<p>My son does not sing and does not play an instrument, is this going to hurt him when auditioning for Juilliard or other Arts based colleges?</p>
<p>I would say that it will not hurt him in the least, if he is seeking admission to an acting program. But I bow to the expertise of others. :)</p>
<p>Juilliard will ask you to sing if they want to hear more from you. I know some were not asked to sing at the first audition and some weren’t. One boy sang a jingle from a commercial. He was not called back though. At callbacks they asked my d to sing the song as she walked backwards getting softer. The two London schools my D auditioned for required a song. No accompaniment. And they worked her with the song. I am not sure they are really looking for great voices. Mason Gross at Rutgers and fordham didn’t require a song at all and Purchase did. Pace acting doesn’t. UNCSA does require a song as they incorporate voice in their program. My D auditioned at other programs for MT so they of course require you to be able to sing. Those are the programs we were familiar with. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>This is a great question! I am also not a singer and chose to initially audition for schools that did not require a song because of this. </p>
<p>“Best laid plans…” While attending Unifieds, I decided to do several walk-in auditions, two of which asked me to sing which of course I obliged but was secretly terrified about. I sang a little bit of an old pop song, and thought nothing about it afterwards.</p>
<p>I got in at both of these schools, not because I am a gifted singer (far, far, far from that) but because as one of the department heads put it I just “tackled it” without hesitation. I think this is what these programs are looking for – not so much talent, but the willingness to try a few notes, which I think they associate with an actor that is not afraid to try new things and take direction. </p>
<p>So basically, from my experience, it doesn’t really seem to matter whether you can or can’t sing, just about the willingness to try. I’m not sure this applicable everywhere, but I would think acting programs would care more about acting than anything else.</p>
<p>I have heard the comment that singing sometimes reveals things about the quality of your voice that speaking doesn’t. </p>
<p>Auditors might hear something in your singing voice that they like (even if you are not a good singer), and thereby know that your speaking voice has more potential than might otherwise be evident.</p>
<p>
My daughter was asked to sing at her Mason Gross audition.</p>
<p>Thanks, and I am hopeful that the asking to sing may not be an indication that these programs really are looking for singers or musicians. </p>
<p>But what gives me pause on the subject is my son and I saw the 3rd year students perform As You Like It in a production at Mason Gross last year and there was a lot of singing. When I looked at the Mason Gross Globe training online I saw that again there is a lot of singing and guitar playing. </p>
<p>I saw a few Juilliard students online in a production and again they were singing. My son cannot sing. He will take some voice lessons over the summer. But if a program wants actors who need to sing in a classic theater production my son will be screwed.</p>
<p>Maybe someone who has gone to school at Rutgers or Juilliard will respond. </p>
<p>Based on my son’s experience at another BFA Acting program, some plays do have parts that involve singing or playing an instrument, but not most. That kind of role would go to students who have those skills, but there would still be plenty of other very good roles for less musically accomplished students.</p>
<p>It could be that the videos you saw present a skewed picture. Singing and guitar playing, etc, are fun and appealing and it could be that the makers of the videos chose to emphasize these elements when in reality they are not dominant elements of very many performances that those schools.</p>
<p>It is also possible (or probable) that the Rutgers and Juilliard students were singing “well enough” to meet the needs of the productions in question but not at the level of someone with a lot of vocal music training.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that the singing in auditions at Jyard and Mason Gross are for the purpose of revealing vocal range. I know that Juilliard actors do a cabaret but even the non-singers are coached extensively. Having a good singing voice is not really a prerequisite for these acting programs.</p>
<p>I have never heard of anyone being asked to play an instrument as part of an college theatre audition (but I am always willing to be proven wrong!).</p>
<p>If you are asked to sing as part of your audition, and you are not auditioning for a musical theatre program, be sure to choose a song that isn’t too difficult. Aspiring’s choice of an old pop song seems to have worked for her, since she got offers from everywhere she used that song. Don’t pick a song with difficult to hit notes or that requires “belting” unless you are ABSOLUTELY certain you can do those things.</p>
<p>I agree with the reasons people are giving for why acting programs may want to hear their auditioners sing.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>RealKEVP, the UK schools sometimes ask their students to play an instrument.<br>
As for the MasonGross video, that was Twelfth Night, which happens to have a lot of songs. I think that was just chance. Even in this performance, mostly the character of Feste would be singing. Other characters would not. Also, it seems to be that Mason Gross is not really looking for trained singers, more that it values some actors who can also sing.</p>
<p>My take is that it definitely doesn’t hurt to be able to sing - it just makes you more marketable, and there seems to be this recent trend in which singing/instruments are much more woven into Shakespeare and other straight plays - but it’s not an impediment. I agree with what everyone is saying: they are looking more for voice quality, tone, projection, rather than singing ability. So when the time comes, to prepare for the audition, your son should prepare a few songs that he is very comfortable with in his own natural vocal range, that displays his tone to its best–a good voice teacher will be able to help him with that, once you explain the goal.</p>
<p>My S auditioned for 4 UK schools and was not asked to play an instrument, nor does he know how.</p>
<p>I noticed that at my daughter’s first Mason Gross callback, one of the other kids brought a ukulele. Which is sort of a musical instrument 
No idea if she made it to the next callback.</p>
<p>Which UK schools require playing a musical instrument at an audition? Obviously, someone auditioning for a music program would have to, or maybe a musical theatre program, but which are the UK THEATRE programs that require playing a musical instrument at audition? I don’t know of any, but am willing to be proven wrong.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>mommadrama, I guess I was thinking of RCS and thought there were others as well. Maybe not?</p>
<p>I know someone who got into Juilliard who isn’t a singer or a musician. She had to sing at callbacks, but it wasn’t to determine if she had a good voice, just to have her try and risk different ‘out of the comfort zone’ things. It is NOT a deterrent if you are not a singer or a musician.</p>
<p>Mason Gross tells students to come prepared with 16 bars. From the web site:</p>
<p>Actors must present two contrasting monologues, one classical and one contemporary … **Also, you must be prepared to sing 16 bars of a song, a cappella (no accompaniment).</p>
<p>Some are asked to sing and some aren’t.</p>
<p>I would say even just a handful of voice lessons would be handy for any actor, even if they aren’t fantastic singers. It is helpful to know how to sing and vocalize properly so as not to ruin your voice.</p>
<p>Some research on the Internet has revealed that the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama recently changed its name to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, so I now know what RCS stands for!</p>
<p>Looking at the RCS website, I discover that there is NO requirement that auditioners play a musical instrument if they are auditioning for BA in Acting.</p>
<p>However, there is also a degree program called “BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice” which gives auditioners quite a wide variety of choices on what to do for their audition, including the option of playing a musical instrument.</p>
<p>There is also a BA program in Musical Theatre, that does indeed ask auditioners to play a musical instrument that they bring with them (but a piano or drumset would be available on request). But they do give the option to people who can’t play a musical instrument of just discussing music with the panel. (I really get the impression that they prefer people who actually can play a musical instrument). But remember this is just for this specific program in Musical Theatre, NOT for the program in Acting.</p>
<p>And of course, RCS also has programs in Music, that certainly would require playing an instrument!!</p>
<p>So it still looks like someone who is just interested in “Acting” will never have to worry about being asked to play an instrument at a college audition. The instruments only come out for these “fancier” degree programs.</p>
<p>the University of Michigan has a piano sight reading portion for their musical theater audition but not for Drama. I think the answer to the original poster’s question is that if they ask you to sing something at a drama audition, pick something that you sing well in the shower. 
They aren’t looking for you to be an incredible singer when they ask you to sing in a situation like that. I have a feeling they just want to see how you “tackle” what they ask you to do. Good luck!</p>
<p>I think I may have told the story before that a Purchase freshman told us at on-campus auditions.</p>
<p>He was a non-singer, and when he was asked to sing at the audition, he stood there nervously and croaked something out in a tentative manner. They asked him to try again and this time to sing something while moving. At that point, he finally loosened up. He waltzed comically across the floor, flapping his arms and singing “God Bless America”…and was accepted into the program.</p>