BFA Theatre Admissions

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

<p>So, I don't know anything else I want to do with my life besides act. However, something about my acting is obviously bad or something because I always get rejected? I applied to 4 BFAs (and 3 safeties): NKU, CCM, Ball State, and Evansville. I already got rejection letters from NKU and CCM and I already know I will be rejected from Evansville because I messed up my song (a very famous song) and my monologues weren't as good as they've been before. We also had a college fair at my school and I only got like 5 callbacks (everyone else got like 10 and 12). </p>

<pre><code> I know part of not getting in is just not being the type the school is looking for, but surely that's not the case for 2 (about to be 3) schools. My parents keep telling me I am obviously not talented enough and should just quit (I will NOT quit anytime soon). I DIDN'T EVEN APPLY TO PRESTIGIOUS SCHOOLS! I'm very concerned that I will not get into any BFAs? I DEFINITELY DON'T WANT A REGULAR BACHELOR'S!
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2

<p>cameano, please know we all understand the situation you are in. Rejections are scary, and hearing that you should give up is very discouraging, too. I am glad that it sounds like your teachers are very supportive.</p>

<p>First, don’t read anything into rejections. Yes, you can get rejected by many programs (more than 2) and still find a great place to study. It happens to many very talented people. Lots of people are nervous at auditions, and lots of people question whether they are using the wrong material. This is a hard thing to do, and no one is going to be perfect. The fact that you’re getting out there says a lot about your dedication, and strength, and passion. It’s possible you aren’t coming through in auditions the way you think you should, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve to get in. Keep going, and try not to let your fears diminish your performance. The fact that you didn’t “feel” it at your audition at Evansville - which has happened to lots of people, maybe everyone, at one time or another - might mean that your nerves are getting to you. Try to find someone supportive who can buoy up your spirits and help you get into the groove the next time you audition. </p>

<p>Second, you are right to wonder about your list, and now is the perfect time to take a good look at it. It is possible - as it is for anyone - that you won’t get into any of your auditioned schools. It does happen. Lots of people only get into one or two of them, and they bite their nails until the very end. But this is where safeties and other alternatives are so important. You said you had safeties, didn’t say what they are, but imply that they are “regular” BAs. I do want to say that at some schools a BA can be a terrific program - if it has training and experience similar to a BFA. Look at the curriculum everywhere you applied, and without thinking BA vs BFA imagine what you’d do there for 4 years. One of your safeties might give you a terrific experience. Many, many successful actors get BAs, or no degree at all. Try to keep an open mind.</p>

<p>But if you can’t get the kind of coursework and onstage opportunities you want at any of those schools, you should be looking NOW for some more options. You are right that your auditioned list isn’t too reachy, but it also might be a little short. There are auditioned BFA schools that still take rolling admissions and have spring audition dates. Maybe you should add a few more. Also, there are LOTS of BFAs that do not require auditions. You can get the curriculum you want and not do “regular” college, but all you have to do is meet their academic admissions requirements, which often aren’t terribly stringent.</p>

<p>Here is a thread about non-auditioned BFAs that we have been adding to over the years:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1177128-non-audition-bfas.html?highlight=non+audition+bfa[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1177128-non-audition-bfas.html?highlight=non+audition+bfa&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good luck! Please know that your dedication is the most important asset you can have in this field. You clearly have some ability (hence the callbacks at the college fair), and a willingness to learn will mean that you would make the most of any college experience. And as long as your parents are at least willing to give financial support to helping you go to college, try not to worry about their opinions. Even parents here who have made a diligent study of theatre college admissions all admit that we have no idea how this all works and would never tell anyone that they aren’t talented enough.</p>

3

<p>Here’s a quick way to look at your view of admissions: If you had a friend who was applying to Ivies, and they said, “Man, I got rejected from 2 of the 4 I applied to. I’m sure now that I’ll get rejected from the other two. Surely I should get into more than half of the Ivies on my list,” what would you say? </p>

<p>Auditioned theatre programs have VERY LOW acceptance rates. Check out the thread here that says how many are in each freshman class vs. how many audition. The tippy-top schools accept fewer than 10%. The less selective ones still barely accept 20%. If you reverse those numbers, it doesn’t make sense that someone has failed if they get into only 1/4 of their auditioned schools. Applying to more doesn’t actually increase your chances, but it does make it more likely that you’ll either click with the auditors/program, or have a really “on” audition.</p>

<p>Maybe this would help your parents understand that auditioned admissions are not really all about talent.</p>

4

<p>Yes, yes and yes to what Emmybet said. </p>

<p>

No, no, and no to that. Monologues are but one small part of acting, yet they are all an auditor sees…(and only a minute or two at that). And people at your age are growing so rapidly that they can be 100 times more capable in January than they were in December. If this whole process had to do with pure acting ability there would be no need to hire a coach-- yet every year, many if not most do.</p>

<p>A year off may be a great thing for you-- many, many BFA students take a gap year to prepare for auditions. Often, they come out with lots of acceptances in the next year-- partly preparation, partly maturity. </p>

<p>And finally, as for talent: a friend of mine told Joel Grey that she wanted to pursue acting but didn’t feel she had enough talent. His answer? “The business is full of successful people who don’t have any talent at all! Don’t let that stand in your way.” </p>

<p>XO!</p>

5

<p>EmmyBet’s and Gwen’s advice are very useful! I don’t know if I’m in a position of saying anything, because I’ll be going through the same thing in a couple of weeks, but one teacher told me once that talent isn’t a “gift”. Even if some people seem to be talented from a young age, that talent will rot and go away if they don’t practice. With a lot of practice and dedication (and a bit of life experience), anyone can be talented, especially when it comes to acting, because…well, theater is about what it feels like being human, right? And we all are.</p>

6

<p>You are so certain you will be rejected from Evansville that I am tempted to bet money that you will instead get ACCEPTED into that one!!!</p>

<p>You have only posted twice to CC, so I really don’t feel like I know very much about you.</p>

<p>I don’t know how far you are getting in these audition processes. In other words, I don’t know whether you are getting callbacks. If you are not getting any callbacks, I would guess that perhaps you do need to work on your auditioning skills.</p>

<p>The people who are getting admitted to these programs have worked very hard on their auditions, and worked with good quality audition coaches. Have you been working with an audition coach? In your other CC post you mention “acting teachers”. But it sounds like they may have been giving you bad advice about choosing your monologues and song, so perhaps you should find a different audition coach. (Personally, I would NOT recommend that auditioners choose Neil Labute, West Side Story OR William Shakespeare!).</p>

<p>It’s also not clear from your other post, but are you certain you are following all the instructions from the schools you are auditioning for?</p>

<p>If you REALLY want to get into these schools that are rejecting you, what you will do now is take a semester or a year (or more!) and really work on your audition skills (and acting skills), so that in the next round of auditions your audition will be up to the standard they are looking for. I am sure that if you really want this you will be able to do it.</p>

<p>But you might want to also look at different career paths that actors follow. There are many succesful actors who do not have any degree at all. I’m just suggesting that you become aware of the MANY different options available, and pick the one that is best for you (which may mean a degree for you, I obviously wouldn’t be able to decide for you)</p>

<p>KEVP</p>

<p>I agree with milkshakespeare that talent is not a gift. Acting skills are just like any other skills in that just about anyone can master them if they are willing to work hard.</p>

7

<p>milkshakespeare-- what a beautiful point, and applicable to many things in life, beyond theater. </p>

<p>TheRealKEVP-- lol. And it is true, anecdotally, that people often leave an audition feeling they bombed, but end up getting accepted. Better, I guess than when the reverse happens.</p>

8

<p>Cameono, I cannot add any words of wisdom refarding the audition and further training process as you have received wonderful advice from the posters already. What I do hope you are able to do is sit down with your parents and show them how serious you are about this path and the best thing they can do for you is to be a support system. There are going to be many who reject you and turn you down, your parents should be your soft place to fall, and they should be the ones who help keep you motivated and on track. I hope they are able to be they support system who you can always count on, now and in the future.</p>

9

<p>TheRealKEVP - 20-30 lines of Shakespeare is required for the Evansville audition.</p>

10

<p>Some of the schools I auditioned for and looked at specifically asked for a Shakesperean piece. Those that didn’t asked for a classical piece. I have read and studied some Chekhov and Ibsen, but the characters I have read from them seem more mature and difficult than the Shakesperean roles I have done. </p>

<pre><code> My city has an arts scene, but it is not very big. There really are not many places to go for good (not a scam) acting training. I already attend a performing arts high school for drama (I transferred my junior year…long story) and I tried to convince my parents to let me join a community theatre/acting school, but it was waayyyyyyyy too expensive ($700-$745 for 3 months of twice weekly classes at my age/talent level) and they’re sketched out by the area of town it’s in. There’s literally courses in LA for nearly the same price as that.

A casting director from our state theatre came to our school and coached all of us on our monologues twice and my theatre teachers have worked in NY and had professional careers before they settled down and started teaching. So, I’ve had professional help. I don’t really know, I’ll talk with my teachers when I get back to school because something NEEDS to happen.

As far as callbacks, none of the schools I’ve auditioned for have them. They just mail acceptance/rejection letters about 1-2 weeks after the audition (with the exception of Ball State, who is waiting for all auditions to be over before they mail decisions–UGH). There were callbacks at the college fair because that wasn’t really for actual admissions, it was just to get our faces and names seen and see what schools showed interest.
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<p>Thanks everyone for your responses!</p>

11

<p>Some of the people you are competing with are able to actually do these things that you consider “mature and difficult”. And they are the ones who are being offered the places that you wanted. Take the time to learn how to do these “mature and difficult” things. (And your Shakespeare is Lady Macbeth. I can’t understand how you would consider that NOT “mature and difficult”. )</p>

<p>My definition of classical I have posted in other threads as “Any English playwright before 1800”. But if the school itself gives you a different definition, you must follow their instructions. If all you know about Theatre History is Shakespeare, Chekhov, and Ibsen, you may want to learn more about Theatre History so that you can compete better.</p>

<p>If you can’t get the training you need in your own city, then you probably need to move to another city. When you have graduated from high school (if you haven’t already) you can get a job that will give you the extra cash you need to pay for training, $700.00 isn’t that expensive.</p>

<p>I’m still not clear on whether you got a callback at the college fair.</p>

<p>I am sure you can achieve all of your dreams if you are willing to do the work needed to achieve them.</p>

<p>KEVP</p>

12

<p>KEVP-Sorry I’m being confusing…I did get a few callbacks at the fair, but only 1 from a school I am considering (Ball State). I talked to the schools I liked that didn’t call me back and they were all on the fence about me (minus CCM who only called back 1 person and left right after they spoke with her).</p>

<p>I am still in high school, so I only have time for a part-time job. There’s no way I can save $700 while also paying for 50% car insurance+gas+misc. fees and missing work/cutting down hours to make time for for rehearsals (I’ve only had about 2.75 months since July where I haven’t been in rehearsal for something), auditions & volunteer work (I’m in International Thespian Society and Beta Club).</p>

<p>I didn’t say I considered Lady Macbeth easy lol, but it is just as bad to play roles too old for you as it is to play roles too young for you, in my opinion. Lady M is already a stretch for a 17-year-old (compared to someone with actual life experience to enrich their acting talent) to play truly convincingly. I’m trying to keep a balance between challenging and believable/appropriate.</p>

<p>Thank you for all of your input!</p>