<p>Has anyone tried to keep track of the gender-ratios for students auditioning for theater and musical theater programs? We all know how formidable the ratios are, but it might be interesting to see how they work for boys as opposed to girls. Presumably, most programs want to keep as close as they can to a 50-50 ratio. My son had his first audition today, and there were probably at least four times as many girls as boys auditioning for the Acting BFA (there were actually more boys auditioning for musical theater). If about 20 auditioned, about 10 were called back - two (out of three or four) boys and approximately eight (out of sixteen or seventeen, by his estimate) girls. If these numbers are at all representative, they would indicate that most boys have a good shot at many programs. I have to think that his call-back means that he has an excellent chance ultimately.</p>
<p>At my daughter’s NYU BFA acting audition, out of 30 kids… 3 were boys.</p>
<p>D’s BFA class this year is not 50-50 - very few boys. But other classes are much more equitable. I think her school takes the kids it wants, regardless of gender. Although I imagine they do want to have “enough” boys, it seems they think overall they’ll have a decent balance throughout the program for casting, etc.</p>
<p>We don’t think it’s “easier” for boys to get into her school. In her class, there is no evidence that the admissions/audition bar was higher for the girls who got in. I think in a lot of ways there’s equal pressure on both sexes. The girls have more competition, period - more girls audition and more are experienced and determined to succeed. And with the boys, schools still have to keep standards high, or the program will suffer; that might even make the competition harder for boys, since many boys come into this late and get a lot of great parts in HS with little talent (just because they are so scarce), without really meeting the standards these programs expect. </p>
<p>But who knows? Another great mystery in this crazy process.</p>
<p>Actually, I know at least one program, CMU, where they explicitly take more boys than girls. Their mantra is “our graduates are ready to go to work,” and since there are (according to them, and probably true) many more roles for men, they take more men. In practice, this means they take very few women each year, at least in acting, as opposed to MT. But as one female student told us, once you’re in they treat you like a princess. </p>
<p>Don’t know if there are any other schools that take this approach.</p>
<p>That’s my understanding as well, OneToughMommy, more boys than girls in most programs. It’s the way of theatre (and film and television) - many more roles for males versus females. Just another “beauty” of the business!</p>
<p>There might be a distinction here - very singular Acting programs as compared to those that provide more “theatre arts.” D’s BFA at Adelphi is defined as Acting, and there is a separate BFA for Design/Tech, but the Acting degree curriculum includes a lot of design and directing, and the Acting students have extensive tech assignments. They say their approach is to create well-trained actors who also have skills and experience in many aspects of theatre, which is what my D wanted. Because of that goal, gender is less important. </p>
<p>They do make sure there are plenty of males in the department, though, because casting is open only to BFA students and theatre minors. I have noticed that at least once a year they do a very female-heavy play (this year it’s Who Will Carry the Word?), which I can guess is because they want to beef up the acting opportunities for their young women.</p>
<p>My understanding, which comes from my reading here, and from what my daughter has learned over the years talking to coaches and teachers, is that the gender math in acting programs is very unfavorable to females. Look at the roles for males vs. females in frequently performed plays. It’s pretty daunting. My daughter has has only one audition so far. We didn’t count the applicants, but the waiting room was mostly girls and their moms, pretty close to what MOMMY5 describes.</p>
<p>EmmyBet - I think that the schools want to keep their standards very high, but that means they will not reject as many talented boys as girls. My son observed that roughly half of the boys and half of the girls were called back yesterday. If the numbers remained pretty consistent, most of the boys they called back have a strong chance of admission, whereas the girls still face some difficult odds. They will not accept untalented boys to achieve a perfect gender balance; there are plenty of talented boys out there. Talented boys simply face more forgiving arithmetic in the selection process.</p>
<p>Absolutely, stagemum is so right. A coach told us that for a white female to get into a top BFA program (Acting or MT), is like winning a lottery.</p>
<p>Looking at just the numbers will not tell the whole story. Knowing several individuals who have been involved in the college audition and admissions process for a long time, what they’ve seen is that, although, yes, there are far more girls than boys auditioning, the talent level of the boys is more uniform. What they’ve found is that the boys who reach the point of wanting to study theatre in college and enter into the college audition process, generally, are the cream of the crop of boys who have performed in high school. </p>
<p>Girls are more likely to do this as a spur of the moment thing, to be more influenced by shows like Glee and American Idol, and decide to audition. This isn’t to say that there aren’t a large number of dedicated and well-trained, and experienced, girls auditioning. There are. It’s just that there are many who are not. This was true years ago when my D was auditioning, and it’s become even more prevalent in the intervening years. It happens with both MT and straight theatre kids. </p>
<p>Figuring out the odds isn’t an easy task but this issue of which gender will find it easier to gain admission isn’t simply a matter of the numbers. :)</p>
<p>I so agree with alwaysamom…boys who pursue theater have faced down a gender-based stigma already, and to do that requires a serious interest. So the audition pool would be much more developed. But really good, talented boys get rejected every day-- D met a boy who really impressed her at one audition and was shocked that he wasn’t called back. </p>
<p>Something I don’t see discussed-- how many MT applicants are accepted for acting instead. That doesn’t show in the numbers-- D was called back for acting in one place and found that all but one of the others had auditioned for MT but were only called back for acting. So I’ve started asking and at some schools as many as a quarter of the acting students applied as MT’s. You can drive yourself crazy with numbers!! But it only takes one acceptance and you’re on your way to the next step. And attitude is something like half the battle.</p>