BFA Acting Class of 2024: Preparation, Prescreens, Auditions, Questions and Support

@arkham
Congratulations on your son’s Aldephi acceptance!

@rickle1 & @MomMimi agree with Mommimi. At my D school…Missouri State University there is tons of crossover. BFAs are required to audition for all shows each semester so it’s a regular occurrence for an MT major to be cast in a play or a Acting BFA to get cast in a musical. And next semester tons of Opera majors got cast in musical “Secret Garden.” And tons of Dance BFAs were cast last semester in CATS
Musical. So lots of crossover and they are all buddies since all take classes in same buildings. They are constantly in a show and in rehearsals for another show. The BAs do have a bit harder time getting cast vs. the BFAs. Told directors pick who’s best for a role upmost vs. what major an auditioner is slated in.

@Kkrazie thanks for the info and good to know. I guess my larger concern isn’t the casting of shows but the actual training. I completely get that an Acting BFA is cast in a musical, but what type of training do they get compared to the MT BFA kids?

Perhaps this is an example of how actual talent is factored in. If they’re the best for the part, they get it. That sounds like the real world to me. Which is good. Just wanting to position D to get the best training to refine / grow the existing talent (if that makes any sense).

Probably overthinking this as her school director has many times told the kids, “BFA, BA, no school doesn’t really matter when it comes to working professionally. They don’t care where or if you go to school. They just want the best talent.” I’m hopeful this journey will harness and package talent so it can present itself professionally.

How big is each class of MT’s at Missouri State?

@counselor26 Hi…the MT & Acting BFA classes are about 18 kids. Usually half girls & half boys. Though last year a bit bigger on MT side with girls. Think they just had more accept their offers so it was a few girls bigger. My D is MT sophomore & her class was even split of boys & girls. Faculty is excellent with lots of Broadway veterans teaching. John Goodman just gave a huge gift to make Tent Theatre a year round permanent structure. He’s chairing a huge capital campaign for Missouri State which he graduated from as an acting major. Tent Theatre at Mo State is one of the only schools with an equity earning theatre on campus. Syracuse has one too. Very affordable school, do look at it. We’ve been very happy. @rickle1 once your kid is in a program you’ll see your child can take as many classes that interest them in the training skills they want to sharpen. For example my D is strongest in singing, but is taking extra acting since she wants to get stronger in that area and less dance. Tho she has friends in BFA MT minoring in Dance and even Spanish. The faculty advisors really help a student knock out requirements but also squeeze in more classes in areas of interest for their training. My D has been able to be in a sorority and have a typical college experience too, which was something she wanted vs. a conservatory type MT experience. MSU Faculty encourages kids to be involved in campus in many areas. They like well-rounded kids and at NYC showcase the casting directors like their students for this … as they are very friendly and well-rounded and thus relatable/castable. It’s. so true that in real world the one who fits the part gets the role. D has lots of best buds in Acting BFA. All are required to take all 3 elements - singing, acting & dancing. But one can tweak schedules towards area one wants to grow in as well. You can see more about their program on social media on Facebook & Instagram. Facebook is “Missouri State Department of Theater and Dance”. Instagram “MSUtheatredance.” There are student BFA acting & MT class pics that show the class sizes, videos & show info. are viewable on social media. MSU has scholarships & in-State tuition, so most kids take offers. True for all the State programs that have BFAs. If you can get a BFA affordably and not graduate with debt it sure helps after graduation when they hit the professional world. Break legs. It’s a roller coaster college audition year. You will survive it & your kids are so happy on other side of it no matter what kind of program they accept a offer to. Blessings over all. The passion of these talented brave fine arts kids amazes me constantly. Y’all are so lucky to have had Unified prescreens. I’d have given anything to have that our year. Not a fan of prescreens. But it is what it is and prepares them for summer stock and professional auditions. So that’s helpful.

Does anyone know for certain if you HAVE to pay by check for walk-ins or can you use cash?

@counselinggirl

That’s a great question. Maybe one of the veteran parents or students could provide an answer. Unifieds are just weeks away.

Wondering if anyone has experience or has heard about how the Ohio Unifieds are conducted. My D is signed up and has the info sheets, so we know times, what is required of her, that the auditions are in the morning and then in afternoon callbacks. Just curious about the details though… she hasn’t done a group style audition with multiple schools before. Is it individual, or is everyone in the room for all the auditions, and what happens at the “callbacks” that they encourage the parents to attend. Any info is appreciated… thanks.

Hello @SoCalPops and @MommaCat - my D is a freshman at UCSD majoring in theater&-. - Funnily enough - the caliber and motivation of the students has motivated the theater dept. - In spring of 2019 students organized a Senior Showcase and there are more shows dedicated to undergrads. Additionally, there are opportunities each quarter for students to participate in both dept. and student(undergrad and grad) directed theater: Company 157 comes to mind as well as the annual Muir Musical. Good luck!

Thank you, @rebadee for reaching out about UCSD! So funny, I found your username anytime I searched for UCSD and wondered how it was going but was not sure if you were still checking CC. Would you mind sharing your D’s academic stats? I am just curious if all students accepted to theatre at UCSD have the same high stats as the STEM students. We definitely have it down as a reach but my D would be thrilled to be accepted.

Good to hear that UCSD is improving the program for undergrads. With La Jolla playhouse right there, there’s so much potential.

@counselinggirl

I see that you got an answer on the MT thread regarding walk-in payments. Thought I would share the response here. Checks are the preferred payment not cash. Very few if any schools will take cash so bring the check book. Also noted in the responses was that some schools may ask you to apply at unifieds but most will ask that you apply to the school when you get home.

Someone mentioned paying for walk-ins by credit card too.

Thanks @anastasiasmom looks like checks it is.

@anastasiasmom can I ask what schools your D found that have a way to continue voice and dance? My S has a mix of MT and expansive Acting programs he’s applied to (such as UNCSA) but he’s also been redirected to acting to some with those and so trying to figure out how he could include esp. singing. For example do some acting programs include lessons, or are these electives, can you audition for musicals etc. . I’m sure every program different of course and finding out info not always easy esp. this late in the game. So these sites are often a good place to start Thanks! ?

@Shel325

I will get a list of schools that my D has considered that offer dance and voice along with Acting and get the specifics on the programs and list that for you.

@Shel325

Wright State
Both MT and Acting take the same classes the first 2 years. My D said you can graduate with an Acting BFA and have taken the MT classes.

Illinois Wesleyan
has a scholarship for Acting students to apply for voice lessons.

I’ll post more tomorrow.

@Shel325 My older D is a Wright State alum (MT) & the Acting majors do take many of the same classes. There are MT-specific and Acting-specific classes - the programs are separate, but if there is room in a class, and time in the schedule, classes can be added. There is a lot of crossover. One MT friend took several extra higher-level Acting classes, and an Acting major friend who was an amazing dancer took Dance major classes (as did quite a few MTs). Voice lessons are included for Acting majors, just not as much time during the week, but students can add more (at additional cost). All students audition for plays and musicals each semester, and Acting majors are cast in musicals and MT’s are cast in plays - I know definitely of 2 mainstage shows over D’s 4 years that Acting majors were leads in musicals. Dance majors are cast in shows too, usually in the ensembles of musicals that are dance-heavy.

My younger D was an Acting major at another school, and while MT’s were cast in plays, Actors did not seem to ever be cast in musicals, and the 2 majors were completely separate, so I have experience with both!

My son was a BFA Acting major at Otterbein and took dance every year. I paid extra for private voice, but it was very reasonable. Son ended up being cast in more musicals than plays.

@MTmom2017

Thank you for clarifying!

@entertainersmom

Thank you for adding to the list. It’s great to have veteran parents add such great information!