<p>In my process of applying for different acting schools, I've obsessively searched various websites for every possible detail I can find on statistics, student life, auditions, and everything else you can imagine. What I've really wanted is to find someone who has blogged about their experience from start to finish. I'm hoping to help some of you out there.
First, I'll tell you a little about myself. I graduated from high school a year and a half ago and decided I wanted to see what it's like to work in the film industry before going to college. I've been an actor in several student films, web series, and plays. I've been an extra on more film sets than I care to admit. I've also worked as a production assistant on a major television show. I've recently decided that I want to give college a shot. I applied to The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, SUNY Purchase, The Juilliard School, and NYU Tisch.
So far, I've auditioned for NYCDA and NYU.
Over the summer, I went to NYCDA's summer program. I highly recommend it, although I believe that each student should do his or her own research before choosing a summer program. NYCDA's was the only one that I applied to, and that was on a whim. I think that they have a pretty high acceptance rate, so it's not as competitive as some of the other programs out there. I don't think that it was as demanding either, but I have nothing to compare it to. I had some fantastic teachers that taught me quite a bit, and I fell hopelessly in love with New York City. The most valuable thing that NYCDA taught me was that if you have a passion, you need to follow it. If you have one single thing that you want more than anything, go for it. Their program also gave me the confidence to do just that. Also, a couple of the teachers, including Maury Ginsberg and Alan Rackham, are some of the most inspiring people I've ever met.
Incidentally, NYCDA was the first school that I auditioned for. The admissions department and faculty are very welcoming and encouraging. I know that they truly want the best for their students. Although there was a bit of a mix up with my admissions coordinator (apparently I had been accepted long before I got the call, and they forgot to let me know...), nearly every experience I've had with NYCDA has been great. The only things that worry me are that instead of a diploma, you get a certificate, it's only a two year school, it has close to a 70% acceptance rate, and honestly, the name won't carry you as far as some of the other well known schools will. I found out that I made it in about a month after my audition, but like I said, apparently I was supposed to find out sooner. Also, they're very laid back about scheduling auditions. I happened to be in New York to tour Juilliard, and they basically said, "Hey, you're going to be in town? Come audition!" So I did.
Now, onto my audition experience with NYU Tisch. I live in Atlanta, and luckily their audition tour brought them here. I showed up at the Alliance Theatre where they held auditions about 15 minutes early, and I was one of the last ones there, so I suggest arriving earlier than that. I wore yoga pants and a tshirt, which I was happy with since we did a small movement exercise, but I seemed to be the only one who got the memo about wearing movement clothes. There were three representatives from NYU there, an admissions counselor and two teachers. The admissions counselor talked to us for a while about what we would do that day. We waited about 30 minutes after I got there for a few stragglers to arrive, and a couple of people never showed. We began the audition when all 11 of us went into a room with the two teachers. We did an exercise which involved standing in a circle and passing an imaginary frog around. Then we walked around somewhat aimlessly. We would occasionally be asked to stop and freeze, or jump into a pose, or vary our speed and direction. Then we were separated into two groups. If you go first, you're not going to have much time to change, but if you're after that, you'll have time. With my group, no official order was decided. I ended up going last. Each person stayed in the room for about 10 to 15 minutes. When I went, there was one teacher in my room. He asked me to wait a couple minutes so he could finish typing about the person before me. IMPORTANT AUDITION NOTE: every school that I've auditioned for has asked me to pick a focal point on the wall and perform to that rather than make eye contact. Consequently, I don't know what his actual response was as I performed. I know there was typing on his iPad, but that's all I'm pretty sure he spent a reasonable amount of time watching me. I performed my dramatic monologue first, allowed him a bit of time to type some more, and then did my comedic monologue. A chair was available which I used for the first one. Then I sat down for a few minutes while I was interviewed. I was basically asked where I was from, what I liked about working in the film industry, what I liked about Atlanta, and if I had any questions about NYU. He was friendly enough, but he didn't seem too impressed with me (not to sound narcissistic or whatever, but you can tell when people just aren't too happy with your performance), so I'm not getting my hopes up about that one. I've also heard that if they like you, they will ask you to do your monologues more than once, but I don't think he asked anyone in my group to do that. It bothered me that there was only one person watching rather than a panel like some of the other schools do, but I guess there isn't much I can do about that. I did regular admission so I should find out around April 1st if I got in.
As for Juilliard, I audition this Saturday in New York.
And for SUNY Purchase, I audition next month.
I will keep everyone posted on that if anyone takes the time to read this lengthy thing. I just know that I want to hear about other people's audition experiences, so here's mine.
Oh, and even though I haven't really been accepted to these places, the best advice I've heard so far is to just be yourself. I know it sounds cheesy and horrible, but I think that might be what these schools want to see: you. Remember that your audition time, above anything, is YOUR time. Every audition is a chance for you to do what you love: perform. Best of luck to all of you!</p>
<p>Hey, also, CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW LONG IT TAKES AFTER THE FIRST CALLBACK AT JUILLIARD TO FIND OUT IF YOU MADE IT TO THE FINAL CALLBACK WEEKEND? I really want to know.</p>