When I was beginning to apply, I remember how helpful these posts were, so I wanted to spread the love! I know it’s too late for this year’s applicants, but hopefully it will help someone next year.
I auditioned ED, so there was only fifteen people there, and it was on the campus, so it will be a bit different from Unifieds, but overall I think it should be about the same. I got there early, which I recommend, because I got more comfortable in the building and was able to get out all the nervous energy. There was an information session that was about an hour/hour and a half-ish long, where McCaela Donovan talked through each year in the program, and then answered any questions we had. This information session was unreal, it made me SO relaxed and overwhelmingly excited for BU! I fell in love with it all over again. Then everyone handed her your headshot (have it professional-style! Cut the resume paper to 8x10, have it stapled on correctly, 4 staples, the whole bit!). Then she went and created the order everyone would audition in, which of the 2 people you’d be auditioning with, and your audition time (making the list took about twenty minutes). I auditioned with her, not Clay Hopper, and I had some time so I was able to go get lunch before my audition. I came back half an hour before time, practiced each of my pieces once, and then just focused on being calm. She called me in, and there was a brief hello. I told her the title of the play and the character (she requested during the information session that you don’t provide other unnecessary info about the play), then did my piece. After I finished, she gave a simple comment (like one word) and then asked for the next piece. I had plenty of time to get in the right frame of mind for the next piece and didn’t feel pressured at all-she wasn’t exactly staring at a stopwatch waiting to cut me off. Then she asked to workshop one of my pieces (my dramatic). She had me approach it differently. The first run she cut me off after like three lines, gave a little more explanation of her direction, and then I did it “right”. I looked back on this later and was SO scared that I messed up, since the whole point of the workshopping is to see how well you can take direction, but I guess it worked out! Then there was a brief interview that lasted about five minutes (maybe a little less). We spoke almost exclusively about my summer programs, since they were on my resume that she had in front of her (put it all on your resume!!!). I went to BU’s summer theatre program the summer before I went to Cherubs at Northwestern, so I talked mostly about how much I loved BUSTI specifically. Then she asked about Cherubs, I did a little compare-and-contrast. Then she mentioned how nice it must be to be able to “test out” schools and programs like that, and I brought it back to how BU was the right choice for me. She will definitely talk about summer programs if you put them on! Then she asked if I had any questions, I said no because I’ve done so much research already and I didn’t have any questions left to ask, and I think that reason was good enough for her. Then I left, and drove the 6 hours home!
Some tips:
Just be comfortable. Think of them the same way you’re supposed to look at casting agents: they’re rooting for you. They want you to do well, because if you’re great and a perfect fit for the school then their job is done! One less spot they have to fill.
Rehearse! Rehearse a lot–but rehearse differently! Rehearse the way you’re going to present it, but then do it once talking with a different person in mind or as if your character is in a different setting. I memorized just my lines as if they were plain words. I didn’t rely on retain actions or movements to remember lines, and as a result I did pretty good in the workshop! This way you also don’t look like you rehearsed into the ground or are too inflexible.
Show your passion!! You’re passionate for theatre, don’t hold back at all! I was also passionate about BU, and that definitely showed.
Be confident, not cocky, and calm, and you’ll do just fine.
Something that’s important for them is hearing what sets BU apart from the other billion schools in Boston. So focus answers as much as possible on BU itself, not “its at the center of the city” “Boston U is near Fenway” “Boston has one of the best art galleries in the world” etc etc. Make it more “I love BU’s focus on creating an ensemble/a well-rounded theatre artist instead of just an actor.”
As far as I can tell, I was one of four accepted ED this year (Me and one other went to BUSTI). There were about fifteen others auditioning on campus ED, and I don’t know how many did online auditions, but likely not many. There were probably around 20 applicants total. A point that McCaela made was that they had no “quota” for how many they have to accept ED. If she saw ten she loved, they would take them. If they saw none, then they wouldn’t take any.
My stats:
Private school in NJ, but with a horrible theatre department that gets no funding. I did still have smallish parts in shows, though.
GPA (Weighted) : 3.8
SAT : 2180
Writing - 770 (75 multiple choice, 10 essay)
Reading - 760
Math - 650
APs :
US Gov - 5
US History - 4
Currently in AP European History, AP Lit, and AP Lang, and getting As in all of them.
ECs : A lot. I had to submit a separate resume on Common App. I’m an officer (or have been an officer) in more than ten clubs. If someone’s interested, I can post the full list.
Volunteer Work : Very little. Only the 20 hours a year required by my school.
I had good recommendations. One from an English teach, one from a science teacher.
Summer Programs (I think this was definitely one of the deciding factors that helped me get in) :
Georgetown University Broadcast Journalism - One week long, did it in between my freshman and sophomore years
Boston University Summer Theatre Institute - Five weeks long, did this in between my sophomore and junior years
Northwestern University NHSI Theatre Cherubs - Five weeks long, in between my junior and senior years.
Any questions, just ask! Obviously, I love talking about this stuff.
