<p>I am not an expert on the subject by any means… but I think your kids should wear what they feel comfortable in and what shows the school who they are. Just as they should pick material that shows who they are. </p>
<p>My kid did not follow ANY of the dress code rules (that is who she is) and was accepted at her first choice school. This is for straight drama auditions… I know nothing about MT.</p>
<p>That reminds me how my D made sure she wore a pair of her signature funky shoes (with her comfy but respectful outfit of a nice blouse and slacks). She wanted to feel like, and express, herself. </p>
<p>I was just glad she picked a hairstyle that kept it out of her face … have I stressed that enough?</p>
<p>I would say that in professional theatre auditions, there really is no absolute rule that says “no jeans”. For example, if the character you are auditioning for wears jeans, then there isn’t any reason why you shouldn’t wear jeans to audition!</p>
<p>There aren’t really very many hard and fast rules. A couple I can think of:</p>
<p>1) Don’t wear a “costume”. By this I mean don’t wear something that when you walk down the street makes people say “why is he/she dressed like that?”</p>
<p>2) Don’t wear anything that will distract from your acting. Avoid dangly jewelry, for example. No slogans on shirts. No bizarre color contrasts, etc. If there is a pattern, make sure it is simple. And also, as HoveringMom said, avoid trying to dress “sexy”, that also might make the auditors think you are trying to distract them and that you don’t have confidence in your acting ability. (this is part of the reason why I said “wear a brassiere” in an earlier post)</p>
<p>If you are doing two contrasting monologues, something that looks “neutral” is best. Not too dressy, not too casual. Black is a good “neutral” color, which is why so many theatre types are fond of it. (But there are other color options too)</p>
<p>You may be asked to do some movement, or improvisation, etc. I know of one student auditioner who really was asked to do his monologue again while stacking up the chairs. Something like a dress it seems to me could interfere with this.</p>
<p>So in the end, for a specific article of clothing, like jeans, there is no definite “yes” or “no”. Jeans could meet all my criteria above, or might not, depending on the jeans, and what else you are wearing, and maybe how they look on you.</p>
<p>But in the end it is not your clothes that are auditioning, and you are not being evaluated on what you wear. You are being evaluated on your acting.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>RE: “But in the end it is not your clothes that are auditioning, and you are not being evaluated on what you wear. You are being evaluated on your acting.” KEVP, I have to respectfully disagree. You are being evaluated on many factors, not just your acting. You are being evaluated the moment you walk in that door. How you carry yourself, how you speak and address the panel, how you take your leave–all of this matters. And you will be evaluated based on what you wear too. To take an extreme example, if you walk in in dirty sweat pants (and this is not your costume), you will be judged based on that. They have many talented actors–they want someone who is also able to learn, able to work well with others, who is enjoyable to be with. All these things matter.</p>
<p>I am auditioning for both Acting and MT. I went to my first on campus audition today (actually for MT at this particular college) and most everyone (both Acting and MT) was dressed nicely. There were about 60 of us. The girls all wore dresses or skirts/tops (some with heels and some with flats) and most of the guys wore khakis/dress pants and button down shirts or sweaters. Some even wore ties/blazers. I think there was one guy in jeans.</p>
<p>One of my monologs is delivered while I am sitting and there is a lot of movement. I just make sure my dress or skirt is longer (and stretchy without being too tight) to allow for this factor. I do have a nice pair of black stretch pants I can wear if I want, but I am glad I chose a skirt/top today. None of the girls at this audition wore pants.</p>
<p>I am auditioning over the next few weekends and just went shopping for new audition clothes. As a girl who has worn a dress twice in the last 4 years (not including costumes) I would not feel comfortable in one for the audition nor would it express me. I also have a very physical monologue, not to mention I want to be prepared for anything my auditioners could ask for, so movement friendly clothes are a must. Nice slacks and other dress pants that allow for movement can be easily found at Target and Kohls. Both pairs of pants I got allow me to kick head high, crouch low, and even do a cartwheel. And they look very nice! Matched with my new nice, flattering (also movement friendly) shirts they work great. Just $0.02 on what I am doing.</p>
<p>Also surprised that so many people are wearing jeans. Guess I will see for myself!</p>
<p>I don’t know what is “right,” but at the two auditions that my D has attended so far, most of the girls were in dresses, skirts or nice pants. My D felt comfortable in the casual dress and cardigan that she had chosen. She will probably stick with this outfit at the rest of her auditions.</p>
<p>I am guessing that the further south you go, the dressier the audition wear will be. That’s a guess–I’d be interested to hear if it’s right. At CMU yesterday there was one dress. For D, who began in a skirt, jeans (a la GlassHarmonica’s description) have felt best. She looks classy and ready to work, both of which she is! For someone else a dress would feel and look better. One way and another you want to look and feel your best, ready to move with ease and without restriction, and respectful of the situation. I’ve been surprised at the number of people who look like they just fell out of bed-- that I just don’t get.</p>
<p>Gwen Fairfax, I am glad to hear that. If my daughter wore a dress or “skirt with cardigan” to an audition she would truly feel as if she were in costume. That doesn’t mean she won’t spent time on her hair, her (minimal and natural-looking make-up) and her clothes. I suspect that you are right that there are regional differences. My D is looking only at colleges in the northeast, where the look is probably less conservative. She has worn nice jeans to auditions for years, with no negative repercussions as far as we can tell, and her style of dress has not seemed different from the others in the callback room.</p>
<p>I wore a skirt with a cardigan and it felt right almost everywhere. I was definitely under-dressed at Elon, but the overall vibe there was all wrong for me anyway.Ugh! I recall prom dresses and lace. At Unifieds, most girls were wearing slinky packable dresses which makes sense and is what coaches are recommending so no surprise there. I don’t remember seeing a lot of jeans though except for the acting kids at NYU.</p>
<p>
My daughter does have some slinky dresses that she might wear to a dance or a fancy party-- but for an audition? Was this at the unifieds in NYC? My daughter will see her coach tomorrow. I’m curious what she will recommend.</p>
<p>Just back from NYC Unifieds where I saw much more variation in dress-- (partly due to MT people being there!) We saw everything, from cute little chiffon dresses to jeans and high boots (am I the only person in the world without knee-high boots? Seems so.) Everyone looked lovely in whatever they had chosen. There was one ensemble I thought looked awkward-- its wearer was hoping to transfer from one of the most prestigious programs in the country. Take from this what you will, and break a leg!</p>
<p>Hey all, this has been a really interesting thread. My daughter has just completed her audition tour (everywhere from NYC, Virginia, DC and Pennsylvania). As a female in jeans, she would have stuck out like a sore thumb at all of them. We did see a few men in jeans, but not the norm. There was a wide variety in clothing…the fancy red party dress being the most common strange choice… Mostly girls wore comfortable dresses, skirts or dress pants in plain colors. My D’s coach recommended black or blue slacks and a fairly plain sweater. We ended up getting her a navy blue pant suit at The Limited. Worked out great; she could wear the jacket into the interview and look very professional, then take it off for the audition and be comfortable in her slacks and sweater.</p>
<p>Oh, and Gwen…yes the high boots thing was noticed by my daughter as well (especially at one particular school, where she appeared to be the only girl on campus not wearing them).</p>
<p>My son wore jeans to all his auditions. He attended several in jacket & tie (semi-casual, hipster/vintage jacket), but opted for presentable shirt or pullover with neat jeans at later auditions.</p>
<p>My son wore jeans and a very bold colored purple lg check shirt. It seemed that most of the girls wore skirts or changed into them. Boys seemed to be in a variety of outfits. </p>
<p>My son felt tidy but comfortable was a good look for him.</p>