<p>Hello,
I am a senior now and am planning on auditioning for colleges' BFA Acting programs. I have a worry about my resume, however. It's essentially non-existent in the theatre-related department--and no, I don't mean "Only high school plays and just one summer college program!" as I usually see around here--I mean no high school plays, no community theatre, nothing really. Please don't question my dedication to this career path or that I should go the B.A. route (I will certainly apply to schools that have good theatre departments and offer only B.A.'s as well, but I want to go for the BFA.) I do have performance-related credits as I have been playing an instrument for eight years and am part of my high school's orchestra and chamber ensemble group.
Now for the question: Will the resume play a big part in my admission? If I do well in my audition, will it matter if I have no previous theatre experience?
I plan to take part in the fall play in my school, more for myself really so that I will not graduate with heaps of regret for never taking part in my high school's productions, and hope to include that in my resume (though I'm not sure how much better one play is to none.)
I have done A LOT of research and know the competitive nature of these auditions as well as how selective these schools are.
I'd greatly appreciate all help!</p>
<p>How did you “catch the acting bug”? Have you taken a class or two? Or do you just love watching theatre and want to be a part of it?</p>
<p>I’m asking you these questions because if you don’t have any acting experiences, these might be questions that the auditors may ask you! So think about that and come up with a great explanation for why you want to pursue the BFA!</p>
<p>No, no classes, but yes, I do love watching theatre, and I have also done several video projects for my high school classes which have gotten very positive feedback from my teachers, and many of them suggest I should pursue this.
I’m glad you ask–the interview portion of the auditions are also a little nerve racking, since I’m not sure if I’ll be able to convince them that I will be dedicated to the program because of my resume.</p>
<p>Include the video projects in your resume. (You will of course need to submit a resume even if there are no acting credits other than the videos – and perhaps your school play – on it.)</p>
<p>I’d suggest working on your monologues with a coach who has experience in preparing students for college auditions. Include your coach’s name under “training” on your resume.</p>
<p>You might want to audition for some community theatre productions in order to get used to auditioning. If you were actually cast in a community theatre production, that might be a more helpful experience than your school play unless your school has an excellent drama program.</p>
<p>A community theatre production would look better than a high school play on your resume as well.</p>
<p>You might want to take some kind of acting class, somewhere, this fall. This could be included on your resume. If you take a class and perform scenes in the class, include them in your resume. </p>
<p>If you have seen lots and lots of theatre, you might talk in your interview about this, and what you like best, and why, and what theatre means to you.</p>
<p>Your audition is much, much more important than your resume, but I think in your case you really need to have some small amount of experience or training to make you a viable candidate.</p>
<p>Have you thought about perhaps taking a gap year and getting some training and experience during that year, then auditioning for BFA programs the following year?</p>
<p>Auditioned BFA programs are all quite selective. If you read through the threads on this forum, you will see that students sometimes fail to be accepted into any that they audition for, but then they take a gap year during which they prepare further, after which they get some good acceptances.</p>
<p>If you want to have a “normal” senior year (e.g. not giving up orchestra, chamber ensemble and other extracurriculars in favor of the school play and maybe an acting class), then planning to take a gap year to prepare for college auditions would make a lot of sense, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Thank you! I was a bit unsure if I should include them in the resume, but why not, they are what have encouraged me to pursue acting.
Money is a bit of an issue and I know how much a single acting class or college audition prep coach can be, but I will certainly look into it more. If anything, I will ask my school’s drama teacher for help.</p>
<p>The money issue is another argument for a gap year. During that year you could both work and train. The money you earn at work would help pay for a coach and/or a class.</p>
<p>A gap year isn’t really an option for me, personally I just cannot see myself not attending college out of high school. Money would be a problem only with the outside classes, but with college itself I am sure I will receive aid, for academics and some need-based. And I am not totally put-off by getting a BA instead, if I’m not accepted into the BFA schools. I do not mind going on to graduate school later on, which many people with BFAs do as well. I think I’ll be able to balance the extracurriculars with the play as well as with any other theatre experience I can get from my school.
It’s just that I would really like to receive the conservatory/intensive acting training of the BFA as opposed to the mainly theory-based/some practice of theatre studies of the BA (Although some offer great performance tracks).
My major worry was that if they liked my audition and my academics were up to par with the school that my resume would force them to turn me away.</p>
<p>sjane14 Have you chosen schools yet? Are you able to get to them to audition? Or go to Unifieds? Those things are costly too. I say go for it. You won’t know until you try.</p>
<p>I will be able to attend all New York auditions and I’m pretty sure almost all schools have auditions in NYC. NYU Tisch, Boston U–These I really like, though I’m sure everyone interested like these-- Purchase(Though its academics kind of put me off). I’m trying to also find schools who do actually consider academics in their admission decision and don’t ““consider””" them. I will definitely go for it, I’ve really got nothing to lose, I will get to where I want to be one way or another, the BFA would just get me there better/faster than the BA.</p>
<p>I am not sure your resume alone will make or break or chances, but the way you answer their questions might. When they ask what your past experience is, and you respond with “not much,” they might have some difficult follow-ups. Marbleheader had some great ones above, and I imagine (based on my own audition experience) that you could be asked some really uncomfortable or harsh questions. If I was a tougher auditor, I would ask why you didn’t make the time to do shows before if you are willing to commit four years and more of your life to this profession, and you had the opportunity to perform at school. They may also ask questions to test your knowledge of theatre, so just make sure you are well read enough in your own monologues and theatre in general to assure them that this isn’t a whim for you, but a big deal and a lifetime thing. Basically prepare yourself to be asked some possibly rattling questions – if they ask them, you are prepared mentally enough to handle them, if they don’t then at least you would have been prepared anyway – and show them that your lack of experience shouldn’t be mistaken for a lack of passion.
I agree though, you have nothing to lose, and they may appreciate your raw, untrained talent. It seems like you’re strong enough academically to be accepted to a non-audition BA, and if that feels like your worst case scenario then I say that you are in a pretty good place, right?</p>
<p>Yes, I’m sure the interview portion will be quite different than that of the other more experienced applicants, hopefully they won’t go too hard on me. Hindsight is always 20/20, but there’s only so much I can do about it now. But then again, I am there auditioning not for a job or a role but to show my potential to grow and learn and, in the end, all I crave is an education and guidance. That’s what they’re there for, right? And what shows more dedication than risking your chance of acceptance to colleges which you would normally have a high chance of being accepted into to audition for these programs? I hope I can make them see that.
No, BA’s are certainly not the end of the world and I am sure I will get a good education one way or another!</p>
<p>Remember that the students who have extensive resumes will have a competitive edge – not because there are things written on that piece of paper, but because they will have learned a lot over the course of auditions, rehearsals, and performances of the credits on their resumes.</p>
<p>Even someone who has done many auditions and never got cast, will have an advantage over you, because audition experience does make a difference.</p>
<p>Many auditions do not include an interview at all. You just perform your monologues and that’s it.</p>
<p>I know a student with a somewhat thin resume who hoped she could make up for it by impressing auditors with her passion for theatre in her interviews. She was not accepted into any top tier institutions such as the ones you mentioned; however she was accepted into an auditioned BFA for which she auditioned on campus and spent quite a bit of time talking to the department head.</p>
<p>If you are going to go ahead and audition for BFA programs, I would add the following advice to the above:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Submit supplemental materials to the theatre department, even if they are not required. These should include a reel of clips from your videos that show you acting. They should also include testimonial letters from people you have worked with (if not in theatre, then in orchestra, etc) telling what kind of person you are in terms of cooperativeness, etc, and what kind of work ethic you have. (Note: Some programs actually require recommendation letters from people you have done theatre work with. These are not testimonials to your talent but a confirmation of your qualities like reliability and dedication, etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>Try to audition on campus whenever possible, rather than at Unifieds. This will help demonstrate your level of interest. This sort of thing really makes a difference! It will also give you more time with faculty members and possibly department heads.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>If you are worried about money, remember that applying costs money. You would probably want to apply to at least eight or so BFA programs of varying degrees of selectivity. Since you are interested in BA programs too, you should also apply to several of those. Probably you know that each auditioned program requires an audition fee of as much as $50 or more on top of the regular application fee.</p>
<p>Please let us know how things go for you! There will be other students who are interested in your journey.</p>
<p>Other considerations that might impact your long-range plans:</p>
<p>If you attend a BA program, you are probably going to want to spend money on summer programs to bolster your training.</p>
<p>It is unusual for students to be accepted to MFA acting programs right out of college. MFA programs are even more insanely selective than auditioned BFA programs, especially for girls. A typical scenario is for a student to do work in theatre for at least a couple of years before even applying for an MFA. It is not unusual for students to apply to MFA programs for several years in a row before being accepted at one.</p>
<p>You might also be interested in non audition BFA or audition for BFA after accepatance schools. Here’s the thread on that subject. I haven’t checked the schools on the list to see if they are still as listed. But it could be a place to start some research:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1177128-non-audition-bfas.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1177128-non-audition-bfas.html</a></p>
<p>sjane14, stay confident and prepare yourself well. If you are 100% invested in it, and you prepare yourself the right way, then you will land somewhere. I agree that audition experience counts, but talent, the ability to take direction and apply it is equally important. No college professor is really that interested in the fact that a kid had three lines in the local community theater production of “Our Town,” or did summer programs for four years if their audition is weak. </p>
<p>If you have the talent and drive, many college teachers do not mind having a “clean slate” to work with. Also, many teachers will tell you that some of the kids with lots and lots of stuff on their resumes have not learned much about acting and what they’ve learned has to be erased and retaught anyway.</p>
<p>I would say that if the video projects and feedback from them are what has you interested in the acting field, then make sure you articulate direct and succinct answers to the questions you will get from judges at auditions when they see that you do not have “experience.” Don’t waver. If you are asked a question about not having experience, explain it, but don’t sell youself short. Don’t speak about it as a negative, and don’t make comparisons to other kids. Let the judges judge. Be true to yourself.</p>
<p>NJTheatreMom makes a good point. Some auditions won’t have an interview. Some will. Find out what each school’s tendancies are in auditions. I’d say the auditions in which you do your monologues and that’s it can be just as hard for a kid with “experience.”</p>
<p>How will you answer when the auditor asks: </p>
<p>If you have never participated in theatre, how could you possibly know that you would enjoy being in rehearsals and voice, text, movement and acting classes for 12+ hours a day with the same small group of people for four years?</p>
<p>Another angle to think about. The kids with more experience can actually speak to the fact that they know they love training and rehearsing day after day, because they have done it. A BFA program requires hours and hours in studio and rehearsal with very little free time. So during the interview the auditors maybe trying to determine if a student is ready for that. How would you demonstrate to them from your experience that you know you are ready to be involved at such a level?
Just a question to think about. Good luck.</p>
<p>Hello - my D was in much the same spot as you, although she came to it a year earlier, so she had a bit more time to catch up. She had focused intensely on music since she’d been a young child, and the skills and experience she had from that definitely translated to moving into theatre. That, for example, answers arwarw’s question excellently. My kid spent 12 hours a day for 6 weeks straight rehearsing competitive summer marching bands, many summers in a row. If that doesn’t compare to rehearsing a play with a set group of people, I don’t know what does (except for the sunburn).</p>
<p>What you did before you decided on theatre is easily described as part of your artistic path, and it will be meaningful. One thing that my D also was able to say was that she was a theatre fan, freak, geek and all of the above, from when she was 4 years old. She read, listened to, saw (on stage and on film), studied, talked about and breathed theatre, acting and film. Even though she loved music and was good at it, theatre was just waiting inside of her, ready to bubble up at just the right moment. </p>
<p>Her last year or so of HS she did manage to get some parts on her resume. She needed experience auditioning, so she auditioned for everything - as an end to itself. She was in a HS show, a summer show, a couple of community shows. That’s about it, because that’s all there was around here. They were all great experiences, and they let her find out about how theatre works, what different directors are like, and what she is interested in. If she’d had access to some film opportunities, she would have tried them, too.</p>
<p>She wasn’t asked about her “thin” resume at college auditions, but she definitely talked about who she was and what she cared about in the few interviews she had, during her college visits, and in her “why theatre” essays. Be very clear in these things. Remember that there are hundreds of kids who “love theatre” - but many of them don’t understand what it means to study it at the college level. Show people that you do, and your experience won’t matter at all. </p>
<p>If you are not well-versed in theatre literature, the cost of a coach of any kind to help you find monologue material and help you prepare will be worth it 100 times over.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>You are going to be competing with people–to get into the acting programs–who have much more experience than you. The resume isn’t the be-all and end-all, but the more experienced people are probably going to be able to give a better audition. It will take some hard work to catch up with them, and you may not be able to do it by the time you graduate, which is why some are suggesting a gap year. But maybe you will be able to catch up, who knows?</p>
<p>In the meantime, get as much resume stuff as possible. Audition for the school play as you said. Are there acting classes you can take at your school? Also audition for community theatre–you can get involved with this for free in most places. You may be able to find free acting classes or other acting-related activities for young people.</p>
<p>And think about doing some professional auditions. Even if it’s just something like a movie looking for some extras for a day.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>