<p>I'm applying for the drama program, and I had a few questions.
1) I know that everyone has to sing in their audition, but will they disregard that part if you only want to be in plays? Or is musical theatre a must?
2)What's living there really like? Was it hard to keep up with your academics and apply for college while participating in all of the drama?
3) Are my stats good enough? I'll have taken three APs, lots of science, and two years of theatre when I apply. SATs are 1860, ACT is 28. Been in three regional productions (Grease as Patty Simcox, Annie and Seussical as chorus.).
I've been in every high school play since my freshman year.
Clue-Yvette
Phantom of the Opera- Ballet Chorus
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged- myself
Arsenic and Old Lace- Stage Manager (I was only crew because that year a person could only be in one show)
Steel Magnolias- Crew/Lighting
Noises Off- Belinda/Flavia
And I do colorguard and dace (balle,pointe, lyrical).</p>
<p>I don’t know specifically about UNCSA.</p>
<p>But I think your resume is quite impressive. I think you may well be what they are looking for. Remember to list everything you have done, both the school shows and the regional shows.</p>
<p>If they have asked you to sing at the audition, they will not be “disregarding” it. They want to hear you sing.</p>
<p>Since you are not a singer/MT, they are not expecting you to hit difficult notes, or “belt” or anything like that. Follow the school’s instructions about choosing a song, but then try to choose a song that is easy for you to sing and that you are comfortable with. It doesn’t have to be a love ballad, it can be something comic or uptempo if you are more comfortable with that. You have been in the chorus of a few musicals, surely that required some singing? And isn’t there some singing in Complete Works of Shakespeare–Abridged?</p>
<p>Voice is a very important tool for actors, and singing is a good way to work on your voice. That’s what they are going to be looking at, together with your stage presence and so on. But don’t blow off the singing part of the audition.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>There was a little singing in Shakespeare, but it wasn’t vocally challenging (I had to sing a nursery rhyme type thing in one scene, and then rap Othello.)
I can carry a tune, and I’m s pretty strong alto in chorus type stuff, but I’m not trained at all, and know I can’t measure up to some of the audtitionees as far as voice goes. I was thinking either An English Teacher from Bye Bye Birdie (which my school might do and I REALLY want Rose) or I Want to go to Hollywood from Grand Hotel.</p>
<p>Also- is my resume a strong one? Will it look good when applying to colleges for theatre?</p>
<p>When you are applying to colleges for theatre, the audition is the most important thing. The resume doesn’t really matter that much.</p>
<p>But could mine sway anyone in my favor? Or is it a bad one?</p>
<p>Your resume seems just fine. I doubt that resumes sway theatre admissions people very often, but I really wouldn’t worry about that.</p>
<p>Colleges actually do like it when students have shown that they are willing and able to do production work in addition to acting.</p>
<p>I still think your resume is a very good one. You really show that you have a great passion for theatre, especially since you are willing to work crew when you can’t get a role. Make sure you put EVERY SHOW you have participated in on your resume.</p>
<p>But I suspect that you will usually find your audition is more important than your resume.</p>
<p>What are the specific instructions and advice that NCSA gives for choosing your song? (Is there ANY chance that the Othello Rap would meet their requirements?)</p>
<p>What I was trying to say in my earlier post is that since you are not auditioning for musical theatre you DO NOT have to choose a song that is vocally challenging. Choose a song that is easy for you to sing, and that you are comfortable with (but which still fits the school’s audition instructions and advice).</p>
<p>Also remember that they are only asking you to sing part of a song. 16 bars is the usual request. And that really isn’t much.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>It only says sixteen bars unaccompanied.</p>
<p>If you are not a trained singer, you probably shouldn’t do a difficult piece like English Teacher from Bye Bye Birdie unaccompanied. Find a more musically basic song that fits your voice, where you have 16 bars that will show what you want to show. They’re curious about the timbre of your voice, and how you perform, how expressive you are, etc. If you’re worried about timing and going off-key, you won’t give a good impression. Even another song from Birdie - like Rosie’s version of One Boy or What Did I Ever See in Him? might be a better choice. People get into these kinds of programs singing “Happy Birthday” and Christmas carols.</p>
<p>Okay, it says “16 bars unaccompanied”, but of WHAT? 16 bars unaccompanied of “a song”, or “a musical theatre song” or “a broadway song”? Or what does it say?</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>“a song”. I’m trying to find something comedic for my audition song. I have two contrasting monologues (Shakespeare and A Chorus Line- I’m really good at comedy and Shakespeare).
But I finally got the admission stats- apparently about 22/75-100 people get in, and those aren’t bad numbers. The admissions person explained to me that monologues are more important than the songs (explains why my friend from last year didn’t get in- he’s an excellent singer, but acting isn’t his strong suit).
I’m really excited about my chances, but I really need to find a funny song that works for me.</p>
<p>Your “Chorus Line” monologue is probably okay for the high school program audition, but for college auditions people usually don’t do monologues from musicals.</p>
<p>Possibly you could ask about a simple comedic song over in the Musical Theatre forum. I agree with others here that whatever you do should be really easy to sing.</p>
<p>I agree to find a monologue from a play, rather than from a musical. </p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>
<p>Why? I rock at A Chorus Line, it got me a part in Shakespeare, and it’s funny (It’s Val’s btw). This isn’t a college or professional audition, they only prohibit monologues being from movies. I’m doing the ACL, then Lady Macbeth, and a comedic song if I can find one.</p>
<p>We all wish you luck and hope you get into the program. You are asking for advice here, so please take it seriously. You’re hearing from many parents whose kids have been accepted and rejected from auditioned programs - summer and college - and even more importantly, you’re getting advice from professional directors and college professors.</p>
<p>The most important thing is to follow the rules. If they don’t have age or genre requirements that would prohibit those monologues, then you’re probably fine. But think about it: This is a university, and the professors would probably respect you a lot for doing the kind of audition pieces they expect from college students, i.e. age appropriate, and from a play. If you really are wondering, I’d contact the program to clarify what they want.</p>
<p>As for a comedic song, I agree with asking on the MT forum. There are so many from musical theatre … I can think of dozens that aren’t hard to sing and aren’t overdone. But in acting programs, it usually is not necessary to get too worked up over your choice of song. Just do one that you know you can sing adequately and confidently.</p>
<p>I have posted on the MT board, and have had some pretty good suggestions.
Why are musical monologues such a taboo?</p>
<p>My guess would be that, as a general rule, there is less subtlety and nuance in the lines that characters speak in musical theatre plays.</p>
<p>In addition, for college auditions at least, it is a good idea to avoid monologues that are “overdone” by students in general…and that the auditors would be familiar with from a well-known play or film. The reason for this is that you would not want them to be comparing you in their mind with others, perhaps unfavorably, and/or not to be really listening because they have heard the monologue so many times.</p>
<p>I myself have never seen either the show or the film “A Chorus Line,” but I know that lots and lots and lots of people have.</p>
<p>So it would be just as bad to do a well-known play monologue? Like something from Juliet for example?</p>
<p>It would be much better to do ANY play monologue than a monologue from a musical…especially a musical that is also a film. If you have time to find one and work it up, a play monologue that is lesser known than Juliet would be best.</p>
<p>Good lesser-known monologues can be hard to find. Students preparing for college auditions tend to read many, many plays looking for monologues that resonate with them. It’s not uncommon for kids preparing for college auditions to enlist the help of an audition coach to help them find an appropriate monologue.</p>