BFA Acting Class of 2023: preparation, prescreens, auditions, questions and support

Has anyone heard back from the New School regarding audition bookings? If so, how long did it take? I submitted Jan. 15th and haven’t received an email yet.

Accompanied my daughter to the NY Unifieds this past weekend. Wow. Just when I thought I was starting to understand this process. What a madhouse! So many talented, courageous kids. And crazy rumors flying around about this school or that school. And everyone checking the latest weather reports and flight delays every ten minutes.

Anyway, thank you all. I’ve been lurking for about six months, and the information you have generously shared on this board has really made this journey less daunting. Best of luck to all of your kids!

For those of you who are auditioning at Julliard, we were there on Sunday. There are 6 audition blocks of around 50 people each assigned to a 1 1/2 hour block. They were running about 2 hours behind schedule, so be prepared to spend about 8 hours there for the first round, and make sure that your kids have food with them!

@gapyearguru Thanks for the heads up on food. My daughter is auditioning there next week! Expectations are realistic, but what a great experience (and hey, you never know. On any given day…)

Hi everyone. Did anyone experience auditions at PACE this weekend at during Unifieds? I was wondering what
your kids thought about it and what the “call back” movement session entailed.

@collegeadmiss DD auditioned for the bfa acting program. It’s a pretty impressive program with state of the art facilities. It’s a huge school. The largest DD is applying to. Unfortunately the weather was so bad, we didn’t get to get out much and look around. If she gets in we would def go back to look around more.

@morgan830 Daughter auditioned this past weekend at Unifieds for CCM. She said it was a “lot of auditioners”. What was the on campus audition like? Besides wet?!

@NYAndOne cold, wet and then icy and snowy! Haha. The campus is very nice and the ccm facilities are excellent. There were 30 bfa acting auditioners. Supposedly we are supposed to hear relatively quickly. Is that your understanding?

@morgan830 Yes, I’m also under the impression that decisions are coming quickly, possibly this week, possibly next. My daughter is incredibly calm about all of this, but I’m a little anxious! I need to plan for the financial aspect of the next four years, and can’t even start until her situation is squared away.

@NYAndOne I know! DD way calmer than me! And I totally understand your financial aspect concern— it’s been such a whirlwind getting auditions and prescreens done… next the money part. ?. We do unifieds in Chicago in two weeks followed by two consecutive driving weekends for regional/local auditions. She’s been accepted at Baldwin Wallace which seems like a great program. It’s been an advent or for sure.

@hamdog123 my D applied EA in October and it took two weeks to get the audition schedule email at the time.

For those auditioning next year at Unifieds NYC - allow plenty of time to get there taking into consideration some buildings (Ripley-Grier) check IDs, and for others the line for the elevator is long and can take 10-15 minutes to get to your floor (Pearl Studios- 3rd and 4th floor; there is a direct express elevator to 12th floor). Personally we found Pearl Studios 3rd floor a madhouse and way too crowded not to add additinal stress and thankfully we had only one auditon there, the rest were at different floor/buildings (Ripley-Grier was way better) and on campus.

@morgan830 - congratulations to your D on BW! I have heard nothing but wonderful things about the Acting program and the university - one of the parents from last year’s class has a son who is very happy there.

@AustinMomof4 My D really enjoyed the Pace auditions. She didn’t tell me much about the call back except it sounded like they did some acting exercises. It was one of her longer auditions and she enjoyed the interaction with the faculty and students.

@morgan830 Congratulations to your daughter on the yes from BW!

@AustinMomof4, and anyone else who may know, do you have any insight on how the Pace auditions are run for FTVC? I understand that there aren’t callback as they do with Theatre. Is there a movement portion as well? We’d love to know if it’s significantly differs from the typical Unified audition. TIA!

@nyermom My D had the Pace FTVC audition on Saturday. It took about 3 hours, and consisted of doing one monologue. The person she auditioned for coached her on how to make the monologue translate to film better, then she had a screen test utilizing the tips given to her from the auditor. Once everyone completed their screen tests, they stayed back to learn more about the program, then were allowed to leave. My D really enjoyed this audition.

@nyermom, I forgot to add that there is not a movement portion to this audition.

@Gapyearguru & @nyermom Thanks for the info on Pace! So there’s no cuts and callbacks for FCTV? It’s give one monologue, then a coached screen test, and your done? Does the student see the result of the filming? Do the auditors watch and evaluate those screen tests later? Sounds like fun.

@SoCalPops One monologue, screen test and then you are done. No callbacks. They don’t show the screen test to the kids, and I assume that they are viewed after the audition.