<p>Here are the dates and locations of the 2012 unified auditions:</p>
<p>*Feb. 4, 5, 2012 - New York *<br>
Pearl Studios NYC
500 8th Avenue between 35th and 36th Streets Note: this is not where auditions have been held in the past</p>
<p>Feb 6, 7, 8, 2012 - Chicago<br>
Palmer House Hilton
17 E. Monroe St.</p>
<p>Feb 9, 2012 - Las Vegas
Las Vegas Academy for International Studies, Visual and Performing Arts
315 S. 7th St.</p>
<p>Feb 11, 12, 2012 - Los Angeles
The Westin Los Angeles Airport
5400 W. Century Blvd.</p>
<p>You must contact each school separately to apply for admission and to schedule an audition. Most of us will not start taking reservations until late summer; but pay attention to announcements on this thread and on individual school threads as well.</p>
<p>Have a great summer! We look forward to seeing you next year!</p>
<p>A word to the wise: you an book the Chicago Palmer Hilton right now, restricted rate, and get a discount better than you will get anytime later. If you book the executive floor, you will get a free, extended, continental breakfast each morning, soda and snacks all day, and the biggest happy hour buffet, also free, that you can make dinner of at night. It actually saved us money by not paying for meals!</p>
<p>Also, if you email me by clicking on my name at the left,I will be happy to send you the entire list of schools that were at Chicago Unifieds last year - about 50 of them. Some schools actually held auditions a day early, which makes it easier for you to fit more in. </p>
<p>Happy to answer any Chicago Unified questions!</p>
<p>I am attending the LA Unifieds this year to audition for Musical Theatre programs, and I don’t really have any idea what to expect. I am only auditioning for 4 schools between the two days! Any advice on what to expect in terms of questions they might ask, or unexpected things that might come up? I have prepared all of the requirements the schools have asked for, I guess I am just nervous to be surrounded by people who know what they are doing!
Also, kind of unsure what to wear if you have any tips on that! Thank you!</p>
<p>Brit 23, I can only share what Chicago Unifieds were like, but some will be the same. As far as dress, my advice is to wear a dress or skirt that comes to just above your knees, a little dressy, like very nice dinner out. A wrap jersey or empire waist with a bit of ruffle works well. A nice skirt with dressy blouse works well, too. Try to wear solid colors without a lot of distraction. Make sure you can stand an move comfortably in it. Keep your heels low, princess type is great. You will be fine wearing stockings or tights, or not. If you have dance auditions, make sure you check what the school would like. If nothing is mentioned, a leotard, dance skirt and natural color tights work well, along with jazz shoes. Plan to arrive about 30 minutes before your scheduled time and be prepared to fill out a short questionairre. Always check in at the welcome table and ask what you need to do. You may or may not be asked questions, anything from “Have you ever done anything risky” to “what has been your favorite role”. Have a couple questions of your own about each school so you look prepared and well read. It works well if you have your music preset on your ipod with speakers so you can get right to it, and back up cd’s are a good idea. Always have a couple of extra selections in case they ask for more songs or monologues.
Each school really wants to see who you are and wants you to succeed, so you will do fine!</p>
<p>Hi Brit- My D did the LA Unifieds in 2010, and what Christy said applies to LA also. I will say that my D decided to go “bold” with her dress- she wore a rather loud print, although it was a simple cut, and got a lot of compliments. She also wore fairly high heels, however you should wear whatever you feel comfortable in. My D is very comfortable in 3" heels, but if you do not normally wear high heels, an audition is not the time to start. Basically, wear something that you are very comfortable in and that you feel complements you.</p>
<p>Another question that I remember was a couple of schools asked what it was about their programs that piqued my D’s interest; why did she want to attend their school? If you find out a little about each program before you go, you should have a simple answer prepared for this one. </p>
<p>We found it helpful to kind of stake out an area in the hotel as our base. We found a table in the hall with a couple of chairs where my D could take a break between auditions. There was actually a little hallway that deadended into nowhere around the corner that she used to warm up her voice. There were other kids warming up in the bathroom. It can all be a bit intimidating, but just remember that all of you are in the same boat. The others don’t know anymore than you what they are doing, so don’t let it get to you. Make a point of smiling at other auditionees and being friendly, and you may pick up some little tips. Do expect the unexpected but be prepared for it and you will do great! Always have back-up songs, have your music recorded on something and take headphones so you can listen to it in the hallways, and be prepared to come up with a few bars of your own choreographed dance. When you go in to sing, take your time to go over your music and tempo with the accompanist. I remember that in one audition, the accompanist started out way too fast, and my D asked if they could restart at the slower tempo. Be in control of your own audition, go in and have fun, and you will knock their socks off! Remember that the auditioners want you to do well! Good luck!</p>
<p>My D was also at the LA Unified Auditions in 2010. Takeitallin gives very good advice. Since you only have 4 schools you are auditioning for you may want to see if you can do any walk in auditions as you may have time. My D auditioned for 7 programs at the LA Unifieds and 2 of those were walk ins. She was not rushed and had plenty of time to do all of these,</p>
<p>We also were able to find a place to stake out for the day where D could chill between auditions and dance calls. One thing she liked to do when waiting outside the audition room was to put on headphones and just listen to music to relax. It can be a bit off putting when you sit outside because you can hear those that went in ahead of you singing. D was very friendly if others waiting to audition asked her questions when she came out after her audition. We ran into many people from SoCal that D had been in shows with over the years who were also auditioning so it was a nice distraction during a stressful time.</p>
<p>Ditto what showmom said^^^^- (who knows? maybe we sat next to each other at the 2010 auditions???). My D also fit in 2 walk-ins (and is now actually attending one of them!) If you have a lot of time, you may want to look at the list of attending programs to see if there are any that you wish you had applied to. Just in case, be sure to take extra resumes and a checkbook in case they want audition fees. My D walked-in to Penn State and CMU; she had not applied to either of them before the Unifieds and they both still agreed to see her.</p>
<p>O my gosh, thank you so much for all the advice! I was wondering about doing the walk ins! Did they just have you fill out an application after? Because I actually didn’t sign up for some schools because I had missed the application deadline. Also, how soon after the Unifieds were you notified about acceptance? Did you have to go to any additional callbacks? I am very interested in how this works! I really appreciate all the help!</p>
<p>On both of her walk-ins, D was told to go home and submit the applications ASAP, on-line. There were no additional call-backs after the Unifieds for any of my D’s schools- as far as I know that is the case for all of the schools that go to the Unifieds: if I am wrong about that I am sure someone here will correct me. However, there are sometimes callbacks during Unifieds. With Penn State, you sign up for the vocal audition and monologue. When you finish, you may be asked to come back later in the day for the dance call, which is essentially the callback. Those not invited for the dance call can assume they are not being considered. I don’t remember if there are other schools that do something similar during the Unifieds, but I believe there might be. </p>
<p>As far as notification on acceptance, it varies by school. Some wait until all of their auditions are complete to start notifying, some do it on a rolling basis. In our case, our D heard back the next day after Unifieds from one school, but not until late very April for another. It seems like a VERY long time when you are waiting to hear.
Good luck!</p>
<p>There are at least 2 schools that require an on-campus callback after Unifieds: U. of Minnesota/Guthrie BFA Acting (which has a callback weekend where they work extensively with the students) and U. of Oklahoma MT, where Unifieds serves as one of the many prescreens they do. There may be a few others, but I think that’s it.</p>
<p>Ok, So far I am scheduled for auditions with Uarts, Uof Oklahoma, University of Arizona, and Ithaca! I was aware that UO had callbacks on campus. WOW, next day would be crazy! Anyone know any tips for these schools? I would have LOVED to audition for UMichigan but I missed their application deadline, any hopes of a walk in? haha</p>
<p>Yes, you are correct: Rutgers, Minnesota and Juilliard on-campus call backs are all for acting not musical theatre. We noticed that many of the MT kids are also auditioning for acting programs. Has anyone else noticed a lot of this crossover?</p>
<p>My daughter only auditioned for one MT theatre program and the rest were for straight acting. She goes to a performing arts school and feels like she has been bottle-necked in musical theatre. (ie. we won’t cast her in a drama- she’s a musical theatre kid) Also, she feels like you can always take dance and voice classes but it’s really hard to find great acting teachers. Plus, she feels like if you’re an actor who can also sing and dance- that’s just icing on the cake.</p>
<p>Mine also had a few straight acting programs on her list. Her feeling was that many MT programs are very soft in the drama area. One in particular really turned her off when she sat in on an acting class. Another girl she knows added acting because she was not a dancer and thought it might increase her chances to audition for a few programs that were dance free.</p>
<p>I think it is a trend for many MT kids to place added emphasis on straight acting training. Our D definitely moved acting toward the top of her list as she heard from many folks that great vocal coaches and dance classes are MUCH easier to find than top-notch acting training, plus that there is far more work in most markets for straight actors than for MTs. Plus she consistently heard from friends in various programs that actor training was the biggest weakness in the top MT programs.</p>
<p>Another example of this is that the top MT guy she knew last year (he swept most National MT awards) never applied to MT programs, but instead chose a top straight acting BFA.</p>
<p>Hope everyone starts hearing happy news very soon!</p>
<p>I just got news today that I am top 25 at Texas State. She said they choose 25 of the kids who audition, and choose a final group of 8-12 from that 25. I cannot describe how amazing this program is!
The majority of programs won’t tell until March, and April for Webster. Texas State would be such a hard one to say no to, or to wait a month. Its such a great place! But also have a callback at Oklahoma in March. I was told they chose 100 of 3,000 this year. Which is ridiculous numbers.
So. Now the waiting/more auditions!!!</p>