Those accepted, how did you prepare?

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

<p>I think it would be very helpful for next year's seniors to know the preparation involved in order to succeed. It seems as if some kids get into multiple competitive programs, while others do not get accepted to any. I suggest we do it as a list. </p>

<p>Schools/ programs accepted to
Yes Performing arts high school/#of years or No performing arts high school
Audition coach/length of time
Special training: acting, voice lessons, dance lessons/length of time
First try/second try, etc
Anything you did to prepare that you think made a difference</p>

<p>If anyone thinks of anything else that would be useful, please mention it. </p>

<p>When we apply for a job, we know the expectations in terms of experience and education required. I think it will help people to have a similar idea when applying to a competitive program. </p>

2

<ul>
<li>Programs accepted to (thus far): St. John’s University & American Academy of Dramatic Arts (it’s a joint degree program between the two schools), George Mason University for Theatre, and American University for Musical Theatre</li>
<li>No performing arts high school</li>
<li>No audition coach</li>
<li>Voice lessons for 3 years, acting lessons for a few months before auditions, chorus classes at school, school plays, no dance lessons</li>
<li>First try</li>
<li>One thing that I know helped me, because American specifically mentioned it in my acceptance letter: I interned at a theatre company during the summer after junior year. I also talked to the deans at both AADA and GMU about my experience working at a theatre company, and working in stage crew at school - they appreciated the fact that I’d had experience with lots of different aspects of theatre, rather than just acting. I started my acting lessons just before my auditons as well, and my teacher acted as my audition coach because she helped me really prepare my monologues. </li>
</ul>

3

<p>Thank you so much starryeyed14. That’s very helpful. Congratulations!</p>

4

<p>As a mom of a high school junior, who is visiting colleges this spring, we would also be interested to hear people’s experience with community theater, summer training programs, and professional work prior to applying. Thanks and congrats to all this years seniors. I have been following this forum for many months and it has been a great source of information as my daughter starts this overwhelming process.</p>

5

<p>If you want to know from previous years, I can share my son’s experience. My daughter is also a BFA student but is already an upperclassman. My son is a freshman:</p>

<p>Schools/ programs accepted to
Montclair, Hartt, The New School, Point Park
Yes Performing arts high school/#of years or No performing arts high school
No performing arts HS but did the IB Drama program in HS
Audition coach/length of time
Did not have an audition coach
Special training: acting, voice lessons, dance lessons/length of time
Took dance and voice lessons for 5 years, children’s theatre classes (see below)
First try/second try, etc
First try
Local Community Theatre
Was involved in the children’s theatre in town since 5th grade. This included theatre classes year round and summer camp. Also volunteered as a teacher for the preschool at the theatre for 4 years. Involved in community (adult) theatre for 3 years (sophomore thru summer after senior year of high school). Acted in films produced and directed by film graduate students at university in town.</p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

6

<p>Schools/ programs accepted to (thus far): Viterbo</p>

<p>Yes Performing arts high school/#of years or No performing arts high school: No </p>

<p>Audition coach/length of time: No coach, I just did my monologues in front of my choir before my first audition and asked for feedback.</p>

<p>Special training: acting, voice lessons, dance lessons/length of time: 1 week of acting camp the summer prior, just started voice lessons this year, dance team 2 years, and school plays/musicals of course. :)</p>

<p>First try/second try, etc: First</p>

<p>Anything you did to prepare that you think made a difference: I started the search for monologues last March and had them picked by June, and I started working on them as soon as I had them picked. I don’t think a day went by where I wasn’t practicing them or atleast running through them in my head. It’s amazing how much they evolved for the better, so I’m VERY glad I started preparing when I did. </p>

7

<p>Thank you photomom and nomester7. Very helpful information. </p>

<p>Photomom–I definitely think info from previous years is useful. Thank you.
Nomester7, that’s wonderful that you had the discipline to start that early. Congratulations on your acceptance!</p>

8

<p>Schools/ programs accepted to:
The New School (BFA), Manhattan Marymount (BFA), Loyola Marymount (BA)</p>

<p>Yes Performing arts high school/#of years or No performing arts high school:
Yes, 3 years.</p>

<p>Audition coach/length of time:
I actually got advise here! My D worked with MTCA, had one hour session almost every week from September to February. It was the key for her success I think. </p>

<p>Special training: acting, voice lessons, dance lessons/length of time:
My D had no experience in theater prior to getting into the performing arts school. She had very few voice lessons when preparing for audition to the HS. Rest of her training came from the HS. I believe without going to this school she would not be able even to be in the pool.</p>

<p>First try/second try, etc:
First try.</p>

<p>Anything you did to prepare that you think made a difference:
My D made a balanced list of school and had 12 auditions, she got much better by the end of the audition season and the schools she got accepted to were the last ones. Maybe it is a coincidence but I am really glad we scheduled her matches in late February. I also think auditioning EA was a mistake.</p>

9

<p>Another offering from previous years:</p>

<p>Programs accepted to: Boston University School of Theatre, NYU/Tish (Stella Adler studio), Montclair Acting BFA (rejections: Purchase, CMU, Rutgers). Only applied to 6 schools…would have taken a gap year and tried again if he had been denied everywhere.</p>

<p>No performing arts high school. No theatre program at all at his public high school.</p>

<p>Found a wonderful audition coach and worked with her intensively from Nov - Jan senior year. Felt like this made a huge difference.</p>

<p>Starting at around age 14, my son did local youth summer theatre every summer. A lot of that was MT, so he took singing lessons. He never did attend a pre-college training program, but he took acting lessons at an Equity theatre, and in the last two years of high school (when he was old enough to be cast in adult roles) he did a lot of community theatre.</p>

<p>First try.</p>

<p>Since my son had not had the advantage of either a performing arts high school or summer pre-college programs, finding a good coach was critical for him, and it really paid off. </p>

10

<p>Acceptances: Temple BA MT, Rowan BA - Theatre MT concentration, Pace BFA Film/TV.VoiceOver, Coastal Carolina BFA Theatre/Physical Theatre concentration, Howard BFA MT, Muhlenberg (auditioned for scholarship)
Rejected (AKA-redirected) Rider BFA MT, Elon BFA MT</p>

<p>No PA high school. Theatre class at HS for junior and senior years. One act plays for just one year, musical all four years.Community theatre since 5th grade. UArts summer precollege program. About 9 years of dance (ballet, jazz and hip-hop, which I do believe was a plus), gymnastics and she plays two instruments.</p>

<p>Worked with an acting coach for about nine months, about twice a month, and vocal coach once a week for several months. Parents are actors.</p>

<p>First Try.</p>

<p>I am also a college career counselor and started the research around freshmen year, when D showed a true interest in theatre. I was well aware of not getting caught up in the “XX school is the best one for theatre” stuff. I’ve been on CC for many years, listened carefully and crafted a list of 13 schools that were a great fit for D, and the family (financially). She had several non-audition schools that she was accepted to as well.</p>

<p>We, and I do mean we because I was the administrative assistant, started early like hitting up teachers for recs before junior year ended, completing some apps in the summer, spreading out the essay writing so it wouldn’t be overwhelming for her, but she didn’t do Unifieds. All auditions were on campus and spaced nicely over four months.</p>

<p>To be honest, she did better than I thought she would with the audition programs. She really doesn’t have a lot of experience, but I believe that her “type” played to her advantage.</p>

11

<p>Thank you, sydsim. Congratulations on your D’s acceptances. </p>

<p>What is her type, and how do you think it played to her advantage?</p>

12

<p>Schools accepted so far: University of the Arts, Northern Illinois, both BfA’s and Muhlenberg, BA. Still waiting on 3. </p>

<p>Regular public high school with drama club. </p>

<p>No audition coach but she has an acting teacher she worked her monologues with</p>

<p>Voice lessons 8 yrs. Dance 10 yrs, particularly jazz, tap, lyrical and some ballet</p>

<p>Attended summer shakespeare intensive three years running in NYC. Also took acting classes periodically with teacher from that summer program. Attended several weekend movement acting classes with various teachers as well. </p>

<p>First try</p>

<p>D has been involved in youth theatre programs since 2nd grade. Since 8th grade she has been in many community theatre productions. At least 2 a year. One year she did 3 plus the two high school shows. </p>

<p>I would also advise that once you get to a certain level of skill, only do shows where you grow as a performer. This may come off sounding badly, but at this point my D doesn’t learn very much being in the ensemble in community theatre. There are enough community theatres around us that she could be constantly in an ensemble in a show if she chose to…(if she didn’t have a role.) Once she’s in college or performing professionally, the ensemble could definitely be a good role. But at this point in her training she’s mastered ensemble work and she doesn’t learn much doing that. So you should hold out for better roles or just keep training and not be in a show. I only say all this because at points we’ve had people say “oh she’s not in a show right now?” Or “why isn’t she doing that show with such and such a theatre?” And it’s because there wasn’t a good part for her age and type, or it conflicted with something she was planning on doing like an acting class or workshop. Prioritize what opportunities will help you grow as an actor at your level of skill. </p>

<p>As another example of this, my D had to decide in 10th grade to drop dance team. Her schedule was just too tight. So we thought it over and it seemed like on the dance team she wasn’t learning new types of dance like she did in her other dance classes; she was learning new choreography for the dance she already knew. It was more important to continue to grow as a dancer and take the other dance classes and drop dance team, even though the travel and competitions were fun for her. Of course you can argue that all performance experience is valuable, whether it is in a community theatre ensemble or a dance team and you would be right. It’s just that you do have to set your priorities and there is only time for so much. </p>

<p>I could go on and on with this topic (she also dropped chorus to prioritize music theater singing) but I will just sum it up by saying if you are a 9th or 10th grader looking to go to college for acting or MT, review all of your training and opportunities and decide what is helping you grow as a performer the most. Don’t stay with what you are doing because you have always done it. You may need to branch out and you may need to cut back, or do a combination of those. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

13

<p>Wow, all this feedback is incredibly helpful and appreciated. Thanks Anonymom000 for starting the thread and everyone who has responded so far. Please keep the info and advice coming!</p>

14

<p>Schools/ programs accepted to: NYU Tisch, Mason Gross, Fordham, Temple, Bard, Sarah Lawrence, and a lot of other BA schools.
Yes Performing arts high school/#of years or No performing arts high school: No-- the opposite, a cyber charter school
Audition coach/length of time: 3 years with a private acting/monologue coach, 2 years with another private acting coach who also helped with auditions (these were concurrent). On the whole, our family is more into music study than acting, so we used the model of a private teacher/mentor.
**Special training: acting, voice lessons, dance lessons/length of time: ** many years of dance, aerials, voice, instrumental, composition (singer/songwriter, violin, viola, guitar, member of professional aerial dance company)
First try/second try, etc First
Anything you did to prepare that you think made a difference. Long history of acting in community and some professional theater/film ventures. Mounted her own Fringe Fest show senior year (actor/director/producer). Also a playwright with a number of productions. Did a few summer programs (Stagedoor, Arcadia, CMU). She was also a member of two local semi-pro youth theater companies, one MT and one for straight acting</p>

<p>In the end she chose a program where she could double-major in acting and playwriting.</p>

15

<p>Schools/ programs accepted to: University of Southern Maine, BM MT, Coastal Carolina U, BFA MT
Otterbein University, BFA Acting
Waiting to hear from CMU, Pace and Point Park</p>

<p>No performing arts high school - in fact there are none in our state</p>

<p>Audition coach/length of time - Yes, six or seven sessions between September and January Senior year.</p>

<p>Special training: Voice lessons for the past year. Two dance lessons (don’t ask). CMU pre-college for MT summer between Junior and Senior year. Taking first theatre class at HS this semester. Involved in children’s theatre and school productions.</p>

<p>First try</p>

<p>Anything you did to prepare that you think made a difference
Son decided to shoot for a major in MT a year ago last December. He had planned on major in Jazz Studies, drum kit, but changed direction after success at a regional Thespian conference. Neither of us had heard of Thespian International prior to his attendance as there is no chapter at his school. I now know that using that success as a spring board may have been seen as delusional, but I’d like to think we were just clueless!
I quickly began to read all I could on CC and and he applied to the CMU pre-college program. These two things were key for a family with little knowledge about preparing for MT/Acting auditions.</p>

<p>Like sydism’s D, son lined up his teacher rec’s early. He was gone most of the summer, but got right down to writing his essays and supplements when he returned home. Organization was key and this process just about drove me around the bend :slight_smile: Son stayed involved in choir, band and jazz ensemble and even managed to start an a cappella group this year, but there were times I had wished he wasn’t as busy with the extra-curricular activities.</p>

<p>Son did better than we could have hoped and I’m grateful this chase worked out well, but there were quite a few weeks of only rejections, and I really worried that it was just a pipe dream.</p>

16

<p>I’ll add our experience if only to show that being woefully ignorant of the process can still result in a good outcome! I only discovered this wonderful website in spring of 2013 after D’s auditions were finished. Her school list may have looked quite different if we had started earlier with research. She is in the MT voice program at CCPA.</p>

<p>Schools/programs accepted to: Roosevelt/CCPA, Rider, Muhlenberg; waitlisted at Wagner; “redirected by” Emerson, BU, MMC, Pace,TCU.</p>

<p>Performing arts high school?: No, public school with a well-respected theatre program that put on 2 musicals and multiple plays per year</p>

<p>Audition coach?: No</p>

<p>Special training?: Dance lessons since a toddler, competitive dance team in HS, voice lessons for 2 years, 4 years at a theatre studio where she took dance, acting and singing. No community theatre.</p>

<p>First try.</p>

<p>Anything you did to prepare that you think made a difference? Her voice teacher helped her with song choice as well as the process as a whole (she had a D who had just gone through auditions plus a D my kid’s age auditioning that same year) She did the group auditions at the International Thespian Festival summer after junior year when her school performed there. She chatted with the schools that called her back plus we picked up info about other schools that had booths there.</p>

<p>I have friends who used Moo and who used MTCA so we MIGHT have considered using a coach if we had it to do over again. We would have researched more schools and added, subtracted some from her list. We would have started earlier (especially now with all the schools that require pre-screens) and been more organized. However she is VERY happy with her school so it all worked out in the end for her despite our lack of information! </p>

17

<p>I am going to participate in this if only to encourage people who are late starting. We got a major redirect in December two years ago, with a rejection ED from Northwestern, which really started the whole “damn, if I can’t get in on paper with these stats, maybe I need to do more audition programs” discussion. My S had been a very good student (top 5 in his class, SATs over 2000, a ton of APs in the 4s and 5s), so we sort of assumed that he would go the BA-with-good-theater route…but that was not how it turned out. We had a mad scramble AFTER the ED rejection to try to line up some audition schools. (He already had applied to CMU, sort of as a lark.) I ended up emailing a good friend in Chicago whose wife works in theater to find out what he/she thought of Columbia, and he asked why we weren’t applying to CCPA…which is the ONLY reason we did. </p>

<p>Schools accepted: CCPA, Pitt, Columbia College of Chicago, Savannah College of Arts and Design, WL’d: Davidson, Washington St. Louis, Syracuse. Rejected: CMU, DePaul, Northwestern, Vassar</p>

<p>Performing arts HS? Heck no, we live in rural NH. My S’s school had an agricultural program with cows in a barn on school property. </p>

<p>Audition coach? Not formally, but he did have some people at his youth theater watch his monologue and make suggestions.</p>

<p>Special training: When my S was about 12, we found a FANTASTIC youth theater program about 30 miles away, which did summer Shakespeare programs with kids as young as 9 – and did them in a very structured, serious way (though still fun), so that the kids learned exactly what the language meant and what kind of very adult things were going on in the plays. The older kids (13 plus) were directed by two believable professionals, one of whom also teaches at Circle in the Square and sometimes Yale, the other heads an acting program at the University of Birmingham in the UK. So I guess what I’m saying is that my S had really great exposure to Shakespeare and it turned out he loved it. He was also in the some musicals, and he loved that, too, but he had had minimal singing and dance training leading up to his auditions. (He started taking singing lessons in January, I think.) </p>

<p>We also would have applied to more schools (maybe fewer BA programs) if we had it to do over again, and would have started much earlier on the audition materials. We just had no idea that this would be his path until he got bumped off the path we envisioned for him. I feel blessed that he is so happy and productive and valued at his current school. </p>

18

<p>Programs accepted to: Carnegie Mellon, Rutgers Mason Gross, CalArts, Fordham, Bard (BA)</p>

<p>First Try</p>

<p>High School: Homeschooler who took classes at our public school, which has a strong drama program. Regional and State Acting Competitions, no community theater or professional work. </p>

<p>Audition Coach: Yes, beginning in summer before senior year. They met a couple of times to discuss audition material, then met monthly in the fall until late November. First audition was Jan.10th and they worked weekly for the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Local theater professionals donated their time to each of the kids from our town who were applying to conservatories. Actors and directors are busy but generous people!</p>

<p>Special Training: Dance classes on and off since the age of seven (very little ballet, but everything from traditional Indian to swing, ballroom and tap), private voice lessons four years, summer programs: American Conservatory Theater youth 6 week program, Brown University TheaterBridge.</p>

<p>She started monologue search in summer before senior year and worked very hard; first she thought about her interests and spent many hours at the university library reading obscure 1940s plays (but didn’t use any of them). She had monologues chosen by end of summer, began working them early fall. She ended up using 6 in auditions, and there were several additional that she worked up to performance quality before rejecting them and making her final list of 6.</p>

<p>She was unable to participate in spring theater senior year in high school, which led to tears at the time, but was a good decision. The spring musical would open during Rutgers callback weekend (and thank goodness she was called back), and the late spring play had auditions while she was at Rutgers. It was hard for her not to participate, but I think her overall wellness and stress level benefitted from not having rehearsals and having much more time to work her monologues and keep up her grades.</p>

<p>This was difficult financially, but we opted for multiple audition cities because 1) we didn’t want all eggs in one basket due to possible illness or winter storms, and 2) If you audition on campus at Juilliard, you have a much better chance of getting a first-round callback (they have more faculty and more rooms available than off-site audition locations). This strategy was good, in that she did make it through the first round callbacks and the interview, but she was not invited to the final 40 callbacks. That 15 hour day at Juilliard with many adjustments and interviews, surprise essay did prepare her extremely well for subsequent auditions in LA.</p>

<p>Also, when kids are juniors, they have so much growing to do. My D was sure that after attending BU’s October open house (which is fantastic!) she wanted to just audition there early decision. I dissuaded her, telling her she needed to learn more about her other options. In the end, BU fell entirely off her list of tops schools (and ironically, they rejected her).</p>

<p>My daughter decided only to apply to top programs thinking that if she didn’t get accepted by any, she would either take a year of academics at Bard or Fordham Arts & Sciences, or go to NY and take acting classes before auditioning again the following year. That plan made me a bit nervous, but I think YoungArts and that validation helped me to relax and support the idea.</p>

<p>She wrote her Common App essay and other essays in the summer, had them finished and polished by September. All applications were complete by 10/1 so she could focus on fall play and her monologues. She says to make sure and choose monologues you love!</p>

19

<p>Wow, sparkleshirley, your daughter did everything right! No wonder she got so many great acceptances. I will say that I tried to encourage my son to do all that you listed above. Unfortunately, he was not so motivated, which is why I think he ended up with so few acceptances from his Unified auditions. (0 for 4 currently, waiting to hear from #5.) I think he fell into the trap of thinking his past successes would make this a breeze. Plus, he had already gotten an EA acceptance from Chapman and an acceptance from UArts based solely on his prescreen. He thought he had this in the bag! </p>

<p>What he couldn’t grasp was that almost everyone auditioning was one of the very best actors in their high school or town. And also that the auditors would have no prior knowledge of him… that it was all really about the audition. </p>

<p>Bottom line, I don’t think he prepared enough. He got into BU, which we are thrilled about, but that was likely because he was at BUSTI, and he was a very hard worker there, and it was clearly a very good fit. His audition there that summer was completely untraditional (he didn’t even choose monologues from plays!) and he didn’t think it went over well, but apparently they liked him enough.</p>

<p>He worked with an audition coach, but not in a very intense way. He hadn’t even chosen his monologues until a month before the auditions! I basically spent the whole fall and winter nagging him, and he spent it telling me to relax. The odd thing is that he is the hardest worker I know when it comes to actual plays. And he’s incredibly talented. He loves to work hard at this craft, and he takes it very seriously. He’s gone to theater camps and been in selective theater companies and starred in shows at his high school. But when it came to preparing for these auditions, he always had something better (more fun) to do. Perhaps his avoidance was based in fear? I don’t know. </p>

<p>Now we are in the interesting spot of me wanting to say, “See? You have to work harder if you want to succeed.” But I don’t like Told-You-So’s. And I also don’t want to make him feel bad. What I really want is for him to realize this on his own. Perhaps he will. If not now, someday.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, for anyone reading this in the future, please learn from my son, and work your butt off! Do what sparkleshirley’s daughter did! That’s what it takes. </p>

20

<p>I’ll chip in as a parent from 2013.</p>

<p>Schools/ programs accepted to:
Three non-auditioned (both BA and BFA); auditioned: James Madison University (BA acting), Ithaca (BFA acting), Otterbein (BFA Acting)–he is at Otterbein and adores it.</p>

<p>Yes Performing arts high school/#of years or No performing arts high school:
NO PA school; he attended the relatively small independent school where I teach, and had the same drama teacher since third grade. Couldn’t do regular plays in h.s. because he played football, so he did some crew, ensemble in a musical 10th grade, broke his ankle junior year so was out of the action, lead in musical senior year. Very little on-stage experience relative to other applicants and to his college classmates now. No community theater or other outside experience besides summer programs.</p>

<p>Audition coach/length of time:
No coach. Did an independent study on monologue preparation his senior year, and met weekly with the same drama teacher he’d had since third grade…but he based his decisions and preparation on what he’d learned at summer programs (see below).</p>

<p>Special training: acting, voice lessons, dance lessons/length of time:
Summer programs were huge for my son. He did a 3-week program at American Shakespeare Center as a rising ninth-grader, and the troupe members there told him to keep going–that really sunk in. (sank? sunk? @glassharmonica, please advise!). Following 10th grade, did the 11-day summer theater intensive at U. Minnesota, and then the BU summer program after junior year. These were his primary means of preparation–BUSTI was transformative. Took a weekly voice lesson beginning in late winter of junior year, as he had zero vocal experience, and that helped in general although had no impact on auditions as he was going for Acting, not MT. It’s helped him a lot now that he’s at school.</p>

<p>First try/second try, etc:
First try. He gave a lot of thought to what he’d do if he didn’t get into one of his top choices (which were Otterbein, BU, and Ithaca, in that order). A gap year was never off the table.</p>

<p>Anything you did to prepare that you think made a difference:
Visit, visit, visit! We returned to schools that interested him, saw different types of shows, hung around the student center and lurked in the theater spaces, just tried to get as much first-hand knowledge as possible about school culture, what the kids and faculty were like, what the productions were like in terms of energy and imagination. We started in spring of his sophomore year and did a pretty epic road-trip summer before senior year. For my son, who’s a kinetic learner and needs to see and observe everything, it was crucial. Several department reps at different schools told us “If a school feels right to you, chances are we will feel the same way about you.” That turned out to have a measure of truth to it. </p>

<p>Unsolicited advice:
Keep an open mind and encourage your son or daughter to do the same. This may be the first time he or she has experienced rejection, criticism, etc., so the need for resilience and flexibility is clear. We try to avoid talking about “following your dreams” in our house; instead, it’s more a matter of saying “Huh, so you’re psyched about acting and think that might be your path–what can you do to figure that out?” Throughout the audition year, we talked a lot about what he might choose if he got into schools x, y, and z; it gave him practice thinking about how he’d proceed if his best choice turned out to be a BA generalist type school, or a school with a strong theater-education program, for example. We tried not to pin hopes on a specific outcome but rather to use the process as a way to figure out where his strengths lay. I say this not to sound sanctimonious but rather to describe a different way of looking at the whole odyssey. Having watched my older 2 kids go through college and emerge with a still undetermined path, I tend to be believe that if they undertake the college-application process with a sense of curiosity and optimism, they will find the right “next step” in their journey. </p>