I was a tad anxious for my audition with CMU this past Saturday at the Pittsburgh campus, so I was the first one there and warming up to avoid the stress of being late. People slowly started to file in. Most people wore neutral colors, I other the other hand wore a fuschia dress with funky floral ankle strap heels. I felt like Elle woods in the situation, to be honest. Anyway, the members who were judging us today gave their speeches, including Barbara, Kaf, Gary, and another man. Claudia, one of the judges for the singing portion, didn’t speak. They were friendly and welcoming, eased my nerves even more. I talked to a few of the student who were helping out, and a few of the students who were auditioning. Eventually, I got called out to act. I went to Kaf. I entered the room and she told me to take off my heels (though she said she liked them lol) and she told me there’s no need to slate. I started with my othello monologue, proceeded to my contemporary called “bad party,” and I noticed she was looking down for the majority of the time. No problem, just a note. Then she asked me for a third and I did my sister Maynard monolgoue from Spamalot. She chuckled at the end. Then she asked me to sing a short cut of my song, so I sang a heartfelt section of “Astonishing” for her. She interviewed me, asked my what colleges I apied to I said “here, point park, and I sent in a video for penn state. But that didn’t work out.” She proceed to say how videos don’t capture the… And I accidentally finished her sentence and said “charisma” (oops!) she seemed to like me. We had a little more small talk and I went on my way. At the end she stacked the papers and said “great” as I was walking out. I said “thank you for your time!” And she said “you’re welcome” nice lady.
For my voice I went to Gary Kline. I went in, said hi, gave my directions to the accompanist, and slated for him. I sang “one kiss” from new moon which is legit. Gary was looking down a lot of the time. I proceed with “astonishing” which is a crazy high belt song. He was like, grooving to my signing! Haha! After I managed to get out my E flat and the last phrase, he said “wow, you really do have a big voice, don’t you?” And I replied “haha! I guess so!” Then he asked me if I studied with anyone he knew, because I’m a Pittsburgh local. On my way out I went to give him a handshake, and he said “no, give me a hug!” And he hugged me! He’s so lovely.
Chances are slim but I believe I did well. I’m just concerned because I didn’t get infront of barabra. Granted, I was at the 8 AM session and they probably wanted to get it over with. Even in the intoduction they were like, “last one!”
How do you guys think it went?
Has anyone else auditioned for cmu? Was was your experience like?
I was at the same audition as you! I remember thinking I liked your outfit 
I was the guy in the brown corduroys with gray vest/blazer. (I’m just responding to your post based on the order you wrote things if that helps) I luckily figured it would be safe to warm up in the car, but I am only now just fully recovered from a sinus infection I had, so on Saturday my voice was not at its strongest and my head felt a little foggy. I first sang for Gary, but before I went in I did my tradition of a few pushups before I auditioned- kind of a mistake, I think. I had just finished my pushups when they called me into the room so i felt slightly out of breath before the audition. Gary could tell I was nervous so he told me just to take a deep breath and relax, he was very comforting! After I sang he said some kind words and noted that I was a mess when I walked in but I managed to pull myself together haha. He asked if I had a third song and I did but I had never sung it with an accompanist before which was another mistake, BUT he seemed to like it as well and I thanked him and left the room. I went to go into the sitting room but right as I sat down they called me to go sing in the other room with Claudia. In THAT room Peter Cooke (head of drama) was also in the room which made me even more nervous since I was already nervous about my voice, but they all really did do a great job of getting me to relax. They listened to all three songs and said some kinds things! Then I went to Act for Kaf and she had me improv my dramatic monologue to make it comedic, it was fun! Peter Cooke asked to sit in on my audition though (no pressure -_-) Then I thanked them and she asked if I had any questions but I couldn’t think of any (of course I had a ton AFTER we left ), They had me perform for Barbara too but I was getting even more nervous by then. She had me try one of my monologues with a Spanish accent which I’d never tried before but was certainly willing to try! She ended by having me sing any one of the songs I chose and then she spoke to me. She said they really liked me and gave me great comments on my voice, but made sure I understood that over 2000 people had auditioned. But I’m trying to stay positive and hoping that everything worked out in the end- CMU is definitely my number 1.
Auditioned with Gary first. After I sang my first two songs, he asked me if I had something higher. He clearly wanted to hear legit, so I pulled out a third song. He was very complimentary, and spent a good chunk of time with me, but in the end, I saw my score sheet, and he gave me a 3 out of 5. Ugh. Next was acting. I did my two monologues for Gary. He liked them and asked for a third. He interviewed me a bit and then said he wanted Barbara to see me. He said to make sure she saw all three monologues. I did them for her and then interviewed me. Her last words were, “You deserve to be in a top program.” But I doubt it’s their top program. While I think they like me (which I was so encouraged by) the odds just aren’t in my favor. Still waiting. Still hoping. But man, it’s tough.
Did you get in?