(to anyone applying to Texas State) for the personal statement, when it asks, “What do you feel is special and unique about you?” is that referring to you as an artist or as a person?
D had her audition at BW on Nov 21st. About 80 MT students there. The day is a mix of groups from the whole music dept. So you hear from other students outside of MT. Audition was well planned and the parents had a whole morning of info in the auditorium. Then they provided a very nice hot buffet lunch for all of us ( and the music students. The MT students were given a box lunch as they had music theory test and their personal audition time to do. They had a lot of down time to talk to current students who were very much a part of the day.
Then they went over to the dance audition at 330 and were finished by 430.
D said it went well. They asked no questions of her, just smiled a lot. She polled others who also said there were no questions asked. No telling what that means.They also didn’t ask them for extra songs or different takes on the monologue. At least of those she polled.
The good news is they will tell everyone yes, no, or waitlist on Dec 8. Which I think is great. The waitlist however is set up like this. IF you get on it, you are waitlisted for your type ONLY. If your type says no to the program , you will get moved in. In other words, If 12 people who got a yes all turned BW down but none of them was your type, you still don’t get in. They also said they will not take more than one of each type. Eh, not great odds then. Which is why I’m so glad they get their news out fast.
@mtmcmt I have heard similar experiences at BW for audition so your matches others i read about not getting extra requests, etc. I am wondering…my D really wants to audition there next year & i agreed although it is such a long shot I hesitate…when you say they are only taking one of each type, do you mean like a soprano or a brunette or what exactly is that referring to?
@theaterwork: When people refer to “type” in musical theatre they are generally referring to a combination of voice type, appearance, and personality. To some extent, a framework established in the 19th century to characterize parts is still used to refer to “type”:
Leading Man - tall, attractive, athletic, heroic
Leading Lady - attractive, statuesque, elegant, ladylike
Juvenile - boyish, handsome
Ingenue - pretty, charming, delicate
Character Man and Woman - distinguished, authoritative, mature looking
Low Comedian - offbeat, funny, different-looking
Soubrette - sexy, earthy, comedic
This framework is increasingly getting blurred as theatre evolves, however, you can still see elements of this framework in almost every modern stage production, especially musicals.
There is probably considerable variance in what individual colleges are looking for, but you can be sure that in a class of say, 12, they generally don’t want three short, blonde, cute, legit sopranos (Ingenues) or four curvy, dark-eyed, bouncy belters (soubrettes), or three large-boned, dark haired, serious, deep basses (Character Men, Villians). Schools need to have enough variation in voice part, appearance, and personality in their programs to be able to cast a wide variety of shows.
Hence, if you are a short, blonde, legit soprano on the waitlist, then you probably won’t get an offer from schools that give offers mainly by type unless a short, blonde, legit soprano decides to go elsewhere. Likewise, if they took three of your type the year before, then the odds may be really long for your type this year. Of course, there are no hard-and-fast rules and there are always exceptions.
I agree with everything @Emsdad says- and would add that race may play a factor as well. Many schools these days are looking for a racially diverse class- which is a GOOD thing, but it may contribute to “type” as well.
We noticed that the BW cast of All Shook Up was severely under-represented with regard to African-American women. Most roles were double-cast, but this one wasn’t. The daughter of this character should have been mixed-race, but wasn’t. Maybe there are other actresses who were not cast or busy with another show, but it seems to me that BW will be looking for ethnic women.
I figured that’s what the schools meant…gotta love my brown haired soprano D …she’s always saying “everyone looks like me”. Not a benefit for college auditions. She’s so mainstream . Her awesome belt will only get her so far …sigh
Aside from physical type, they also need to fill out the vocal ranges to have a well balanced ensemble. I’m more familiar with “male” issues and know that for a decade, or so, now, the male lead vocal parts seem to be getting higher and higher. Even older musicals with traditionally lower-voiced leads are getting “re-ranged”. Young males are being “directed” to increase their higher range to be “marketable”, but this is leaving the bottom end “wide open” for baritones and true basses. S has been told he will ALWAYS be able to find work as a male who can move well and fill out the bottom end of the chorus. So while teen boys may be getting told to develop their upper range to play the lead, the statistics for boys with lower voices getting accepted to programs seem to be a little better (at least anecdotally).
We are in the same position @theaterwork. @EmsDad good descriptions…I understand it, but also hate it. I hate that my conventionally pretty brunette soprano has to be pigeon-holed when she loves acting for the chance to explore and be someone else. Her resume shows she has the ability to play a wide variety of parts (due in part to the fact she has fallen into some character roles when the originally cast students have dropped out & the directors had no one else to put in), and so she has quite accidentally proved her mettle in parts that are the opposite of what the directors assumed she should be playing based on her looks & personality. To make it more frustrating, in the college audition process, they are constantly told “don’t play a part, show us who you are” but what if “who she is” is not that same as “who she can play?” We are working on having faith that she’ll end up where she is supposed to be & hopefully will get a chance to do some different things, but for now, she’s a little frustrated by the “type” thing.
I got the impression, theaterwork, that they meant blonde ingenue, leading man, character, etc…
Longtime lurker, first time(ish) poster! Is anyone else doing the MTCA audition for Baldwin Wallace on January 9th? I’m not really sure what to expect, or if there is an advantage to doing it over an on-campus audition.
@lrfmt18 , we considered it but my S wanted to keep his Feb. BW audition because it is one of his top choices and he wants to see the campus, meet the students, etc., plus we booked our flights already, etc…I think the biggest advantage is just saving the travel time/expense, if you are local to NYC
As y’all are gearing up for auditions, here is something that makes me so proud, and that I hope will inspire the Class of 2020 to keep the faith. This coming Saturday a year ago D auditioned on campus at Viterbo. She is working auditions this weekend in the very same Hospitality Suite where it all began. Go have the best audition that you possibly can at each school, which is something you actually can control to some degree. Fingers crossed for all in this cycle. :)>- <>
Some of my professors actually don’t believe in type, which I think is awesome. (Obviously type is a thing that exists, but what I’m talking about is the belief that you don’t have to look or sound a certain way to play a certain role.) I was highly aware of and concerned with type when I was auditioning for college, and when I started the BFA MT thing I was totally prepared to play the same character for four years. I was so used to watching my material choices carefully to make sure there was nothing that would “look bad on me.” It was honestly shocking (but such a relief, and totally freeing) to come to a school where that doesn’t have to be a concern. UArts is pretty nontraditional, produces a lot of new and sometimes devised work, etc. so I haven’t seen any traditional musicals get done in which those tropes were super apparent.
Awwww!! Love that story @TNMTDAD !! =D>
@MTVT2015 , that is yet another thing I love about UArts. It’s an artistic playground with freedom and creative support (along with discipline needed to create great work)!
@TNMTDAD, I worked your D’s audition last year and I’m so happy that she and I are working this Saturday’s audition together!
We’ll be at Viterbo this weekend - D’s first audition!!
D is excited to work at UArts’ audition this Saturday! She loves helping people with this process, and she’s thrilled to share her enthusiasm about UArts. I enjoy hearing about others doing the same at their programs! It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? In fact, D told me that she has had a moment or moments when she has teared up thinking that, at this time last year, she was in the thick of auditioning for programs and all that entailed, and here she is, almost done with her first semester, loving it more than she even imagined, even with her high expectations. Hearing that and others’ similar experiences makes me sit back and smile.
Break a leg, all of you auditioning for programs this year! Next year, it’ll be you looking back and smiling. One step at a time, though, right?
…for some reason, it wouldn’t let me add this to my last paragraph:
Enjoy the process; there is an incredible amount to enjoy, even with the stress. We’ll help you through it, too!