Congratulations on making it through the first live audition! Seems like all of the “why do you want to come to this school/program” short essays will be helpful prep!
Thanks @TenaciousC!
There are still some prescreens that need to be sent in but she was excited to start this part of the process. And those essays will definitely help. I am putting together folders with DD’s notes on each school/program in them. This way she can review her notes about each school before the audition.
This was posted to the MT board but would probably fit the Acting board better … and should be viewed as a place to look for programs you may not have considered - see the quote from the website below.
The Top 30 College Acting/Performing Arts Programs for 2019-2020
"We must also preface this by saying that while these are some great schools to start your search with, ultimately the best college theatre program out there is the one you feel most confident and comfortable attending. "
https://www.onstageblog.com/editorals/2019/10/1/wzmpj800ir3ntuuutirroxmvy9odft
updated message
Hello! I am a returning parent from BFA from two years ago - we had a very, active, supportive group and I hope you guys will have the same. My D is in her 2nd year at UNC School of the Arts (UNCSA) and absolutely loves it. All questions welcomed though I am not checking as frequently as I did that year! As for videos/prescreens, I would try to not go over by more than 5 seconds, 10 at max. And yes, horizontal is certainly best. However, I know that generally so long as none of the “technicals” are distracting, that is not really what they are looking for.
@nutmegdrama my daughter has heard from Elon for BFA Acting. I think they were all sent out last week and MT is sent out tomorrow.
Hi @FourStars
Thank you! I followed the class of 2022 and your story. The detailed information was fabulous. That helped me understand the size and scope of this audition process. I would have been absolutely clueless going into this without the stories and information you all posted to CC. UNCSA sounds like it has an amazing program. And I am so very happy to hear that your D loves it there.
Welcome! And thank you for the information on Elon.
Thanks @FourStars - good to know. My kid’s applying to UNCSA and thinks it looks like a really good fit! We may have more questions later.
Sent off some pre-screens Saturday and now we wait anxiously while we finish the other prescreens and seemingly endless essays.
Not applying to Elon, but hoping that everyone who is gets good news!
So, just realized one of the BA programs is suspending admissions to the performance track for 2020 and is now offering a BFA instead. This is for Cal State Long Beach. If anyone has any information on this new degree, I’d love to hear it.
There’s not much about it on the website and I actually had to go looking for it in the Catalog after noticing my D selected the BFA on her app.
My D sent off more prescreens yesterday and has about 4 more to go. Endless essays … love it … a perfect fit for what it seems like to my D too. She is going to redo an introduction video besides finishing eassys. That will all be waiting until next week though because she has another audition this weekend.
Thanks for sharing that information. Hopefully someone can chime in on it. If not though, it might be worth calling the theater department to ask questions. But here are a few things I took away from what they have on their website.
Note: This program will be open for Admission for Fall 2020. The curriculum may be slightly altered.
This degree prepares its graduates to enter the acting profession and work across all media: stage, film, television and web-based work.
Initially, the BFA sequence focuses work on “Self” via the introduction of the fundamentals of acting, and the development of the actor’s body, voice, imagination, and creative individuality. Work also addresses creative blocks and unproductive habits.
The sequence then goes on to deliver rigorous exploration work on the “Role” through a wide variety of dramatic texts and genres that the student will encounter in a career as a professional actor. It continues to develop the core principles introduced in the first year and adds more advanced techniques and methodologies.
To remain in good standing in the BFA degree:
Each semester, B.F.A. in Acting students must maintain a 3.0 GPA in all performance and performance theory requirements.
Electives (14 units) - unrestricted
What is interesting is that they list the number of hours of lecture time and the number of hours of activity time for each course.
I also found this on their webpage …
Applicants must participate in an adjudicated audition with the Theatre Arts Department performance faculty.
Students are allowed one (1) opportunity to audition/apply for the BFA. Decisions are final and there is no appeal process.
I did not however find any information on when and where the auditions would be at.
The boards have been so quiet that I thought I would check in on everyone.
Hope the prescreens and applications are coming along. It is a frustrating process for sure. My D is re filming several monologues and slates (3 more prescreens to go) and has to film a video audition. She has been sick so it looks like that will happen next week. Maintaining a positive attitude for my D has been a priority because she has enough stress as it is without me adding to it.
And a few quick notes from her second audition to hopefully help others and possibly get the conversation going again. Know your goals or at least your goals right now. Be prepared if two adjudicators disagree on what correction they want from you. My d smiled and waited until they came to a decision and then applied the correction they requested. And you may be asked if you are really serious about this career. My d was asked because the adjudicators said they were serious about their program and are willing to work with their students as long as the students are willing to do the work. Apparently in the last few years they have changed their class size from 20 to 10.
@anastasiasmom Thanks for sharing your daughter’s audition experiences- they’re helpful!
I’ve been reading the 2022 board and in addition to learning so many details about the audition process, I also feel like I’m in the middle of a really good novel. Big thank you to the 2022 parents!
Finished submitting prescreens, heard some good news and now scheduling some auditions.
@TenaciousC - Yeah on hearing some good news!! And awesome on scheduling auditions too!!! Super exciting!
I love the analogy of being in the middle of a really good novel when reading their story! It definitely fits! And it is certainly the way I feel about our own journeys here and now.
My D has a fair sized school list so I had to be strategic on dates and the reason she has earlier auditions. Thank you for letting me know that the information is helpful.
I’m thinking we’ll try to audition someplace early to get some experience, as long as that doesn’t add too much stress to an already busy fall semester. I appreciate info to think about ahead of time like how to handle auditors disagreeing. I definitely wouldn’t have thought of that. Sounds like your D stayed composed under pressure. 
Hi everyone! @anastasiasmom , thanks for the nudge to get things started again.
It is difficult for me to post, because my D doesn’t want me writing anything specific about her results until after the dust has settled (with hopefully more than one acceptance so she has a choice) and she has made her decision about where she is going to go. For now I will say that things are going well, with all but one prescreen submitted, and many auditions already scheduled. She has a few early auditions this fall (including her first one this weekend!), and it has finally hit me that this is actually happening! We are really looking forward to beginning, as we have been planning for this, and she has been working hard (as I’m sure all of our kids have), for a long time. My hope for her (and for all of our kids!) is that she will continue to view her auditions as a chance to share her passion and talents with an interested audience, and that when all this is over she will have the program that’s the right fit.
BAL and best wishes to all of our talented and hardworking kids!
Hi all! I am writing to ask for advice on some great acting programs for my D to apply to. I have 2 kids who majored in MT so I’m pretty familiar with those programs but not the Acting BFA programs. She has only applied to 4 so far, with 2 auditions scheduled for non prescreen schools and 2 scheduled for prescreen schools (passed). I am wondering about some great programs she should be sure to apply to for Acting.
@HAHCx4 D’s college search was about finding a great fit. We looked at a lot of the acting programs that make top 20 lists last year and D thought some of them were great, but others-not so much. D is a freshman at NYU and she loves it. However, there were lesser known colleges (non-list makers) that she loved as well because she felt like she would thrive in their programs. Best of luck to your D!
@yellahamma Thanks! Congrats on NYU. That would b a very high reach for my D lol. What u mentioned is exactly what I was interested in knowing more about. Anyone can google the top 10 programs list for majors. However, I wanted to know about programs that ppl may have heard of or visited that they were impressed by that may not be on that list. I am curious to research some of those.
@HAHCx4 Two schools she really liked were Drew University and The University of Alabama. I think Drew is a BA program but D really liked her visit and the program.