<p>Hey! My names Wes, I’m a senior in lexington, SC and I fell in love with CCU’s BFA musical theatre program! I’m fully ready to audition, but I have some questions about the pre screening process. First of all, can you be rejected by strictly the pre screening? Second, I know the program is very strict about their audition requirements, and want approx. 16 bars of 2 contrasting songs. Ill be honest, I don’t know much about music. I know enough to be able to figure those requirements out in a 4/4 song, but both of the songs I chose are coincidentally in 3/4 and I think that changes it because on the sheet music, 16 bars is only 15-20 seconds worth. I may be wrong, but I can’t be positive and I don’t want to record until I’m sure. Thank you!</p>
<p>16 bars means 16 measures, it doesn’t matter how many beats are in the measure. You only include the measures from when you begin to sing thru the measure you begin singing your last note.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t stress too much about it! If/when Ken sees this he can correct me, but so long as both of your songs are about a minute to a minute and a half each and then your monologue is a minute to a minute and a half… you’ll be fine. 16-32 bars is typically a good measurement of that amount of time, but it varies from song to song obviously. Do what pieces you feel best about and really show who you are as not only a performer but as a person! Each of the faculty members will most likely watch all of your video, so as long as you aren’t singing entire songs, you should be safe. No one will be counting measures as you go along- promise!</p>
<p>I am glad to hear how interested you are in CCU! If you have any questions specifically, please don’t hesitate to post them here or send me a private message. Ken, myself, and a lot of CCU parents who happen to post here are sincerely interested in helping you in any way we can. :)</p>
<p>Thank you so much!!</p>
<p>I can’t send a private message on here because I don’t have enough posts yet, ha. Ill just ask you here though @Alexamt: This may seem kinda funny, but I feel like asking you is smart. I really really like the song “My Unfortunate Erection” and I’ve been told by a lot of people that i seem comfortable when I perform it and I do it well, considering I’ve been told I pull of children’s parts very well, and I’ve also been told it fits my voice very well, I just know for a lot of auditors it’s a “turn-off” because, well it’s a song about an erection. Any advice specifically for coastal or is that to specific?</p>
<p>I can’t speak for every school by any means. I think “Spelling Bee” MIGHT be on some schools “Do not do lists” because it’s more contemporary and done for auditions quite a bit, but for Coastal specifically I don’t think it would be an issue. It’s a funny song and “Spelling Bee” should be well-known enough that I think almost every faculty member you run into will know the joke already… so it won’t be shocking or offensive because they’ll see it coming. We did “Spelling Bee” here 3 years ago, so they’re definitely familiar with it! If it’s a song you really love and you think suits you and your voice, I say go for it. :)</p>
<p>Okay awesome, thank you for all of your help!</p>
<p>Alexa is dead on with 99.9% of what she said in her posts. I don’t care what you perform, and we don’t count bars. Keep in good, keep it short. But keep in mind that we ask for one song from 'the golden age" of theatre. In other words, we are looking for something more lyrical than most contemporary songs.</p>
<p>That is so helpful, thank you so much to both of you for making my audition not only less stressful but more comfortable!</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me how long is typical to hear back the results of a pre-screening? Thanks!</p>
<p>Does anyone know if you sent in a pre-screen last week if we will hear before Christmas or will we have to wait until after the new year?</p>
<p>I’ll let you know before Christmas. It is my personal goal to clear that list before I leave for my own well-deserved Christmas break. And I know everyone wants to have an opportunity to sit down and map out their spring and the Christmas break would be a good time to do that. If you don’t hear from me by Tuesday, send me an email and I’ll do my best to rattle some cages and get you an answer. If you sent it in last week, you’ll definitely hear from me.</p>
Hello! I submitted a pre-screen about 3 weeks ago and haven’t heard back. Should this be concerning? Or is this normal? CCU is my top pick, but the other schools I have applied to have told me yes or no within days. I just want to make sure I haven’t messed something up.
Also, what do you suggest for on-campus dance audition attire? I don’t want to be under dressed for other schools as well. Many thanks!!
@Goingreene Some places take a few days and some several weeks. I think it was a couple weeks for my daughter last year. If you are concerned call Coastal’s theatre office just to make sure the pre-screen actually went through (with technology you never know!) And they are very helpful. 
Most people wore outfits that you might wear to church or a nice dinner. Not super fancy, but realize as long as you go in your own style and are clean and not sloppy- you should be golden! Be yourself because that is what they want to see!
Thank you so much!!
@goinggreene, did you get this resolved? I don’t work on the pre-screens anymore, but I do know we’ve had quite a few this semester and they are running behind. The norm is two weeks, but it might be taking longer due to the volume. PM me with your name and I’ll look into it if you haven’t yet been notified.