Hi,
Getting ready to go to Unified Auditions in NYC this weekend with my son, who wants to study acting/drama. I’d really appreciate it if someone could please explain how to find out which schools are having walk-ins. Do you need to check at each school’s sign-in? Will there be a sign-up sheet posted with available times? Any info would help.
Thanks!
Sue
Yes, you should get there early and walk around and ask. Some schools will have signs up. Some will charge a fee, others won’t. NY Unifieds are on several floors, with 8-10 schools on each floor, so it is not hard to make the rounds on your floor. If you have time, either you or your son could probably make a trip to the other floors to see if there are any opportunities there. Two years ago, my son did one walk-in more or less as a warm up (SCAD) and was pretty seriously considering another one (Miami U) but decided against it. You might have to hustle a little to apply after the audition; not a big deal for common app schools, but your S may want to have access to a laptop at the hotel.
Thanks!
My nephew was told by one school that he could not walk in because he didn’t apply before (but then you wouldn’t need to walk in, right?) but was permitted by others.
You also might want to check at other studios in the area, like Ripley Grier, to see who is auditioning there. They won’t be affiliated with Unifieds, but many other schools are auditioning in NYC that weekend.
What schools offer walk ins? We are heading to Chicago in 2 weeks! Auditioning for TCU, Texas St, Illinois and Mich and DePaul.
There’s a thread on the MT forum about which schools offered walk-ins for MT last year (a lot of them also have acting programs). It varies from year to year.
The bad weather in NYC this weekend has the potential to open up audition slots for walk-ins. It’s definitely worth checking into.
Were the Unifieds canceled?
Nope. Went on as planned. The most active place in the city this weekend.
At Unifieds this past weekend, it was helpful when schools put a sign up saying: “no walk ins.” Michigan did that. Some schools were taking them, others were not. It’s a crap shoot. One very popular one was the Royal Conservatory in Scotland - lots of kids were doing their walk ins. I know when my daughter was waiting to audition for one school, someone came up and asked about walk ins and was turned down. When the kid walked away, the people manning the table complained to each other about walk ins, with a response like: “why would we see kids who didn’t make the effort to apply in advance?” That being said, others were happy to fill the canceled slots with kids who may not have known of their program before.
My daughter got a very chilly response from UofArts a few years ago when she did a walk in for them. She felt like they were not pleased that they were an “afterthought”.
Applicants must be invited to audition at Michigan after the common application is submitted, so walk-ins wouldn’t work. Some of the smaller, more arts focused schools accepted walk-ins at the NY Unifieds. They may have more leeway with the general application process than the large universities have. My daughter didn’t do any walk-in auditions but she did bring extra resumes etc just in case.
I posted the original question. We ended up deciding to outrun the weather by leaving early. Emerson was letting people scheduled for Saturday and Sunday audition on Friday instead and we were able to reschedule the other for an audition at the school. Just wanted to thank y’all for your responses!