Place to summarize recent BFA Acting Audition Experiences

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
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I’ll share my summary of my daughter’s audition experiences so far, in case it helps someone else - so many others have posted their incredibly helpful tips and experiences that I’d like to try to give back -

My daughter has been accepted to UArts (obviously she is relieved/excited that she definitely can attend a great BFA program). She really enjoyed that audition, which she did on campus. It was her 1st, done in early December, and she was very nervous, as i recall, but she was totally relaxed after. She wasn’t prepared to have to fill out a 2 page form before the program started - be aware that they want you to come up with a lot of adjectives to describe yourself! Also, although she was obviously very pleased to be called-back, she felt terrible being called herself when new friends, who were right next to her, learned they were not called back. That intensely happy-upsetting experience took her a lot by surprise.

Next, she auditioned for Rutgers on 1/21, right on the heels of her midterm exams! She said she thought it went well, although she was not happy that it took over 2 hours after we signed in, and all but 15 minutes of that was spent sitting in pretty uncomfortable auditorium chairs waiting to be called. Relatively, she felt that UArts was much more welcoming, engaging and well-organized, and she felt she saw and learned a lot more about UArts afterward than she did of Rutgers.

The following morning she auditioned for UMinn in NYC. She felt that was her worst audition so far. She felt she did well with her monologues, but after he asked her to sing, she felt she started her song a bit too high which threw her off. He then did not engage her in any conversation at all, so she interpreted that badly since the song was not in UMinn’s requested prep but being prepared for a short convo was listed. (The second we were out of earshot, she said, “I blew it. There is no way I’ll be accepted!”) The flip side to that is that a recent grad of their BFA Acting program who lives in NYC was helping in the tiny waiting room outside the audition studio and while we waited (we arrived 40 mins early - she was called in exactly on time) we were kept completely enthralled by the enthusiasm of this well-spoken young man who offered to answer any questions and while doing so made it clear that felt the time/money spent attending the UMinn Guthrie program was the best of all possible investments in his life so far! He actually said something about it being, without question, the best acting program in the country! Overall, my daughter felt this was the most professional and organized of the auditions she had so far. It did occur over Unifieds weekend in NYC, so perhaps her relatively brusque experience was a sample of the intensity to come when we’re in Chicago next week. After all, they see SO many auditions, one after another, during these intense weeks at Unifieds!

Anyway, although my daughter felt her confidence badly shaken after the UMinn experience, she was completely relaxed for her on-campus Marymount Manhattan audition the following Saturday. They ask you to arrive early to register and then about 40 mins. later you all go into an info session in the theater. It was standing-room-only, and after a rather long talk by the dept head (there were about 12 current students also on the stage, but he did the large majority of the talking, giving a TON of detail about the school and the program. Very nice guy who was clearly eager to help everyone understand what a MMM experience would be. He also took a lot of time to encourage everyone to relax and try to enjoy this audition process. There was a brief Q&A at the end, but he took a lot of time and the audition process needed to start, so I think the Q&A session was much shorter than they had planned, since there were so many on stage that didn’t get a chance to say much. Anyway, they divided the kids into 3 groups alphabetically and the groups worked/auditioned as a seperate ensemble. The parents were advised to either hang out or to leave and explore that part of the upper east side of Manhattan. My daughter truly enjoyed the entire experience and coincidentally was placed in a group with a girl from the Cherubs Theater program she did last summer! They even did the same monologue, but since they did it completely differently my daughter wasn’t upset about it. Monologues were done in alphabetical order, and my daughter went last in her group. She said the experience was very collaborative and it was more like attending a fun acting workshop than an actual audition. The kids all had a lot of fun and my daughter was in a contagiously good mood afterward. It was a long boring 2 hour wait for me, but my daughter felt the time just flew by, as it will when you’re having a great time.

We’re flying to UMich tomorrow night for her on campus audition Friday and we’ll fly from Detroit to Chicago for Unifieds where she’ll audition for Boston University, Butler University (BA), DePaul (on campus), and Emerson. I’m looking forward to having an enjoyable bonding week with my girl, since this will likely be the last one for just the two of us for a long time!

(In case you are wondering why she didn’t do NYC Unifieds, as stated above, she was just coming off her midterm exam week and didn’t want to be stressed. Also, she prefered to do the Butler audition in Chicago rather than travel to Indianapolis for just one audition. It also allows her to see DePaul again, since she’ll audition on their campus. She’s already visited and loved BU and Emerson - each for very different reasons - so she decided to do those auditions out while we’re in Chicago rather than drive up to Boston again. One regret for me was not booking a room on the Executive level of the Palmer House back in the fall, before we knew her audition dates. You can always cancel or alter the reservation after audition slots are finalized, but finding another nice, reasonably priced, conveniently located hotel was harder than I would have liked. For those planning for next year and beyond - take the advice of many more experienced families on this message board and just book a room on the executive level for the Sat - Thurs of Unifieds week as soon as you think you might be auditioning in Chicago.)

My daughter will audition on campuse at Syracuse Universitiy the following weekend. Doing an on-campus audition because she also will have the opportunity to stay overnight with a friend who is a freshman there this year, which is an experience not to be missed.

Last, but hardly least - my daughter’s final audition is on campus at Carnegie Mellon on Sun. 2/19. Since her school is off, we’re staying for a campus tour that Monday so she has a very good look around, just in case she wins that lottery!

(Feel free to message me if anyone has any questions about the specifics of her remaining auditions, don’t want to be overly boring about our entire process!)

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Be advised on DePaul. They only see 1 monologue and they don’t work with you or interview you unless you get a callback. There is a quick movement class after but I’d venture to say their decision is made during the monologue. It is the only chance you have for them to see what you can do. If they don’t see a spark–you’re out.

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Also, the woman running the audition day told students not to say their names or slate, because they had that information already. Then, when my S got in the room, the man seemed annoyed that he didn’t say who he was and slate. They need to get their method straight.

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Just FYI, at a audition at Ripley Grier on Sunday, I was talking with a mom who has a current freshman drama kid at UArts who is auditioning to transfer. She said that there have been “riots” in Philly over the election. Her daughter is tired of of dodging protesters just going to class. I have no idea that this is true but passing the info that came from a current freshman’s parent along to others.

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@bwaygirl1 - my D (a student at NYU) has mentioned protests there as well. She lives on union square - which has had at least a couple of people holding signs for various causes the 2 years she has been there… but since she got back for 2nd semester she says that things have been non stop, and much more crowded. Doesn’t seem to bother her - she says she often joins in for a few minutes if she has time on her way places…

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Guessing this will be happening over the next 4 years if kids are attending schools in city centers. Just a question if whether your child thinks it’s an issue or not for them personally.

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@toowonderful it is either an exciting time to be at a city school or it may be an exhausting time. I wanted to pass along information that I heard from the parent of a current Freshman at UArts to simply share information.

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That’s strange. My D is a highly involved sophomore MT at UArts who pays attention to politics and current events (and is “sensitive” to the political climate, especially at her school, of course–she talks to me about it often), and she says that she hasn’t seen any protests directly around the area of UArts; they’ve been a few blocks away.

Maybe she felt unhappy or unsafe having the protests even a few blocks away. Who knows…

Campus location (even without protests) can be a big factor to many students! My UArts D absolutely loves her city campus (which shocked me at first because she’s a huge nature lover and grew up on our pond and in our stream and woods, etc.). D2, however, who is a junior, says she absolutely does not want to go to college in a city, but she doesn’t want rural, either. (But, we all know that can change.)

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We saw some peaceful protests in and around Washington Square while we were in NYC visiting NYU, the day Trump was sworn in. Nothing extreme or violent–didn’t bother us at all.

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@LuvsLabs Just wanted to thank you for posting such a detailed description of your D’s audition experiences thus far. It’s always helpful to know what to expect at these because they are all so different. My D is heading to Marymount Manhattan on Saturday - so I was particularly happy to read about that one.

She did Pace last weekend and they do the same kind of same-day callback list as you mentioned for UArts. It was awkward when my D went to read the list and found her name but a girl next to wasn’t on it. Wish they could find another way to do that.

Her UArts audition is a couple weeks away so I will tell my D to prepare a list of interesting adjectives to describe herself! LOL!

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Only one more audition to go - CMU is next weekend.

We drove up to Syracuse Friday night, after our flight was delayed and then cancelled (do not underestimate the weather when making plans for auditions!). We had whiteout snowstorm conditions about 40 minutes south of Syracuse that suddenly disappeared after about 15 minutes of driving. We had a seriously dangerous drive home yesterday, first in thick snow near Syracuse and then icy slush along most of the rest of the drive to NJ. So many accidents, including a flipped minivan and a flipped and broken 18 wheeler. It was a memorable lesson to my young driving daughter regarding how to drive in bad snowy conditions, even though I was the driver.

My daughter really enjoyed the audition and the kids she met at the audition. There was a very good info session with a panel of current students. After a short Q&A with parents and students, the students left for their tour and auditions and parents were able to continue with questions for another half hour, which was very informative. The parents were then divided into groups for tours of the Syracuse Stage Building. This one building is where ALL the program classes are held. The students take their required Gen. Ed. classes “up the hill” on the regular campus, but for the most part, they live near the Syracuse Stage building and spend most of their time there. Those with other friend groups said they either made friends in their freshman dorm, or they joined a Greek group or some other close-knit extracurricular group. Otherwise, they only would see the theater kids for most of their college lives.

Acting students were dismissed earlier than MT, so my daughter was able to join me to see the matinee at Syracuse Stage Theater. The show was “Disgraced” and it was incredible! SO powerfully moving and so currently relevant. I was so glad I took a chance and bought tickets to the show, even though I wasn’t sure she would be finished in time. Just wow!

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@LuvsLabs I’m not sure whether to admire your tenacity in driving into Syracuse after flight was cancelled, or to question your sanity!! One thing’s for sure, you are braver than I! I grew up just north of Syracuse so I am very familiar with the winters there. That’s why I wouldn’t let my D apply to Ithaca or Syracuse. LOL!

Thank you for sharing about the audition experience! Glad your D enjoyed the audition and got to see a great show too!

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I live in the Philly area. There were no riots.

This does raise another issue though that is not really brought up too often: Each college campus has its own political ‘feel.’ To use an easy example, Berkeley’s feel is going to be very different from, say, Brigham Young. This is something you can assess best by visiting the college, especially if you’re accepted; you can then stay there overnight, talk to students in the library or cafeterias, walk around, etc. and see if you’re comfortable there. Needless to say, that is a very personal assessment.

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@daughtersdreams - I also grew up north of Syracuse, in Watertown! Attended school at The University of Rochester, too! Whiteouts on Rt 81 are too well-known to me, which is why I originally wanted to fly! I always own cars with AWD.

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Does anyone know when Chapman releases their decisions? I auditioned on campus 2 weeks ago and they said decisions are on a rolling basis so I’m a nervous wreck waiting!

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@avonweasley my D auditioned at NY Unifieds on 1/21. About a week later we heard of someone being accepted with scholarship who auditioned on that same date. Because of that I expected to hear something but nada! So I had my daughter email her admissions counselor on 2/21 and ask when we can expect a result. She responded right away and said that the BFA decisions will be made on a rolling basis and that they expect to send out the next round of decisions in the next week. So hopefully we will hear in the next few days! That doesn’t explain why someone else heard two weeks ago…pretty frustrating! Good luck to you! There is another thread where we discuss results for BFA acting programs in general so feel free to jump in there and tell everyone what schools you were accepted to.

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@avonweasley here is the thread…I don’t believe I’ve seen you on it before but it’s a great group of people! http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20344085#Comment_20344085

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Montclair BFA Acting and BFA MT Experience: D auditioned yesterday for both programs. It looked like they were running both morning and afternoon auditions for both programs with differing arrival times.

I’ll do this post for the BFA Acting Audition a second one for the MT audition.

General stuff: Auditions take place in a brand new wing of the performing arts building. Although there is still chain-link fencing around construction areas, the walkways are new and it’s an easy walk from the Red Hawk Parking Deck.
The new building - which does not have a name on it like other buildings on campus, is attached to the old Life Hall and across the courtyard from Sprague Library (which also has an Au Bon Pain restaurant!)

The only negative part was that there is no group or parent information session. But the student assistants were available to answer questions.

Student Assistants: These kids were so friendly and helpful! They made it a point to identify themselves and offer to answer any questions parents or students might have. The Acting majors were all dressed in black pants and white shirts so you knew who were they were. As representatives of their department, they did a superb job!

My D had a morning audition slot.
Check-in at 8:45 am for the BFA Acting. About 12 kids total for this slot. (Afternoon slot had 18-20)
Ran very smoothly. Montclair had requested headshots, resumes, etc. be mailed in at least 2 weeks in advance, so they already had her folder ready.

10am Movement call for the BFA Acting students. My D thought she could do the movement session in her loose fitting dress and so she had come in her MT audition outfit with cotton tights. Then the student assistants said that everyone needed to be barefoot and recommended shorts or sweats. So my D changed into her dance clothes. Good thing too, because there was a lot of on the floor rolling around and such!

Movement lasted about 20 minutes and they came back sweaty! Luckily, there are very nice bathrooms right there where the students could get cleaned up and changed. Suggestion: Bring baby wipes and deodorant.

Acting Auditions began about 10:45. Student assistants read a list of about 4 names at a time, saying the first name can go in and that so and so is “on deck”. and adding the couple names to be sure those students were in the hall and waiting their turn. Student assts were continually reading names and saying who was on deck which kept everything moving smoothly.

Actual Audition: My D came into the room and introduced herself and slated her monologues. One contemporary and one Shakespeare. There were two auditors. Since you have 3 minutes for monologues, my D felt she could relax and really act the pieces. She did the Shakespeare first and then moved on to the contemporary. She was given feedback and did this one again. They thanked her, she thanked them and she was done. It was a positive experience and my D left feeling good about it.

In the audition confirmation letter, it said you may be asked to stay for an interview. But I was there from 8:30 to 2:30pm (because my D was doing the MT afternoon audition) and every one was told they could leave as soon as their audition was over.

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Montclair BFA MT Audition Experience (I know this thread is Auditions for Acting, but I can’t find one for Audition Experiences for MT.)

Dance call was at 12:00 noon and they were on time. Maybe a little early, but the student assistants did a role call to make sure everyone was there and ready before they began. (We had been there since 8:30 because of my D’s Acting audition.)

The dance call was medium difficulty. It was two parts. The first was fast-paced jazz mixed with ballet moves. That lasted about 30 and then anyone who had tap experience could stay and do that portion. They said you could change into tap shoes if you had them, but you didn’t have to. My D has had about 4 months of tap classes but hadn’t brought her tap shoes with her. After they said you didn’t have to have taps, she considered staying for that part until one of the instructors said, if you haven’t had a lot of tap, don’t stay for this part because you won’t be able to fake it. So, she left. Another girl we knew who had extensive tap and did that portion, said it was challenging.

After Dance, the first MT audition was called at 1:15. They did the same thing as they had done with acting, calling several names at a time and letting you know who was on deck and who was next, etc. The MT Auditions seemed to be run very quickly. My D’s was at 2:30, but they were ahead of schedule so she went in about 2:10.

She entered the room and took her music to the pianist. She showed the accompanist where to start and stop and started to discuss tempo, but the woman said something like, “That’s O.K., I’ll follow you. Go stand on the white X and signal when you’re ready.” My D did as she was told. The auditors said tell us what you’re singing and the show it’s from and tell us which monologue you’re most comfortable with. My D gave them the information and one said “Go ahead.”

She signaled the accompanist and sang both songs. The auditors didn’t watch her while she was singing – at least she doesn’t think they did. She wasn’t looking directly at them but out of her peripheral vision she said she saw the tops of their heads as they were looking down at the table. There was no response and no one looked up after her first song. So she went straight into the next song. After her second song, she stood there a few seconds until one of them looked up at her. She thinks the others might have been writing stuff. He didn’t say anything, so she began her monologue and the auditors again were looking down, not at her. When she’d finished that, she again stood quietly waiting. In a moment, one of them said, “OK, You can go.” Or something like that. She said, “OK. Thank you.” Then gathered her music and left.

While it wasn’t a warm-fuzzy moment, my D felt she’d done her best. So we are not going to read anything into the audition experience itself, because how you feel about your audition (or the auditors) has been proven to have very little correlation to getting an offer or not.

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Ugh, you’d think they could at least make eye contact.