I’ve loved musicals for forever. I guess you could say High School Musical ignited a flame that never quite died down. I just love the combination of song and story that turn into something amazing. But I’ve spent my life in a very sports/academic centered household and town, so I’ve spent most of my days trying to work my way up to captain of my soccer team (I finally earned the title this past season) and top of my class (I’m currently #4) While I’ve been in school choirs from fourth grade till now (I enter my junior year in less than eight days) I haven’t been in a play since third grade and my dance skill is pretty much none existent. I never even considered musical theatre as a viable option until maybe a year ago and now I fear I’m too inexperienced to get into a good musical theatre program for college. I’m planning on taking either a ballet or musical theatre class this coming fall along with vocal lessons and I’m gonna start taking drama at my school, but is this enough? I’ve always had natural talent when it comes to singing but considering how late I’m starting with dance and acting I don’t know how good I am or how quick a study I can be. So give it to me straight: how screwed am I?
My 1st piece of advice is to audition for/participate in a show (school/community) asap. That way you can see if you like being in theater. It’s great- but not like what you see in High School Musical or Glee. If you DO like it, you are taking good steps to begin. There are lots of stories on CC and in the theater world about people who started late. My own D did shows in HS with a boy who did his very 1st show at the end of sophomore year, got into a great college (Ithaca) and appeared on bway last year. You never know. BUT - I would still say the 1st thing is to do a show- I bet it will have improved since 3rd grade 
Not screwed at all - but you’ll have to work hard if this is truly what you want. @toowonderful gave some great advice. Being in a musical is a lot different than watching one and singing along. There is A LOT of standing around time during rehearsals and as an athlete always on the go, you may find that to be more than you can take. Definitely get into ballet class ASAP, or jazz/MT dance if that’s not feasible. Vocal lessons with someone who is familiar with MT singing as it is today - as opposed to a choral teacher who may not be in touch with the current MT world - would be helpful. Good classical training could also be helpful if you are just starting out. Drama class is good. If you can swing some acting coaching, that would be of benefit, as well. That’s a lot to squeeze in if you are also playing varsity soccer this fall. You CAN do competitive sports while prepping for MT, but if your school’s (community’s??) fall musical/play overlaps with the fall season it will be VERY difficult to manage the two. If your musical is in spring, it might be doable.
Based on your posted name, I’m guessing you’re male?? If so, all is not lost. Your soccer skills may have prepared you for dance better than you realize. And it’s possible that at your age, your voice is just starting to mature into something with a nice quality and range. Many teachers will not even meet with a boy until his voice changes, so you are not far off the mark vocally.
My S is a junior BFA MT student at a very competitive audition-entry program. His freshman year roommate had been a wrestler and football player most his life until an injury in HS put an end to that. He auditioned for the school musical around the same time you are considering and was immediately hooked. He entered college with almost no dance training and only vocal experience was in choir and the school musical. By fall of sophomore year in college he was in the dance ensemble of the main stage musical. You can do this.
Are you a rising HS senior or junior? Male or female?
Do you live in a community/ go to a HS where there are opportunities for you to get involved this year?
Where I teach we have accepted students without tons experience, often HS athletes, very very strong dancers, or musicians who are coming a little later to theatre/ musical theatre. I am sure other schools will as well.
Pleas feel free to PM me if you would like. I am happy to answer any questions if I can
Yeah, if you are a boy and have natural talent, you aren’t screwed at all. TBH, most of getting in is how you do in the AUDITION. BUT since this isn’t a world you have lived in, I would do 2 things: 1) crawl into a cave and read everything, and I mean EVERYTHING in the MT major drums here on CC. EVERYTHING. 2) Hire MTCA or some similar coach with a good national reputation to TELL YOU IF YOU ARE COMPETITIVE. If they say you are, keep them on board and just do everything they say. Don’t even think about arguing with them. You are WAY behind the ball but if you get some really good, professional advice and have some real natural talent, you could end up somewhere good!! Keep in mind though that this field is not for the faint of heart so unless you’ve come to the realization that nothing else would make you happy (kinda hard to know if you haven’t done it since 3rd grade), consider doing something else and pursuing MT as more of a hobby.
just an fyi for any other folks with advice, I am in fact a female. Jef is just my intials.
Assuming you start doing shows and like it- another good step would be a college MT intensive next summer. These can be a GREAT way to help understand if you want to pursue a BFA degree (which is actually different from doing shows) Some require an audition, which can help give a feeling for college auditions. Some schools with good summer programs: CMU, NYU, Ithaca, Northwestern, Syracuse, U of Michigan, CCM, TX State.
Along with @Calliene’s suggestion to digest all the posts on this forum - especially those “pinned” at the top of the page, reading Mary Anna Dennard’s book, “I Got In!” is a great place to start. Being female makes the odds a bit tougher, but you can still do this. Many programs purposely try to assemble a diverse group of students, from all kinds of backgrounds - and some pride themselves in developing artists who did not enter MT training as soon as they could walk and talk. Successful performers have come from all manner of beginnings.
Your athletic training can be a great source of strength for you. Based on what you have posted, one can assume you have learned how to work hard over a long period of time to reach a goal. You have learned the all-important value of team work. And if you’re captain of the team, your coaches and teammates must see something special in how you go after your goals and inspire the others on your team. AND it looks like you’ve been able to be a good student at the same time. Take those strengths and go after this next goal. Go Girl!
You can always try! No harm what so ever. Do you have your families support? Do you have an idea of any schools you’d be interested in attending? I agree with the person who stated you should get an evaluation. Also see when next summer’s college programs begin to take applications. You’ll need prescreens for many of them. I believe most applications are due by January. What part of the country are you from? Can you get to NYC? Broadway DAnce has classes for pure beginners. What you might do in forgo an MT major and get a BA in theater from a non audition school and then get your graduate degree in MT.
If your grades and test scores are very good (and they must be if you’re #4 in your class), you should probably think about non-audition BA schools – Northwestern, Vassar, Sarah Lawrence, Wesleyan, Muhlenberg. They will be more interested in your well-rounded-ness than straight conservatories. I agree that getting yourself evaluated by a national coaching service is important. If you haven’t done much theater, in school or out, you just can’t have any idea whether you’re competitive or not. You might have a lot of natural talent, but you will be up against people who have a lot of natural talent PLUS training. Also, if you just want to be on stage, maybe consider an acting program, where you won’t have to get through a dance call? MT is full of girls who have been in dance classes since they were four years old, acting far less so.
@jefvsmovies - as others have said in previous posts, people with talent, drive, and perseverance always have a chance in theatre. However, you do have some ground to make up to improve your odds of success in getting accepted to an audition-based college theatre program.
- A quick and easy way to see what is involved in getting into a college theatre progam is to watch the free series of vlogs put out by Mary Anna Dennard, a national theatre coach. Google her web page and click on "VLogs" on the menu bar. She covers lots of topics, including:
- Before You Get In - How to Get Started
- Where to Begin to Find the Perfect Program
- Creating a Smart College List
- Audition Prep on a Budget
- Unifieds
- What Happens in the Audition Room?
- Finding Monologues
Mary Anna’s free videos are really easy to watch and they cover a lot of ground.
She also has a book, “I Got In: The Ultimate College Audition Guide for Acting and Musical Theatre.” This is available on Amazon and its a quick and easy read that provides a comprehensive overview of the college audition process.
- You can make up some ground this year by getting in as much MT vocal training as possible through private voice lessons. MT is a different vocal domain than conventional vocal performance (although this is subject to no small amount of debate in the vocal community), so it pays to take lessons from a teacher familiar with modern musical theatre (if possible). Most competitive applicants have had years of private vocal lessons, but in the 18 months between now and when you would audition next year, you can get in a significant amount of training.
- Since you don't have much stage experience, taking acting lessons will also help significantly. For one thing, you need to explore the domain in some depth to ensure this is *really* what you want to do in college. Some students without significant training and experience in acting reach college BFA programs and find out that they really don't like what is involved in acting classes. To get a glimpse of what is involved, read Michael Shurtleff's book, "Audition." His "12 Guideposts" represent the key elements that many colleges look for in auditions. The book is available on Amazon.
You may also want to take a look at the series of articles published by the Educational Theatre Association by Jon Jory. These seven articles provide a great introduction to the basic elements of acting in terms that are easy to understand, including: *given circumstances, raising the stakes, tactics, objectives, *etc. To find the articles, Google: “Jon Jory on Acting Educational Theatre Association.”
- Taking ballet class is a great start to get ready for college auditions. If possible, you should also take as much Jazz as possible to become familiar with the basic terminology and combinations. College audition dance calls go much easier if you are familiar with the terminology and basic elements of both Ballet and Jazz.
- There is a great thread here on CC to look through to see what is involved in the audition process that is pinned to the top of this forum: "Preparing to Apply, Information for HS Juniors and Seniors."
- There are many non-audition-based college theatre programs that not only do not require an audition, but are likely to be a good fit for those without significant training or experience. You can find them in the thread pinned to the top of this forum entitled, "Big List of MT College Programs by Type."