<p>I know that the audition portion of a student's application is critical when applying for a BFA in either professional acting or MT, but I wanted to give a "heads up" about the importance of a good resume.
At my daughter's recent audition for a BFA in professional acting, the head of the theatre department and one of the professors went through her resume, line by line, asking her about each production and the directors and actors she worked with. They also asked about the training.
Before the audition, the head of the department told my husband and me that they tend not to look to admit kids who just discovered theatre in high school and thought it would be "fun" to major in theatre in college. They look for kids who have worked hard at this for many, many years and who have made sacrifices for the art. They can't possibly accept every high school kid who was the lead in their school plays or musicals. They want to see a certain dedication and passion beyond high school theatre. So, my advice is this...Make sure your resume reflects how serious you are about this career. Include lots of outside theatre and training, even when you were a child. Anyway, I thought I'd share this. Although my daughter had a great audition, I think her resume helped her very much in getting approved for admittance.</p>
<p>Thanks for a great post. My D has done a lot of theater and training since she was a child, but I wondered about the relevance of her many performances when younger. While I assumed one would reference X years of piano, dance, voice and where and with whom one studied, I wasn't certain about childhood or middle school performances. Your post really helps.</p>
<p>A well prepared resume with relevant information is a great asset when auditioning for college programs. I do not want to diminish the importance of a good resume, proper dress, and proper demeanor at your college auditions. However, in my experience, by a wide margin, the most important factor is your actual audition. I only mention this so those who have come late to performing arts and/or those who have only had high school experience do not lose any sleep over what they might think is an inadequate resume. The resume is secondary, your actual audition is criterion by which you are most heavily judged in most cases.</p>
<p>I would agree that BFA programs look at resumes as an indication of a student's commitment to performing arts as an educational and career choice and give preference to students who reflect such commitment assuming their audition passes muster. However, I do not think that most schools expect that students demonstrate a "lifelong" involvement in theater. What's important is that the resume show that the commitment is not just a sudden "fling" but is in fact a serious dedicated endeavor. There are students whose resumes have extensive experience, even professional, prior to high school who get rejected by quality schools and students whose involvement did not become serious until high school who are accepted. There are students whose involvement in shows, dance and singing was just great fun extracurricular activity and who did not reach a conclusion or even think about a BFA and career in performing as something they wanted until well into high school.</p>
<p>And there are many ways to build a strong resume. Involvement in school shows, community theatre, vocal performing groups at school, extracurricular dance classes and voice lessons, summer intensives are all experiences that can go on a resume and there is no magic formula as to the relative ratios of each. In my daughter's case, her resume reflected 1 school show a year in junior high and high school and it was not until her junior year of high school that she added 1 community theatre show a year. It was not until her sophomore year that she started formal voice lessons. She did take ballet, jazz and hip hop dance starting in junior high, first as just fun activities and then more seriously as a member of her studio's competition team and she sang in her school and synagogue youth choruses. It was not until her sophomore year that she started thinking seriously about MT as her college path and as a result went to a pre-college summer intensive before her junior year. She did another one before her senior year. Those experiences solidified her desire for a BFA in MT. Her process was one of evolution and her resume reflected that.</p>
<p>There are many famous actors and performers who did not discover theatre until high school. I don't think they meant that students need a resume that reflects work since childhood. They just said that they are looking for a serious commitment in addition to great talent. The programs are so intense and require so much sacrifice and work. BFAs are certainly not for kids who want to try theatre for the "fun of it" just because they enjoyed it in high school.</p>
<p>My son is a MT freshman at Hartt. He will be applying to audition at Strawhat and NETC this spring. On his resume, should he put the large talent scholarship that he was given from his school? As a freshman he hasn't performed but he has worked behind the scenes in costumes and lighting. Should that be included on his resume also?</p>
<p>I am certainly no expert, as my daughter has had only one audition so far, but my feeling is that he should include his scholarship and freshman work experience on his resume. It will give them a better idea of what kind of student he is. It is valid information.</p>
<p>This brings up another question: my daughter has 10 years of shows on her resume and they are listed in order of importance, i.e. equity first, leads at the top, etc. She doesn't have any dates but a couple schools note that they want dates. If you put dates, do you list the shows chronologically or still in order of importance? Where do you put the date when the page is filled with show/role/theater/director?</p>
<p>My son always puts things chronologically on his resume, he like your D has been in lots of shows over many years and he can't list them all along with everything else on a one page resume, so he edits it and leave in the "highlights".</p>
<p>Most schools are interested in more recent activities so I would reccommend reverse chronology. Professional gigs first and then high school. Only list roles as a child that were leads, especially if they were Equity or professional nonEQ. If your D has so many high school shows then list parts first if you are short on room. You could make 2 resumes, one a one page Headshot resume and another more detailed performance, one that she can turn in at her audition. Or, you could send the detailed one and bring the other attached to her headshot at her audition. Just thoughts. ;')</p>
<p>Remember, these are college application resumes. Remember their purpose: to demonstrate commitment and involvement - not polished proficiency or professional employability. Accordingly, put more recent productions first. Also remember that the audition is what really counts. Someone who has a long history back to childhood of equity and other professional opportunities who does not audition as well as someone who has done only high school and local community shows (but can show consistency of involvement) isn't going to be accepted over the less experienced but better auditioner. In fact, I would think that at some point there is a risk of putting so much on a resume that it raises expectations and could cause a student to be viewed with an even more critical eye (hey, if this person has soooo much experience, why did they.....) as compared to someone who is less experienced and therefore viewed more as raw talent that can be trained.</p>
<p>MichaelNkat
I have wondered about exactly what you comment on, having so much on a resume that it raises expectations. DD is a serious dancer at a PAS so every year, since 4th grade, has had at least 4 school productions plus outside professional work. We hone down her resmue quite a bit and have lots of versions of it, but sometimes I wonder if it still doesn't give the wrong impression. I would like to think I am a stron supporter but I also wonder if it has all been just luck and we will all be found out soon.</p>
<p>I wish I could convince folks to relax a bit on this whole process. The resume and head shot are part of the package - do a good job of getting pertinent information, neatly presented on one single sided piece of paper. Do not fret over this. Use your energy to get together your audition. Walk in well prepared, confident. Work on your songs, monologues, and take some extra dance classes. This is your best and most productive use of time.</p>
<p>I could not agree more with mtdog71. Put your real time and effort into comprising a smart diverse list of schools to which to apply, that are a good match to the student, and on audition preparation. Those are the elements that really count. Don't anguish about the resume. It is a small part of the package and as long as it is put together in a neat organized fashion and has enough on it to show a sincere commitment to performing, it will be fine.</p>