Hi! I have a question about audition logistics, mainly for Unifieds. I’m going to a few of my auditions at NY Unifieds alone and was wondering what to do with my bag when I’m auditioning for either dance or during song/monologue. Is there a place I can safely leave it? I saw on here that some people last year did not have their parents come with them to auditions and was wondering what they did with their bags.
Thanks!
There will be other parents there who will be happy to keep an eye on your stuff. Just try and make friends when you get there. In a pinch, i think the door monitor would probably watch your bags for you, too. Good luck.
I hate to say it, but this may be a concern not only at unifieds, but at other auditions where parents are discouraged from traipsing around with their kid’s stuff. As instructed, H and I dutifully stayed away from audition building at UM and S’s outer coat was stolen from the hallway outside the audition room (not an ideal latitude to be w/o a coat in January). We felt that this was not an “honest” mistake (S was away from coat only for the time it took to complete audition and we left contact information at the school in case it was turned in). My advice would be 1. to leave anything valuable that you don’t need for the audition at home/in car/hotel room, and 2. find a buddy or “surrogate parent” to keep an eye on your stuff. Any parent who has been through this process with their own kid would be happy to watch your stuff.
Especially in NYC, I cannot imagine that there would be a problem with taking your bag IN the room and setting it down by the door as you enter. Just try to have everything contained and tidy, rather than a mess spilling out. (This would include your coat, fold it up and put in bag)
I may not be remembering correctly, but I think auditionees at UM were instructed to NOT bring anything besides music book into audition room, instead to leave it in the hallway or an unsecured holding room. Not sure what the protocol was for dance call.
We were at NYC Unifieds two years ago, not last year, but for many auditions, you could not bring your bag inside. The scariest thing I saw was a boy who lost his book when he was inside for a dance call (he did not have a parent there). I agree with jkellynh17…ask another parent in the hall to watch it, or leave it with the door monitor. Make sure you don’t have a zillion different things…have everything in one bag and zip it up. People are generally very nice, and I’m sure you can find someone to keep an eye on it - make sure you fidn someone with a slot after you, so you’re not imposing.
Hearing about having a coat stolen during an audition at U Mich, or having your Book stolen anywhere, is so sad! I especially hope it wasn’t a fellow actor who took them. 
At Unifieds can you not just bring your bag in the room with you and set it right at the door? The D did Chicago Unifieds and she had to bring in her playback device and headshots and such. I would imagine the bag can come in too. Just make sure you’ve just got the one neat and closed bag.
Bump for more parents to talk about this! But thanks for the advice so far. If I can’t bring it in I’ll be sure to try and find someone that can keep an eye on it.
When they are going in for a dance call with 20 other kids, imagine 20 bags piled at the door. The rooms are too small, and it is dangerous. They can usually bring in a water bottle to the dance calls, but nothing else. And, when you have 2 minutes to slate, sing and do monologues, carrying your bag in and looking around the room for a good place to put it breaks your stride and concentration.
Also in NYC two years ago there were a number of kids who had come straight from the airport with suitcases.
I would very highly recommend making 2 copies of your song book, and keeping them separate from one another (ie…one copy with you, other copy in hotel room, car, or at home.) Most people out there are honest…but as with the coat mentioned above…things do disappear. (I remember reading a story last year about a boy who “lost” his whole bag, with song book in it.)
Tip… I never had to use it… But all printed things… Sheet music, cuts, resume, headshot, etc. I put in a Dropbox folder so that no matter where I was, I could access and reprint in an emergency. I also had all music tracks in that folder as well as on both my phone and iPod, and D’s phone and iPod. Anything electronic I kept there… Figuring that between that and a local department store, we could deal with any crisis. (Our on,y crisis ended up being a forgotten curling iron… Replaced at 6am at the local CVS).
Dropbox = LIFESAVER!
@kategrizz I did the same thing with a thumb drive -songs, monologues and head shots. And yes - we had to print head shots at a CVS at 11 pm one evening :-)!
@artskids I thought about a thumb drive… but I’ve met me… and it’s much harder to lose a DropBox folder!
^^Lol, “I’ve met me” :))