I read on another board about an applicant being asked during his/her live audition to sing a song from one of the shows listed on his/her resume. This got me thinking about other requests from auditioners outside the normal “can you sing a pop/other contemporary/etc. song from your rep” type questions. Any of your kids experience this and if so what were the requests? No need to be school specific, just wanting to prep my junior daughter for what she might expect. Thanks!
There are many many things that can be asked. Audition coaches and “schools” spend a good amount of time prepping kids because the interview component of an audition is HUGE. You have to be prepared with intelligent answers. As far as songs just make sure anything on your resume you can do on command including special skills- if not just take it off. Also, its a common rule to not have any song in your book you can’t sing well bc Murphys law they will flip to the back and chose that one:)
My d was asked to do a monologue from a recent show in more than one audition and I think she was asked to do a specific song from a role on her resume at least once.
Here are some questions that my d received during her auditions. In a way, I think that the audition panels were sort of using some of Hagen’s “Nine Questions Actors Need to Ask Themselves” (Who Am I? What do I want? What do I do to get what I want?) as well as seeing what you know about the process:
“What do you think makes a good actor?”
“Why do you want to pursue acting as a career/what makes you want to be an actor?”
“If you couldn’t be an actor, what would you be?”
“What do you get out of being on stage?”
“I see you played Maria in the Sound of Music. What did you try to bring to that role?”
“What kind of research did you do for that character?”
“What is your typical approach to preparing for a role?”
“When you were preparing for that show, what did you learn?”
“What was the hardest part about playing that role?”
“Tell us about that show…”
“Great song, bad show (…pregnant pause where they wait for a response…)”
I forgot to mention the biggest curveball question, which d got asked several times:
Two other questions that came up a lot:
“Why are you applying to our program?”
“What would you bring to our program?”
@EmsDad I am not a fan of “What other programs have you applied to?”. How did D handle that one? Thank you for sharing all of these. Very helpful!
@modanbsmt001 - she would mention some, but in no way all, of the programs that she applied to.
I agree with you and I am also not a fan of this question. I have heard responses and seen posts here on CC from faculty members offering a rationale for doing this, but I didn’t think any of them adequately justified putting the student on the spot like this.
I’d say answer that question with a couple of schools similar to the one you’re auditioning at. So for example, if you’re at a school with strong academics like UMich, say you’re auditioning at NYU and BU (if you are). If you’re auditioning at UNCSA, which has an intense morning-til-night BFA program but minimal academics, say you’re auditioning at Juilliard and CMU. (I know some of those examples are acting, not MT, but you get the idea.) IMO, that sends the message that you know exactly what kind of program you want, and their school is a good fit for you.
That’s a really helpful answer, @actorparent1 . I find myself wondering if one should also mention other schools where auditors might see you standing outside the rooms waiting to go in, say at Unifieds? Keep thinking it must be awkward to see auditors in the hallways after you’ve auditioned for them, and probably even more so if you’re just signing in for your spot at the room next door :-o
That’s a great point to consider.
Wondering if anyone has auditioned on campus at either Coastal or Montclair as I have both coming up and am hoping to get some insight?
@EmsDad agree completely. That question has always bothered me. It seems unfair to ask that of the kids and I’m not sure who benefits from it. Don’t they realize how awkward that is for the kids and how it puts them on the spot?
Some potential curveballs to be aware of that occurred for S at auditions last year…as I’m writing this, I realize that the curveballs really came from the accompanist, not the auditors.
*Accompanist really changed the tempo of one song or another, or hit some wrong notes
*Accompanist questioned the cut of the song, even going so far as to saying, “This doesn’t make any sense”, and “are you sure you’ve sung it this way”? (Can really throw a kid off just as their about to sing!)…in this example, afterwards, the accompanist did say “Oh yeah, I see how that makes sense now…”
@Goggleson It’s a point to consider, but things are so hectic at Unifieds, and the auditors do know that kids are auditioning at multiple locations
Another thought re: the question of ‘where else are you applying’ is probably for the auditor to gauge their ‘luck’ of getting you if they offer you a spot in their program…I found that it’s more of a way for them to get a feel for themselves. I think @actorparent1 response is a really good one.
Don’t forget that even though your student is auditioning to get in, auditors know that they too are auditioning for your student too…and it’s def happened that some schools may lose a potential student if their audition interaction doesn’t go well, or isn’t a good fit. Each and every one of your students has talent, or else they wouldn’t be in the position they’re in, and each one of them will find their way.
BAL to all in your upcoming auditions! (& yes, even though it’s a crazy process, I’m kind of missing the insanity! lol)
I haven’t looked at these boards since last year, much less stressful to not have a kid in the game. I smiled at the question though. In her auditions last year, my kid had a few odd and funny curveballs. After singing one song, one audition panel asked her to sing the same song, but pretend she was on her way to the hospital in labour. I would’ve paid good money to watch it. At another, the accompanist bailed on the song after 3 bars, closed the book, and she just carried on a capella. At another, after waiting for hours, the auditioner said “I’m late for my flight, so I want you to sing 10 sec of both of your songs, and we will skip the monologues”. So I guess the message is stay relaxed, roll with whatever happens with a smile. She got into school #1 and #2 and took #3 off her list after that.
@DramaLove2020 -Happy to help with any questions about Coastal’s audition process. I have worked the auditions several times as my D was their recruitment coordinator. Feel free to pm any specific questions.
Could you message me at cdeangelis1998@gmail.com if you have any information about the Physical theater B.F.A. at Coastal or about the audition process for it? My daughter was accepted into the scholars program at Coastal and submitted her prescreen for the physical theater program and is waiting to hear if they will audition her. Thank you!
D just had a weekend of MT auditions. Some schools let her use a track, others provided accompanying pianst. First one with a pianist was rough as they played way faster than the tracks she practiced. Made her feel like she was off beat and not much time to get back on via 16 bars.
She’s going to have her singing coach practice tripping her up going forward. Never contemplated that before, but it was a real issue and will likely result in an easy “no” from that school. Too bad, it was at the top of her list.
@rickle1 That’s too bad about the accompanist playing a faster tempo than than your daughter was planning to sing the song. For the future, not only should the music be well marked as to tempo and other aspects, your daughter should show the accompanist the cut before she performs and quietly sing a few measures of her song in the tempo she has set. If there’s anything unusual in her cut, she should explain that to the accompanist before singing. It is common and expected to prepare the accompanist before taking her place to audition.
@soozievt Thanks. Great feedback. i will pass it on to D for sure! Not really sure how she handled it but she’s one of those kids that needs to learn to become her own advocate.
Ricle1 - was this at Tampa Consortium??
D had a similar issue.
@Dramamomma918 yes it was.