Am I wrong to feel upset?

britbrat1961
Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:53:29 +0000

EmmyBet…this is just my opionion for what it is worth. Building a good resume is a part of the process, but at the end of the day when it comes to college auditions, it is how a candidate presents and conducts themselves in the very few minutes that they are seen at the audition.

Indeed the resume and the academic transcript is looked at, but if the candidate shows real potential and well rounded in areas of academics, voice, dance, acting and ability to follow direction, it will overshadow any resume. Experience is great, but the college MT programs are designed to teach and the competition for parts in college is far tougher than on the JH and HS level. I have heard directors of college MT programs say that if a student has done everything and been in everything that they don’t need the program as they might feel that they have nothing to learn or should be cast in those shows that they have already done being that they know the script. Some programs will tell you to forget everything that you have learned and learn the way that they teach.

My point here is that I have seen students stretching themselves so thin trying so hard to build a stellar arts resume while their grades suffer or they take only the minimum academics. This also can have a bearing on how much community service that they can do (which can have a huge impact of scholarship opportunities as community theate is not always looked at as community service)which is important as well.

One of the reasons to build a solid dependable reputation is that the student will likely need or want letters of recommendation for directors when applying to MT programs for college. The ability to juggle a schedule is recognized not only in college but in real life as one has to be able to do many things with very long hours and sometimes minimum rest. A director will recognize these attributes and refect those qualities in a letter of recommendation.

I would concentrate more on being well rounded, building a solid reputation and solid skills in the 3 areas, voice, dance and acting, and less on the length or strength of the resume.

Good luck with the process…as it is indeed a process :)