<p>I have no idea how my CMU audition went... So I figured there were some vets on here who could give me an idea as to what the hell might have happened in there!</p>
<p>I first auditioned for Barbara who was incredibly nice. She asked me to do my classical (Banished from R&J) and my contemporary (Billy from The Goat.) After we were done, she worked my classical with me and had me paraphrase it. She said that was very good, and asked me to paraphrase 3 lines of the monologue and then go straight into it classically from the top. I did that and she seemed pleased. She then asked me to do both pieces one more time. I did them, and she said "you're a pretty talented young man. very handsome too." She asked if I had any other pieces I could do for her. I suggested something from Brilliant Traces as well as The Red Coat. She said she loved Shanley and would like to see Red Coat. I did The Red Coat from her and she asked if I could make an adjustment. I made the adjustment, she said "very good. i'm going to send you over to Kaf."</p>
<p>So then I went into the next room and did my pieces for Kaf. She saw my headshot and said I had a great commercial look. Once again, I got thru "the goat" and went into "r&j." she asked if she could make an adjustment to "r&j" and I said yes. Adjustment was made and we went through it again. Then she asked if I'd be ok with doing The Red Coat for her. I said yes and did it. She then sat me down, we talked about the other schools I was applying to and why I wanted to go to CMU. She then brought up that she worked with a theatre company I'm working with in May...</p>
<p>I have no idea how anything went. Part of me thinks that they must have seen something they liked because of how much time they spent with me and the fact that they both asked to see my third. But I'm a little thrown off that I had to work my Shakespeare with both. Can anyone help me out? <strong><em>I'm sorry if I seem like a mess, but this is my top school. Complete honesty is GREATLY APPRECIATED</em></strong></p>
<p>On the bright side, I wrote down what they did to my monologues after I was done and am ready to apply their direction to my pieces.</p>
<p>StopThinkingFeel – I would advise you to stop thinking about it!! It does sound like your audition went well, though. Was this your first college audition? I have observed that instructors at auditions sometimes want to see if you can take direction well – and CMU is notorious for doing exactly that. When my D auditioned there several years ago, she was asked to do one of her monologues over and over: as a nightclub comic, as a bear, as an old woman, etc. And she did get an acceptance from CMU, although she ended up at Syracuse instead.
My advice is to use the direction they gave you for future auditions, and try not to obsess about this one. It sounds like you did your best, and there’s nothing else you can do now but wait for the results!</p>
<p>I had NYU last weekend. I hope it went well. It’s my top choice! Congrats to your daughter! Why did she end up going to Syracuse if you dont mind my asking?</p>
<p>Several reasons – primarily because we were so impressed with the friendliness of the staff and students on our first visit. We just dropped into the theater department unexpectedly, and were warmly welcomed by all. We ended up spending 3 hours there that day, touring the building and chatting with various people. As we did more research into the program, we loved the idea that there is an Equity theater affiliated with the school, which gives students opportunities to meet and work with professional directors and actors; many students are able to earn Equity points by being cast in the productions there. There is also a program called the Tepper Semester, where senior theater students can spend their final semester living and studying in New York City. And over spring break, there’s the Aaron Sorkin week, where selected seniors spend an all-expenses paid week in LA with Aaron Sorkin (producer/writer/director of The West Wing and many other TV shows). My D is in the Tepper program right now, and it’s an invaluable experience; she will also be going to LA in March.</p>
<p>Can anyone else share their audition stories? I know it’s best for me to forget about all this nonsense for now but I cant. I promised myself tomorrow that I’ll get back to work on everything. a little curiosity never hurt anyone. except for that cat! lol</p>
<p>StopThinkingFeel: I’ve been posting my audition experiences on CC. You can get to them by clicking my username and finding threads I’ve started. They’re all named, “My Audition Experience: [college name].” I’ve already written about UCLA, NYU, Juilliard, and CMU, with Purchase and Rutgers coming up in a couple of weeks.</p>
<p>Now, in regards to your CMU audition, mine was fairly similar. I started with Barbara, did three pieces, worked on one, talked about colleges, went to Kath, did the same thing. I came away from it feeling like it went very well, but, as onstage said, you shouldn’t think about it. What you SHOULD think about though is implementing their direction! A few tips from Barbara during my audition improved my monologues, and you’re smart to write what she said down. </p>
<p>Good luck with the rest of your auditions! Where else are you applying?</p>
<p>I’m applying to UofMinnesota, Emerson, DePaul, USC, and Fordham. I’ve already done NYU. CMU just seemed like a perfect fit. I hope it all works out. I’m not going to hold my breath though!</p>
<p>StopThinking: Do want your name says… stop trying to figure out how you did. CMU is a pipe dream. Very very few get in. You really have to stop thinking about it. My D had an amazing audition with the same auditors as you. She did five different monologues for two auditors, was asked to sing, was told how “talented” she was and that she was “going to get into some amazing schools” and asked to sing, at which point she was questioned as to why she didn’t go for CMU’s musical theatre program. She was also told what an “amazing headshot” she had. CMU was her best audition of the year. SHE DID NOT GET INTO CMU, but she did get into Emerson, CalArts, CCM and UCLA.</p>
<p>You have some great other schools you are applying for. You need to focus on the auditions for those schools. Your CMU audition is done. You had a great audition, and regardless of what happens, you will always have had a great audition for CMU. Be very proud of that.</p>
<p>Until you get your acceptances, and you go to the new accepted student events, and you look at how much money you have, you don’t know what schools are a “perfect fit.” so, don’t worry about that now. You have another job to do . And you sound like you are doing it really, really well. So keep up the great work. </p>
<p>Chrissyblu, that was some great advice. I guess I can write them off now! 5 different monologues and no acceptance?! Thats crazy. I guess I was just holding out hope =/ I figured that the work on the classical was a sign I wasn’t fit for their program… eh what am I talking about?</p>
<p>Great advice though! I’m ready to put CMU in the past unless the stars align and hell freezes over! I’ve got some important stuff coming up and need to focus on that!</p>
<p>But still, all audition stories are welcome and greatly appreciated! I’ll be sure to post a University of Minnesota thread after this weekend!</p>
<p>“be very proud of that” Im sorry but I had to comment on that… Thanks. That means a lot. I think it’s easy for us kids to forget about the good work we did when we are so focused on the result. I’ll remember that. Thank you so much =D</p>
<p>I had a similar audition experience to you, except I was never sent to the next person. In the orientation, Barbara did mention that they tossed people around between the two of them, and not to be afraid if that was the case.</p>
<p>Anyways, my audition: After I finished both of my monologues, Kathy (my auditor) smiled and said, “Great! Anything else you’d like to show me?” I gave her a few options and she picked another classical monologue. Again, she smiled and then asked, “Would you like to sing anything?” I sang a love ballad from the musical Wonderful Town. She was very complimentary, said it was beautiful and that she was glad she had asked. Then we talked a bit, I asked her about movement and then Alexander Technique. She was very nice and very calming.</p>
<p>This was definitely one of my best auditions and probably my most enjoyable. I know these people are probably nice to everyone, but it was just so good to get positive feedback for once. I think a lot of us lose ourselves in the process. So even if I don’t get in (which is likely, given the statistics), I’m very glad I did it.</p>
<p>True that, bogface! Thats great that you had a good audition for CMU. It was easy to work with them because of how casual and comfortable the vibe is. </p>
<p>Though I can say one of my friends had a terrifying experience with Barbara. After she was done with her pieces, Barbara apparently said “Are you sure this is what you want to do?” I think she might be exaggerating because I can’t see something like that happening in a college audition… Maybe American Idol, but certainly not a college audition. Just saying…</p>
<p>This is secondhand, as I am a parent. My D is a freshman MT at CMU. She absolutely loves the program, her teachers, and her classmates. </p>
<p>Her experience was very similar to yours. She was asked to do her monologues again and again, making adjustments and trying new ideas. She spent lots of time with both Barbara and Kaf. </p>
<p>I think your comment: “I figured that the work on the classical was a sign I wasn’t fit for their program” is wrong. I think that because they spent so much time working with you means you are a fit for their program. They see so many kids (last year it was more than 1,100) that they can’t spend that much time with every kid. They are trying to see how you take direction, how adaptable you are, how creative you are. </p>
<p>Just because they spent that much time with you is no guarantee of admittance into the program, but it’s a heck of a lot better for you than had they spent not much time at all!</p>
<p>Just wondering, my D is auditioning tomorrow in L.A. At her Ithaca audition they said they wanted two one minute monologues and she didn’t feel comfortable cutting her first one. At some point after one minute the auditor just stopped her and said, OK, move to the next one. He had a stop watch. I know CMU wants 1 1/2 min. monologues but just wondered if they use a stop watch also?</p>
<p>I know for a fact that both of my monologues were closer to 2 minutes than 1 1/2, and I wasn’t interrupted at all. I know that the website says for monologues to be “approximately 1 1/2 minutes long,” but in application booklet that I was sent, it says that the monologues should be “approximately 2 minutes.”</p>
<p>In short, don’t worry about it; they don’t have a stop watch.</p>