her full attention during her audition. She is not thrilled with that school anyway.
Just returned home from Wright State with D. Fabulous experience with friendly, knowledgeable students to answer questions. The whole day was well-organized and low-stress- obvious that it is a top-notch MT program.
So glad to hear that someone else didn’t get the “warm fuzzies” at Muhlenberg. We did love the buildings/theatres, but personally, I felt the students looked a little "Stepford Wife"ishy. D could take it or leave it, but did enjoy her experience with the scholarship audition.
Audition at CNU, not talked about really on CC. Christopher Newport University was so very accommodating, they scheduled a special audition for my D. I called to say we would be in VA this past weekend and although they were not holding auditions, could they possibly see her and they said yes since we were traveling from NY. I thought that was incredibly nice. The audition is for scholarship only but was worth it for us to attend since we were going to be at JMU that same weekend anyway. She said Greg LLoyd the director and one other teacher(sorry cant remember the name)were both very nice, unfortunately she said it was not her best audition, nerves got to her and her lingering cold gave her a slightly clogged ear but holding out hope they saw potential.
If you have not been, that school is simply the most beautiful school, every building is almost brand new. The president is pumping tons of money into the school and the Ferguson Arts Center is gorgeous.
Has anyone auditioned on campus for the University of Michigan or CCM? D has both the auditions coming up this weekend.
Best of luck!!!
Has anyone ever auditioned at CCM?
My S was at Coastal Carolina Saturday and Millikin Monday. Both excellent days. Coastal-beautiful campus. Monica Bell knew everyone by their pre-screen and made it a point to say hello to the auditionees in the hallway at the start. Also joined them for lunch on the floor of the black box theatre for informal conversation. Parents had a tour with really warm students while the groups did their monologue and vocal audition. Also, there was a question and answer with students in the BFA MT and Acting students. Very informative. Parents were allowed on the dance workshop (audition, really) and then the voice and acting workshop, where they called some up to work on their material…A lunch was included as well. Wonderful all in all!
Millikin was also great. The students and parents separated until lunch-which was in their cafeteria…lots of food/bev choices. The auditionees either went right to warm up for vocal and monologue or to dance. The groups sat in and saw the others audition. Since there’s no pre-screen there was the range of vocal and acting experience present.
The parents could elect to take a tour or stay in the building. I took the tour and although it was 10 degrees, most of us took the tour. We saw the costume shop, stage construction building, their student run theatre program black box theatre, the dance rehearsal space, their large theatre and more. It’s a small but beautiful campus. The current students were very enthusiastic about their school and program. One thing about this school is that at the end of your day, you are informed if you are being accepted into the BFA MT program, or being suggested for their BA Theatre program. They take between 16 and 26 into the BFA MT program. Let’s say my S left happy! Oh, and the students LOVE their theatre faculty and call them by first name!
Lastly-both dance calls involved ballet…know your terms so you know what to do! They were both fast and challenging!
Any questions, feel free!