What is the stereotypical “look” that most students auditioning go for as well as the diversity of the students themselves? Is it all caucasian, tall and skinny blondes, or short comedic brunettes? Are there any Minorities at these auditions and if so how many did you see ( black, Hispanic, Asian)
I have never seen a stereotypical look among those who audition for MT college programs, those attending them, or those who grace the professional stage. There are many “types” as well as many races among those who do MT. Also, take a look at the senior showcase photos that many schools post at this time of year and you will see what I am saying. I imagine there are some programs that are more diverse than others, but when you combine them ALL, there are all types of students going into this field.
I will be brutally honest.
My D has auditioned at primarly midwestern schools (I’ll address that in more detail at the end) and most of the girls at auditions are thin, blond-to-light-brown, fair skinned girls. Dressed in jewel toned, mid-thigh dresses w/ nude low heels.
(The boys are all over the place though … but since I have a girl, I don’t pay THAT close attention.)
I’ve seen a couple of black girls at auditions. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen an Asian girl at all.
I have a feeling that the type I’m seeing is mainly a midwest thing. When D was at Berklee this past summer, the majority of the girls were dark brunettes - her blonde hair really stood out. The program was WAY more diverse than IU’s summer program … again, I think it’s an East Coast vs Midwest thing.
That’s why I was saying that the mileage (no pun intended) may vary in this regard when it comes to particular schools or programs. But in an overall sense, there are kids of many looks and races in MT both in college and professionals on stage. I think one should definitely scope out the diversity at specific colleges, particularly if that is important to the applicant.
When my daughter went to NYU/Tisch, her classmates were Caucasian, African American, Asian and Hispanic/Latino, gay, straight, and many shapes, sizes, hair colors and types. This may not be so at certain other colleges, however.
Campus visits should help. Look at data for the student body on campus (not specific to the MT class), which can be found readily online. Look at senior showcase sites for certain MT programs.
(As an aside, my daughter, who grew up in the Northeast, didn’t wear an audition outfit that remotely resembled the one described above. She also doesn’t own a jewel toned dress and has never owned nude color heels)
We did not see a lot of diversity - especially a lack of Asians and Latinas/Latinos. This was across the board at Unifieds and the on campus auditions my daughter did. There were three Asian or mixed kids at her Penn State audition, but we didn’t see many elsewhere. My daughter is biracial – Japanese American and Caucasian.
If you search youtube for Ball State’s MT Class of 2017, you can see the kind of dress/shoes combo I’m talking about.
And you can also see some INSANELY talented kids. (I especially adore the kid who sings Joanne’s part in “Take Me or Leave Me” … LOVE IT!)
Look at the schools showcase photos. Most I’ve seen are HIGHLY diverse. This would be a representation of the students accepted into the program - to be compared against the pool of students at auditions. Diversity is a sought after commodity in the theater programs we’ve seen.
Here is CMU’s Senior Class for 2015’s showcase. Quite diverse:
Northwestern University’s Senior Class for 2015’s Showcase:
http://www.communication.northwestern.edu/departments/theatre/showcase
http://syracuseshowcase.com/
Here is Syracuse’s.
Elon’s MT Class of 2015:
https://elon-mt-15-fundraising.fundly.com/elon-mt-15-fundraising
With the exception of elon, none of those look diverse. I saw little to no shape differences and an overwhelming lack of latinos, Asians and Indians.
If by diversity u mean blonde hair versus brunettes… or black versus white…maybe. I guess diversity is in the eye of the beholder.
I’m caucasian, so white… I’m practically see through. However, my children are hispanic. I didn’t see a single person who looked like either of them. At her current school the mt class has diversity, but still lacks in the hispanic arena. The vp program actively recruits from mexico so the schools arts program as a whole is diverse.
But hey, my d should get all the parts in west side story, women on the verge of a nervous breakdown, into the heights, etc.
I could be wrong, but it appears to me that there are Latinos in the Syracuse and Northwestern links (as well as Elon). It’s true there are only Asians in the Elon link. As far as Indians, I have to say that I have seen very few Indians in musical theater overall, both in college or professionally.
Indiana only has 5 students in their MT Showcase this year and one appears to be Latino:
http://www.indiana.edu/~thtr/academics/BFA_showcase2014.shtml
As an aside, I have advised Latinos who landed at BFA programs at Texas State, Univ. of Michigan and NYU/Tisch. Plus my D had Latino classmates at Tisch in MT and in Acting.
Again, I think the answer about diversity depends on the school. Some are more diverse than others. But there is diversity in MT as a field overall, in my view.
Boston Conservatory MT Showcase 2014 has some Latino graduates.
https://www.bostonconservatory.edu/showcase/2014senior
Montclair’s MT Showcase class 2014 seems fairly diverse:
http://www.montclair.edu/arts/theatre-and-dance/senior-showcase/senior-showcase-2014/
I’m an Asian female who auditioned at two schools on campus, and the rest during 4 days at New York Unifieds. The entire audition process, I saw only five Asian females (and I notice and look around a lot). I’ll also add that I saw no Indian females.
UArts is lacking Asians in the graduating class but has Latinos and African Americans:
http://uarts-showcase.com/students.html
I definitely think there is an audition “type”. Not sure if the uniform came from coaches or other sources- but we saw floods of girls in jewel tones/nude shoes at auditions last year (and to be fair, guys in black pants and bright dress shirts with skinny ties). But that’s the audition- not the school.
I do think MANY schools are actively seeking diversity. D has an Asian male friend from a previous summer program who had 8 BFA offers last year. Now, the kid is talented. But I don’t know of a male from her Midwestern PA school (where a significant number of African Americans attend, but had no Asian or Hispanic students in the time my D was there) who got anything CLOSE to that many acceptances. But as with so many other things- it depends on the school . Annoyingactorfriend (whom I know some people don’t like, but I find VERY amusing) does a great bit about school types (calls CCM “prairie hotties” etc) in his/her book.
AAAHHHH now you’re getting to a topic that is of great interest to me. I don’t know that there is really an audition type outside of many of the MT girls dressing quite similarly and most of them being thin, but for most schools where my daughter auditioned there were few minorities. When you’re a minority, it’s something that you notice. When my daughter told me her list of schools, I went to the MT website of the schools. For the most part there was very little diversity in the photos on the website. I even questioned a department head at a college fair and he said that for his Southwestern school minorities don’t really apply. I believe it’s cultural. Not all parents support a degree in MT. I believe that the thought is it’s so hard to make it in the business as it is. The parents believe that there will be even fewer opportunities for their child and therefore want to spare their child heartbreak. While my friends and family (to be fair performing arts family) are very supportive of my child and me, my friends admit that they don’t know that they could support their child going to school for theatre because of the lack of opportunity. I will say if you watch TV these days, there’s a whole lot more diversity than I’ve seen in a LONG time and I think it’s just WONDERFUL!!
At OCU there are Native Americans in MT, but not Indians as far as I’m aware. Most ethnic and gender groups have some representation there, albeit some more than others.
I agree that the lack of representation by certain ethnic groups in musical theater college programs overall may be partly cultural. MT is not considered a desirable degree or career path to many cultures.
I also agree you need to look at the individual schools to which you are applying and really examine the students who attend there if diversity is something that concerns you. I don’t think you can judge the diversity of a school by who is at one audition. You may happen to audition on a day where there is a lack of diversity among the auditioners. But that does not mean that is what is reflected in the school overall, nor does it reflect who is accepted and decides to attend. I also would not judge them by their audition day dress. For better or worse, audition wear doesn’t necessarily reflect what students wear regularly. I think many are wearing what they feel is appropriate for that occasion. But it may not represent who they are as individuals.
If you are part of an ethnic minority, applying to schools with a lack of diversity can have some positives. Schools may be actively seeking more diversity in their classes, so candidates that can help them in that area may be more highly sought after. And once in school, students of certain ethnicities may find there are more casting opportunities for them as fewer students are suited for certain roles.
I also think most MT programs and professional theaters have been trying in recent years to really push racial and ethnic boundaries in their casting which is great for all. I’m sure there is still progress that needs to be made, but I do think there is a world of opportunity available to talented actors no matter their ethnicity.
My daughters junior year class at Syracuse is very diverse from an ethnicity standpoint. Not so much size/shape I guess (especially MTs.) ,My sons BFA Acting class at Rutgers (not MT) is VERY diverse as to type and ethnicity, and it seems to be a focus for many of the acting conservatories. I agree with the comments above and think lack of ethnic diversity at some schools is a reflection of who is applying/auditioning.