What are your biggest tips or things you wished you knew before the whole auditioning process? Wether that is in preparation or actual audition what is your advice?
If you look at the top of the list on this forum- there are 33 pages of posts on this very subject - if I were you I would start there 
Audition advice- be yourself. Literally everyone says this but it is the most important thing I’ve learned from this process.
The only thing I REALLY wish I would have known before the whole process began is where my kid would ultimately go to school. I could have saved a lot of time and money knowing that 
Seriously, it has been lots of fun and we have both made some great friends for life. I have truly enjoyed most of this year. Just have fun!
Start planning early. Be very organized. Have a dedicated place (binder, file system, etc.) for all your info. Use spreadsheets.
This probably comes too late for upcoming juniors and seniors, but for lurking parents of younger kids, my 2 pieces of advice are: Make sure they are dancing NOW (start with ballet), and make sure they are getting good grades!!! My son was shut out of several schools because of academics alone. And with good/excellent grades comes $$$.
Ditto the grades! D had a very high ACT/SAT scores, but that didn’t balance the 3.4 GPA. She was taking AP/Honors classes, but the bottom line was that GPA - she missed out on scholarship money & didn’t get in 1 school because her GPA wasn’t high enough.
- I always recommend people get the book, "I Got In" by Mary Anna Dennard. It is a great resource to help you before, during and after college auditions. From how to pick audition materials and schools to which to apply to how the auditions work to getting responses ... it's all in there.
- I agree with keeping grades as high as possible. It will make a difference. What I wish I had known: all schools to which we applied used D's unweighted GPA when determining scholarship $, so I would have perhaps had her take fewer AP classes in some areas. An A in a regular math class would have helped her GPA for scholarships more than a B in an AP class. And would have been much easier and less stressful in an already busy and stressful year.
- Get applications, essays and pre-screens done the summer before senior year if at all possible. Or as early as possible into the Fall. (sometimes you have to wait for the applications to go live in August/September - but if essays are already written, it is quick and easy for your child to just copy and paste them into the application, editing as necessary as they go. ) Getting all of that in early is especially important if you want to be considered for scholarships. And make counselors and teachers aware ASAP you will need their recommendations early in the Fall too so they plan ahead and are not surprised.
- Remember to enjoy senior year, enjoy the process and enjoy the time with your child. It all goes by quickly.
The school matters just as much as the program. I started off trying to overlook factors like size and location especially when there was a program I liked…but the truth is, I’m not going to be happy at a rural school. As soon as I realized that, everything got so much clearer. Also, think of the audition as another interview. Don’t think of the interview as another audition. Like @attheballet said, be yourself because you’re what they are looking for!
Dance classes. Dance classes. Dance classes.
Every single kid that I know personally that has had a very quick offer had dance training.
LOVE YOUR SAFETY
- Summer programs. Love summer programs. Gives kids the chance to see what it will be like to study this full time in college and a feel for college life. Also introduces them to faculty so they can figure out what they are looking for or like.
- Coaches. Piece selection is VERY tricky. You want something that fits. Something unique but not weird. Get a coach to help you with some piece selections BEFORE you go to summer programs - you can then work on them at summer programs, and add a few more options. Coaches can also help you prepare a balanced list of schools (not too top heavy, etc).
- Film your prescreens before school starts. You can always change them, add to them, re-record them - but get something done before school starts. These are tricky and can take a lot of time. Every school is slightly different. Pay close attention to the requirements.
- Headshots & resumes...finalize in the summer. There is a website - actors photo lab, you can print 100 headshots (they will add the border w your name) and 100 resumes (w/color photo on 8 x 10 paper) for about $100. It's worth it.
- Start your common app in August, before school starts. Get the basic application and essays done. Each school will then have more stuff to add....but you can at least get the basic app done.
- Submit applications and prescreens earlier rather than later. We used October 15 as our cut date - had everything done by then. We should have said September 30...to have a little wiggle room (some schools have October 15 deadlines). Applications submitted early = early ability to schedule auditions.
- Create a spreadsheet or system for tracking. Track the requirements and deadlines for each school. Also to track all the usernames and passwords.
- Some parents won't agree with this....but help your kids with the applications. They are seniors. They have so much to do.....plus preparing for the auditions, etc. I created each school account for my D. Everything that was form based - I did. Anything that required any type of essay or short answer - I copied the prompt and created a document for it. Called it xxx school essay. She could then open it and just concentrate on writing the essay, instead of dealing with the rest of the application. She would then review the finished application before it was submitted.
- Fall auditions. Do them. Most of the time you get responses sooner. It is NICE to have some responses!
- Unifieds. If you go to Chicago, stay at the Palmer House. It may cost a little more....but it's so nice to have everything upstairs that you might need (and a place to rest). Executive floor = private elevators, free breakfast, free light dinner each day, nice gathering area where groups of kids can chill & have a pizza party in the evenings and free soda, coffee, hot chocolate and water available all day. Very nice perks.
I’m sure there is more…but there’s a start.
All helpful responses that I wish we had at the beginning of High School. Definitely, use the Summer prior to Senior year to prepare as much as possible, and organization is key.
- I would like to stress that you need to be very aware of the ACTUAL cost of each school. There isn't a whole lot of performance based aid out there, so anything you can get based on academic performance is crucial. I know kids who have had to leave great programs because they just were not realistic about cost, and thought once they got there they would be loved so much that the school would work it out. Sadly, these colleges are first and foremost businesses. A lot of kids audition for top tier programs in big cities, get in, and then can't go. I know that for some it is an ego- thing, and they want to see if they can get in, but often the case is that kids really don't understand what a family can afford financially, and I think you need to have a very frank conversation about the subject. Do you want them spending time / effort applying to and auditioning for schools that cost $40-$70k a year if that is not in your budget?
- I agree that you shouldn't load up the AP's and Honors in subjects that aren't your strength. While colleges want to see a challenging schedule, unweighted GPA's are the first big hurdle to academic acceptance.
- I continue to be amazed at kids who want to pursue MT, but have put little time /effort into dance class. I know ballet is not the most exciting class for most, but many of these schools are looking for technique, and you can't fake it. Moving well, is not enough.
- Be yourself. You do not know what holes these schools are looking to fill in their programs, so don't try to be what you think they want. It is not unusual to be rejected immediately by one school and accepted by another that you might consider more prestigious. Sometimes it comes down to what type they need to round out their current students.
One more thing. Unless your child is at a performing arts High School, you will probably not get a lot of support. I would have very frank discussions with guidance / school heads before Senior year to explain what this process is going to entail and find out what hurdles you can expect from the current school. Most kids pursuing performance degrees will be applying / auditioning for 14-20 schools because you have to cast a wide net when the college programs are so selective. Your run of the mill High School program is going to think you are crazy to apply to so many schools and they are certainly not going to be happy about the amount of school that will need to be missed for audition travel.
One more thing - establish a relationship with an ENT NOW! Good ones can take some time to get in for you initial appointment. Once you are an established patient - they can typically get you in quickly. This is VERY helpful if you get sick during audition time (or performances) or have an injury. My D actually strained her vocal cord after some of her fall auditions. It was nice to be able to go in, get it diagnosed and direction on how to take care of it from someone equipped to actually look at and examine her vocal cords!
Our oldest son is at a top MT program as a junior and our youngest son (#4) is in 8th grade. Son #4 is convinced hes going in his oldest brothers footsteps. I asked son #1, If you could give your 8th grade self some advice, knowing what you know now, what would the top 5 things be? Here is his list:
1: Take as much Ballet as you can. The professional auditions hes been to have started with ballet first and then went to other disciplines. At school he realizes, even though he is a good dancer, his flexibility is an on-going issue. Flexibility can takes years to develop and even though he had lots of jazz and tap classes and hundreds of hours in choreography, he never had a real ballet class until he got to college. (Hes even taking Ballet I again as an elective just to work on his fundamentals.)
2: Go to the weight room. This is where he had an advantage over some others in his class. He was a work-out dude already and loved the weight room. Core strength is essential and some of his classmates who were not used to the rigors of ballet, Jazz, Modern, and Tap classes daily were getting nagging injuries and conditions.
3: Have a diverse resume. Not that your resume counts for much (because, ultimately it doesnt) but what it does do it that it exposes you to a variety of people, directors, theatres, and experiences. Our family has mainly participated in one large youth theatre program in our city. He only had one other professional credit before college. He had a narrow view of theatre because he was in an awesome, supportive environment full of some pretty nice people. But sometimes, theatre experiences can suck, and people can be mean, and directors can not-know what they are doing. Will you still like theatre if youre in the midst of a lousy experience? Is you fun social experience really the thing you like about theatre? These are questions that must be answered before your parents get a Parent Plus Loan for $25,000.
- Get great training (especially in voice.) Go to good camps. Get a college-level voice teacher if you can. We were fortunate. #1 Son found a voice teacher at a local community college who had a long career in the Chicago Musical Theatre scene. She said to him at his first lesson, If you do everything I tell you to do, youll be able to fully sing for 8 shows a week but you have to do everything I tell you! and he did, and he can. Even though he has had world-class vocal training at school, he still refers to Miss Kathy as, My Voice Teacher.
- Know yourself. Have a humble opinion of yourself. You cant act if you dont know who you are. You cant be honest, connect on-stage, and be emotionally available if you dont already have a core knowledge of yourself. You cannot let others define you. (And coming from a theatre background myself, you certainly dont want theatre people to define you!) My son has observed that this may be the most difficult aspect of learning to be an actor, and it can be a stop for many.
BONUS #6 (but really #1). Be ridiculously talented. This is the innate part where people get tripped-up. You can get good coaches and have a great resume and lots of ballet and dance and good dental work and be trim and fit and spend money on camps and get into places only to later realize you are not in the 3-5% of the developed talent pool for top-work. Conversely, if you dont develop your talent in an extremely disciplined way, youll be the best singer in your local production of Brigadoon. (No slam intended, Im in the latter group.)
Hope that helps, it has helped us with our #4 son.
That is all great advice, ManVan!
S would agree with everything on ManVan S’s list. Gym workouts, core strength, ballet can’t be faked or bought in quick easy steps. To ManVan S’s comment about “know who you are”, my S would also add get acting training that is about process/methods/skill set - not just about what looks and sounds pretty on stage. You can find that in your local Brigaddon productions as well. Good acting training can “look” ugly and unpolished b/c it’s more about the journey and what you learn along the way, than ending up with nice looking “singing statues”.
All the great advice listed on these posts takes huge amounts of time, planning and physical effort - for both the MT hopefuls and their parents. Get used to it. Your family, friends and educators will call you “crazy”; ask “why are you forcing your kid to do all this?”; tell you “your kid should be the one driving this process”. Get used to it. Your kids will need to put forth tremendous effort over the course of years, and they can’t realistically do it without you. Get used to it. It will be over before you know it.
D gets corned all the time by her community theatre guncles. (They all named themselves … she adores them.)
They want her to have a back up plan. And I think I’ve posted a couple of times in this forum about how I’ve raised my kids to NEVER have a back up plan - just to do what you love. And a back up plan is license to fail and move on when it gets too hard. (My oldest D is pre-med and no one has EVER said to her, “what’s your back up plan for medicine?” … but they say it to my MT kid all the time.)
(I want to add that my kids are REALISTIC. My MT D will figure out her career … she knows Broadway is a long shot, but that’s not her life goal. Her goal is to PERFORM. Whether that involves winning a Tony or w/ a midget, a stripper and Wayne the Snake in Ohio … I have no doubt she’ll figure it out.)
Also: voice teachers. They are NOT all the same. There are a group of MT community theatre kids in our area who take from a 40’ish local singer/actress. A singer/actress who has never been professionally trained herself - but is blessed with a beautiful natural voice. Her kids have no progression … how they sound at 13 is how they sound at 18.
D’s voice teacher on the other hand … her kids have AMAZING progression. It’s insane how they improve by leaps and bounds - my D included. (D’s voice teacher has a degree in vocal performance from a top university and has performed professionally & taught for years.) There is A LOT of education in what your body is doing, why this sounds different, how to sing healthy, etc.
Completely agree with you–and I love the “Last 5 Years” reference!