<p>Hey guys! How selective is the Chapman theatre major? I'm thinking about possibly auditioning. My friend auditioned but didn't get it and it was her top choice. However, she did get into NYU Tisch, Point Park, and Marymount Manhattan and is now headed to NYU and those schools are all pretty selective. So I was just wondering if Chapman is harder than those schools?</p>
<p>Chapman is as competative as the programs you mentioned. What I believe to be true about any auditions is that they are very subjective. Every auditioner and program has their own set of ideas as to what they think is good or what they like or who they want to work with. My advice is to audition for several schools and have some good non-audition programs lined up as back up.</p>
<p>StrangeBro, can you weigh in here?</p>
<p>I may not be the best example of a successful auditionee-- I had alumni relation and Early Action to bolster my chances-- but I can confirm that they take between forty and fifty students into the BA Theater track each year (I’m pretty sure that this includes both technical and performance emphases). Those students have the chance to audition into BFA Screen Acting and Theater Performance in their sophomore year, and both of those programs take 14-18 annually from the current pool-- so, comparable to most highly-regarded national programs.</p>
<p>A few notes I’ve gleaned:
-Musical experience is a plus, but certainly not as much as it would be at a school that actually has an MT major (such as Tisch or Point Park). Prof. Washington, at Preview Day, stated flat out that if you’re hoping to become the next Sutton Foster or Brian Stokes Mitchell, you’d be better off somewhere that offers that kind of specialized training. </p>
<p>-Keep in mind that schools are trying to build companies that have the versatility to fill multiple productions, sometimes simultaneously and with very little crossover-- in essence, miniature repertory companies, and Chapman is no exception. So you’ll have a certain number of leading-man/leading-lady and character “types”. If your friend was rejected, it may be because they just had someone who looked a bit too much like her already in the program. Unfair, maybe, but it’s the nature of the business.</p>
<p>-I think there’s an unspoken rule that Chapman likes quirky types. Don’t be afraid to go into the audition/interview and be yourself; I left thinking that I had made a complete idiot of myself, but evidently they liked me enough to accept.</p>
<p>-To second what momsings says, Chapman’s days of flying under the radar are pretty much over. This year’s theater class has people coming in from as near as Mission Viejo and San Diego (me) and as far away as upstate NY, Washington, New Jersey, and many more. Make no mistake-- although it gets overshadowed by NYU, USC, and DePaul (and even internally by the Dodge College of Film), you better bring your A game.</p>
<p>-Finally, they’re really looking for coachability. If you can adjust to the tweaks they make to your monologue, that’s a big positive. As I was told, they assume that anyone who auditions for a very good college theater program can “perform”; they want to find the people who can get past that, find the inner truth of the art form, and actually learn to “act”. </p>
<p>Best of luck to you, and I do strongly encourage you to at the least audition! I absolutely love the people, the program, the campus, and the city; I feel like it’s the perfect place to be and will explode in mainstream national recognition in the next five years. :)</p>