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Standardizing college theatre / musical theatre auditions
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Replies to: Standardizing college theatre / musical theatre auditions
If you have a moment to respond again it would be very interesting to get your opinion on these two questions:
What is your feeling about the original poster topic of streamlining the audition requirements?
and Do you think it was the competitiveness of the applicant pool that spurred the growth of coaches, or the coaches making the talent more competitive/prepared? Which came first in your view?
Thanks for taking the time here on CC!
That is seriously impressive.
@bisouu I imagine it is a bit of both, and some luck. I guess someone who is in the mix all the time might know.. as an example.. Michigan is graduating two blonde character actors, so they could lead young people who might fit the type to audition.
I don't know if we will use a coach.. but looking at the results of several coaches, it is very tempting if you can afford it.
Oops, just saw your post GSOMTMom. Great minds think alike!
1. As an educator, I personally like that each school asks for what they want to see in the audition process. This is one way for schools to identify students who fit their program's sensibility. I think Sheri (who wrote the article in the Huff Post) is excellent and I agree with a lot of the other things she says in the article, but her suggested audition package doesn't cover all that the industry currently demands; that depends on how you define the industry.
In my experience, the part of the process which could be streamlined with huge benefit for students and parents is the audition scheduling process. I'm not sure such streamlining is actually possible, given the app and prescreen assessments that need to take place in many cases before auditions can be scheduled, but wouldn't it be a beautiful thing to have a centralized scheduling website, at least for Unifieds schools? C'mon, IT parents, you can develop it!
2. I have thought a lot over the years about what made the number of auditionees increase so much in the late 00's. There were 2 years college faculty referred to as the "Glee effect" years - 2009-10 and 10-11 - when the applicant pool for MT grew 20% BOTH years, meaning 20% and then ANOTHER 20% the next year. I think in addition to Glee, and probably even bigger, was the advent of YouTube. Andrew Keenan-Bolger started putting up Michigan MT videos when he was a junior or 1st semester senior (in spring or fall of 2006 - he graduated in 2007). YouTube was then in its infancy, and those videos went viral before viral in the non-germ sense was even a concept. Students all over the world could suddenly experience college MT singers, newly out-of-school performers, and exciting shows which they never would have known about before.` As more social media tools were created, the reach of shows and performers which are exciting to teens became greater and greater. For a time, I observed that televised things like The Voice and American Idol also made it seem like "fame" was within anyone's reach, although that effect seems to have diminished over the last few years and most students no longer have that uninformed way of thinking. Social media is here to stay, so teens all over the world will continue to be able to experience shows and performers who move and inspire them.
Some coaches, like Mary Anna and I and others in local programs, were simply teachers who were doing there thing already when demand for help with the college process exploded, and we were approached by happy parents with the idea of spreading the word about what we were already doing. Other coaches seem to have begun their work in response to the demand - but the only coaching genesis story I really know is mine and MTCA's.
And I also just realized I didn't answer your second question fully. I think all of the things I mention in #2 above have made the talent pool more competitive: more students who already have talent and skill now interested in/aware of theatre who may not have been before social media; YouTube and other media sources showing students how high the level of competitiveness is among their peers and in top college programs, so they are training more to match those levels; and the artistic training provided by some coaches, who are in large part teachers (like the MTCA coaches), increasing the the technical skill levels of auditionees.
If I were in your "pre-BFA" shoes, I too would want the process streamlined, I get that. And I also feel for the kids whose families cannot afford the financial commitment that the years running up to auditioning for programs take, let alone that year of auditioning. Streamlining would make it easier for everyone, for sure. But when your kid is on the other side, trust me, you'll want the path to get to NYC to be a bit of a struggle just to weed out some of the competition for a TIME SLOT, not even roles!
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20562246#Comment_20562246
I know that we all want to be cheerleaders here and hope for the best for all the kids auditioning for college programs. I am with you, and have been for many years here on CC. I also think it's important to know what the future may hold for kids expecting to earn a living in a performance career. Look at the number of Equity actors in NYC, along with SAG members. Same with those in L.A. Look at the average annual earnings. And don't forget those thousands of non-Eq kids who are also out there.
I get that no one wants to hear this. I truly do. We all want to let our kids follow their dreams, and there's nothing wrong with that, as long as they aren't going into debt and as long as those dreams are realistic, and they are making informed decisions.
The fact is, most of these kids will not have long performing careers. But the skills they develop during their college training will be useful in many fields whether they are giving a presentation in a corporate board room, arguing points of law, practicing their bedside manner or teaching a group of children. A theatre degree is useful even if you don't end up performing. There are so many directions they can go. And if they insist on a life in the theatre, but performing is not happening, they can also find many non-performing careers within the industry, many of which are lucrative and stable.
So if your child feels that strongly about a theatre degree, I would let them go for it. Like with any degree, some will decide in college that this is not the path for them. Others will find it difficult to find a job upon graduating. Still others may have a career transition at some point. But these things are not exclusive to theater majors. This is all a very normal part of life.
So, even though the numbers are daunting, for me, I say, be realistic about the prospects. But go for it if it's what you really want.