<p>HSN, everyone is entitled to and should reach their own conclusions based on their own experiences and evaluation. There is no question that auditors - whether it be UArts or any other school - should act professionally and with respect for the students who appear before them. </p>
<p>In thinking about some of the comments on this thread in the context of my own daughter’s school audition experiences 3 years ago (Uarts, CMU, Emerson, Syracuse, Ithaca) and the other audition experiences she has had (college shows, summer stock, community theater, employment with an entertainment company) I am puzzled by some of the things that are being complained about. Taking it out of the context of UArts specifically, these are questions and issues that are germane to the school audition process generally and to the nature of expectations a student may have as they embark on a career path in theater. Some of these expectations, I think, may be unrealistic and therefore result in unsatisfactory feelings about the audition process.</p>
<p>The “day of” a school audition is a time consuming process. Of the schools my daughter auditioned at, the shortest day was 4 1/2 hours (which happened to be at UArts before they initiated the call back procedure) and the longest was 6 hours. Students should be prepared to kill the day, mostly with waiting around to be shuffled from one part of the audition to another. My daughter’s experience was not unique; her friends, both MT and acting candidates, reported similar time commitments, most of it spent sitting around waiting. My daughter will be auditioning for a summer stock production in a couple of weeks; it’s a non-equity call and she will arrive 2 hours before the doors open just to get herself on the list as early as possible. She will have her audition, at what ever point she is called, then wait around to see if she is on the call back list for later that day. She expects to kill the entire afternoon and (if she is fortunate to get a call back) the early evening. Sitting around, waiting to be called, is just often the way it is, whether it be school auditions or the real world. Are there exceptions, sure there are. But having to sit around and wait, in my view, is just part of the process and should not make an audition a “bad experience”.</p>
<p>At all of my daughter’s school auditions, students were kept together as a group in a “holding area” to await their turn. Sometimes the group was divided into subgroups because of either size or because as an MT student she had a 3 part audition and the groups would rotate in a different sequence. At none of the schools were students given practice rooms to use to review materials or do warmups. Maybe at some schools where the number of auditioners on each day is small, the school may do so. Most schools don’t have the facilities to do so, particularly where the number of auditions each day is high. Students either warmed up as part of a group warm up or vocalized privately while waiting with their group. Students also spent a lot of time chatting with each other, turning the waiting into a social opportunity. Some found that eased stress. For those who didn’t want to, they kept to themselves. Some students reviewed their materials, others did not, depending on their comfort level. Similarly, when my daughter auditioned for summer stock last summer, at a well know summer stock theater company, auditioners waited together in the theater’s lobby for their names to be called. Any one who wanted to chat did, any one who wanted to review materials did so. No one was offered a practice room. And frankly, while reviewing your materials while waiting may feel comforting, if you don’t have your materials down cold by the time you arrive for you audition, you are not going to nail it by practicing the day of.</p>
<p>Related to this, students should walk into their auditions prepared to “get down to business” and present their materials without any prompting from the panel. Expect that after initial “hellos” (and reviewing your songs with the accompanist if it is a MT audition) that the audition panel will expect you to proceed of your own initiative. You want to project poise and preparedness. Schools look for this. Some schools may be interactive by asking a student to commence with a particular piece from the audition info sheet but don’t walk in expecting this. Many others will sit and wait for the student to commence. My daughter had a summer stock audition where she walked in, said hello, spoke with the accompanist, walked to the mark and then stood there in the “awkward silence” that sskylaarr described until she realized that the auditiors were waiting for her to nod to the accompanist to start the audition. No one gave her any prompting, no one asked her what her first piece was; every one sat there waiting for my daughter. And this was a summer stock production at a summer stock theater company run by a college that is known to be extremely “warm and fuzzy”. The audition panel did not sit there in silence because they were cold and detached; rather, they expected my daughter to be in control of her own presentation. The same concept applies to college auditions. </p>
<p>Same day call backs at college auditions used as an immediate process to cut down the applicant pool is never a fun experience. They produce additional stress and anxiety while waiting to see if your name is on the list and, for many, create immediate feelings of rejection while still in the thick of the audition season. UArts only recently moved to this 2 step process but there are many other schools that have done this for years. I personally am not a fan of this approach but the schools that do this presumptively have an artistic, educational or other articulable reason for doing this. The reality is, though, that once accepted to a school and embarking on a career in performing, call backs will be part of your way of life. The success of each initial audition will be measured by whether you get a call back and the success of your call back measured by whether you get the role. If a student is not comfortable with the prospect of an immediate rejection, then don’t apply to schools that have call back lists that are posted the same day. But keep in mind that call backs and rejections before call backs are about to become a routine part of your life.</p>
<p>Finally, I note showmom’s comment about the students who attended UArts summer program but were not listed for call backs. A point worth remembering about summer programs is that they are not an assurance that a student will have a successful audition at the school.My daughter attended 2 summer programs and applied to both school. Many of her friends from the summer programs also applied to the schools. The vast majority of them were rejected. Do a summer program because you want the experience and training and because it will be an enjoyable way to spend the summer. Don’t expect it to give you an “in” at the school.</p>
<p>I guess my point is this (hopefully without sounding preachy). College auditions are the first step, for most students, into the world of professional theater. For many of us, it’s a whole different world from what our kids probably experienced in high school. There are aspects to the college auditioning process that may not to our liking because it is a process that has a foot in the world of “professional theater” in ways that are not comfortable, convenient or within the realm of our expectations of a college application process. As I said at the beginning, this is not an excuse for anyone to act with rudeness but at the same time, students must realize that often the audition process is not going to provide amenities and conveniences they would like. The lack of conveniences or amenities, whether the audition panel is warm and interactive or business-like and to the point, is not what makes an audition good or bad. In the final analysis, it’s what you and only you bring to the audition that counts. Walk in expecting your auditions to be like a cattle call, be pleasantly surprised when it is not.</p>