<p>Hi everyone,
I have an audition for the University of Minnesota/Guthrie BFA Acting program coming up this weekend and I'm just wondering if anyone would be willing to share their experiences with auditions? How does the Guthrie conduct these auditions? What does the "short interview" consist of? Is it fairly laidback, or intimidating? I'd love to hear your experiences!</p>
<p><em>bump</em>
Did no one apply to this program? I had my audition on Friday, but I’d still like to know what people thought?</p>
<p>my audition is next monday! could you talk about your audition experience? Do I just arrive at my time slot, do my monologues, and leave? This program seems to have the least information about it online but it’s the school I have the best chance of attending because of the price!</p>
<p>we’d love to hear about your experience!</p>
<p>I did the three monologues, was asked to sing, and the interview was very long! They asked what compels me to be an actor and how important I felt academics were for actors. Stuff like that. We examined my resume and they were familiar with a theatre company I had the opportunity to work with. I think this is a good sign but I dont want to get my hopes up: at the end, the man asked how they would be able to get in touch with me other than my mailing address (because the town I live in has no cell phone reception.) I told him email works. </p>
<p>Despite how much fun that audition was and how well I feel it went, I’m not getting my hopes up for a callback. I read in previous posts (way far back! like a year or two… the roads are iced, I have had quite a bit of free time since yesterday!) that unless they ask for more pieces, it’s pretty much a no. But then again, I’m going to “stopthinking” lol</p>
<p>***Good luck to anybody else auditioning! If you can, post your experience. This thread seems like the appropriate place to do so!</p>
<p>My daughter auditioned for Minnesota/Guthrie back in 2008 during the NYC Unifieds and it was a very positive experience. They took a lot of time with her and she did at least three monologues, as well as sang a song, and discussed things like why she wanted to be an actor, why she chose certain audition pieces, etc. (Not sure if they do this anymore: at the time, she was asked to prepare a monologue from a character she would NEVER play in real life. I <em>think</em> she chose James Tyrone. After she did the monologue, they had her discuss how Mary Tyrone, James’ wife, would have done the same monologue differently, etc.) She came out believing that Ken Washington and his auditors were very thoughtful about choosing a class and wanted people who are equally “thoughtful” (by which I mean, actors who have a somewhat intellectual/intelligent/thoughtful approach to their craft.)</p>
<p>MamaRose, did your daughter get a callback? And if she did, what was that like?</p>
<p>I had a similar experience. They seemed like very nice people.</p>
<p>StopThinkingFeel, yes, she was fortunate enough to be invited to the callback weekend in Minneapolis. (As I recall, she got a phone call inviting her to the callback weekend about two weeks after her audition. I remember that because she got the call on the day she did her NYU Tisch audition, which was Feb. 13. <g>) </g></p>
<p>We flew to Minneapolis (I came along) and she had a wonderful time at the callback. It was especially fun having the chance to meet and work with the folks at UMN-Guthrie, as well as all the other kids from all over the country who were invited. They were a quite friendly and extremely talented group. I can’t give you blow by blow details, but I do remember that, one morning, they went in individually and did their monologues again for Ken Washington and other auditors and they also did various other group acting/movement/voice exercises, played theater games and so on. One evening, we all went to the Guthrie to see Wendy Wasserstein’s “Third,” which was spectactular. (Just having the chance to visit the new Guthrie Theatre in March is spectacular, because some of the walls are glass and it’s lovely to watch the snow falling down while you are inside.) More exciting yet is the notion that, if you become part of the program, you might end up at some point on that stage …</p>
<p>The callback experience was so positive and my D liked the Minnesota-Guthrie people so much that it was especially difficult for her to turn down their offer of acceptance when it finally came. (Yes, she was one of the lucky ones!) She chose to attend NYU Tisch instead and is very happy with her decision. But Minnesota was a very hard one to say no to, so best wishes to all who are auditioning this year!!!</p>
<p>I auditioned for NYU on the 21st! My auditor was a riot! Very nice man. Did some work on one of my monologues and was very complimentary. I have a few friends at NYU. They seem to like the program. How does you daughter like it? And how is the balance between academics and conservatory time? Does she feel like it’s distributed in a way that will help her in her growth artistically and academically? I’m sure she does but I’m just wondering. I’ve heard a few complaints about there not being enough studio time. But ultimately, everyone I know seems to be happy with Tisch.</p>
<p>StopThinkingFeel, my D is a sophomore at NYU Tisch (she is in musical theater, but also auditioned for a number of straight acting programs, like Minnesota-Guthrie, as I said above) and is extremely happy with it. </p>
<p>The one thing to know going in to NYU is that yes, they care about academics, and not just that you have a strong academic record going in. They want you to want to learn something outside the studio, too, which is why your weekly schedule is split: three days of studio (roughly 9 to 6 p.m.) and two days of academics (roughly, two academic classes on each of those two days.)</p>
<p>Though my D would be happy doing studio seven days a week, from dawn until dark, she was also a good academic student and knows that, essentially, the more she knows about the world, the better an actor she will be. So she accepts that balance between studio and academics as something that is good for her, and something she needs to do in order to be a better performer. </p>
<p>I should also mention that she was fortunate enough to attend a really fine arts high school, so for three-four years, she spent four hours a day, five days a week (and sometimes, more) doing actor training. (Her high school conducts its actor training program like a college conservatory; in fact, many of the kids who go on to BFAs in acting complain at first that they have “been there, done that.”) So she had quite a bit of actor training going into college to begin with.</p>
<p>Minnesota-Guthrie is another program based on the philosophy that an educated actor makes the best actor, so the programs are similar in that way. At UMN-Guthrie, they want you to learn to think and to accumulate some knowledge of history, sociology, science, philosophy, etc. so that when you are cast in a play, you have some sense of the time period, setting, etc. That is the same philosophy, essentially, as at NYU Tisch.</p>
<p>If you have any other questions about NYU, feel free to ask me on this forum or else send me a private message. But in a nutshell, my D is really really pleased with NYU and believes strongly she made the absolute right decision from her list of acceptances. But it WAS hard to turn down Minnesota!</p>
<p>My son flew to UofM/Guthrie for BFA Acting audition. Very positive experience. Good people, great teaching facilities and remarkable relationship with the Guthrie. We were treated to an impromptu tour by a student and got to see Romeo & Juliet at the Guthrie. We noted severa BFA student/alum in the cast along with other professionals.
He was asked to present his 3 prepared monologues first and then they reviewed his resume and asked him to perform 2 more monologues from recent work. They also asked him to sing for them. The interview focused on why he was interested in their program and other questions which seemed designed mostly for them to get to know him a bit better as a person. A great experience, I know he would love to attend if accepted.</p>
<p>I auditioned for them today in Minnesota, and it was actually pretty fun. 
I did my three monologues (and yeah, they do still ask you to do a monologue by a character you would never be cast as, but would love to play). Then I sang a few bars, and one of the auditors asked me to sing something else from a role on my resume, and do a monologue from another role off my resume. My interview was pretty short, though. They basically asked me what I wanted out of my college experience and where else I had applied, and then they asked if I had any questions for them. The whole thing was pretty chill, and doing so many pieces really gave me the chance to shake out nerves and everything, which was nice.</p>
<p>Um, correction to my previous post: I auditioned in Chicago, not Minnesota. haha</p>
<p>Does anyone know about how many people audition for this program?</p>
<p>had a very different experience with umn - we were scheduled for end of day, showed up early and then told to hurry up because they had to get out to the space, they packed up their papers as they interviewed, very quick and very impersonal - and that started before the audition so it wasn’t necessarily a response to performance.</p>
<p>I’ll be attending the callbacks next weekend and am wondering if anyone who has previously attended the callback weekend could reply and give insight as to how it works! It sounds kind of ambiguous so anything would help! Any tips? Thanks!</p>