<p>Daughter is a junior, and participates in the h.s. drama program. Director there has an unwritten policy that only seniors will receive leads in her shows (there are a lot of other problems w/this small suburban drama program...but this is a chance she gets to see kids at her high school and be one of the "gang"). Anyway, her resume lists many, many strong supporting roles...but no leads.</p>
<p>She is getting very good training (and as a high-level dancer, is spending many hours a week in dance classes/rehearsals). She is studying piano, voice, acting...but she is starting to worry that the resumes that colleges see come fall won't list any leads in play or musical. Will this hurt her in the screening process? Also, she's planning another summer at a pre-college program (did OCU last summer...featured, nonlead in their show). Would she be better served trying to find some community theatre program to audition for? (There is not time for her to do any additional theatre during the school year.) We have always emphasized getting excellent training (and crossing your fingers that, in a room of equally talented auditionees, you are the "fit" they are looking for)...but will this performance history (lots of involvement...but never the lead) hurt her?</p>
<p>No, I don’t believe it will. This topic has previously been discussed at length here; if you do a search you can probably find the posts. To sum up, sure, colleges look at resumes. But whether or not your D has had a lead role at a small suburban high school is not going to be that important. And don’t forget, chorus and supporting roles are also valuable experience. OCU has a good summer program – that will help fill in her resume, and another summer program next year will also do that. Her audition is the key to admission; the best resume in the world isn’t going to help if you can’t deliver a strong audition. Tell your D to stop worrying about something she can’t change, and focus on choosing and preparing her audition material.</p>
<p>A role is a role, and some of the most important experience and greatest times you have are in supporting roles. I’ve played Lefou in Beauty and the Beast twice (once at a regional theatre in CT and then at my high school because the director knew that I had done it) and it truly was a role that shaped me as a performer and taught me how to use my body. Resumes are just a way of showing a college audition board or a normal production team what experience you have, but what really matters is the here and now. However it may be good for your D to take on some community/regional theatre experience to show that she actual can stand any competition from adult performers.</p>