theaterguy94

Hey, Elon says that a classical monologue is "discouraged." I feel much better about my classical than my second contemporary. Has anyone auditioned there with a classical monologue? (My classical is age appropriate, whereas my second contemporary isn't a teenager)

EmmyBet

Gosh, tg, I'd say to do what they ask first. If they seriously don't like classical, you could really be up a creek by doing one. Do they say much about age-appropriateness in their requirements? If not, you could risk the second contemporary. If they do, honestly I'd find a new second contemporary that meets their rules. It's really the most respectful thing to do and could make all the difference when they are tossing a coin between two applicants.

theatreguy321

First off...nice name. ;-)

Secondly, I auditioned for them last year. When I auditioned there, everyone who I talked to at least was doing 2 contemporary pieces. I think it'd be best to follow what they say. Because otherwise, they might just think you didn't care enough to spend the time doing what they asked for (I know that's horribly worded, hopefully it makes sense). They might even take it as an example of you not following directions...

Those are just my ideas at least.

djc007

I would prepare two contemporary monologues. Have Shakespeare if they ask for anything else. My son auditioned at Elon last year, and they are very specific in not wanting prospective BFA students to do Shakespeare. They are very interested in your selection of pieces. I think if memory serves me right you have to fill out a theatre application (single sheet) with your pieces - character, play- prior to your audition.

Hope this helps.

theaterguy94

thank you so much everyone. I drilled the second contemporary, and I'm going to go with that one. theatreguy321 and djc007's son-- is the audition vibe different than that of the northern schools? what did you wear? also, did the adjudicators throw any curve balls or was it all pretty mellow?

theatreguy321

For me at least, I wouldn't exactly say "mellow"...they were very professional. That's not saying they weren't nice, they took their time during the auditions, they talked to us, answered questions, etc. But they also didn't really go out of their way to be extra nice either. Don't get me wrong though, it was still a very positive audition experience!

The only real "curveball", if you can call it that, they threw at me was during the questions/get-to-know-you part of the audition. That was after I performed monologues. They asked me if I could change/improve one thing about my audition, what would it be? Besides that it was a pretty standard audition. They also had a pretty nice info session and chat with the head of the department. I don't know exactly how that ranks with most other schools, because I did most of my auditions at Unifieds.

Clothing-wise, I'd say semi-formal. Like, a suit would probably be over the top. But a nice shirt, possibly a tie, possibly a vest (if that's your thing), with black or kaki pants, and at least nice CLEAN shoes, if not dress shoes. Some I think I wore some nicer tennis shoes, because I'm more comfortable and move better in them.

djc007

As far as the audition, it was professional. Plenty of time to get relaxed, perform the monologues, learn about the program. They did ask my son what he thought could be improved upon. Also they discussed his process of choosing his monologues which he found to be a very interesting discussion-why this piece and character, what other selections did he consider.

As far as wardrobe, nice slack, shirt and funky tie, though this suits his personality. tie may not be for everyone.

Have fun. Campus is really beautiful.