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

This was posted on the MT Audition Day Review thread by @Mrs305MIA. It was in response to a question about what to wear for the Ithaca movement call (although as you will see it applies to movement calls in general).

I would be dressed in a way that I could make bold choices, but also remember that faculty is evaluating the student still as part of the audition process. Auditions begin at check-in, not at monologues. I would wear something that I could roll on the ground in if I wanted to, because (as faculty members of a BFA acting institution) we want to see how bold of choices you can make. If you’re wearing a suit or heels then you probably will be limited in your movement choices. Gone are the days of looking “professional” for auditions. I would recommend something sharp but still age and lifestyle appropriate (they’re not business people, they’re kids). Jeans, leggings (not see-through), leather jackets–I’m cool with all of them. Not all faculty is the same, of course, but I would say that the majority of “higher ranked” programs think this way.

There will be a brief amount of time in which to change clothes, too, if necessary, but we do sometimes find ourselves going “What happened to that girl in the green shirt?” and then later realize the “cool girl in the green shirt” changed into a brown dress.

just finished the conference call for Depaul. Wow Four hours! And they all audition in front of each other, then do scene work in pairs. I know this is on the website, but really brings it to home. I’ll go to the info session then back to the hotel. They said they had over 900 prescreen videos submitted and will audition over 300 and will accept 32.

@yourmama99 - yes, indeed. D auditioned last year- it was her most fun audition- and is a very happy freshman at DePaul now. They split the accepted class in two cohorts. Congrats on finishing the audition!

@yourmama99 What is the conference call for DePaul? My son is auditioning there, but I don’t think he knows about any conference call.

I was reviewing the NYU website and have a question on the Resume and Headshot. Website states that:
You are required to bring both a photograph and a résumé to the artistic review, in addition to uploading them digitally. A snapshot is preferable, as long as you are recognizable in the photo. Please use the industry standard for a performing arts résumé (example here).

Headshot - are you to bring a smaller format than 8x10 to the audition?

Resume - Is everyone following the sample format?

Link to Example
https://tisch.nyu.edu/content/dam/tisch/drama/content/admissions/Sample-Performing-Arts-Resume.pdf

My daughter submitted both on-line already. Resume is not in this format…Do we fix it and bring the correct formatted resume to the audition???

@LamaDrama - last year my D didn’t follow this resume format, we had a different one (though industry standard), we used for all schools and took the NYU example just as being an example.

She also brought her standard 8x 10 headshot, as did a lot of the kids.

My D auditioned for about 8 schools and most of them had already printed the headshot she had uploaded so we didn’t end up giving away many of them even though the directions stated to bring a headshot/photo. NYU did take it and they also take a pic of each kid before the audition.

BAL!

@LamaDrama - I responded on the MT board but for anyone here who doesn’t check both - yes, reformat resume and see if you can update your upload. I think what matter most on the photo is that it looks like your kid. My kid loved her headshots - they were unretouched and much nicer pictures than our typical cellphone pics so I would have used one of them with those instructions.

^Agree. D reformatted her resume for NYU as well, and took in a headshot. Her headshots look like her. No makeup, same hair, not retouched.

@CaMom13 & @yellahamma

Regarding the Resume, the NYU format looks to have a pic in the right corner. Did you do it this way?

What a pain in the …

No pic for D. We saved multiple formats of resumes last year depending on the school. It was a pain indeed.

My son followed the NYU format. The biggest difference is they only wanted theater experience from high school forward. He put this headshot in the upper right hand corner, but they asked for a snapshot to be uploaded separately, so he uploaded a recent photo where he is having fun. They also take a photo on audition day.

My son has auditions scheduled with Carnegie Mellon and Ithaca on days two and three (Tues & Wed) of the Chicago Unifieds. The Unifieds run Monday through Thursday. Should we plan on being there for all four days? It sounds like we may miss out on some walk-in opportunities if we only plan to be there for his two audition days.

@LamaDrama I lied. D said she did put her pic in corner. She also only put high school credits. She helped with auditions in November, however, and doesn’t recall prospective students putting pic in corner.

@LamaDrama We did not put a picture on her resume!

it was it was an optional call to discuss the audition and answer any questions. Said dress comfortably because doing a lot of movement. Will audition in front of everyone else. Then movement work. Then rehearse assigned scenes with a partner and perform. They are all together for four hours.

@meohmyoh forgot to tag you. See my reply above

^ Re: DePaul audition- after the assigned scenes they have a short conversation/interview with each person and you are free to go after that. My D’s scene was one of the last so we left around 5 pm (info session started at 1) but you could finish a bit earlier, depending on the order.
Decisions are not released until all auditions at all locations are complete and are released at same time (whether acceptance/rejection). Last year it was March 11.

Thank you for the DePaul information. My son was not on the call. I didn’t know about it, but he had rehearsal anyway.

@LamaDrama My S auditioned there in November and brought in a headshot and a resume that, while not formatted exactly the way NYU outlined, was nevertheless in a standard format. His headshot was landscape, not portrait, but unretouched - flyaway hairs, wrinkly shirt, the works. The key for us was that it was definitely a picture that captured the kid they were going to see walk into the room. If you take anything away from this it is don’t worry if you only have a headshot and not a snapshot - my interpretation of the tea leaves is that they want to see a pic of your kid as they are, not some idealized version.

Closure on the NYU resume & headshot. Thank you all for your great feedback, greatly greatly appreciated!

When I mentioned the potential NYU problem to my D, she looked at me like I had two heads - LOL. She is super tired from school and daily rehearsals for Spring HS musical. So at this point, we are going to leave the NYU portal alone. Bring her existing headshot & resume which is already formatted very similar to NYU’s, along with a new NYU formatted resume to her audition. She can then decide at that point which one to hand them.

I’m soooooooo…ready to get off this crazy train! And close up business as my D travel planner, uber driver and sherpa. My REAL job is a walk in the park next to this experience! On a high note - thankful not to be a MT parent. The MT audition process is off the charts scary. BAL to everyone auditioning this weekend!!!